Chapter 4

Alison’s POV

I spent the following days in my new penthouse. I wanted some peace, but Britta and Reid were all over the news, billboards, and all kinds of propaganda on TV. 

I was watching TV. The screen showed Reid and Britta being interviewed. Their love story was the highlight of the season. 

Reid was speaking affectionately to the media about his love story with Britta. “Britta and I had been kindred spirits since college; even after being apart for so long, I could never forget her. Britta was always the one who understood me best. She is my true love.” He said, kissing her hand. 

The reporter cooed as Britta melted in Reid's arms.  

The reporter asked, “What brought you back together, after all these years apart?” 

Britta giggled, eager to answer before Reid. “It was on March 10th of this year. I had been sick, and Reid dropped everything to take care of me all night. He did not want to leave my side for a second, totally disregarding everything else, even powering off his cell phone.”  

That day was our wedding anniversary. I waited in vain for Reid all night, but Reid claimed he was too busy with work to make it back. 

It turned out that on that day, he had been with her. 

Another lie. Another betrayal. I bit my lip, heart fighting back tears. He doesn’t deserve them. He never did. While I planned our future, he moved heaven and earth to destroy it.  

I swallowed the bitter liquor from my glass and took a hot shower to relax. I will not give Reid the power to destroy me. I will move on, and the sooner the better. He has no idea what a determined she-wolf could do.  

The next day, I got up and went to work at the hospital. I put my chestnut hair up in a ponytail, soft jeans, and comfy sneakers. The days at the hospital were always long and tiring, but I loved doing my job.  

I made my rounds as usual, examining my patients. But one patient was giving me a real headache. It was Reid’s mother, Camilla. 

Camilla had never liked me because of my supposed poor background. She was always making things difficult for me. During her hospital stay, she did everything she could to give me a hard time. 

“What kind of hospital is this? If I order you to wash my feet, you should wash my feet.” She said with contempt.   

“Camilla, there are staff in charge of patient hygiene and should tend to you soon,” I said as I made annotations on her chart.  

“Look at you, already feeling like you are someone, just because you are warming my son’s bed. Listen to me, someone like you will never be good enough for my Reid. You better do as I tell you before I complain to Reid. Watch him close this hospital once he gets elected.”  

“Complain all you want. Didn’t he tell you? We are already divorced.” I said nonchalantly as I adjusted her IV drip.  

Camilla was delighted to hear this. “I knew my son would come to reason. I told his father to let him marry you otherwise, he would grow more stubborn. You know? Back then he knelt for three whole days without eating or drinking to get his father to consent to marry you. I thought it was real love, but I guess it was not. Once the novelty passed, he realized he had no future with you.” 

Yes, that’s exactly what I had thought back then, too; that Reid loved me. 

“If you are smart, he could still keep you as his mistress. Otherwise, disappear from his life. He has been getting close to Brita, Senator Morgan’s daughter, and honestly, she is a better match for my son than you could ever be in a million years.”  

I clenched the medical records in my hand and returned to my office. As always, her humiliation did not affect me. One day, she would understand that it was her son who was not good enough for me.

After a busy morning, I took a short lunch break in my office. I was tired and dozed off. I had a dream about the day Reid proposed to me. 

To marry a rogue wolf like me, Reid knelt before his father and begged for his consent. He did everything he could to defy his family, all because he had promised me that he would make me his wife.

And in the end, he succeeded.

He came to me exhausted and wounded, but with a smile on his face, and asked me to marry him. At that moment, I truly believed I was the happiest woman in the world. I said yes without hesitation, even though we had no grand wedding, no public Luna coronation ceremony, and no blessing from his family. Reid promised me that one day, he would make the entire pack acknowledge me as his Luna.

But the future I dreamed of never came. Instead, I received his public proposal…to Britta.

When did his heart change?

When did the man who once fought the whole world for me stop choosing me?

When I woke up, I realized I was covered by a men’s suit jacket. 

Just then, Reid called. I had blocked his mind link, so now he could only reach me by phone. 

“What do you want?” I asked briskly. 

“Alison, love. I passed by your office when I visited my mother today, but you were sleeping. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you up. You must have been tired. I brought your favorite sandwiches. Please don’t skip meals like you always do. I will not be able to take care of you like before for a while. Oh, and the Swiss chocolates you love, I got you a new box to boost your energy.” 

I took a deep breath after all that rambling. “Please read, don’t come to bother me anymore. Things will never go back to the way they used to be.” 

“What do you mean? You know this is just a sham divorce,” Reid said, his voice tightening. 

“Alison, tell me you didn’t mean that.” 

“I made myself perfectly clear. We signed the divorce agreement, we’ve rejected each other, and from now on, we have absolutely no connection. Be a good ex and disappear from my life.”  

I hung up the phone. Reid kept calling, but I refused to answer. The pain of the rejection still lingered in my heart, but I refused to dwell in it. I had cried enough for the past few days.  

I couldn't turn off my phone since I was working and someone might call to tell me something important, so I let it buzz for a while until it stopped.  

I focused on reviewing the charts of my patients, and the afternoon flew by without even noticing. After a while, another call came through. I was about to yell bloody murder to Reid when I realized it wasn’t him calling.  

I looked closely at the caller’s name and froze for a long moment. 

He was the only one in the pack who knew my true identity.