CHAPTER 5

Maya

I wake to the faint scent of disinfectant and the steady beeping of a heart monitor. My body feels hollow, as my hands feel cold against the sheets.

For a moment, I can’t remember where I am. My mind feels foggy as I try to piece together how I got here, but it’s useless, until I turn and see Ava sitting beside me. Her eyes are red and swollen, fixed on me with a look that freezes my blood.

“What’s wrong?” My voice comes out as a croak. “Why are you crying, Ava?”

She covers her mouth with one hand, trying to hold back a sob.

“Maya…” she whispers softly, her other hand reaching to clutch mine.

Something in her expression tells me everything before she even says a word. My stomach twists painfully.

“The babies?” I manage to whisper, my voice breaks before the words are fully out.

Ava’s lips tremble. Tears spill down her cheeks as she slowly shakes her head.

Fresh pain tears through my chest, it's sharper than anything I’ve ever felt.

The room tilts, and I let out a strange broken, strangled cry that doesn’t even sound human. I clutch my stomach, as if holding onto the emptiness inside could somehow bring them back. My twins. My babies. They’re gone.

Ava wraps her arms around me, her own sobs shakes against my shoulder. I don’t know how she intends to comfort me when she’s crying just as hard, but I don’t stop her. The emptiness inside me grows, it spreads until it feels like it’s going to swallow me whole.

“Where is Ethan?” I ask weakly.

Ava hesitates before shaking her head. “I’m sorry, Maya… he isn’t here.”

I was holding on to the tiniest hope that he’d walk through that door, that maybe he’d choose me over her. But he didn’t.

How could he turn away from me so easily? Just like that… as if everything we shared meant nothing? All because of his fated mate.

Now I finally understand how strong the mate bond truly is, strong enough to destroy everything in its path.

His fated mate. Chloe Bennett. She stole everything from me, my husband, my title, my babies.

And Goddess, Victoria. That vile, manipulative woman. I should have seen it sooner. Every time I complained about being sick, she made them run “tests” and pierce me with needles. It all makes sense now.

She never wanted me pregnant. She wanted a true heir. One that could only come from Ethan’s fated mate.

I try to take a deep breath, but it’s useless. Suddenly, my phone buzzes weakly beside the bed. It’s my sister, Claire.

“How are you, Maya?” she asks softly.

I lift my head, trying not to let the tears fall. “Goddess, I’m… not fine, Claire,” I whisper, my voice cracks. I’m crushed more than words can explain.

“I know, Maya. I’m sending someone for you tomorrow,” she says firmly. “Someone you know. We’ll get you out of there.” Her voice is calm. But I can sense anger, it is as if she already senses everything I’m going through.

Tears blur my vision, but I fight to hold them back. I want to hope. But hope feels like a luxury I buried with my unborn children.

“Okay, Claire. Thank you so much,” I managed to say.

At least my sister’s pack is willing to take me in. That means I won’t have to go rogue.

Then the door opens, and the air in the room shifts.

Victoria Miller walks in, dressed in her perfect white suit, her face painted with false grief.

“So,” she says coolly, “this is where your drama has led. You’ve hurt yourself, and nearly killed my son’s true mate’s baby. What will the pack say when they learn you tried to murder your husband’s fated Luna?”

The vileness of this woman makes my blood boil. All I want to do is rip that perfectly made-up face right off, but before I can even move, Ava shoots up from her chair.

“Enough! Maya didn’t hurt anyone!” Ava’s voice shakes with fury. “She had a miscarriage, Victoria! That was Ethan’s child too!”

But Victoria just stands there, her expression calm and calculated, as if she doesn’t already know what she’s done. She knows damn well she caused my miscarriage, with whatever poison she told the nurse to inject into me.

Her lips curl into a cruel sneer. “Please. We both know she’s lying. She lost nothing because there was nothing to lose. She just wants to keep her claws in the family’s wealth before Ethan finally replaces her.”

I can’t breathe. My vision blurs, the room spins around me. “How can you be so cruel?” I whisper, my voice trembling with disbelief and pain.

Before Ava can respond, the door opens again, and there he is. Ethan.

He stands in the doorway, his expression unreadable, his eyes cold and distant. The man I once called my soulmate now looks at me like I’m a stranger.

“Maya,” he says flatly, “why didn’t you tell me earlier? If this was true, why wait until now? Were you trying to make me feel guilty so I’d reject my mate?” He shakes his head slowly. “You’ve really changed.”

His words cut sharper than a blade, tearing what’s left of my heart apart.

I stare at him, searching for even a flicker of the man I loved, the man who once swore he’d protect me from the world.

“Guilty?” I let out a broken, bitter laugh. “You think this is about guilt? You think I wanted to lose them just to get your attention?”

The air feels heavy. I start gasping for air in the process I taste iron on my tongue. When I look down, I see blood staining my trembling hands.

Ava rushes toward me, shouting for help, but I shake my head weakly. My vision is fading, yet I keep my eyes locked on Ethan. I force a smile.

“You don’t have to pretend anymore,” my voice barely audible. “You should sign the papers. I’ve already signed mine. The only thing left is your signature. You’ve made your choice, and I know it isn’t me.”

He shifts on his feet. For a moment, I think he might change his mind, but then he exhales slowly, and I see the smug smile stretch across Victoria’s face. She steps forward and hands him the papers.

“Fine,” he says coldly. “Maybe you do need to learn your place, Maya.”

And then he signs.

Just like that. Without hesitation not regret.

When he walks out of the room, it feels like the air leaves with him. Something inside me shatters completely.

The woman who loved him… the Luna who believed in him… she’s gone.

All that’s left is a promise that burns deep in my chest. One day, I’ll make them all regret ever breaking me.