His Cleaner Mate Is the Alpha Heiress

The report in my hand confirmed it: "Two Months Pregnant." My heart soared.

This meant my trial was over.

I could finally tell Joey the truth: his wife wasn't some cleaner scraping by on minimum wage. She was the heir to the Alpha King, the supreme ruler of all North American packs.

I pushed open the door to our apartment, beaming.

"Joey, I have a surprise—"

The words died in my throat.

There was a woman on the sofa.

Valerie Quinn. Joey’s first love. I’d seen her picture once, tucked away in a hidden album on his phone.

She was wearing the white button-down he wore all the time, the hem barely grazing her thighs. Her bare legs were slung possessively over Joey's lap.

Joey didn't push her away. He didn't even look flustered.

He just picked up a file from the coffee table and tossed it at my feet.

"Sign it, Cersei."

I looked down. The header was printed in bold letters: MATE BOND DISSOLUTION AGREEMENT.

"What is this?" I stared into his eyes, my own wide with disbelief.

"Valerie's back," Joey said, his arm wrapping around her waist without a shred of shame. "My company just landed a massive contract. I'm moving up into the big leagues, and I can't have a cleaner dragging me down. You'd be a stain on my reputation."

It was absurd.

How did he think his company landed those top-tier contracts? If I hadn't secretly pulled strings with my family's connections, who would have ever trusted his little startup, worth only a few million?

I opened the agreement. The terms were brutal.

Our savings, the car—it all went to Joey.

All I got was a paltry twenty-thousand-dollar payout.

"And don't you dare complain it's not enough, Cersei," Valerie purred, leaning forward. The collar of her shirt slipped, revealing an angry red mark on her collarbone. "Twenty grand is more than enough for a decent basement in the slums."

She admired her fresh manicure and sighed dramatically.

"Honestly, I didn't want to take your mate. I know how cruel that is for a low-ranking wolf," Valerie said, her eyes dripping with fake pity. "But Joey just doesn't love you. You can't force feelings."

I watched her performance, my face an unreadable mask.

My calm seemed to annoy her. She leaned in close, her voice a venomous whisper in my ear. "You know, Joey told me something last night. He said every night with you for the past three years was pure torture. Said he had to close his eyes and picture me just to get through it."

My heart clenched painfully.

My hand in my pocket tightened around the pregnancy report.

The love I thought we'd built through hardship was nothing but a lie.

The pure joy I’d felt just moments ago now seemed like a bitter, cruel joke.

"I'll sign."

If he didn't want me as his mate, then he didn't deserve to know about this child.

From now on, this pup was mine and mine alone.

Joey blinked, surprised by my quick agreement, and handed me a pen.

I bent over the coffee table and swiftly signed my name.

The moment the ink was dry, Valerie let out a triumphant laugh. She cupped Joey’s face and, right in front of me, sank her teeth playfully into the side of his neck, leaving a mark.

"That's wonderful, darling," she cooed.

I emotionlessly capped the pen and tossed the agreement back into Joey's lap.

The instant the mate bond shattered, a tearing pain ripped through my soul.

I clenched my jaw, swallowing the metallic taste of blood that rose in my throat, and kept my back ramrod straight.

Joey, however, looked utterly relieved. He pulled out his phone and opened his contacts. I watched as he deleted the contact saved as "My Mate."

In its place, he saved Valerie's number.

"Joey, I want some coffee," Valerie said, kicking her legs playfully from her perch on the sofa. "The kind you make by hand. No sugar."

"Of course. Just wait here, baby."

Joey squeezed her cheek fondly and stood up to walk to the kitchen.

I stared at his back, my eyes cold as ice.

In three years of marriage, he'd never so much as poured me a glass of water.

He always said, "My hands are for signing contracts and building an empire, not for housework."

Now, those same hands were expertly grinding coffee beans for another woman.

I didn't waste another second.

I strode into the bedroom and grabbed my smallest suitcase, packing only a few of my own old clothes. I didn't touch a single thing we had bought together.

As I dragged the suitcase to the door, Valerie fanned her nose dramatically.

"Seriously, Cersei, you should really take a shower. The reek of cheap cleaning chemicals on you is making me sick."

I ignored her, closed the door behind me, and left the apartment I had called home for three years.

Standing in the hallway, I looked down and gently touched my flat stomach, a cold smile playing on my lips.

Then let's see how your precious company does without this "lowly cleaner," Joey.