Chapter 2

Penelope’s POV

My hand shook as I unlocked it. I looked at the missed calls; just so many of them. All from Julian. He had never called this much; something was wrong.

I didn’t have time to think. I jumped out of bed, and threw on clothes, whatever I could find. My mind was moving at such a pace I felt tight in my chest like I couldn’t breathe properly. What happened last night? Where was I? What was going on?

I reached down and grabbed my bag, grabbing my phone again, my finger hovering over the call button to Julian. I should call him, but I didn't want to, worry continued to build up inside of me, why was I worried? What if something had happened to him? I quickly pressed his number and waited, holding my breath.

Rings once. Twice.

And then voicemail.

I tried again, no, and again, voice mail, again, I could not help but feel a knot twist in my stomach, starting from something cold. What? Why wasn't Julian answering? Maybe he is busy... But that was not the feeling I was getting. 

The fear that caused me to feel frozen in my chest began to frighten me. I could feel it starting to boil over, and I was losing control. 

“Callista?” I mumbled as I walked into the hallway. My voice was shaky as I looked for Callista. I needed to find someone. Someone who could help me sort out what had just happened, someone to explain to me why I had woken up in this place, alone, with no memories of what happened the night before. 

The hallway outside the room was quiet, with sunlight causing long shadows to stretch across the floor in front of me. I walked toward the elevator, hoping that Callista was still somewhere in the hotel -maybe still sleeping off the party. I just wanted to see her face, to hear her laugh, and to know that everything was going to be okay. 

I was met with a couple of hotel staff walking down the hallway, and they didn’t seem to even recognize me. It was hard to deal with the horrible reality of what I was waking up to, or the normalcy of the world outside the hotel, it only made me more lonely.

The elevator doors opened with a slight ding and I walked inside - my heart pounding with every second.

Something was wrong. Something had happened. But I didn't know what. And the more I really thought about it, the more I let the weight of my unreturned calls and anxiety weigh down on me.

The elevator descended slowly and when the doors opened, I walked out.

I tried calling Julian again, but it was still the same nothing. No answer.

And that’s when it hit me. “Why am I so scared?”

The whole day, I couldn’t sit still. My head was pounding, not from the hangover, but from the silence. I called Julian again and again but he didn’t answer. Callista too. Nothing. Not even a text. It felt like the world had just…gone quiet on me.

My chest tightened every time I looked at my phone. Something was wrong. I felt it in my bones.

By evening, I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed answers. I needed to see Julian. Maybe we had a fight and I forgot? Maybe something happened and they were avoiding me? My brain kept making excuses, just to stop my heart from crumbling.

I got a cab and went straight to Julian’s mansion. The estate was huge, quiet, and guarded but I’d been there before. They knew me. I walked past the gates, pretending like everything was normal.

I opened the door without knocking. I was his girlfriend, after all.

“Julian?” I called out, stepping inside. “Julian, please…can we talk?”

There was a sound upstairs.

Voices. A moan.

My chest sank.

No. No, no, no.

I ran up the stairs, something cold and sharp twisting inside me.

I pushed open the door to his room and froze.

There they were.

Julian.

Callista.

Together.

Naked.

On his bed.

My breath left my lungs like I’d been punched. My vision blurred, my knees wobbled. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think.

“Julian?” I whispered, barely recognizing my own voice. “What…what is this?”

He looked up. Not shocked. Not even guilty.

“You cheated first,” he said coldly.

I staggered back. “W-What are you talking about?! I never”

He grabbed his phone and tossed it to me. “Watch.”

I stared at the screen.

There I was.

In a hotel room.

With a man I didn’t know. Half-naked. Moaning.

It was a video.

A video of me.

I dropped the phone like it burned me. My hands were shaking, and my whole body trembled. My heart was racing. My throat felt like it was closing up.

“T-That’s not real!” I stammered, my voice breaking, barely able to keep it together. “I don't even remember this! Julian, I swear I..”

But he didn’t let me finish.

“Save it,” he snapped, his voice cold and detached, pulling Callista closer to him.

I stared at them both, helpless, my body numb. This couldn’t be happening. Not to me. Not to us.

I turned to Callista, the girl I had loved like a sister. The girl who knew me better than anyone.

Her eyes were empty. Cold. No sign of the best friend I thought I knew. She didn’t even blink as she spoke, her voice sharp and biting. “Julian, can you tell that fool to get out of here so we can continue where we stopped?”

It hit me like a punch to the gut. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.

I wanted to scream. To fight back. To say anything that would make this stop.

But all I could do was stand there, my legs giving out beneath me, tears pouring down my face.

“You…you planned this…” I whispered, my voice cracking. “Why? Why would you do this to me? I trusted you! I thought you were my friend, Callista!”

Julian didn’t even look at me.

“You’re just mad because you got caught,” he said, his tone dismissive. “Callista didn’t do anything to you.”

The words hit me like a slap. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

I choked out, my chest ached. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t even know. Please, Julian…please believe me…”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he held Callista tighter, turning his back to me as if I didn’t matter.

Then without a care he said “I, Julian Blackwood, reject you as my mate. I can't have a cheater as my mate.”

I stumbled backward, my heart breaking into pieces, the pain almost unbearable. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream.

But all I could do was back away, watching them both as I fell apart.

I ran.

I didn’t care if I looked like a mess, if I looked pathetic, tears streaming down my face, my body shaking with every step. I just needed to get out.

But then, I ran straight into Julian’s friends. They were laughing—mocking me before they even saw me properly.

“Guess the slut’s out now.” One of them said, grinning like it was all a joke.

“Didn’t know you were that wild, Penelope,” another sneered. “Nice performance.”

They had seen it too.

The video, it was everywhere.

I felt my world shatter, piece by piece. How could this be happening? How could they all think this of me? They all knew me. They knew who I was.

I ran faster, my heart pounding, legs weak beneath me. I didn’t care about anyone else. I just needed to get away. Away from this. From them.

When I got home, I didn’t even have a chance to explain. Just getting through the door saw him on me.  “Where have you been?” he spat, grabbing my arm so tightly it hurt, and I could feel the bruises forming with every word he yelled.  “Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve ruined everything! Do you have any idea what this looks like?”

I opened my mouth. I was going to plead, tell him it wasn’t me, scream that I didn’t even know what happened or remember…

But before I could get the words out, there was my stepmother, shoving me through the door.

“You filthy disgrace! You think you can ruin our name like this and get away with it?” she shouted, her hand slapping across my cheek so hard I was left breathless. 

I stood there, utterly broken, my hands shaking in front of me. 

I begged through tears, my voice barely audible, “I didn’t do anything, please… Please just hear me out.  “Please!”

They still didn't listen. I didn't even have a second to think about what was taking place when my stepmother's icy voice rang out. "Redhead!" She spat the words. "Get over here and teach this girl some lessons." Redhead. Just the name made my stomach plummet. I had heard the stories - the whispers about her. 

The woman who belonged to the Arshborn pack, the one whose role was strictly for discipline, for punishment. They said she had no mercy. When she came, it was over.

I didn’t even know who to beg first. My father? My stepmother? But there was nothing to say anymore.

The door to the room slammed open, and there she stood. Redhead. Her eyes were cold, unfeeling, like she had no emotion left to give.

She grabbed me by the arm, her fingers digging into my skin as she yanked me toward the door.

“No! Please, Daddy! Please, I’m sorry!” I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. “forgive me! I didn’t do anything! It wasn’t me!  

“Let me explain, I beg you!”