01. The Betrayal

ARIELLA…..

I have spent three days planning a birthday surprise for Vaughn. I even baked his favorite chocolate hazelnut cake the way he liked it. The icing was a mess, but it didn't matter. He always said he loves the cake I made for him with lots of love. I picked up his favorite bourbon then cake and left the house. Vaghun lives three floors above me.

A smile wasn't leaving my lips thinking about Vaughn’s reaction when I surprised him. I balanced the cake box and the whiskey bottle in one hand, my heart fluttering as I inserted the password on the lock and the door opened.

He had no idea I was coming. I wanted to see his face light up when he saw me standing there, candles burning, grinning like a fool in the dark. He might be sleeping on his stomach shirtless. I might go and kiss him to wake him up from his sleep.

I entered the house and the first thing caught my attention was a pair of shining red stilettoes sat neatly on the mat.

High heels!

Not mine.

Not anything I’d ever wear.

My smile faltered. I blinked, waiting for some context to catch up to me, for some rational explanation to slide into place, but nothing came.

Suddenly I felt an extreme pain in my heart, my right hand clutched my heart. I tolerated the pain and stepped inside slowly, my shoes silent on the hardwood. The lights were off in the hallway, but faint sounds, low, rhythmic, unmistakable, bled from the bedroom.

My stomach twisted. I didn’t want to go further. But my legs moved anyway. I was shaking before I even reached the bedroom. My hands were shaking, my throat was closing, making it hard to breathe. My heart was beating wildly against my ribcage.

As soon as I reached in front of the bedroom I felt the pain in my heart again. And it came with full force, making me grit my teeth. I huffed, taking in as much air as possible but no use this time the pain only intensified.

I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from screaming. I didn't want to grab their attention. Not now. But the pain was becoming more and more unbearable with each passing second. My right hand was clutching my heart tightly while I held the wall with my left hand on to the wall, trying to keep myself up, and forced my feet to walk towards the door.

I think I knew what was going inside the bedroom but I wanted to confirm by seeing with my own eyes.

The door was cracked open.

I saw skin. Her back. His hands. Their rhythm. My fingers flew to my mouth and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as I stared at the scene in disgust.

The girl was none other than Vaughn’s personal assistant, Chloe Blake.

I couldn’t breathe. My throat closed around some silent scream that refused to come out. The cake box slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a muffled thud.

He didn’t notice. Neither did she.

That bed. That fucking bed, we picked it out together And I paid for it. It still had the throw pillow I bought last week.

My heart didn’t just break. It shattered into pieces. All I could feel was the ringing in my ears, and this dull, hollow ache spreading through my chest like smoke.

I didn’t cry. Not yet. There wasn’t even space for tears. Just a quiet, violent kind of disbelief.

I backed away, still silent.

Chloe was standing on all fours on the bed as Vaughn violently thrust into her.

IN OUR FUCKING BED.

“Yes, baby, yes." Chloe panted.

“Harder baby, harder." She screamed loudly as his cock dug deeper into her as he obeyed her request.

“Yes, yes, yeesss!" She shouted with pure ecstasy

Vaughn cried out his orgasm, my heart shattered into a million pieces. Soon Chloe reached her climax and both laid on the bed.

“It’s the best birthday gift I have ever had. You always know how to satisfy a man.” I felt sour in my mouth hearing his words.

"Unlike your Mate. She must be boring as hell. You can tell that just by looking at her face.” Chloe giggled and curled up in Vaughn's arms. Her words made my blood boil in rage. How dare she sleep with my man and insult me?

“Come on, you know I never fucked her.” Vaughn scoffed at her.

"Is that why you are marrying her? Because she's a Virgin?” Chloe pouted while drawing circles on his bare chest with her finger.

“I'm marrying her because she's my mate. And I must marry my fated Mate if I want to be the Alpha." Vaughn explained to her and a bitter scoff left my mouth.

“Will you leave me after marrying her?" She pouted at him.

“No, you will be my mistress forever. After Ariella gives me my son, I will never touch her again.”

I don't remember breathing. I don't remember thinking. Something inside me just snapped.

I screamed. Loud and sharp.

“GET THE FUCK OFF HER, VAGHUN!"

He flinched and pulled away from her. They both looked at me in shock. My hands turned into balls. My throat burned from screaming.

“Ariella!" He quickly shuffled off the bed and marched towards me.

I didn't even know what I was saying. Words poured out like fire and acid.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU LIAR! YOU CHEAT! YOU PIECE OF SHIT! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME? HOW?"

I couldn't stop screaming. Tears were streaming down my face. My whole body was shaking so violently it felt like I was going to fall apart. Like I might die from how much it hurts.

“I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING!” I sobbed.

"I loved you. I trusted you. Is this what you rewarded for my love and trust? I'm your fucking Mate, Vaughn. How can you cheat on me for a mare assistant?” I roared at him.

“Ariella, please listen to me. Let me expl…..” He tried to speak but I cut in.

“SHUT UP! I screamed, my voice cracking hard. " Don't say a word. Don't you dare say a single fucking word to me.”

