Chapter 2: Divorce

Haliyah’s POV.

I woke up to a sterile, white ceiling and the smell of antiseptic filling my nose. My head throbbed like it was being squeezed. The light above me was painfully bright, stabbing straight into my eyes. I blinked slowly. For a moment, I thought I was dreaming— or still trapped in that nightmare from earlier.

Then, a shadow moved beside me. A nurse appeared at my bedside. When she saw that I was awake, she stiffened, then forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked down for a second, then back up at me.

“Luna… I’m so sorry,” she murmured.

I blinked at her, confused. My throat felt dry. I swallowed with difficulty.

“What’s wrong?” My voice was weak.

I studied her face, the way her lips pressed together, and how her fingers tightened around the edge of the bed. Even before she spoke again, I already had a feeling about what she was going to say. But I didn’t want to confirm it. I didn’t want to accept it. I didn’t want to hear it.

She took a breath and knelt slightly, placing a hand over mine. “You… You lost your child.”

I pressed a hand against my chest, right over my heart, trying to steady myself, but it was useless. It was like someone had ripped it out and crushed it under their heel. I tried to inhale, but my lungs wouldn’t obey. A piercing, raw pain hit me harder and harder until it hurt to breathe.

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “No…” I whispered, my voice cracking in the middle of the word.

Tears spilled down the sides of my face, soaking into the pillow. I felt my knees give way like they could no longer hold me, and I wanted to curl up into a ball to make the world stop spinning.

“That can’t be true! Please tell me it isn’t! Tell me this isn’t real!” I sobbed.

The nurse moved closer, supporting my back. “I’m so sorry, Luna Haliyah,” she said over and over. “We did everything we could. You lost a lot of blood. Your body was under too much shock.”

Her words passed through me. All I could hear was the pounding of my own heart, and all I could see was the echo of what had happened. It all came flooding back at once. I clenched my fists so hard, the pain in my chest deepening until it hurt to breathe.

The nurse wiped my tears with a tissue. “Please rest now. Your body needs time to recover.”

How was I supposed to recover from this?

My hands slid down to my stomach. It felt empty. Just hours ago, there had been life there.

My child… I didn’t even get to protect you.

“Raven… Cassandra…” I murmured, the names tasting bitter on my tongue. “How could you?”

Tears kept slipping out, one after another. My chest felt torn open. The grief came in waves. I was shattered, yet the anger inside me refused to die.

“I have to go back,” I murmured to myself, my hands still clutching the blanket. “I need to see him. I need to confront him.”

If I didn’t face him now, I knew I never would.

I sat up abruptly and pulled out the IV needle still attached to my hand without hesitation. Pain shot through my arm, and blood seeped out. I didn’t flinch. That pain was nothing compared to what the man I trusted had done to me.

I stood up, my body swaying slightly. The room spun for a moment, but I bit down hard on my lip and forced myself to stay upright.

The nurse rushed toward me. “Luna Haliyah—” she said anxiously. “You’re still too weak. You shouldn’t be moving—”

I didn’t look at her. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and planted my feet on the cold floor. My legs trembled, weak from shock, grief, and the physical toll of the miscarriage.

She seemed like she wanted to help me, but I raised a hand to stop her. She stopped in her tracks, hesitating for a moment.

“Luna Haliyah… please think about your body.”

My lips curved into a bitter smile. “My body already paid the price.”

I took one step forward and began walking. I walked out of the clinic. Every step I took outside felt like torture, yet I forced myself to keep moving anyway.

As I walked through the pack’s streets, the cool air slapped my face, whipping my hair around my cheeks. Pack members slowed down when they saw me. I forced myself not to look at them. My fists were clenched at my sides.

“She’s awake,” a low voice murmured.

“That’s her,” someone else whispered. “The Luna…”

“I heard she lost the child.”

“How pitiful.”

I could feel their eyes on me, glances full of pity. Others didn’t bother to hide their contempt, as if my pain were something they had been waiting to witness. I walked past them all. Their pity and judgment didn’t matter. All that filled my chest was the rage and grief.

The closer I got to the house, the more the memories assaulted me again. I could hear every word, feel every lie, see every betrayal, as if it were happening again right in front of me.

I stumbled and grabbed my abdomen, nearly collapsing onto the sidewalk. I drew in a deep breath and forced myself to straighten, tasting the bitter tang of tears still wet on my lips.

“Raven, I’m coming for you. You’ll feel what it’s like to lose everything the way I have,” I muttered under my breath, the wind carrying my words away.

By the time Cassandra’s residence came into view, I halted immediately. Raven was coming out, and Cassandra was right beside him. She leaned close to him, her hand wrapped around his arm. And between them… was their child.

The boy walked happily between them, his small hands held by both Raven and Cassandra. He looked up at them with bright eyes, smiling wide. Raven lowered his head, his expression softening in a way I hadn’t seen in years.

“Careful,” he said gently. “Watch your step.”

I felt something crack from within me. They laughed together, the three of them looking so complete, like a real family. It was as if I had never existed at all. My feet felt rooted to the ground. My vision blurred, then sharpened painfully.

Cassandra noticed me first. She slowed, her eyes widening in surprise before she carefully hid it. She squeezed Raven’s hand lightly, and he followed her gaze. Our eyes met. For a brief second, something flickered across his face. Shock? Annoyance? Or simply inconvenience? I would never know.

“Haliyah?” Cassandra said, letting go of the child’s hand as she stepped forward. “You’re out already? You don’t look well. I heard you fainted… I was so worried about you.”

