0002: Betrayal

Angela’s POV

That night, I waited for Julius like a girl waiting for her knight. Heart racing, words rehearsed in my head, clutching the test strips like they were the most precious gift in the world.

But when he finally came home… he didn’t come with arms ready to hold me. He came with a blade made of words.

I barely got the first syllable out—“Julius, I have something to—”

“You’re pregnant.” His voice cut me off.

I froze. “Yes, but… how did you—?”

The sound he made wasn’t laughter. Not the warm kind I used to know. This was sharp. Cold. Cruel.

“You thought I wouldn’t find out? That you could trap me with someone else’s bastard?”

My mouth went dry. “What? No! Julius, you’re the only man I’ve ever been with. I swear—”

“Really? Then explain this.” His voice snapped like a whip as he shoved his phone in my face.

The screen burned my eyes: a grainy photo, poor light, but clear enough. A woman who looked like me, kissing some man under a streetlamp. His arms around her like she was his whole world.

“That’s not me,” I choked out, my voice trembling. “It’s not. Look—her hair’s longer, it’s not even the same shade! Julius, please. You know me. You know I’d never—”

“Don’t lie to me!” His roar made me flinch. “You’ve always been good at playing innocent. But I’m done being your fool.” He stepped closer, eyes burning. “Either you get rid of it, or you get ready to be rejected. In front of everyone.”

“Rejection?” The word hit harder than any physical blow. “What?” My breath hitched. “You can’t mean that. Julius, I’m carrying your child. Our child!”

“Try me,” he spat, before walking away. Just like that.

I don’t even remember when my knees gave out. All I know is I ended up on the floor, sobbing until it felt like my chest would cave in. That man… he wasn’t my husband. He didn’t even hear me, didn’t care. Just accusations and lies, stabbing into me until I couldn’t breathe—and now he was gone again.

The night blurred into one endless ache. My tears soaked the floor as I folded in on myself, arms wrapping instinctively around my stomach, like I could shield the baby from his words.

I barely noticed footsteps until a soft voice broke through the haze. “Angie…”

“Kim,” I breathed, lifting my head. Relief and grief tangled together as she crossed the room and pulled me into her arms. I clung to her like she was the only solid thing left in my world. My tears soaked her shoulder, but she didn’t care. She just held me.

I don’t remember calling her, but thank the goddess she came. When she finally pulled back, she brushed my cheek, her touch gentle. Her smile was soft. “What happened?”

I told her everything—Julius’s accusation and his order for me to abort our child. Kim stared at me, her expression unreadable.

“So he wants you to abort?”

I nodded mutely.

“And? Would you do it?”

My head snapped back at her. “What? No. I would never kill my child because Julius doesn’t want it. This baby is mine, and I don’t care if I get rejected for it—I’m not getting rid of this child.”

Kimberly’s gaze softened as she took hold of my hand. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

My swollen eyes blinked at her. “Where are we going?”

She laced her fingers through mine. “It’s a surprise. Just trust me.”

So I followed her, my nightgown whispering as we climbed the stairs to the rooftop. The air was sharp, cold, too still. I frowned. “Kim? What are we doing up here—?”

But the words never finished. Pain ripped through my stomach, sudden and searing. My breath hitched. I looked down in horror. The dagger’s blade gleamed in the moonlight, steady in Kimberly’s hand.

I looked up at her, my vision smeared with pain, my body shaking against the floor. The stabbing in my stomach was brutal, yeah, but honestly—it was nothing compared to the ache splitting open my chest. My heart had been carved apart long before her knife even touched me.

“Why…?” The word barely made it out, thin, broken. It wasn’t just a question—it was a plea. A desperate attempt to make sense of this horror.

Kimberly’s face twisted, venom dripping from her eyes. The girl I once loved like a sister? Gone. In her place—this stranger with a sneer so cruel it almost didn’t look human.

“Why?” she echoed, spitting the word like it was poison. “Because I hate you, Angela. I always have. And now—I’ll finally be rid of you.”

Then the knife sank deeper. Fire ripped through my womb, and the scream climbing my throat choked on the taste of blood. My hands shot to my stomach, clawing, clutching at the fragile life inside me. My baby. My innocent child.

The floor was cold against my skin, but the blood pooling beneath me was hot, sticky, endless. I searched her face, blurry-eyed, desperate to see even a flicker of the girl who once braided my hair, who once held me when I cried. But all I found there was delight. Sick, twisted delight.

“Kimberly…” My voice cracked under the weight of betrayal. “We were sisters… why?”

She crouched low, smiling sharp as her blade. Her eyes pinned me like a predator to prey.

“You should’ve listened,” she hissed. “You should’ve left Julius sooner. Or agreed to get rid of that thing in your womb when he asked. But no—you had to play perfect wife. The adored Luna. The woman everyone pities and praises. Couldn’t stand losing your precious crown, could you?”

Each word pierced worse than steel. Another wound. Another betrayal. My tears blurred everything, but I still forced myself to look at her—really look at her. My best friend. My sister in everything but blood. The girl who once swore we were forever. And now? A monster.

She leaned in so close her breath grazed my ear. Her whisper was almost gentle, but every syllable was poison.

“Don’t worry. Once you’re gone, Julius will keep his promise. He’ll make me his Luna. As he should’ve from the start.”

That’s when it hit me. My gut twisted—not just from the knife, but from the truth slamming into me. Kimberly. She was the other woman. The shadow in my marriage. The venom turning Julius against me. Against our child.

Rage and despair wrestled inside me. Somehow, with blood clogging my throat, I managed to choke out the words:

“How long…?” My breath rattled, tearing out of me. “How long… have you been… fucking my husband?”

Her laugh cracked sharp, cruel, cutting me deeper.

“Since before he ever chose you as Luna,” she said, slow and deliberate. “If it weren’t for your noble bloodline, your Beta parents—Julius would’ve chosen me.”

My heart stuttered. My hands pressed harder against my stomach, desperate, as if I could hold my baby in, shield the tiny life slipping away. My strength was fading, but love—fierce, frantic love—burned stubbornly in me.

“Kimberly…” My whisper was nothing but blood and tears. My hand reached out, not for forgiveness, but for mercy. “Please. Help me… help us…”

Her face hardened. Arms folded, her eyes as cold as stone. “You’re pathetic,” she spat. “Just die already. And do it quietly.”

That dismissal… it cut deeper than her blade ever could.

Darkness started creeping in, the edges of my world dissolving into shadow. My body felt heavy, cold, dragged down as if the earth itself wanted me. I cried—not for me, but for the baby I’d never hold, the little one who’d never hear my voice.

With the last scrap of breath left in me, I clung to a single vow. Whispered it into the void as everything slipped away:

If the Moon Goddess grants me even one chance—just one—I’ll return. And I’ll change everything.