Chapter 2

I closed my eyes, holding back tears.

Be more like Lisa?

No matter what, Leon still loved her. Always had.

I pushed him away and went back to the bedroom.

2 days later, Leon took me back to my parents’ villa. He pulled me close, and I could feel his breath as he looked down at me.

“Don’t embarrass me today,” he said. “And don’t make Lisa look bad.”

He kissed my cheek. As soon as he pulled away, I wiped the spot clean.

This party was supposed to welcome Lisa home and celebrate her new role as a healing treatment researcher at the Werewolf Academic. But Lisa and I had never been close. She had invited me only to humiliate me.

I knew her too well, my own twin sister.

I stood in the crowd, watching Lisa holding Leon’s hand as they were mates.

“Soon I’ll be the healing consultant for Leon’s company,” she said, “so some of the less qualified werewolves can step aside.” Lisa looked straightly at me.

Leon smiled.

Leon knew nothing about the healing business or running a company. The truth was, the company’s initial $1 million startup fund had come from my herbal formulas. As the business grew, somehow all the credit had shifted to him.

In my eyes, Leon and Lisa were perfect for each other. They could use each other.

None of this had anything to do with me.

In 3 days, I would finally escape this sinking boat. Then he would see if Lisa could help his company.

I scanned the room for my parents, only to hear they had grown seriously ill and moved abroad, after they tried the herbal portion Lisa made, so they weren’t here.

Lisa, in a sexy gown, raised her champagne glass. “Another happy thing today, my twin sister, who has avoided our family for years, has finally stepped back into this house. I want her to know she is always a part of us.”

The crowd stared at me, shocked by her words.

This was exactly what she wanted.

The lights dimmed, and a projector flickered on. “Next, a little surprise I prepared for my dear sister,” Lisa announced.

My heart shattered as the screen lit up. It was footage of me at 13, surrounded by homeless pups in the boarding school. I was bullied.

Then it cut to me at 18, working in a werewolf teahouse, harassed by a drunk customer. I had to kneel to pick up the shards of broken glass by hands.

These “memories” she had edited together were nothing but a humiliation. This was why she had called me here, to make me become a joke in the pack.

“I truly admire you, my twin sister. How did you manage it? Cheers, welcome home.”

She held out a champagne glass.

My fingers felt colder than the champagne itself.

I tried to leave, but she spoke again. “Do you hate me, Carla?”

Her eyes were filled with tears, and her voice was overly dramatic.

“We’re family, but you never contacted me, never even checked on mom and dad. I know you think I stole them from you, but why do you think that? When mom was sick, you never visited. I was the one by her bedside, night after night. You just ran from our family.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but a hand pulled me aside. It was Leon.

He patted my shoulder, smiling at the crowd. “Carla’s still working on this. She is here today, isn’t she? When she’s ready, I’ll take her to apologize to her parents.”

He signaled the band to play, and music filled the room. He looked at me as if seeking praise, but I felt nothing. He knew how my parents had abandoned me, yet he had said something like that to the crowd.

I turned and stepped out onto the balcony to breathe.

Lisa followed me.

“You look beautiful today,” she said. “That dress, mom gave it to you, didn’t she? She said you could wear it on your mating ceremony. Too bad she told me she would never attend the mating ceremony of a worthless Omega like you.”

I clenched my fists.

She went on, “Everyone said we were twins, but look at us. I’m a skilled healer now, and you’re just a useless Omega. Were you miserable all these years? We all know you’re ungrateful. You donated money to that boarding school to upgrade their facilities, but you never sent a cent to your own family. How stupid can you be?”

“I earned that money myself,” I said, struggling to stay calm. “What I do with it is none of your business.”

“Funny you say that,” she smirked. “Do you know how I got those videos? Who told me all your little secrets? Only one person knew them, it was your precious Alpha mate, Leon. Did you know how he describes you? As a boring toy to be played with.”

Her words cut like knives, hurting my heart. But she wasn’t done.

She stepped closer and whispered, “You think he married you because he loved you? You were just a substitute of me. I was studying abroad, and since you’re my twin sister, he was obsessed enough to settle for you.”

Deep down, I knew she was telling the truth.

I took a deep breath.

Only 3 days left. No need to get angry with something like this.

I stayed silent, but she lifted my chin with a finger. “Dear sister, do you know where your Alpha will be tonight? He’s coming to my place. He’ll kiss me, hold me and sleep with me, just like we used to. Did you really think he was ‘traveling’ every anniversary? He was with me. Every single time.”

My body froze.

The champagne glass slipped from my hand, shattering on the floor.

So that was why he always left on our anniversaries. I thought it was a coincidence.

But he was with Lisa, then returned to me as if nothing had happened.

I shook my head. “If you want him so badly, you can have him. I don’t care.”

“Remember that lavender nightgown he gave you? Didn’t you notice my scent on it? It was his gift to me, bought in Paris. I wore it many times when we slept together. I wrapped it up and asked him to give it to you as an inside joke. He really did that!”

I stumbled, nearly falling.

That strange smell on the gown. I remembered.

Now I knew. It was Lisa’s.

I feel extremely disgusted.

They used my money to stay in the most luxurious hotel and buy that gown, then sent it to me just to humiliate me.

I remembered Leon said, “Carla, you’re my only Luna, forever.”

Lies, all lies.

Lisa’s eyes glinted with triumph. “I’m going to replace you. I’ll be his new Luna. And I’ll destroy you.”