She reached out as if to hold my arm. Her filthy fingers almost touched me. I stepped back, and her hand froze mid-air. I stared at her— at the concern she wore like a mask. At the hand that had held my husband only seconds ago.

“How touching,” I let out a sarcastic scoff. “What a coincidence. I feel unwell, yet I still managed to run into you and my husband coming out of the same house… together with a child.”

My voice sounded calm, but every word scraped painfully across my throat. I was holding myself together by a thread. I refused to crumble in front of them. I wouldn’t let them see just how much I was hurting.

Cassandra’s lips parted. “Haliyah, you’re misunderstanding—”

“Am I?” I interrupted.

“It’s not what you think.”

I turned my eyes to Raven. “Oh?” I asked. “Then, why don’t you explain it to me?”

Raven furrowed his brow as if I were being unreasonable. I slowly looked from him, to Cassandra, then down to the child standing behind them, peeking out from his side.

“So this is what you’ve been busy with,” I said with a faint smile. “No wonder you didn’t have time for me.”

“Haliyah, you’re thinking too much,” he replied. “Cassandra is my late brother’s wife. She’s alone now, raising a child by herself. As the Alpha, as her family, it’s my duty to take care of her and the child. That’s all.”

So clean. So noble. I slowly clapped my hands once.

“Wow,” I said, tilting my head. “You’re amazing, Raven.”

His eyes darkened. “Haliyah, there’s nothing improper between us,” he added firmly. “I don’t know why you’d jump to such conclusions.”

I ignored him and took a step closer. The whispers I had heard earlier rang in my ears again, but this time, they didn’t hurt anymore. They only made my blood boil.

I looked Cassandra straight in the eyes. “So, you’re just a poor widow, and my husband is just too kind-hearted to leave you alone?”

She bit her lip, tears spilling over. “Haliyah, please,” she cried. “I know it looks bad, but I swear, Raven never crossed the line. He was only helping me because my marriage was miserable.”

She wiped her tears, looking fragile and pitiful. If I didn’t know the truth, I might have believed her again.

“My husband was gone,” she went on. “I had no one. I was alone. Raven just couldn’t bear to see me suffer.”

I clenched my fists. “That’s why you leaned on him. Day after day. Night after night.”

She shook her head quickly. “No! That’s not what I mean. Haliyah, please don’t be angry. I never wanted to hurt you. You’re my best friend.”

Best friend. The words stabbed deep. I was foolish to hand her the gun, not knowing she would aim it at me behind my back. She traded all the years we spent as friends for a man like him.

Raven let out a tired sigh, as if he were the one being wronged. “Enough,” he said. “She’s already been through a lot. Don’t push her.”

And then, he lifted his arm. He placed it around her shoulders. Cassandra leaned into him immediately, her head lowering, her body trembling against his chest.

“It’s okay,” Raven murmured to her. “Don’t cry.”

That scene burned itself into my eyes. I stared at the two of them standing so close, fitting together so perfectly. Anyone who saw us would think I was the outsider. How ridiculous.

A scoff escaped me, letting my disdain show. “You hold her while telling me there’s nothing going on. Tell me, Raven, have you always been this gentle?”

He finally turned his full attention to me. “You’re being emotional.”

That was always his word. My chest rose and fell sharply. My body shook with anger. My vision narrowed, the world shrinking until all I could see was his utterly shameless face.

I raised my hand without thinking. All I knew was that I wanted to wipe that calm, superior expression off his face. But before I could, someone grabbed my wrist.

“Luna Haliyah!”

I gasped, startled. Raven’s Beta had appeared out of nowhere. His grip was firm, stopping my hand inches from Raven’s face.

“Please calm down,” he said urgently. “You can’t do this.”

I struggled instinctively. “Let go of me!”

“This is not appropriate, Luna.”

I laughed shakily. “Not appropriate?” I repeated. “What’s not appropriate is what they’re doing!”

Raven stared at my raised hand, his jaw clenched. “Have you completely lost your mind? Are you satisfied now?”

Lost my mind? Maybe— or maybe I had finally woken up.

“Stop imagining things that never happened. Everything you’re feeling right now— it’s all in your head. You’re letting your emotions run wild. You’ve created a story and convinced yourself it’s real.”

He glanced briefly at Cassandra, who clung to him as if she were scared.

“Don’t drag innocent people into your delusions, especially Cassandra.”

For a moment, I couldn’t even breathe. Then, slowly, I started to laugh like a madman. My eyes burned, but no tears came. I was already past crying.

Raven frowned. “What are you laughing at?”

I looked at him. This man I had loved for years. This man I had trusted with my body, my heart, my future. This man who had once stood beside me as my mate, my Alpha, my husband. And only now did I see him clearly.

Suddenly, I saw him for what he really was— a man full of lies. A man who could stand in front of me, hold another woman in his arms, and tell me with a straight face that everything was just my imagination. My laughter faded. The disappointment hit harder than the resentment.

I pulled my wrist free from the Beta’s grip and lowered my hand.

“You deny everything. You say I imagined it all. You say my pain isn’t real.” I nodded once. “Fine.”

He relaxed a little, as if he thought it was over.

“I won’t argue with you anymore,” I continued. I stepped closer until I was standing right in front of him. “I’m done.”

“Done with what?” he asked.

I met his gaze. “With this marriage.”

The air went completely still. For five long seconds, there was only silence. I gathered every ounce of courage, knowing in my heart that I wouldn’t turn back. I had made up my mind, and I wouldn’t take it back. I wouldn’t regret this choice.

Cassandra’s breath hitched. “H-Haliyah…”

Raven glared at me. “What did you just say?”

“I said…” I repeated, “I want a divorce.”