Chapter 3

Ellie's POV

"Am I right?" Felicity pouted, speaking to Nolan in a teasing tone, throwing me a sidelong glance. "She’ll only cause you trouble."

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU NOW?" I asked.

The words slipped from my lips before I could think, before I could filter or soften or smile like I apparently used to.

The air in the room stilled. Nolan’s brows shot up, but Felicity’s face cracked first, her lips parting in a sneer.

“What did you just say?” she asked, a mocking little laugh curling around her words.

I took a slow step forward, tilting my head, studying her as if she were a painting hung in my house without permission. “I mean it. Who, are, you?”

The silence that followed was heavy with shock, their shock.

Maybe it was because I hadn’t flinched when she sneered at me, hadn’t cowered or looked to Nolan for help. Maybe it was just that I was finally acting like someone with a backbone.

Felicity recovered quickly, smile stretching back into place like a mask. “Cute. Trying on a new personality, are we? What is this, Ellie 4.0? A little sass to win your precious Alpha back? Man, you’ll try anything for a glance from him.”

“Oh,” I said lightly, “I see. You’re in my house, with my husband, insulting me, and I’m the one desperate for his attention. That clears things up.”

Nolan blinked, furrowing his brow. Felicity’s expression twisted.

“Excuse you! You’ve got a lot of nerve for someone who used to cry if Nolan so much as frowned in your direction,” she snapped. “Remember that? Remember begging him to stay every time he so much as glanced at me? Or do we not recall that version of you? This personality switch up won’t last! You’re pathetic! Remember that!”

I smiled, not because it was funny... okay, it is a bit funny. A random woman yelled at me for who I was.

“I did all that?” I asked, raising a brow. “Wow. That’s embarrassing. Should I laugh? Or clap for it? Because until now, all I’ve heard is the story of a poor girl doing everything she can for the man she loves, and that man being blind to it, not appreciating her at all. "

"And here you are, mocking her, " I looked at her in her eyes. "as if it has anything to do with you. If she made a mistake, it’s that she didn’t leave sooner. You two are disgusting”

Felicity’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. She looked like she spotted a ghost in daylight.

“You really are insane,” She said, recovering her balance. “What are you doing, Ellie? Reinventing yourself? Playing the new, brave and misunderstood wife? You’re embarrassing.”

“She’s pretending again,” Nolan muttered under his breath, arms crossed. “She’s always done this when she wants something.”

I snapped my head toward him. “You think I’m pretending? For what?”

“You think I’m impressed?” His voice was low and annoyed. “We’ve played this game before.”

“Do we?” I said, stepping closer. “Now it's the new game. And I'm not who I was.”

He frowned.

Felicity laughed again, shrill and brittle. “So what, you’re strong now? You’re going to fight against him? Please. You couldn’t even stand to be in the same room when he ignored you, doing all these pity cries for him.”

I looked her dead in the eyes. “I don’t want him.”

And I meant it. I wasn’t even sure I wanted me yet, but I was damn sure I didn’t want to be her anymore. The girl who begged. The girl who bent over backwards for a man who never met her halfway.

“I’m not here to cry or win anyone over,” I scoffed. “I’m just trying to figure out how I ended up married to someone who thinks silence is a personality trait.”

That one landed hard. Nolan’s jaw clenched, but with a sigh he turned slightly, his eyes closing as a mindlink reached him. He didn't say anything aloud, but I could feel his mood shift—cold and businesslike. Alpha mode.

“I have to take this,” he said, turning and walking out without another glance.

Felicity waited until the door clicked shut before stepping closer, her voice lower now, quieter, but no less venomous. She reminded me of a viper, a pretty one, but those eyes locked on me like a target.

“I’ve heard rumors, you know, trying for a child. Scraping for scraps again, like you could ever be his true Luna. Even if you did, you think they’d ever let you raise that child?” she asked, her smile all teeth. “With your status? You’re a nobody, Ellie. Just a rogue who got lucky. They’d never let you keep that pup.”

I said nothing, but my hand moved protectively over my stomach. Did she know? No way.

“Don’t be stupid. When I’m Luna, they’d give the baby to me. And I’ll make sure they never forget how pathetic their mother was.”

She leaned in. “If you think I’ll be kind, think again.”

I didn’t lash out. I didn’t scream. I just stared at her like I was seeing her clearly for the first time.

When Nolan returned, I was still standing there, arms crossed and lips sealed.

I turned to him as he walked in, my voice calm. “Is it true?”

He raised a brow. “Is what true?”

“That I wouldn’t be allowed to raise my own child in this pack?”

He exhaled, almost dismissively. “That was the agreement. You knew what this was. We are married to produce the child of a fated bond; they are stronger, but you’re no Luna. I thought that was clear.”

“And after that? What—was I just supposed to disappear?”

“You’d do what you always do,” he said, dryly. “Run off crying, then show up again looking for attention.”

I stared at him.

This man… was the worst.

My voice shook with something closer to fury than sadness. “You’re such a jerk.”

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You married me, used me, ignored me, and now you’re pretending I’m the one being dramatic? You don’t even know me.”

“I know you better than you think.” His voice sounded exhausted, like I was still pulling some act.

“No,” I snapped. “You knew a girl who thought being silent would keep her safe. Who thought if she was obedient enough, maybe, just maybe, you’d love her back.”

His bored expression didn’t budge, his eyes half-lidded with the same detached disinterest he always wore, like emotions were beneath him. Like I was beneath him.

“But I’m not her anymore.”

I could practically feel him waiting. Waiting for the performance, he thought he knew by heart. For the trembling lips. For the wide, watery eyes. For the whispered, please don’t go.

But I didn’t give it to him.

Instead, I squared my shoulders, letting the fire settle into my spine like armor. My voice clear and steady.

“I want a divorce.”

His hands slid slowly out of his pockets. For once, he looked uncertain. “What?”

“You heard me. I want out of this marriage.”

I smiled, lifted my chin in pride.