Chapter 5

Ceres's POV

Richard abruptly hung up after saying his piece. I stared blankly at the cellphone, completely gobsmacked by his words. Did he despise me so much that he would actually take it out on all the members of staff in my department?

“What’s wrong, babe? What did he say?”

Jasmine asked.

I tilted my head in her direction and told her exactly what Richard had said.

Anger flared in her eyes. “Has he gone nuts? What kind of a man is that, Ceres? How did you ever get yourself to fall in love with a narcissist like him?”

I drew in a deep breath and exhaled.

“You’ll have to head back to your apartment, babe. I need to go sort this out,” I said.

“No way! I’m coming with you!” Jasmine's anger was palpable.

I held her hand and pleaded, “Please, babe, let me do this by myself. I’ll see you in a few hours, alright?”

She heaved a sigh and reluctantly agreed. “Alright, but if you need me, don’t hesitate to call.”

I nodded with a smile and left her car, then hailed a taxi. I arrived at Winston’s Corporation in less than an hour. After paying the driver, I made my way into the towering skyscraper that loomed over the city.

Earlier, I had called that particular reporter, knowing he would contact Richard and report me to him. I had done it in hopes of getting Richard to come to the court. Little did I know he would instead threaten to fire my subordinates if I didn't shoe up to work.

I walked through the glass doors with my head held high. The members of staff froze when they saw me. None of them had expected me to show up so soon, especially with all the rumors swirling about my marital troubles with their Alpha. The gossip had spread like wildfire.

My sharp ears picked up on their whispers.

“Luna Ceres really has no shame coming to work after all her secrets have been brought to light,” one said.

“She actually looks different in that sexy knee-length gown she’s wearing,” another added.

“She’s probably trying to compete with the Alpha’s new mistress—you know, the mother of his illegitimate son.”

Their hurtful words were like a sharp dagger piercing through my soul, but I chose to ignore them. Instead, I focused on the reason I was there.

Without wasting time, I stormed up to Richard's office, clutching the divorce papers and my resignation letter tightly in my hands. I wasn’t here for pleasantries. I wanted out of this pack and this toxic bond as soon as possible.

When I got to Richard's office, I didn’t bother knocking. I just pushed the door open and let myself in with the force of a storm.

What I saw made my blood boil.

Anita was hugging Richard tightly, her blue eyes tearful. As soon as she saw me, she smiled and sniffled, hugging Richard even tighter. It appeared as though Richard was offering her some comfort and solace.

“Pretentious fox!” Elsa, my wolf, snarled in my head.

I clenched my fists in fury. I didn’t expect to see her here, but then again, it wasn’t all that surprising since they had a child together.

Richard, who had his back to me, sensed my presence and tilted his head in my direction. His eyes were cold as he stared at me.

Gradually releasing Anita from his embrace, he turned fully, facing me.

I stepped forward, my lips curling in disdain as I spoke in a sharp voice. “I had originally intended to conclude the divorce proceedings first before tendering my resignation letter, but it appears I’ll have to do the latter first.”

Richard’s blue eyes turned icy cold as he glared at me, his hands sliding into his pant pockets. His perfectly pressed shirt and composed demeanor only added to the frigid aura surrounding him.

“Aren’t you worried that your little stunt will cost your team their positions?” he asked, his tone dripping with indifference.

Was he seriously still pulling that card—firing my team members, knowing I’d trained them myself and cared deeply about them?

I scoffed and raised a brow, my defiance unshaken as I replied, “If you fire them, I’ll take every single one of them with me. They deserve far better than to serve under someone like you.”

The room fell into a tense silence for a moment.

My eyes shifted to Anita, who had averted her gaze and was smiling faintly. When her gaze met mine again, she grabbed her bag from the desk, pulled out a velvet box, and approached me.

“Ceres,” she said softly, “I found out quite late yesterday that it was the third anniversary of your mating ceremony with Richard. I’m sorry he was busy taking care of Lucky and me to even remember.”

