Chapter 4

Noira

Kael hadn't come home at all. I assumed he was spending time alone with Eve.

I spent the lonely, agonizing hours in my room, packing my belongings into a single suitcase. I didn't own much to begin with.

I placed my wedding ring, which I had just taken off, on my dressing table. It was the only piece of jewelry Kael had ever given me. When he had chosen it for our wedding, he had simply pointed at one without even bothering to look.

Suddenly, I found myself feeling sorry for myself.

Taking a deep breath and pushing those feelings aside, I looked outside. Heavy rain was pouring down, darkening the entire sky.

Just one more day.

I smiled at the thought. I believed everything would be all right after that.

While I was eating some snacks to keep my stomach full, my bedroom door was suddenly flung open.

Kael stood there, his expression hard and cold.

My hand stopped moving as I simply stared at him, realizing that something must have happened for him to look at me with such fury.

I lifted my head to face him as he stood right in front of me.

“You are truly ungrateful, Noira.”

He began with words I couldn't understand, leaving me blinking in confusion.

“My family took you in and raised you with kindness, yet you still behave so cruelly.”

My pupils narrowed, his accusations weighing heavily on my heart. I had always been grateful that they had taken me in and cared for me. That was why, when our destined mate marks appeared, I hadn't hesitated to marry Kael.

If it hadn't been for his father's request, I would never have done it. It was true that I had often compared myself to other women who might have been far better than me.

My mouth turned bitter as his words pierced straight through to my bones.

“... I've always been grateful to your father.”

I clenched my hands, but only for a moment before he suddenly grabbed my hand roughly. I tried to fight him off, but it was futile.

Kael's expression was filled with hatred, and it made my heart ache terribly. But I refused to cry. I fought with everything I had to keep looking into his eyes.

“Noira... why have you become so cruel?”

“I told you that you would always be my Luna. You would never be replaced. So why did you do that to Eve?” His deep, trembling voice sounded as though it were filled with sorrow.

Eve truly had an enormous influence over him.

“I didn't do anything to her. I never did...”

I tried to push Kael away, but failed. In an instant, he had pulled me toward him, pinning me against the wall. His terrifying dominance made it difficult for me to breathe.

“Silence!” he growled.

My entire body trembled violently, and my head began to spin.

“You spread rumors about her being an escort and stealing someone else's husband on the internet. You hurt her, Noira!”

My eyes widened. Whenever something involved Eve, he always found a way to drag me into it. Every time he accused me like this, another piece of me shattered.

I slowly shook my head, unable to believe this man could be so foolish. With his position, he could investigate anything he wanted, yet he immediately believed everything Eve told him.

Not because he was incapable of finding the truth, but because he loved that woman too much.

“I never did that.”

“Liar!”

I could barely breathe. He unleashed the full force of his wolf's power, as though he intended to kill me.

Perhaps this time, he really would kill me over those accusations. When I was the one who had suffered so much all this time simply because I loved him.

Standing before him in my weakened state, I couldn't help but smirk. This man didn't deserve the sincerity of my love.

“Kael... you're truly pathetic...”

My mocking words only made his oppressive dominance grow stronger.

“You will apologize in front of everyone, Noira.” He commanded.

Clenching my fists tightly, I tried to endure the situation. But with my body already so weak, my vision quickly began to blur.

As Kael tightened his grip around my hand and continued forcing me to make a public apology, I could no longer hear his words. Eventually, I collapsed and lost consciousness.

When I regained consciousness, Kael was nowhere beside me. The room felt terribly empty.

I remained silent for a moment, staring at the bedroom ceiling as that familiar sadness crept back into my heart. I hurriedly wiped away the tears threatening to fall.

I had no more tears left for him.

My phone rang. With unsteady steps, I picked it up, catching a glimpse of my deathly pale reflection in the mirror.

“Hello?” My voice was terribly hoarse.

“Noira, I'm already here. You've prepared everything, haven't you?”

Hearing her cheerful voice brought a smile to my face. I nodded, even though my head was throbbing with pain.

“Yes. I'll see you soon.”

The call ended. I let out a sigh as I glanced at the suitcase that was already packed and waiting for me. Our divorce papers had also been prepared.

A week ago, I had asked Kael to sign them when he was in a hurry to meet Eve.

He hadn't even bothered to read them before signing. Seeing how carelessly he had acted, it was clear that he thought nothing of anything concerning me.

I finally took a step toward the exit, ready to leave this house. But just as I did, a car pulled up in front of me. Kael stepped out, walking hand in hand with Eve.

His eyes landed on me and the suitcase beside me, and he looked visibly surprised.

“Where are you going, Noira?”

“Didn't you want me to stop getting in the way of your relationship?”

Unexpectedly, Kael seemed interested in my affairs. He even released Eve's arm and stepped toward me.

“What do you mean, Noira? Is this your way of throwing a tantrum?”

His cold voice was laced with anger. He was still accusing me, as always.

But I answered casually, “You can think of it that way.”

I saw Kael's hand move as if he were about to take my suitcase, but he stopped when Eve's voice came from beside him.

“Noira... Are you going to spread rumors about me again?”

She looked at me with eyes full of sorrow, as though I had just attacked her. Then she wiped at her tear-filled eyes.