Chapter 2

That night in bed, I turned down Theo's advances.

By now, just the thought of his hands on me made my skin crawl.

In the middle of the night, I was woken by muffled sounds. I rolled over and saw the light on in the walk-in closet.

"Don't worry, I'm coming right now. Stop crying, okay? Just wait for me."

His voice dripped with concern and urgency. I didn't even have to guess who he was talking to. Of course it was Sophia.

Theo crept back into the bedroom, trying to grab the car keys in the dark.

I flicked on the bedside lamp. He froze.

"You're awake?"

Theo flashed me a smile. "I need to step out. Sophia tried to take off the ring before her shower, and it's stuck on her finger."

He held up his phone to show me. In the photo, Sophia's slender fingers wore the glittering ring.

"See? Her finger's all red and swollen. I can't just ignore this. I need to go check on her."

He leaned in to kiss me. I turned my face away, got out of bed, and stood barefoot by the window.

"Theo, I want to call that designer tomorrow. About remodeling the house."

He stopped in his tracks.

We'd picked out that award-winning designer ages ago.

The plan was to get married once his pack was doing well, and before the wedding, renovate the villa exactly the way I wanted.

Theo's face went stiff. He forced an awkward smile.

"Joey, the renovation isn't urgent."

"Sophia's scared and crying. You know she's just a regular Omega. She's never dealt with something like this before. If she can't get the ring off, her finger could get hurt. I need to go see her first."

"Be reasonable. Her health is more important than remodeling."

I didn't argue. I just gave a small nod.

Theo smiled with relief and came over to hold me.

"I knew you'd understand. I'm heading out now. Get some more sleep."

After he left, I stood at the window and watched him stride into the garage. The engine roared to life.

I climbed back into bed. The king-sized bed stretched out wide and empty, and I curled up in one small corner.

I reached over to his side. The sheets were cold.

I closed my eyes and thought back to the way things used to be.

Back then, the other Alphas all looked down on him.

I was the only one who stayed by his side, living those lean, hard days with him.

He was so attentive to me then.

If my blanket slipped off while I slept, he'd notice right away and pull me into his arms.

He cooked for me, did my laundry, and took me on rides out to the countryside on weekends.

"Joey, I know being with me hasn't been easy on you, so I'm going to treat you twice as well."

But now, all that care and tenderness belonged to someone else.

Even spending one whole night beside me had become too much to ask.

Dawn crept in. Sunlight filtered through the pink curtains and flooded the room with a harsh, glaring light.

I hated pink.

But Sophia loved it.

She'd come to visit and swapped out every piece of decor in our bedroom for things she liked.

Whenever I showed the slightest hint of reluctance, Theo would murmur, "Joey, be reasonable. She's young."

Those words echoed in my head, stirring a deep frustration inside me.

Sleep was gone. I got up, washed my face, and started packing.

This house was full of traces of our life together, yet barely anything in it had been chosen by me.

There were the childish plushies Sophia picked out, which Theo brainlessly assumed I must love too.

There were those sickeningly pink dresses I absolutely loathed.

"Sophia says pink is what real women wear. Stop dressing in black and white—you look like a widow."

I swept the entire pile of garbage off the hangers and shoved them into the darkest corner of the closet.

I didn't like any of it, and I didn't need any of it.