Chapter 1

Lillian’s POV

When I said “I do” in the aisle with my plain white dress and sweet smile, I never thought I'd be preparing a date for my husband and his mistress on our anniversary.

Being the first Omega to become a Luna, my life isn’t really a Cinderella-like story that everyone envies me for.

I am Lilian Harrington-Edwards, a nobody whose mother is an alcoholic gambler and a father who is out of the picture from the start.

My life is an unending misery, so when I find my fated mate, hope fills me, thinking things will start to be different.

But those sweet nothings he whispers in my ears, the kisses he landed on my lips, and the mark he left on my neck are just one-time things driven by our mate bond’s pull.

Because after that night, my husband’s heart is back to where it really belongs – to Sienna Wallace, his first love.

Right from the start, I am the third party in this messed-up relationship.

And now, on our third wedding anniversary, I stand in the kitchen like a nanny, watching as my husband, the Alpha of the Moonstone Pack, brings Sienna home and hands her a bouquet of roses, even though he can’t even give me a single stem. 

I watch from behind the kitchen window, a ghost in my own home, as they laugh like they’ve never been apart; still looking like a perfect couple.

She leans into him, looking up with those glistening eyes and an innocent, sweet smile.

“Thank you, Keegan,” she says, clutching the flowers. “These are my favourites!”

“You deserve it.” His voice is warm, nothing like the cold indifference he saves for me.

I smile bitterly. He doesn't even know what my favourite is. And yet, there he is—effortlessly making another woman feel loved and seen.

Sienna laughs softly and rises on her toes, leaning against his cheeks.

My chest tightens as I feel my breath being suck out of my lungs as I watch in horror, doubtful if she is kissing him or just whispering sweet nothings.

Nonetheless, the smile they share after that makes my heart bleed.

This night is supposed to be ours. Today is our anniversary, and I spent my entire day preparing—arranging flowers, cooking his favourite dishes, setting the table like it actually means something. Like, I actually mean something.

But here I am, standing at the edge of their world, watching them like an outsider.

A hollow laugh escapes me as bitterness fills my heart.

What am I expecting?

Our marriage is a force of fate created by our mate bond and his wolf’s restlessness to mark me that night.

He doesn’t want this marriage, and his frequent absences from home prove that. He goes before the sun rises and comes home late at night. The most interaction we have is him sending me a cold glare or scolding.

Even housemates have more interaction than we do.

I have come to terms with that. But a part of me is still hopeful that, after three years together, he’ll come to accept that we are fated to be together.

So, when his assistant messaged me a week ago saying Keegan would be home tonight and wants me to prepare lunch, I couldn’t help but be over the moon.

Only to be proven that all of this isn’t for me.

“Oh my gosh! Is that for me?” Sienna gasps, pointing at the table I set with scented candles and a red wine.

My fist curls at my side, shaking with quiet rage as I watch her eyes sparkle and point at the table I set.

“Yes, of course.” My good husband replies and gestures for her to come inside, even pulling the chair for her.

Setting the flower on the table and sitting down, she looks up at him and squeezes his arm a little. “You are the sweetest.”

I press my hand on the kitchen counter as I watch them sit and clink their glasses, their eyes locked on each other while they sip the wine I chose, one among a dozen I tried last night just to make this dinner perfect.

Her every smile is like a dagger in my heart, and her every laugh pierces my ears.

I am the one with the ring, but in Keegan’s heart, I’ll always be the mistress who gets in between their love.

His heart will always belong to another woman.

So when she goes abroad, so does his heart…

And whenever Sienna’s in the picture, I am invisible.

Their laughter becomes unbearable, and I can no longer stomach it. I take a step, ready to give them a piece of my mind, but Keegan’s words halt me, making me turn my head in their direction.

“Stay in here. You can live here. You’re always welcome to my home, Sienna.”

His home? HIS HOME? Did he forget that his home is OUR marital house?

Three years! We’ve been married for three long years, during which he has been mostly nonexistent. If more, it is more of my home alone.

“Are you sure? But I don’t want to intrude or anything,” she replies, looking so hesitantly, but the victorious smile hiding on her lips doesn’t escape my eyes.

Smiling, something he never shows me, he says in a comforting voice, “It’s the least I can do. Really.”

Scoffing, the boiling anger in my heart finally explodes, and I face them.

“And who gives you the right?” I ask in the voice I never once use on Keegan or anyone on this pack, my Luna voice.

