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Chapter 2

Author: Candy Rabbit
As night settled in, Carl wrapped his arms around me and drifted off without a care.

But I lay there wide awake, breathing in his familiar scent while the conversation I'd overheard that day played on a loop in my head. I didn't open my eyes until I was sure he'd already left the next morning.

It was just a short walk from the bedroom to the study. Inside, he kept only things that had to do with me. From our first anniversary to my last birthday, every little keepsake was carefully arranged.

Anyone who saw it would've said he adored me. But only I knew about the diary tucked away in the drawer's hidden compartment. It was a diary that wasn't mine.

Carl told me that when he was drunk. That night, he kept repeatedly apologizing, his face tight with guilt. But back then, I was too caught up in him to think twice about it.

By morning, he'd forgotten he ever said a word.

I slid open the hidden compartment and brushed the dust off the diary. The lock was intricate—proof of how much its owner valued whatever was inside.

I never thought the code-breaking I'd learned from some old man back in my Rogue days would come in handy now.

The lock clicked open, and I flipped to the first page. There, in Carl's bold, forceful handwriting, was a name—Fiona.

The first ten pages were filled with nothing but his love for her. Between the lines, every word felt deliberate, burning with passion yet laced with hesitation.

It was a side of Carl I'd never seen before. This wasn't the Alpha of the Eastlands or the man who held life and death in his hands.

With me, he'd always been composed. I thought that was maturity and that he'd simply grown out of the wild passion of his youth.

But the truth was, he just didn't love me enough.

The last page was a mess of frantic writing.

"Someone tried to kill Fiona. She was right all along. No one tied to the seat of power should ever have a mate. I have to get her out of here. It's too dangerous."

After that, the journal entries became scattered.

"She's so easy to deceive. A few sweet words, a couple of carefully placed lies, and she follows blindly."

"I thought about Fiona again today. Poor thing actually believed I was talking about her. Fine. I'll let her believe it, as long as Fiona stays safe."

"If she ever ends up as my mate, she probably won't even care if someone tries to kill her. She's just an Omega and a former Rogue."

"The Moon Goddess will curse me for this, but the abduction went exactly as I planned. The trauma will keep her close. She'll never walk away from me now. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

I covered my eyes, flustered and afraid the tears would spill. A heavy ache rolled through my chest. So, the one Carl wanted beside him in the light was never me.

All our happiness—our meeting, our love, and the bond we shared as mates—was never real. It was just a beautiful illusion I'd crafted for myself from the start.

I closed the diary and tucked it carefully back into its hiding place. It wasn't until I'd left the study that I finally let the tears fall.

I curled in on myself, like I'd slipped back to those days when I was just a Rogue scraping by in the Borderlands.

The memory of my first abduction flashed through my mind.

Back then, Carl and I were still deeply in love. I'd just been discharged from the hospital and was bursting to tell him the news—I was carrying his pup. But the moment I got into the car, everything went dark.

Later, those Rogues dragged me across the floor. The cold and the relentless torture were too much, so I lost the pup that had only just begun to grow inside me.

By the time Carl burst in and pulled me into his arms, all that was left was the blur of my fading consciousness and the blood soaking through my clothes.

It was around that time that I developed something like a psychological dependency. I couldn't stand being away from Carl for long. The healer said I needed constant companionship and reassurance from my mate.

The torture had left lasting damage to my body, too. It meant I'd never be able to carry a pup of my own again. Carl comforted me back then, saying it didn't matter if we couldn't have pups.

But now, I see the truth—he never wanted a pup with me to begin with. He was the one who stole that future from me. What I mistook for love and salvation was nothing more than a carefully crafted lie.

"My mate betrayed me! He lied to me! This can't be forgiven!" my wolf howled in fury.

Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through my chest, knocking the breath from my lungs. My body went haywire out of my control. I collapsed onto the bed, convulsing violently.

