Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Mill Brook City 

SERAPHINA 

FIVE YEARS LATER

The familiar antiseptic smell that was generally associated with the halls of Millbrook General Hospital clung to my scrubs as I made my way through the nurses' station, checking charts of my patients for the last time as I was preparing to finish my shift.

"Sarah," called Jessica, one of the younger nurses who'd started working here about a year ago. She was a very jovial and cheerful woman who loves listening to gossip and crushing on men that were so far up her level.

"Are you sticking around for the gossip session? We've got some premium drama today."

I glanced up from the medication cart I'd been organizing, raising an eyebrow in amusement and a bit of disbelief.

"Drama? In our little town? I find that hard to believe."

"Oh, trust me," Jessica said with a grin that promised juicy details. "This is the kind of stuff that makes reality TV look boring. It's about your husband."

My blood went cold, but I kept my expression neutral. After five years of living as Sarah Mills, wife of Alpha Marcus Sullivan, I'd gotten very good at controlling my reactions and not showing any one my real emotions unless I wanted them to.

 "Marcus? What about him?"

"Well," Jessica leaned in as she lowered her voice even though we were the only ones in the station, "apparently he's been keeping secrets. Big ones."

Before I could ask what she meant, Donna, the head nurse, as she rushed over with her arms full of charts and her face flushed with excitement and possibly from running through the long hallway, to find me.

"Oh my god, Sarah, you haven't heard? Your husband is all over social media right now. The whole town's talking about it."

My stomach dropped at this, but I forced myself to remain calm. "Talking about what?"

"The airport!" Donna practically squealed as she kept jumping on her feet.

 "He was at the airport today with the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen. The pictures are everywhere and the comments are so positive. A lot of people are very jealous as well. Apparently, he surprised her with sixteen thousand roses arranged to spell out her name. Elena, I think it was? The whole arrival gate was changed into some kind of romantic wonderland."

I felt my legs grow weak but I but I managed to keep my voice steady. "I think there's been some mistake. Marcus told me he was visiting a home patient today."

Jessica and Donna exchanged looks that made me look worried for a moment,that made them look bad for me. 

"Oh honey," Jessica said with the kind of pity that made my skin crawl from disgust.

"There's no mistake. The pictures are all over I*******m and F******k. #AirportSurprise is trending locally."

My hands were shaking as I reached for my phone, but I forced myself to remain calm as I wasn't going to break down in front of them. This has to be some kind of elaborate prank that Marcus was doing. "Well, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Marcus wouldn't—"

"Wouldn't what?" Donna interrupted gently. "Honey, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the woman? She's gorgeous. Like, model gorgeous. And the way he's looking at her in the pictures..." She trailed off, her expression full of sympathy.

I mumbled something about needing to finish my rounds and practically fled from the' station, my heart was beating so fast that I was sure everyone could hear it. 

Once I was safely locked in the supply closet, I pulled out my phone with shaky hands as I scrolled for my husband's contact.

Marcus answered on the second ring, his voice distracted. "Sarah? What's up? I'm kind of busy right now."

"Hey," I said, trying to sound cheerful as I spoke. "I just wanted to check on you. How's the home patient visit going?"

There was a pause that lasted just a heartbeat too long. "It's... fine. Taking longer than expected, though. You know how these things go."

"Of course," I said, even though I could hear voices in the background, it was the sound of feminine laughter that made my stomach turn with nausea.

 "Well, I'll have dinner ready when you get home. I was thinking of making that pasta dish you like."

"Don't bother," Marcus said quickly as he seemed in a hurry to end the call. "I'll probably be late. Really late. Don't wait up for me."

"But Marcus—"

"I have to go, Sarah. The patient needs attention."

"I love you," I said, but the line had already gone dead.

My hands were shaking as I opened I*******m, and what I saw there made me lose my breath. There was Marcus, my husband of five years, standing in the middle of Millbrook's tiny airport with his arms wrapped around a woman who looked like she'd stepped out of a magazine.

 She was very pretty and slender with a body figure that would make men go to war for.

But it wasn't just her appearance that made me feel dread. It was the way Marcus was looking at her. He was looking at her with pure adoration that I had never seen him look at me with before.

The roses were everywhere, thousands of red blooms arranged in perfect cursive letters that spelled out "ELENA" across the arrival gate. 

The caption under the photo read: " Alpha Marcus Sullivan welcomes back his first love with the most romantic airport surprise Millbrook has ever seen! #TrueLove #AirportSurprise #SecondChances"

I scrolled through the comments, each one hurting me more than the last one:

"OMG, she's so lucky! I wish my husband would do something like this for me!"

"Wait, isn't he married to that nurse? The quiet one?"

"Apparently, she's just his legal wife. Elena's his chosen mate. There's a difference."

"Poor Sarah. She has no idea what's coming."

My phone slipped from my fingers, making a noise as it fell to the supply closet floor. Five years. Five years of marriage, of believing that Marcus's quiet affection was more than enough. And it was the only way that he showed love. That he wasn't one for romantic moments like this.

I'd been such a fool.

The girl who'd run from an altar to avoid a loveless marriage had somehow managed to trap herself in one anyway. The only difference was that this time, I entered it willingly, like the fool I was, thinking it was love.

My wolf began to move restlessly beneath my skin, feeling agitated as the full implications of what I had seen was beginning to sink in.

Marcus hadn't just lied about where he was—he'd planned an elaborate romantic gesture for another woman while his wife was in the hospital, thinking about what to cook for him for dinner.

The supply closet suddenly felt too small, like it was closing up on me. I needed to get out of here.

I needed to go home and pretend I hadn't seen anything until I could figure out how to handle this situation. 

The careful and happy life I'd built as Sarah Mills was falling apart around me, and for the first time in five years, I found myself wondering if running away from that altar had been the biggest mistake of my life.