Chapter 4

Our loud argument echoed down the hallway, and curious onlookers began to gather.

"We should go home! Don’t stand here letting them gossip about us," Blake grabbed my arm.

"The ones being gossiped about are you and Ivy, not me!" I shook his hand off.

My resistance seemed to attract even more attention from the crowd.

"Isn’t Ivy Luna Nina’s therapist?" a woman whispered.

"This is so unprofessional! A therapist having an affair with her patient’s husband? That’s disgusting," another voice echoed, filled with criticism.

"I can’t believe Ivy would do something like that," someone muttered. "I went to her for therapy. Now I’m creeped out."

"What’s the big deal?" A man laughed quietly. "Alpha Blake has always been a playboy. Haven’t you heard the rumors about him in high school?"

Ivy heard these comments and didn’t dare to say a word, hiding behind Blake.

Blake’s expression darkened, and with the authority of an Alpha, he turned and ordered the onlookers,

"Get out of here! All of you!"

He then turned to me, his eyes glaring at me, and tightly held my arm.

"You’ve made your point! Now, come on."

I struggled to get rid of his grip, but my strength couldn’t match his. Postpartum depression had drained me physically and emotionally.

He dragged me down the hallway, and I stumbled behind him, breathing heavily from frustration and exhaustion.

When Blake dragged me back home, shame, betrayal, and helplessness intermingled.

The nanny was holding Ava, looking at us with a hint of fear.

"Take Ava back to the nursery," I calmly told the nanny.

Even though Ava was just one year old, I didn’t want to argue in front of her. Werewolf children are more sensitive to changes in their parents’ emotions than human babies.

"We’ll talk in the bedroom," I said without looking at Blake, heading straight for the room.

"How dare you bring her into our home? And onto my bed! Do you remember? We picked this bed out together. Even the sheets and pillows were bought after we got married!" I angrily yanked the sheets off the bed, tearing them apart.

I remembered this bed—Blake had invited top-tier furniture designers to create a custom King-size bed just for me. Now, when I looked at it, all I could picture was Blake and Ivy fuck on it.

"Nina, I swear, it was just a moment of impulse. The only person I truly love is you. You’ll always be my mate. I was a playboy before, but I’ve been loyal to you after we got married," Blake's tone softened.

"How dare you even talk about loyalty!"

"I know I was wrong, but you have to understand—Ivy and I have no love between us. It was just... physical. That’s all. I swear, if you want, I’ll completely remove her from my life. I’ll never see her again."

His words only fueled the fire of anger inside me.

"Once a cheater, always a cheater!" I gritted my teeth. "I want to reject you!"

"Calm down first. We have Ava now, and this isn’t just our problem. Ava needs a complete family! Are you really going to leave all of this behind?"

"You abandoned us first... The moment you slept with Ivy, you abandoned us!"

Blake’s expression grew complicated. The proud man finally lowered his head.

I stopped listening to him and began packing my things.

"What are you doing?" Blake blocked me.

"This bed is already tainted. I won’t stay here. Whether or not you agree to break the mate bond, I’m leaving with Ava."

"No! Ava is my daughter, I won’t let you take her!"

Blake snatched my suitcase from me.

"If you’re going to leave, leave alone. But you’re not taking Ava! And don’t even think about breaking the mate bond!"

"Are you going to leave her here so your mistress can bully her?" My eyes were red, my voice trembling.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ivy is not..."

Just then, there was a hurried knock on the door, and soon, I heard Ava crying.

"Ava just threw up again, she looks really uncomfortable!" The nanny was at the door, speaking in a panic.