Though I have lost my wolf the same night he marked me, I still have the basic things my identity gives me.

A furious smirk escapes my lips after a scoff. “This is OUR house. You don’t just get the right to bring a woman here and make her live with me.”

Keegan’s face turns dark while Sienna stands up protectively, goes to my side, and explains desperately, “Lillian, please don’t misunderstand. It’s not what you think it is.”

Acting all innocent, she furrows her brows and pouts her lips. “My house is still being renovated. I really don’t have anywhere else to stay.”

That is probably the lamest excuse I have ever heard, and my husband is either a fool or blind not to see it.

Crossing my arms, I shake my head. “In that case, you can stay in the pack house. There are a lot of rooms there. You can take your pick.”

“Enough!” Keegan slams his hands on the table, which shakes the tableware and subconsciously makes me flinch as I look at him in shock.

Facing him without fear and while masking my pain, I continue, “What? Are you mad? I let her take my place at our anniversary celebration and enjoy the food I cooked. Now, I’m even finding her a place to stay. Aren’t I being accommodating enough?”

He stands up and steps close to me, his dominance radiating. His blazing eyes stare me down, and his cold voice sends chills down my spine. “Know your place, Lillian.”

I scoff inwardly. My place?

Before marriage, I was the highest-ranking warrior, respected by everyone despite my humble origin. But for him, I let go of all of those. For him, I endure being cast aside and treated as a maid.

Isolated in our abandoned and cold marital house, I act more like a housekeeper than a Luna. I bet the pack has even forgotten my existence as a warrior and a Luna.

So, what is my place? A warrior that’s been forgotten? A Luna that’s an empty title? A wife who’s cast aside? A maid? A nanny?

In Keegan’s heart, I’ll say the last two are probably the places he wants to remind me of. A place where he thinks I belong.

My silence must have shown as obedience because he gestures to the stairs and orders, “Arrange a room for Sienna.”

Great! Now he even wants me to be her nanny as well. I opened my mouth to protest, but he completely ignored me and sits back down, radiating impatience.

Then he gestures for Sienna to do the same. “Don’t mind her, Sienna. Let’s continue eating.”

I stand there and watch them eat so harmoniously. Keegan even helps her slice her steak, and that’s what hits me - the uncontrollable anger and sense of injustice.

Pursing my lips, I return to the kitchen and grab a set of utensils and tableware.

Their eyes meet mine when I arrive back at the dining table, and utter with a suffocating heart, “I didn’t spend all my time preparing for this meal… for nothing. If there’s someone who deserves to eat, it will be me.”

Keegan’s expression changes, but my heart is already too numb to care. 

I head toward the other chair, but then she suddenly gasps, and things happen so quickly.

She leans forward, knocking her wine glass, which stains her dress, and she pushes the chair backwards, causing the plate I am carrying to knock on the back of her chair and shatter into pieces, with all the food scattering to the ground and the shards flying everywhere.

“Lillian! How can you push me like that? I already said I am sorry. I can leave now if that’s what you want,” she said in an almost crying voice with a few tears streaming down her face.

I purse my lips to stop the gasps trying to escape my lips when I realise that a shard impaled my palm when the plate shattered in my hands. 

“Lillian, can you be any more childish?” Keegan angrily remarks as he stands up, goes to our side, and worryingly hands Sienna a table napkin.

“I… I didn’t do anything–” My jaw drops in shock as I watch Sienna stand up, showing Keegan her stained dress.

“Look, Keegan. This is a new dress and I’m all sticky but…” She turns her eyes on me, looking all wronged. “But I understand why she’s so upset, so…”

She looks down, staying quiet at his side while clinging to his arm.

“Apologise, Lillian.”

I look at him in utter disbelief. “W-what?”

“I said, apologise!” Pointing at Sienna’s stained dress, he continued, “And wash her dress. There better not be a single dot of stain left in there.”

Those words completely kill every bit of patience and self-respect I have.

Pointing at myself with frustration, all while controlling the threatening tears on the corner of my eyes from streaming down my cheeks, I voice out through gritted teeth, “I am your wife, Keegan! I am your Luna and not your fucking maid.”

Throwing a glance at Sienna’s, I say with disdain, “And definitely not hers either.”

With cold, bearing eyes, he met my gaze. “A wife I never wanted to marry.”

I discreetly grimace in pain. The glass might have pierced my skin, but his words sure as hell pierce my soul.

“Making you my Luna is the one thing I’ll always be ashamed of!”