My gaze fell on the nightstand where the picture of us stood. I walked over it, grabbed it and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the closet door. Glass rained down on the floor.

My action scared both of them. Chloe let out a scream in fear when I broke our couple photo. I snapped my head towards her and pinned her with my deadly stare.

“How can you seduce someone else's man, bitch? Don't you know that I'm Vaughn’s fated mate?” I screamed at her.

“Mate?" She laughed at my words and she stepped closer to me.

“He might be your Mate but I have his heart." She smirked maliciously at me.

"BITCH!" I hollered as my palm connected hard and loud against her cheek, making her head jerk to the side from the impact and she stumbled backwards.

“Chloe, are you okay?" Vaughn rushed to her side.

"No,” She whimpered and he pulled her in his arms, holding her protectively.

A bitter laugh left my mouth seeing his concern for her. And I backed away, stumbling, gasping for air.

“You are such an asshole, Vaughn. I'm your Mate but you care about this bitch more." I scoffed at him.

I pointed at the floor where the cake box was lying. “I bought a cake to surprise you.” I said, blinking fast, wiping my tears that wouldn't stop falling.

“I baked the cake myself, worked on it for hours. I was gonna surprise you but you shocked me.” I laughed like a maniac. Then I looked at him, blankly. Something inside me was dead.

"You looked me in the eyes this morning." I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “You kissed me. You said you love me. I meant the world to you. You will make me your Luna once your father announces you as the Alpha of the Green Jade Pack. And then you did this to me? All your words were lies? All your promises were only hollow promises?”

I started crying harder. My legs nearly gave out. I grabbed the edge of the wall just to stay upright.

“I hate you. You are the worst thing that ever happened to me. I wish I never met you. You are the worst regret of my life. Fuck you," I snarled at him and pulled out the ring he gave me a long time ago as the engagement ring and threw at Chloe.

“Take this. You both deserve each other. I should thank you for taking this trash away from me. Or my life would be ruined in the future.” saying that I turned to leave.

“Don’t give me this attitude, Ariella. Do you think you are any princess?" My step halted in the air at his words.

"Don't forget, you are just a lowly orphaned omega. You should be grateful to me that I want to make you my Luna. You have no one except me. How will you survive without me?”

I turned around to face him. A mocking smirk playing on my lips. "So considerate of you, Mr. Vaughn Collins.” My smile died and I stared at him with my deadly stare.

"I would rather die on the street than be your Luna. You think I'm nothing without you?” I laughed humorously.

"You are nothing without me. If your company is doing well in these three years then it's all because of me. Without my help you could never reach where you are today.” Hearing my words both of them started laughing, making me confused.

“You are so funny, Ariella. Do you think you are some hidden billionaire? You think, what am I today is all because of you? Oh Ariella, you are so delusional!”

"Let me tell you a secret, behind my success it isn't you. It's Chloe. She's not any mere assistant but a real princess. She's the daughter of Nathan Davenport. Princess of Davenport family. She has been helping me secretly. That secret investor who has been investing in my company all these years is also her. She's the one who got me the hundred million dollars contract that I'm going to sign in some days. Then my father will make me the Alpha of the Green Jade Pack and New CEO of Collins’s Construction.”

He said smugly and I wanted to laugh at him. He really believed that lying bitch.

"Really! You are Miss Davenport!" I asked Chloe who looked smugged.

"Of course. You are nothing in front of me. I deserve to stand beside Vaughn, not a cheap lowly Omega like you.” Chloe said arrogantly.

I looked back at Vaughn. It would be fun to watch your delusional world crumbling down. “Congratulations on signing such a big contract. I wish you success. Goodbye, Vaughn.” I turned on my heels to leave that nasty place that made me feel like throwing up.

“Ariella, don't leave…..” I didn't stop, just stormed outside the apartment and went down to my apartment. I gathered all the things related to Vaughn and threw them in the trash can. I picked up the lighter and put the trash on fire. Burning all the memories we made together gave me a little bit of satisfaction.

“Vaughn Collins, you will realise how foolish you were to cheat on me with that lying bitch when I will pull all my strings from your life. Just wait and watch, how I destroy your life. If I can help you to build your career and success I have the power to ruin it too.” I smiled evilly looking at the fire.

“And I know who can help me to destroy your dream. The one Vaughn hated more than failure itself. I had never met him in person, only seen glimpses of him in photos or heard venomous mentions in Vaughn’s rants.”

“But Zach was smart. Dangerous. Unforgiving. Just like I needed to be now. He's the best candidate to ruin you. You want to become the Alpha of the Green Jade Pack right, in your dreams. I'm going to help your rival, your stepbrother, Zach Killian Winchester to become the next Alpha of the Green Jade Pack. Be ready for your downfall, Vaughn Collins.” I swore determinedly.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and searched for a number that I saved long ago but never thought it would come handy one day.

I sent him a text, “Mr. Winchester. I have a business proposition. One that might interest you, especially if it involves taking everything from your brother.”