Chapter 2

Gianna Marino

I didn’t even get the damn chance to cry my eyes out.

Beatrice walked in on me sobbing in my room and she snapped.

“So this is where you are, lazing around while I wait in the hall?!” She didn’t wait for a reply before dealing me a slap across the face.

I pressed my palm against the sting. Could today get any worse?

The burn was sharp, but it was nothing compared to the pain of seeing my fiancé tangled in bed with my best friend.

“Get your ass to the hall. I’ve got a special announcement to make, and I want you there,” she said with a sly smile, dangling the room key before leaving.

I already knew it wouldn’t be anything good, but if it had to do with my father’s company or his pack, I needed to be present.

With a sharp breath, I dragged my palms down my face, making sure no tear was left behind, then headed to the hall.

Beatrice entered two minutes after me, a bottle of wine in hand. She strutted over to Alpha Dmitri, the Alpha of the Black Thorne Pack, flashed the bottle at him like a prize, and whispered something that made him laugh.

Traitor, I muttered under my breath.

Dmitri had been my father’s sworn enemy, yet somehow, he turned into Beatrice’s drinking buddy after my father's death.

“Gianna!” Beatrice’s voice rang across the hall. Of course.

I approached, and she shoved the wine in my face. “Open this and bring us glasses,” she ordered with a frown that morphed into a fake smile as she turned back to her conversation.

I was already heading to the kitchen when a soft voice stopped me.

“Hey, it’s you! Have you met your lover yet?” the young kitchen assistant asked with a shy smile.

“Uhmm… yeah. I saw him. Thanks,” I replied quickly, forcing a small nod. I couldn’t afford to break down here. She was the same girl who’d lent me her phone to call Ethan, how could I explain that I’d caught him in bed with my best friend?

Back in the hall, I spotted Ethan and Cassie finally arriving, hand in hand like the picture-perfect couple.

I looked away, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing me fall apart. Instead, I focused on opening the wine bottle, keeping my hands steady.

After pouring glasses for Beatrice and her drink buddy, Alpha Dmitri, she strutted up to the stage, tapping her wine glass with a key.

“Attention, everyone! Eyes on me for just a few minutes,” she began, earning a few chuckles from the crowd.

“I invited you all here because you’ve helped build the late Alpha’s company and pack. It would be a shame to let his legacy die with him.”

Heads bobbed in agreement.

“That’s why I’ve found a permanent solution to the fear of failure lurking behind all your smiley faces.” She gave a slow, calculated glance around the room before continuing.

“My late husband’s child is…..let’s be honest, dumb as a brick and useless. So, I brought in my own daughter instead. Fierce, smart, and as resilient as her mother.”

The crowd murmured, intrigued.

“And that’s not even the best part,” she added with a smirk. “She’s getting married to Ethan Anclov, Alpha Dante’s son. He’s powerful in the business world and his father holds so much significance amongst werewolves, and together, they’ll take the company and the Pack to new heights. Consider this an official engagement!”

She raised her glass and the crowd followed, beaming and clinking glasses while I stood there, heart splitting in two.

So this was it. This was why Ethan used me. So I’d never see it coming. 

He and Cassie shared a smug kiss, grinning like this was some kind of fairytale. My stomach turned.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I walked toward them, keeping my fake smile plastered as guests showered them with congratulations.

Then, I stopped right in front of them.

“What did I do wrong?” I asked, voice tight. “Where did I go wrong that you’d repay me like this?”

Both of them turned. Ethan’s expression soured into his usual annoyed scowl, and Cassie? She just smirked.

“Tell me!” I screamed, my voice cutting through the noise. A few guests turned to stare, but I didn’t give a flying fuck who was watching.

Ethan let out a frustrated sigh, then finally spoke.

"Fine. Since you want to do this here, let's play. Why do you think we did it? You're the daughter of the man who nearly destroyed my family's business. He died, and there you were, his dumb, heartbroken daughter, desperate for love. I didn’t even have to try hard for you to throw yourself at me. Begging to marry me just so you could crawl your way back into your father’s company and become my Luna."

He leaned in, voice cold and sharp.

"Why on earth would I marry a weak, clumsy, lowlife like you?"

My jaw clenched, but he wasn’t done.

"It was all planned. Beatrice sent her daughter to be your friend so you wouldn’t ask questions whenever she came to visit. All that marriage talk? You actually believed it? Wow, you're slower than I thought." He shook his head like I was some pitiful stray.

The sting in my chest was unbearable, but I refused to break, not in front of them. I blinked back the tears, raised my chin, and curled my fingers into tight fists. I wouldn’t cry. Not this time.

"Ugh, look at her," Cassie scoffed. "She looks like a maid. That cheap jewelry, that knock-off watch…." she laughed cruelly. "She probably thought they were real when I told her you got them for her."

My eyes widened. My hand flew to the necklace around my neck, the one I'd treasured.

Ethan had sent it while he was away, and Cassie had helped me pick it up. I was over the moon, thinking he’d chosen it himself. I believed it was real gold. I believed he cared.

"Are you surprised?" Cassie sneered. "Ethan bought me the real gold." She flaunted her wrist, the gleaming gold watch a perfect match to mine, except hers sparkled with quality.

"And you got you the fake," She added, tugging the necklace into view. It looked just like mine, but even at a glance, I could see the difference. Hers glinted with authenticity. Mine looked like a cheap toy in comparison.

The tears surged again, pressing hard behind my eyes, but I shoved them down.

I came for answers, and I got them. And now? I couldn’t even move. Their words weren’t just cruel, they were a blow to the chest, pinning me in place.

The guests who had been eavesdropping now openly stared, whispering, shooting me glances like I was some unhinged, delusional girl. A circus show in a fancy dress.

And just as I was about to crumble and let the dam burst, a strong hand grabbed mine.

It yanked me out of the crushing crowd, away from the jeers and whispers, out of that suffocating hall