CHAPTER 2

Crystal's POV

Her words hit me like a freight train, confusion slamming me hard on the face like a blow.

The ground disappears beneath me. I can't breathe. I can't think.

'My daughter, Talia.' Those words echo in my ears so loud it hurts.

"What— what do you mean by your daughter, Talia?" I stutter, my lips quivering with fear.

Three years ago, Ethan brought home one-year-old Talia. He told me she's the daughter of his distant cousin who died in an accident.

And I never questioned him. 

I accepted Talia as my own. And even when he asked me to quit my job to give her the motherly attention she needed, I did immediately.

But now, all of a sudden, the baby I sacrificed my whole career for is Serena's daughter?

I turn to Ethan. "What the hell is going on?" My voice rises a dangerous octave. "And you'd better be spilling the fucking truth!" 

"Relax, Crystal. Let's talk this through like rational adults", Ethan says.

Where does he get his audacity to spout absolute rubbish?

As if that is not enough, he starts closing the distance between us, making a move to wrap his arm around me.

I feel disgusted to the core.

Talk this through? How can he just act like this is no big deal?

Rage blinds me, and before I can stop myself, I yank his hand away and smack him hard on the face.

"I said give me a fucking explanation!" Ibeloww.

A dangerous glint glimmers in his eyes as he holds his reddened cheeks.

"I did it for you, Crystal ." He barks, spittle flying.

"How was I supposed to tell you that I found my fated mate and that she's pregnant with my child? I didn't want you to feel bad."

"I loved you enough to even take my child from her mother just to make you feel like a mother!" 

Shock doesn't even describe what I feel right now.

Are people allowed to be this shameless? I can't believe I was married to this despicable loser for four years.

"You cheated on me for my sake?" Anger bounces off my voice. " Make it make sense, you fucking psycho!"

"Crystal !" Ethan grits out, veins popping in his forehead. 

"Do you think you have any right to be mad at me? I gave you everything! Money, comfort, status!  Maybe if you had satisfied me as you should, this would have never happened!"

An incredulous gasp escapes my lips.  I can't believe he really said that.

I look at Ethan. Really look at him and see a stranger. A pathetic stranger with a weak chin and receding hairline.

How was I blind enough not to see his true colours for four years? He's been playing me for a fool for so long.

Something snaps inside me. It's time to bring an end to his games.

Why cry over a man who doesn't deserve me? Why give my narcissistic sister the satisfaction of hurting me?

The ache in my heart subsides, replaced by a cold, clear calm.

I wipe my tears and look Ethan straight in the eye.

"I want a divorce!” 

The words come out crispy, clear and final. 

Both Ethan and Serena gasp in shock. They stare at me like I suddenly grew two heads.

Then, Ethan chuckles, "You don't mean that. What can you do without me and my money?" 

His words strike a nerve,e and I have to fight the urge to wince. I can't let him see that his words got to me.

"You and your money can rot in the pit of hell, Ethan!" I strain through clenched teeth. "I'll have my lawyer contact you tomorrow!"

Without waiting for his reaction, I spin on my heels and walk out.

I'm done being the pushover housewife that everyone can step on. If Ethan thinks I'm nothing without him, it's time to prove him wrong.

****

Some minutes later, I'm at a bar just down the street, downing dangerous shots of Vodka, wishing it would burn away the last four years of my life.

I grab my last shot of vodka, but just as I bring it to my lips, a hand pries it out of my grip.  

My gaze lands on a woman dressed in a skimpy black gown, headset clamped over her ears.

"Where the hell have you been, Lyra?” She snarls, looking thoroughly pissed. “The VIP has been waiting. I've been calling you for an hour!"

I frown in confusion, raising my hand.

"Sorry, but I'm not—" 

"Don't give me excuses." She snaps, already dragging me off the bar, her grip surprisingly strong. 

Before I can even process my thoughts, she pulls me into the elevator with her.

"You're an hour late. An hour!” She continues to scold me as the elevator travels up, further away from the bar.

"Do you know how much the client pays per hour? This wasn't our deal when you desperately begged for this job last night."

That's when comprehension dawns on me. I probably look like one of the strippers that work here.

Moon goddess, can my night get any worse?

“Hey!” I grit out, trying to wriggle out of her hold. 

But damn! She's strong! 

“Mrs Anderson!" I blurt out. "I'm MMrsAnderson, not Lyra." 

Well, there's only one Anderson family in the whole of Moonbloom, nd that's a very big name.

As much as I hate to have myself attached to Ethan's name, this is the only thing that might get this woman out of my hair.

But to my horror, she throws me a dirty look. "If you're Mrs Anderson, then I'm the fucking Alpha's wife! Bitch are you outta your mind?"

She doesn't even give me time to reply as she drags me out of the elevator and to a room marked VIP.

Before I can protest, she pushes me inside and slams the door shut in my face.

I thrash my body against the door, rattling the doorknob frantically, but the door doesn't even budge.

Moon goddess, I'm so doomed.

Expelling a frustrated breath, I turn around, only to freeze the very next second as my gaze trains on the darkest eyes I've ever seen. 

The man is leaning against the windows, his shrewd, calculating eyes fixed on me in ways that make me shudder.

Damn! Those eyes are dark. Very, very dark like the bottom of the ocean.

His thick brown hair is gelled backwards to a fault, his chin flexes a day-old growth of beard, giving him this sexily disreputable look. 

Even his jawlines look like they can give you a papercut if you touch them 

Everything about him is dangerously and overwhelmingly hot. I won't even be surprised if his middle name is "sex-on-the-stick" 

I just know he's new in the pack. 'Cause there's no bloody way someone who looks like a regal god wouldn't have made Moonbloom news headlines. 

My gaze falls on his lips. Holy paradise! It's drawn into this sexy thin line.

You just know they're made for kissing.

Wait! 

What the hell is wrong with my brain?

I should be scared to death. I just got pushed into a deal I know nothing about.

Plus, this man actually looks much more dangerous than sexy. 

He's very tall. Has to be six-two at least, and broad-shouldered— the type that can easily snap a five-foot-seven woman like me in two.

But instead of fear, what I feel is a ripple of lust down my spine.

It must be the vodka. 

Has to be the damn thing really kicking in now. Because my eyes won't stop roaming eover very mouthwatering piece of this man's body.

And that's when it hits me.

This man is almost nude— save the tattoo perfectly sitting on his chest, flexing his abs and pectorals.

Other than that, it's just a tiny towel wrapped around his waist, looking like it might snap loose at the slightest movement.

Holy hell, I'm so freaking done for!

Is this Lyra girl not just a stripper but a whore?

I clear my throat awkwardly. "Mister, the thing is you have the wrong—"

"Shhh", he silences me with his finger on my lips.

I suck in a sharp breath, stunned by how he moved so fast.

And...fuck! He's even more devastating up close, a small scar cutting through his left eyebrow.

And those eyes. Damn, those eyes.

I can't even look straight into his eyes,s or I might drown in them.

Or maybe I'm already drowning.

Because this gorgeous piece of a man smells impossibly good— musk cologne mixed with his body heat, intoxicating my senses mercilessly.

Alpha aura, I can feel it wrapping around my most sensitive nerve endings. He's an alpha male. 

Domineering, carnal and enticingly male!

"Hmmm." He croaks as though he heard my thoughts, his gaze turning dark with desire.

Then, he lowers his head, his lips just minusculele inch from mine.

"What made you think you could really escape me, Lyra?" He purrs, low and dangerous, sending a chill down my insides.