The Betrayal

CHAPTER FOUR

THE BETRAYAL

Sophie’s POV

I left the pack healer’s palace with the contract still fresh in my mind.

I had agreed to stay in this strange place for one month and become Magnus’s contract wife, something I still couldn’t believe I had actually agreed to. The entire situation felt ridiculous, but I kept reminding myself why I had done it.

The hockey final.

That was the only reason I needed to stay.

I had promised my team that I would lead them through the championship, and I wasn’t going to let everything we had worked for disappear because of what had happened tonight.

I had barely taken a few steps when Magnus’s voice stopped me.

“The contract is ready.”

I turned around and saw him standing near the entrance of the healer’s palace with a few sheets of paper in his hand.

“What contract?”

“The one you just agreed to.”

He held it out to me.

“You need to read it before you sign.”

I took the papers from him and looked down at them.

There were so many words that my head was already beginning to ache, and after everything that had happened, the last thing I wanted was to stand there reading a long contract.

“I already agreed to one month.”

“Then reading it should not be a problem.”

His voice was cold, and there was no patience in his expression.

I sighed and looked through the pages without actually reading them properly.

I knew what I had agreed to. One month. Contract wife. Hockey final.

That was enough. I signed my name at the bottom and handed the papers back to him.

Magnus looked at the signature before taking the contract from my hand.

I turned to leave, then stopped. “There is one thing I want to say.”

He looked at me. “My colleagues must be safe while I’m here.”

“They were safe before you asked, and they will remain safe.”

I studied his face, trying to understand whether he was serious.

He looked completely calm.

I nodded. “Fine.”

I turned again. 

“You need to come back.”

I stopped. “What?”

“This will be your place  from now on.”

I slowly turned toward him. “My house?”

“My palace.”

I stared at him. “I thought I would return to the guesthouse.”

“You won’t.”

“Why?”

“Because it is in the contract.”

I looked down at the papers in his hand. “I didn’t even read it.”

“That was your choice.”

I couldn’t believe this man. “You knew I hadn’t read it, and you still let me sign it?”

“I told you to read it.”

My anger rose. “You are unbelievable.”

He didn’t react. “You agreed to the contract.  The terms remain the same whether you bothered to read them or not.”

I stared at him for several seconds before turning away. “I need to check on my team.”

“You can do that, but you will return before nightfall.”

I didn’t answer him, I walked away before he could say anything else, I needed to see the others, I needed to know whether practice had continued without me, and I needed to make sure everyone was prepared for the final.

As I approached the hockey area, I could already hear voices coming from the rink.

For a moment, I felt relieved.

At least something was normal.

I walked closer. Then I stopped.

My entire body went still.

Rolan was kissing Chloe. I stared at them from a distance, unable to understand what I was seeing.

My boyfriend, the man I had trusted.

The man who had watched a rogue attack me and told him to take me instead.

He was kissing Chloe as though there was nothing wrong with it. I waited for them to notice me.

When they finally did, neither of them looked surprised.

Rolan slowly pulled away from Chloe and looked directly at me.

There was no guilt on his face, no fear.

Not even the smallest sign that he was ashamed of what I had just seen.

Chloe folded her arms and looked me over.

Rolan gave a small smile. “So the rogue spared you after all.”

My chest tightened. “You thought 

He shrugged. “I thought  what?”

“You knew he was going to take me.”

Rolan looked at Chloe before turning his attention back to me. “He wanted someone, and I made sure it wasn’t me.”

My hands began to shake. “I thought you would be sorry”

“Sorry?”

The way he said it made my stomach twist.

I stared at Chloe. “How long has this been happening?”

Neither of them answered immediately.

Then Chloe smiled. “You really don’t know?”

I looked at Rolan again. “How long?”

He didn’t look away. “We have been together since the city.”

My heart dropped. “Since the city?”

Chloe stepped closer to him and slipped her arm around his waist. “Yes, Sophie. This didn’t start tonight.”

I stared at them. All the small things I had ignored suddenly returned to me.

The late-night messages, the excuses.

The way Rolan always seemed to find a reason to leave whenever Chloe was around.

The way they sometimes became quiet when I approached. I had thought I was imagining things, I hadn’t been.

“How long were you planning to keep lying to me?”

Rolan shrugged again. “I didn’t think there was any reason to tell you.”

I felt my eyes burn.

“You were sleeping with my friend behind my back.”

Chloe laughed. “Friend?” She looked at Rolan. “She really thought we were friends.”

Rolan smiled. “You were always too trusting, Sophie.”

I swallowed the pain in my throat.

“So that’s why you told the rogue to take me?”

Rolan’s expression remained cold. “What did you expect me to do?”

“You could have helped me.”

“I wasn’t going to die for you.”

His answer came without hesitation.

I stared at him.

The man I had loved had just admitted that he was willing to sacrifice me without feeling guilty about it.

Chloe leaned closer to him. “You should be happy he even gave you a chance to leave with your life.”

I looked at her in disbelief.

“You knew what he was doing.”

She smiled. “Of course I knew.”

I felt something inside me break.

They weren’t sorry.

Neither of them.

They had been together since the city, had lied to me all this time, and when the chance came to save themselves, they had both been willing to let me be taken.

I wiped my eyes before the tears could fall.

“I hate both of you.”

Rolan laughed softly.

“You’ll get over it.”

I looked at him one last time.

I had spent months believing he was the person I would build my future with, only to discover that he had already chosen someone else long before tonight.

The worst part wasn’t even seeing him with Chloe.

It was realizing that I had trusted someone who had never deserved my trust.

I turned away from them.

For the first time since arriving in this strange place, I didn’t want to return to the city.

I didn’t want to see Rolan again, I didn’t want to explain myself to Chloe, I only wanted to leave them behind.

Then I remembered the contract.

One month. I had agreed to stay.

And whether I liked it or not, I now had a new place to return to. Magnus’s palace.