Chapter 4

Freya POV

For two mornings in a row, when I brought breakfast to the table, Halle didn’t make things difficult. She cleaned her plate.

Then, glancing around to make sure no one was listening, she let out a smug little laugh.

"Imagine, being waited on by Mrs. Brolin herself. What an honor."

I shrugged. "Thank you for helping out, then. Mrs. Brolin will be you soon enough."

As I said it, my phone lit up with a message:

[ Everything’s ready.]

Two more hours, and I’d finally be free.

The tension that had knotted in my chest for three days finally began to loosen.

Halle froze, her smile faltering for a beat before she quickly regained her sneer.

"You really are pathetic. Married to a man like Jasper for five years, and you couldn’t even give him an heir. Is it because you can’t give him one, or because he doesn’t want one with you?"

She laid a hand on her own stomach, slow and deliberate, as if I might miss the gesture.

"Doesn't matter. You’re leaving anyway. My pup will be the one to inherit the Brolin name."

At the mention of the cub, pain twisted through my chest.

In my last life, even though Halle never moved into my home, Jasper’s concern for her only grew.

When I asked him to keep his distance, he called me possessive and unfeeling.

Our fights turned into silence. His eyes colder every day.

I hadn’t known I was carrying our pup then.

I cried myself to sleep night after night, too broken to eat.

By the time I realized I was pregnant, it was too late.

The pup slipped away from me in a storm of agony and blood.

I never even got the chance to love him.

I'd sobbed until my body shook, but Jasper only said, almost casually, "Don't be too sad. We'll have another one."

He held me for barely a second before pulling away. I didn’t even feel his warmth.

Later, he suggested adoption.

When he looked at that tiny wolf pup, there had been such tenderness in his eyes.

I believed he was trying to heal me.

So I loved that pup as if he were my own. I poured every drop of myself into him.

The house filled with laughter again, and for a moment, I thought maybe I could breathe.

Until I discovered the truth.

The cub's real mother was Halle.

Jasper had only wanted to give her child a name, a place in our family.

The despair was absolute.

My heart shattered into pieces too sharp to ever mend.

From that day, I never smiled again.

Not until the day I died, consumed by depression.

I looked at Halle now.

"You've already won everything you wanted, why are you still coming after me?"

She grinned, sly and vicious, and crooked her finger.

"Come here. I'll whisper it to you."

The maids weren't around. What was the point of all this secrecy?

Still, curiosity tugged at me, and I leaned in.

Her breath brushed my ear.

"It’s not enough to push you out. I want him to forget you completely. To remember you as nothing but bitter and cruel."

Before I could react, she grabbed my wrist and shrieked, loud enough to shake the walls.

I was completely unprepared. I tried to pull away, but she wouldn’t let go.

"What’s going on?!"

Jasper stormed out of the study.

"Stop!"

I had my back to him, so all he could see was our twisted struggle and the look of agony on Halle's face.

She let go and the tears began to stream down her face.

She raised her wrist, and on the back of her hand, there were several angry red scratches.

"It hurts so much…" she whimpered to Jasper.

He stepped between us, his glare like a blade of ice cutting straight into me.

"I’m giving you a chance to explain." His voice was flat and cold..

I tried to speak, but the words were caught in my throat.

"Jasper," I managed to choke out. "Do you believe me?"

There was no warmth in his eyes.

"Freya, you promised me you would take care of Halle. Why would you do this to her?"

I thought my heart was a stone , but the sight of his frigid expression made tears well up in my eyes.

"What if I said I didn't hurt her?"

"I believe what I see with my own eyes."

A bitter laugh slipped past my lips. I wiped away my tears.

"Then there’s nothing left to say."

I grabbed my bag and walked out the front door.