Chapter 2

I made up some excuse and left that suffocating room.

The laughter and conversations behind me were cut off the moment the door closed, leaving only the cold, hollow echo of the hallway.

Outside the club, the midnight wind hit my face with a chill.

I stood silently by the roadside waiting for my car, my thoughts drifting back to ten years ago.

When I was fifteen, my mother accidentally discovered that my father had another family on the side, complete with an illegitimate daughter my age.

The news destroyed my mother instantly. Her wolf couldn't bear the betrayal of its mate and disappeared. She collapsed and fell ill.

Before I could even process the sudden implosion of my family, a woman named Rebecca brought Selene into our home, brazenly tearing apart every bit of stability I'd once had.

I met Ethan Stormwind during that darkest, most desperate period of my life.

He was the notorious troublemaker at school, rebellious and fearless.

Yet this same person was willing to awkwardly hand me tissues when I hid in corners crying.

He'd step forward without hesitation when rumors attacked me, driving everyone away with the fiercest attitude.

He'd tell me in that unique tone of his, impatient yet firm.

"Aria Greenwood, why are you crying? Are you that weak? Lift your head up!"

What surprised me was that he actually stayed with me, helping me climb out of life's swamp step by step.

What gave me even more security was that when faced with Selene, who'd already learned to play innocent and pitiful, winning over almost everyone in our class, Ethan couldn't even be bothered to glance at her.

Selene would deliberately drop her books when he passed by, or gaze at him with those doe eyes as if she wanted to say something, only to be met with Ethan's undisguised disgust and a blunt "get lost."

That was one of the few things I could win against Selene during those gray years.

His favoritism was my only armor.

We naturally became a couple.

Not long after, Selene seemed to disappear from our world entirely.

When my mother's condition worsened and she was on her deathbed, she held both mine and Ethan's hands, her eyes full of worry and reluctance.

"I'm entrusting Aria to you, Ethan. I hope you can complete the marking ceremony before she turns twenty-five, so she'll have someone to rely on."

Ethan's eyes were red then. He gripped my hand tightly and made the most sincere promise to my mother.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I swear I'll mark Aria as my mate with a proper ceremony before her twenty-fifth birthday."

After my mother passed, I clung to that promise like it was my only lifeline.

I thought life was finally taking pity on me, that things would gradually improve.

Until six months ago.

Selene reappeared.

Ethan and I were inspecting one of his pack territory projects. As we passed the break room, Selene rushed out carrying a cup of tea and crashed right into Ethan, spilling it all over him.

She was wearing an old, faded outfit, looking haggard, apologizing repeatedly. When she looked up and saw Ethan, her eyes immediately welled with tears.

Her lips trembled as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only whispered softly.

"Ethan, long time no see."

Ethan froze for a moment, then furrowed his brows, his tone carrying his usual disgust.

"Why is it you? Can't you watch where you're going?"

When we got back, he even held me, complaining about his bad luck.

I don't know when they started getting entangled again.

By the time I noticed something was wrong, Selene had already become his secretary, using the excuse of "my family went bankrupt, life is hard, I just need a chance."

I made scenes. I complained. I screamed hysterically, forcing Ethan to fire her.

The way he looked at me gradually changed from explanation to reproach.

"Aria, being an illegitimate daughter wasn't Selene's choice. Be reasonable. Don't keep taking out your parents' grudges on her. She's pitiful now. She just needs a job."

Every argument carved a deep crack between him and me.

I watched helplessly as he drifted further and further away, powerless to stop it.

Meanwhile, he and Selene, working under the same roof, had countless hours and spaces I couldn't reach.

The image of that young man making his earnest vow in the hospital room years ago surfaced before my eyes again, so vivid it felt like yesterday.

Now, there were five days left until my twenty-fifth birthday.

The cold wind blew past, bringing a sharp, sobering pain.

My car arrived.

I opened the door and got in.

No one truly can't live without someone else.

Ethan Stormwind, I don't want to wait for you anymore.