And yet, in the heart of that agony, my mind grew eerily still. Every moment I'd ever shared with Carl played on a loop, refusing to let go.

For five long years, I'd survived one assassination attempt after another, each time barely making it out alive. And every time, Carl had rushed in to save me, even if it meant getting hurt himself.

His fear for me had been real because if I died, all that danger would shift to the one he truly loved—Fiona.

My hands trembled as I pulled up Carl's transaction records from the past few years. He ran a jewelry business in the Borderlands, and every single gift he'd ever given me had come from there.
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    Carl wouldn't stop calling in the days that followed, but I let every call go to voicemail. Eventually, he started writing to me in any way he could.There were always these wide-eyed pups who'd show up with his letters and read them to me. Professor Reed had taken them in, and they were like me, Rogues born from the Borderlands.Carl said he'd loved me all along and that he just hadn't realized it until now. He said he couldn't sleep without seeing me and that somehow, I'd become woven into his everyday and very being.It made me sick to hear it.At first, I had the pups write him back, telling him to leave me alone and that there was nothing left between us. After that, I just shut myself off from the world.I threw myself into studying medicinal herbs with Professor Reed, and we worked on new potions. The days dragged by peacefully. I thought I'd never see Carl again. But I did, one year later, at his funeral."Can you believe Alpha Carl's gone? He was so young.""Right?

  • Cherished and Chased Away   Chapter 8

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    Carl felt like a boulder was pressing down on his chest. He'd never stopped to think about how I felt. Now that I was gone, the regret finally sank in.Little by little, the memory of our first meeting crept back into his mind.I told him, bouquet in hand, that all I ever wanted was a quiet life—simple meals, calm days, a few cats, and a place by the sea where I could watch the sun go down and study medicinal herbs occasionally.But after we got together, that life never came even once.…The castle was deathly quiet at night. Carl drank alone, one bottle after another.He kept checking his phone and scrolling through old messages he used to find annoying. Now, they felt like rare treasures he couldn't stop rereading.For days, the only calls he'd answer were the ones about me. He even hung up on Fiona without a second thought.Then came a report from one of his men—the last message sent from my deactivated number had gone to Fiona.Carl's instincts went on high alert. He knew

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    After Axel left, Carl sat alone in the deathly quiet castle hall.That rough little collection of jewelry, all thrown together from scraps, had somehow become the last thing he had to cling to me.He reached out and touched the jewelry, but jerked his hand back suddenly. It was as though my love was still burning in every piece and had scorched him.The pages of the diary fluttered as the wind turned them, one by one.A vision blurred into focus in Carl's eyes. It was me, standing in the study, as I became overwhelmed with despair the moment I saw the diary."Daisy, why didn't I see it sooner? All those years, all those days and nights, I was already in love with you. I just kept lying to myself. And I hurt you because of it," Carl murmured.Tears spilled down his cheeks. He buried his head in his hands, choking on regret and grief. He'd rip his old self apart in a heartbeat if it could undo the damage.But it was too late.…By the time Carl's men got to the airport, my plane

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    Fiona picked the meeting spot—the biggest five-star restaurant in all of Eastlands. From behind the privacy screen, I heard the sound of ragged breathing."Will you just listen to me? It's not safe being around me."I'd seen Carl in all kinds of moods, but I'd never heard him sound so helpless."I missed you too much, Carl. I'm about to bond with someone else, and you still won't even look at me. Have you really fallen for her? That Rogue you dragged in from the Borderlands?" Fiona accused."Don't be ridiculous. Everything I've done was to keep you safe."They whispered sweet nothings until Carl finally pulled away, reluctant to leave. He was always on edge, but this time, he hadn't even noticed the extra presence just beyond the screen.Fiona stepped out from behind the screen, her eyes gleaming with the smug satisfaction of someone who knew she'd already won.Her skin glowed, her outfit flowed with effortless grace, and every move she made carried a quiet, confident allure. Ev

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