Broken bond

He held her so close to him. “Are you okay? You almost fell.” His voice was so tender.

“I was..I was just…I'm sorry for causing you trouble.” She said pitifully and he held her tighter to steady her as she wrapped her arms around his shoulder.

“It's okay. I don't blame you.” He murmured tenderly.

I just stood there, glued to the ground as my mind refused to process the scene unfolding before my eyes.

“Have you no shame doing this right before my eyes?” I managed, the question scraping raw against my throat. It didn't sound like my voice. It sounded small, broken, and agonizingly vulnerable.

Cade finally turned to me, then held Zara tightly in his arms as if I was going to bite her head off like some monster from childhood tales.

My breath shook, I closed my eyes before opening it again to look at the man I was supposed to call my husband. “Do you truly not regard me at all? Do you see me as a joke Cade?” My voice came out small, barely audible.

“Risa look…”

“Am I a clown to you?” I asked again, this time more desperately. I was praying and hoping that I was just misunderstanding. That maybe there was an explanation for this, but who was I kidding? Its right before my eyes but I'm still in denial.

“Cade answer me?” my voice was trembling and my heart was aching so badly.

Zara, who had been lingering on his sleeves steadied herself and looked at me as if she truly felt remorse. “Risa, you shouldn’t have seen! I’ll leave now, please don't…”

But Cade pulled her closer, his hand resting possessively on Zara’s shoulder. His gaze finally settled on me, and it was hard and annoyed.

“Don’t take this out on Zara,” his tone, he was warning me. “She is the victim here.”

The victim? Hah! Then what about me?

I blinked as I stared at him in disbelief. I was standing in the wreckage of my life, and she was the victim? What then am I? Am I the villain for loving him wholeheartedly?

It was hard. So damn hard to hold back these tears but I was built to not cry in front of those who hurt me. I'd rather die than appear weak and helpless in front of him.

“Why Cade? Why did you do this to me?” I groaned out, the unbearable weight of the betrayal weighing down on me. “For five good years. Five years of marriage, and you bring another woman into our home?”

“Look, it's not really what you think. Zara is sick and that's why she came back. And you don't expect me to turn my back at her, do you?”

“Then what about hugging her in front of me? Are you her elixir or what? Tell me?” I challenge him.

“That…” he paused then he looked away, clearly having nothing to say.

“Cade how could you…”

“Risa, please don't blame him. It's all my fault. If you're mad please be only mad at me…I beg you,” Zara inserted herself back into the drama promptly interrupting me, her voice thin and wavering with manipulative sorrow and she was still holding his arm like he belonged to her. Then she started coughing and he held her closely again, treating her like some fragile doll that would break at the slightest move of the wind.

“He is innocent in all of this. The blame should be on me.” She started speaking again after her award winning performance, then she looked up at Cade, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Cade held her cheeks with one hand immediately and wiped the tears before it even fell. “I told you to stop crying already.” He said meekly as she rested her cheeks on his palms like some tragic hero.

“I'm sorry for coming between both of you, it wasn't my intention I promise.” Zara turned to me with wet eyes.

This woman truly was despicable through and through. I bit the insides of my jaws harder, tasting blood as I gripped the hem of my skirt tightly.

“Stop speaking or you'd faint again.” He said to her then he called for his secretary who came in almost immediately. “Please take her to rest.” He instructed and his secretary nodded, taking Zara's arms.

“I'll come see you later.” Cade added and Zara smiled sweetly at him.

“Please don't blame Cade,” Zara turned to me with those deceitfully pitiful eyes again. “I'll leave you both to talk now.” She said as she walked out still clinging to his secretary, but I didn't miss that smug look she gave me as soon as she was out of Cade’s line of sight.

“Are you ready to explain now?” I folded my arms across my tummy as I stared him down, as soon as Zara was out the door.

“Stop overeacting.” He gave me an annoyed look.

I stared at him, unable to fathom the coldness of his dismissal. “Overreacting? You lied to me for five years, lived a lie, and now you have been having an affair with your ex-lover and you tell me I’m overreacting? You have never shown me love, Cade. You have never even looked at me like I mattered, and now you treat my feelings like shit!”

“Calm down,” he repeated, his jaw clenched.

“So what do you plan to do? Is she staying?” Honestly, I was shaking when I asked because I probably could already anticipate his answer.

But I still needed to know his plan so I'd know what to do with myself and my feelings. “What are you going to do about Zara?”

Cade leaned back against his desk, “I am going to take responsibility of course.” He paused, and my breath hitched painfully in my throat. “Since Zara is back and she's ill, she'll have to be my responsibility. I'll bring her back to the pack.”

My knees felt weak at his words as the world began to shake under my feet.

“No,” I whispered, the word a tiny rejection of his own words. He wasn't going to just keep this as a secret affair anymore, he was going to bring her permanently into our home. Then where does that leave me? What right would I have then?

“It ensures Zara won't feel wronged at least, and having her around won't affect us in any way,” he continued, speaking as if he were discussing trade agreements.

“Then what about me?” I cried out. “Where do I fit in this puzzle you’ve created?”

“You will still be Luna,” he stated, as if that title was compensation enough for my destroyed honor. “No one can take your place. I will make the announcement to the elders and make it official.” he stated plainly.

My shame, my pain, my marriage…It was all a currency he was willing to spend for convenience and his true love. A woman like me, I could never accept such a fate. Being treated like trash while he loves someone else openly, I would rather cut off my limbs with my own hands than live like that.

I stood up straight, steadying my breath. “I will not be a trophy,” I declared, my voice ringing with finality, no longer a desperate plea. “I will not sit here while you step on my honor, while you lie about being pure, while you tell me I am overreacting to the fact that you’ve been tainted from the start. I will no longer cower, beg and wait for your attention as you have proven you are undeserving of mine.”

He scowled, his own anger rising. “So what do you want? What would you have me do?” His tone was harsh.

I met his gaze, my eyes dry, but resolved. The words I spoke next were a sword slicing through our broken bond and destroying it completely.

“I want a divorce, Alpha Cade Grayson. I want no part in whatever twisted relationship you are planning with me and Zara.” I said firmly. “Give me back my freedom.”