A wicked smile flashed across her face. “But don’t worry. I went with him to a jewelry store yesterday evening to pick out this gift for you. I hope you like it.”

Now standing just a few inches from me, she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear. “By the way, I have a necklace just like this one. Richard picked it out for me first.”

Elsa, my wolf surged angrily within me, wanting to surface as rage coursed through my entire being.

Anita stared at me intently, her sinister smile clearly a bid to provoke me further. Then, with a dramatic jerk, she extended her hand, presenting the gift.

Richard had prepared a gift with her and even gotten her the same one? The absurdity of it made me feel sick, as though I’d stepped into the filthiest den imaginable.

Without hesitation, I knocked the box out of Anita’s hands, the sharp sound of it hitting the floor echoing in the room.

“Save it, Anita,” I said coldly. “I know exactly the kind of snake you are, and I don’t need any gift from either of you.”

Anita’s eyes widened, tears springing to them as she sobbed. “I know you’re angry with me because of what happened yesterday, and I totally understand, but please don’t take it out on my innocent child, Lucky. Please take him into his father’s pack and raise him as your own child.”

Her sobs grew louder, filling the room.

Richard glared at me coldly. “What are you doing, Ceres?”

His eyes shifted to the gift box on the floor, then back to Anita, who was still sobbing. His gaze turned on me, fierce and angry.

“How dare you try to bully her right in front of me?”

Anita immediately went to him, clinging to his arm, her eyes filled with tears as she whimpered, “Ceres has every right to be mad at me, Richard. It doesn’t matter if she doesn’t like the gift I chose for her. All I beg is for her to treat our child, Lucky, like her own. I never intended to ruin your marriage.”

Richard’s blue eyes glinted with cold fury as he turned his gaze on me, his expression unreadable but charged with authority.

I folded my arms, watching Anita’s pitiful display with a mix of disgust and dark amusement. I couldn’t help but be impressed by how skilled she was at playing the victim card.

A few seconds later, I said in an icy tone, glaring at Anita, “You became Richard’s mistress, bore an illegitimate child, and now you’re pretending to be the victim? It’s almost impressive how shameless you are.”

Her pale face became even more ashen, and she leaned weakly against Richard’s chest, sobbing profusely.

Richard’s jaw tightened, and his angry eyes glared at me as he warned in a low and menacing tone, “Watch it, Ceres! Don’t be harsh toward Anita. She is not the other woman. You’d better show her some respect!”

His words struck me like a blow, but I refused to flinch. Instead, I let out a bitter laugh, my sharp gaze locking onto Richard’s. “Respect her? Does she even deserve it?”

My words were laced with venom, but my heart ached seeing the man I once loved defending Anita as though she were his mate and priority. That made me feel like the villain who had intruded on their union.

An unreadable emotion flashed across his eyes. Anita’s pathetic sobs, which had grown louder, drew his attention back to her, and I could tell in that moment that he felt sorry for her.

His gaze shifted back to mine, and he ordered in a firm voice, “Apologize to Anita now!”

I scoffed in disbelief. “Apologize?” I asked, utterly surprised. Had I perhaps heard him correctly? Did he really just ask me to apologize to his mistress?

I was still trying to wrap my head around that when Anita, the opportunist, took a cup from the desk and approached me. I wondered what she was about to do.

In a sweet, small voice, she said, “Ceres, I should be the one apologizing to you.”

She extended the cup toward me. There was coffee inside. I saw through her ploy before she could carry it out. She wanted to douse me with the coffee.

In an instant, my primal instincts kicked in, and I dodged backward with a fluidity that was almost unnatural, avoiding the spill. Anger coursed through me, and without thinking twice, I landed a resounding slap across Anita’s face.

Clap!

The slap echoed through the room, followed by the sharp sound of the cup shattering on the floor.

Anita staggered, her head snapping to the side, as a red welt bloomed across her pale cheek. Tears streamed down her face as she covered the mark with trembling fingers, her wide eyes filling with terror…