Chapter 2

At night, the pain brought on by the betrayal of the mate bond left me lying in bed, unable to recover for a long time.

It was only when the pain finally subsided, and I was drifting into a daze, that Liam returned. He was still carrying Eva's heavy scent on him.

He noticed that a few things were missing from the room, but, of course, he couldn't remember exactly what, not even that I had already thrown out every photo of the two of us.

"You tidied up the room? Darling, you should be resting in bed."

He must have had a very pleasant time with Eva because even his tone was laced with a rare gentleness.

"I'm getting ready to leave," I said quietly.

Instead, he suddenly became agitated. "There's no need to be angry over what happened yesterday. When did you start using this kind of trick to get my attention?"

Seeing that I said nothing, he walked up and yanked my hair hard. He forced me to look into his eyes.

Having just miscarried and suffered through the pain from mate bond, I found the motion even harder to bear. I gasped for breath, trying to ease the pain.

"Lily, Eva is the Beta of this pack. Her importance doesn't need to be explained. Stop throwing tantrums."

Seeing my pale face, Liam sighed.

"Fine. I think you know you were wrong, too. I admit I was at fault in this matter. I should have shown some concern for you as well. I'll go make you your favorite corn soup right now."

I let out a cold laugh. Liam had even forgotten the most basic things. I never drank corn soup. I dislike the taste of corn. The one who liked corn soup was Eva, not me.

Just as Liam was about to head to the kitchen, Eva's mind link came through. A second later, Liam dashed out the door like a madman.

When he returned, Eva was curled up in his arms like an injured kitten. Liam treated her like a precious treasure, gently placing her on the sofa.

She was dressed seductively, her hair carefully styled. It looked slightly messy, just enough to expose her most delicate side. Her eyes were red and swollen, making her look as if she had suffered a terrible injustice.

I pushed myself up and looked at the suggestive atmosphere between them. "Eva came to our house in the middle of the night. Isn't she afraid of ruining her reputation?"

He glared at me in anger. "What nonsense are you spouting? Eva is our pack's Beta. She came to me late at night to deal with matters of the pack. What's the problem?"

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of my lips. "I didn't know handling pack matters required her to dress like that."

At my words, Liam turned his face away. "It was urgent. Dressing like that is perfectly normal."

At that point, it seemed Liam had found a suitable excuse and pointed at me with clear disdain. "Lily, your mind is filthy. You see filth in everything."

Watching Liam argue with me, Eva shrank into the corner of the sofa.

"Lily, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble. It was incredibly quiet at home tonight, and I was too scared to sleep alone. And there was an urgent matter that needed Alpha's attention…"

"There's no need to explain it to her. She doesn't understand anything about pack affairs."

Before Eva could finish, Liam cut her off and led her into the guest room. As he left, the affection in his eyes was something I had never seen before.

That entire night, Liam never came back to check on me. What stayed with me instead was the constant pain of betrayal. So, this was the so-called urgent matter that needed to be dealt with in the guest room.

I let out a bitter laugh. I had once worked hard to become a strong Luna. When I brought it up to Liam, he would teach me day and night, bringing me to the hunting grounds for training.

Until one day, we ran into danger there. He stepped in front of me and said with a fond smile, "As long as I'm here, all you need to do is stay behind me."

At the time, my heart had melted with happiness. But now, my inability to handle affairs had become his reason to belittle me. All night, everything from the past played out in my mind like a movie.

The next morning. I struggled out of the bedroom with my weakened body. The door to the guest room was open. A piece of lacy lingerie lay at the foot of the bed, clearly visible.

I smiled faintly and glanced at the time. It was time to bring this farce to an end.