Chapter 001: The Divorce

CLARA'S POV

"I'm pregnant.."

I practically breathed out the words, my chest tight and eyes pooling with tears of joy for the umpteenth time today. It still felt like a dream, one that I would gladly not wake up from because this was the moment I had been waiting for 2 years.

I chuckled quietly to myself as I stirred the pot of pasta I was cooking for dinner in preparation for my husband's arrival. Nate had travelled for a business trip 2 weeks ago and would be returning today. In fact, he was due to walk through the doors any moment now. Which was why I had taken the initiative to prepare something I knew he would love.

This baby would heal our marriage. For 2 years, Nate and I had consistently tried for a baby, but it was just one negative result to another. The pack’s council members were already beginning to advise him to take another wife, reminding him that the Alpha position would pass to another family if he didn’t produce an heir.

Because of this, Nate had grown distant. The loving man I married had grown impatient and cold toward me. But with this news, our marriage would return to how it used to be. I would bear Nate an heir and he would continue to love me.

My lips curved into a smile as I turned off the cooking gas and began to clean up. Carefully, I set the table and took out Nate's favourite wine from the fridge. Once I was done, I stepped back to admire my work.

Now, it was time to wait.

To pass time, I turned on the TV to keep myself busy. I was just getting settled on the sofa when I heard it.

"NATHANIEL BENNETT, ALPHA OF BREAKSTONE PACK, SPOTTED WITH SEXY MODEL ISLA HAYES AT THE PRESIDENTIAL HOTEL."

Immediately, time froze and my entire body turned cold with shock as I listened to the news presenter talk about my husband. My chest tightened painfully as I stared at the screen, mouth agape.

No…no, this can't be right. It has to be some sort of mixup. This had to be one of those scandal news that occasionally sprouted up for the views. Nate would never do something like that. I knew him. I knew my husband.

But when a video popped up on the screen, and I saw footage of Nate leaving the hotel with a model, a sharp cry escaped my lips. The TV remote fell from my hand as my knees touched the ground. Pain like hot lava traveled through my veins, and my hands clutched my stomach. I couldn't breathe…couldn't think, as fat drops of tears spilled down my cheeks.

I told myself there had to be a logical explanation for this. But what?

My mind was going in circles when I heard Nate's car pull into the driveway.

He was home.

Shakily, I wiped my eyes and waited for him to make an entrance before doing anything. Once I heard the doorbell ring, I nearly fell over myself in a rush to unlock the door.

I was eager to see him, eager to get an explanation for what I had just seen. I tried to reassure myself by keeping hope strong. This could all just be a huge misunderstanding and nothing more. Nate worked with a lot of people. I already knew that. So, it was possible that the model was just one of his clients.

Knowing the media, I wouldn't put it past them to twist the truth into something messy and bitter. I just had to remain calm and get to the bottom of this before making conclusions.

That thought calmed me down a bit as I finally opened the door. He was standing there with his briefcase in hand and an expressionless face. I tried to perk up a bit by forcing a smile.

"Welcome home, honey–"

The greeting stuck in my throat when Nate walked in, followed by a tall, blonde woman.

It was her. The model from the news.

I was so taken by surprise that I nearly gasped, but I held myself together in an effort to keep my composure. I was not going to play the part of the scorned, senseless wife when I had no proof of what I suspected yet.

Plus, if I turned out to be wrong, I would have overreacted for nothing. Instead, I opened the door wider to usher them in.

There must be an explanation, I'm sure of it. I continued to repeat this in my head as I did this. I greeted Nate again, but he did not bother to respond. Instead, he ushered the model to a sofa in the living room.

"Come, Isla. Take a seat and make yourself comfortable," he said with a smile.

My mouth filled with something dark and bitter. But I said nothing. Once the girl was seated, I approached my husband again, willing to assume that he did not respond because he hadn't heard me.

"Welcome, darling," I greeted again with a smile. Then I let my eyes sweep to the girl. "Who is this? A friend of yours or a client?”

Nate looked irritated as he answered. "Your replacement."

I froze on the spot, my tongue seemingly stuck to the roof of my mouth. Surely, I couldn't have heard right. Was this some sort of joke? Or was I, perhaps, dreaming? I stared at him, waiting for him to take back what he just said.

"Wh—What do you mean by that? I don't understand."

"Goddess, Clara, don't be so dumb. I know you're a tad slow and stupid. But you can't be so dumb to have watched the news and not put everything together, can you? Isla, here is your replacement, and that is final."

I imagined that it might have been less painful if someone pushed me out of a moving car. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Is this a joke? I-I don't get it. Did you forget about us? Our mate bond, the vows we made to each other on our wedding day…you can't just throw that all away."

"Don't be stupid, Clara," he hissed. "I am no longer interested in this marriage. Aside from the fact that you are fucking boring, unattractive and unfruitful, in the two years we've been together, you have done nothing but made me a laughingstock. You have absolutely nothing to show as a wife; you are useless and a complete waste of my time. By now, you should have borne a son for me, an heir to inherit all my riches, make me proud and become Alpha of the pack. But what have you done about it since then? Nothing!"

"But I–"

My attempt to announce my pregnancy to him was cut off when he tossed some documents in my face. I flinched as they hit me in the eye before falling to the ground.

"Sign them. Now."

Shocked, I picked them up and glanced through. Tears formed in my eyes as I stared at my husband. "Nate…these are—"

"Divorce papers, yes. Sign them immediately so I can get this over with."

My chest was burning. All the pent-up emotions I had been locking away this entire time burst out as I began to sob helplessly. I could barely breathe as I clutched the documents in my hand. But most of what I felt was anger from being betrayed by the man I loved.

Through my sobs, I told Nate, “How could you do this? Just two years of our marriage, and you’ve decided to end it?”

Isla burst into mocking laughter. "Sign the papers and leave, Clara, with the little dignity you have left. Nate, as Alpha, deserves a five-star woman worthy enough to bear his pups. Not a dowdy old goat like you."

My limbs grew tight, and my face became hot as I felt anger pool into every muscle.

“Really? You call yourself a five-star woman, but what you really are is a cheap fraud who is happy breaking up homes and happy marriages!"

Tears sprang to Isla's eyes like she had conjured them up.

"Nate!" she cried. "Did you hear what she said to me?"

Before I could even process anything, Nate pushed forward and slapped me in the face. So hard that I staggered backwards. I looked at Nate in shock. He had never raised his hand on me. I was hysterical at this point.

"Did you just slap me? Because of another woman?!"

"Shut your fucking mouth," he yelled.

Again, his hand connected with my cheek. His push sent me stumbling over the centre table. I fell on my stomach. A sharp jolt of pain shot through my abdomen. My screams were drowned out by Nate's yells for me to shut up.

Nate dragged me up into a sitting position and thrust the divorce papers into my hands with a pen.

"Sign it," he barked, raising his fist threateningly. "I give you thirty seconds, or I'll break your fingers one by one until you sign."

Isla sat up straighter. She looked hopeful.

With my eyes blurry with tears, I looked up into the face of my husband of two years. One look at his contorted features told me he meant every word he said. He didn’t know I was pregnant, and I would keep it that way.

At that moment, he was more of a monster than a man. My life was in danger if I didn't sign.

It took several tries before I could scrawl my signature on the documents. When I was done, Nate snatched the papers out of my hand.

“I, Nathaniel Bennet, reject you, Clara, as my mate.” He pointed to the door. "Now get out!"