Chapter 2 Like I was nothing.

BEATRICE

Enzo couldn’t even wish Bailey a happy birthday. But he’s here celebrating another child’s birthday.

What kind of father is he?

The pain I felt all day snaps into a silent rage. My hands clench so tightly that my knuckles turn white.

As Bailey’s mom, this is unacceptable. I need some answers!

I storm into the restaurant, my heart pounding so hard it drowns out everything else. I think of all the ways to confront Enzo and Thalia. They’re not getting away with this bullshit.

But the woman at the front desk quickly blocks my path.

"Excuse me, ma’am," she says with a tight smile. "Do you have a reservation?"

I barely slow down. "I don’t. This is a personal matter. I’m looking for my husband."

My gaze stays locked on Enzo.

He smirks as he listens to Thalia. When she laughs, he chuckles too, shaking his head like she just said the funniest thing in the world.

My stomach twists as if I ate bad sushi.

"I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t let anyone in without a reservation," the receptionist says.

I turn and glare at the receptionist. Then, without another word, I walk right past her.

"Ma’am, wait — "

I can feel everybody’s eyes are on me.

"No class," someone mutters under their breath.

"Who just barges in like that?" a woman scoffs.

"Embarrassing," another one sneers.

Heat rises on my cheeks. For a second, I feel self-conscious.

"Let them judge," my wolf, Nyra, growls. "They don’t know anything."

She’s right. I’m here for my daughter and not them.

I close in on the table. Enzo’s voice is the first thing I hear.

"Happy birthday to you…"

I stop dead in my tracks.

Enzo and Thalia smile as they sing to the little girl, Celeste, before them. 

 And then I see it… The way he looks at Celeste.

His eyes are soft and warm as if she were his own daughter.

I’m frozen in place. He has never looked at Bailey that way. Not once.

"What the hell are you doing here, Enzo?" My voice shakes with anger. "And why are you with her?"

Thalia's eyes go wide. She looks at me like she's seen a ghost. Then, she quickly lowers her gaze and grips Celeste's hand.

Enzo exhales sharply. He looks as nonchalant as ever when he speaks."I told you I’m busy… but, of course, you just have to make a scene. You never know when to quit, do you?"

Tears spill down my face as my hands tremble.

"No! Don’t you dare turn this on me, Enzo! Why are you here with your ex and her kid?"

Enzo rubs his temple like I’m nothing but a headache. "Beatrice quit overreacting. It’s just dinner with a friend."

I laugh, but there’s no emotion behind it. How dare he lie to my face?

"A friend?" I scoff. “Yeah, right. Friends don’t look at each other like that. Friends don’t sit here singing birthday songs like a perfect little family."

I step closer. There’s no way in hell I’m backing down right now.

"You couldn’t even tell your own daughter a happy birthday, but you’re here acting like a dad to someone else’s kid?"

Enzo looks at me with a cold, empty stare. Not a sign of guilt in his eyes.

"I don’t need to explain myself to you," he says, grabbing his wine glass like he doesn’t really give a damn about us.

That’s when I lose it.

"Do you know how long Bailey waited for you? How often did she check the door, hoping it was you?"

My voice cracks, but I keep going.

"Does she even matter to you at all? Or was she just a mistake you want to forget?"

I don’t realize people are still watching until I hear them whispering.

Then I hear a sniffle and look back at the table.

Celeste clings to Thalia’s hand. She’s crying.

"Mommy, I don’t like her," she whimpers. "She looks scary."

Scary? Sure, she can call me that.

But I’m not the one who left a little girl waiting all day. I’m not the one who broke my own daughter’s heart.

Thalia gently rubs Celeste’s back. "Shh, it’s okay," she whispers. 

"Sorry." Then she turns to Enzo and asks, "Did I cause any trouble?"

Thalia sounds so innocent and helpless like I’m the villain in all this. Great.

"I just…" she sniffles, looking down. "I just needed some company. Raising a child alone hasn’t been easy since my husband died in the Lycan war. We barely got by. I never wanted to be a burden. Alpha Enzo has been so kind to us… but if we’re causing problems, we’ll leave."

She turns to Celeste, taking her hand.

"Come on, sweetie. Let’s go."

I should feel sorry for her. I really should.

But all I feel is rage.

Bailey spent her whole birthday waiting for her dad, and he was here instead.

How is that fair?

Thalia starts to walk away, but Enzo stops her.

"You don’t have to go anywhere," he says without hesitation.

Then, without even looking at me, he adds, "Don’t worry about her. She’s just making a fuss."

His words hurt more than I want to admit.

That’s all we are to him… an inconvenience he can brush aside like we don’t matter.

We were never anything to him.

Just a joke.

Then, just before he walks away, he leans closer to me.

"I don’t care about you or your daughter."

A pause.

"Stay out of my business, and don’t bother me again."

The next thing I know, he’s out of the restaurant.

Enzo doesn’t even look back. He just walks away.

Like I was nothing.

Like Bailey was nothing.

I want to chase after him. I want to scream, to grab him, to make him feel even a fraction of what Bailey felt today.

But I can’t. My legs won’t move. 

I just stand here as the last piece of my heart shatters.