Chapter 2 Lily's Provocation

Evelyn's POV

Lily had posted on every one of her social media accounts.

I should have ignored it. At least, that's what my common sense told me. But I couldn't. Like a masochist, I opened her profile.

There were three posts. The first was a photo of Liam picking her up at the airport. His black umbrella was tilted toward her, covering Lily completely, while his own shoulder was soaked. I'd never seen Liam like that. He looked as if he were protecting something precious.

Next was a photo of them having dinner at a restaurant. The lighting was romantic, and beside the wine bottle sat a velvet jewelry box. Lily had posted a separate photo of the emerald necklace, captioned "Love this gift so much."

I stared at it in silence as bitterness seeped through me. Of course Lily loved it. I was the one Liam had asked to pick it out.

Just last week at work, Liam had handed me a thick catalog and told me to pick out something a girl would like.

I was stunned. He'd never done anything like that before. Maybe it was a gift Liam planned to give me? I pored over every page and finally settled on this emerald necklace.

Because the stone was so much like my mother's eyes.

After I told Liam what I'd picked, I kept hoping that someday he'd give the necklace to me. But now, seeing it in Lily's photo, I knew how naive I'd been.

Liam would only ever choose Lily. It had always been that way. Even his company, the L&L Group, which brought the pack over a hundred million dollars, was named for them. Everyone in the pack knew where the name came from. L for Liam, L for Lily.

It was their monument, and I hadn't even known. I'd worked myself to the bone for it.

Well, maybe I should've been used to it by now. After all, I'd spent years watching my father favor Lily.

When I was 15, my mother was in an accident. A week later, my father brought home Scarlett Berkeley, my stepmother, and Lily. That was when I found out he'd been cheating all along, and he even had an illegitimate daughter only two years younger than me.

Back then, Lily promised me, "Everything you have is going to be mine."

And she'd done it. My father, the house that had once been full of my mother's things, all of it became Lily's.

Then our pack fell apart, and I came to the Frostridge Pack. I thought I'd finally escaped her curse. But I was wrong. Lily showed up in front of me again.

She took Liam, my husband.

Just then, the bathroom door opened. Liam came out shirtless, his muscles on full display. He walked straight up to me, bent down to kiss my neck, and slid a hand under my nightgown, stroking my skin.

Heat rushed through me at his touch. It wasn't desire. The mate contract was pulling me toward Liam.

Once, I would have melted into his touch. Now I didn't want it. He'd just showered, so there shouldn't be any scent on him. I knew that, but I still felt like I could smell Lily.

That umbrella tilted toward Lily, that bottle of wine, that emerald necklace... and after that? Maybe they'd been in the same room, in bed, doing what he was doing to me right now.

At the thought, I went rigid, and my stomach started to churn.

Liam noticed. He stopped and studied me.

As an Alpha, he was frighteningly perceptive. I didn't want him to notice anything, so I looked away and said quietly, "I'm not feeling well."

"I heard you took half the day off today," Liam said.

"Yes," I said, half lying. "I ate something bad and went to the hospital to get checked out."

Liam's expression sharpened, and his voice turned serious. "Are you still taking the pills?"

Birth control. He'd never let there be even the smallest chance of me getting pregnant.

It hurt, but I said calmly, "I always do."

Liam nodded and reached for me again, but when he lifted my nightgown, he saw the wound on my thigh. It still hadn't healed. It had just scabbed over, twisted like an ugly worm. Liam paused and asked, "How did this happen?"

"I cut myself by accident," I said.

"Cut yourself?" Liam frowned and pressed me for an answer. "When? How did you get cut with silver?"

I lowered my eyes. "I don't know. I must not have noticed when it happened."

There was no point in telling Liam anymore.

Liam pressed his lips together, clearly not satisfied with my answer. He was about to say something else when his phone suddenly rang.

"What's wrong?" His voice went soft. He walked toward the closet, answering as he went. "Tomorrow? Okay..."

When he came back, he was fully dressed, the watch on his wrist catching the cold light. As he passed, the edge of his jacket knocked my purse off, and everything inside spilled out, including Marcus's business card.

Liam stopped, bent down, and picked it up. I watched with my hands clenched, fighting to stay calm. When I spoke, I kept my voice even.

"I'm just collecting the elders' contact information. It's for work."

"Leave that kind of thing to someone else from now on." Liam put the card on the desk and said offhandedly, "Don't wait up for me tonight."

He walked out. As I watched him disappear, all my strength seemed to drain away. My heart was pounding after all the lies I'd just told.

Maybe I'd hoped Liam would notice something, but he didn't. He was letting me go.

About half an hour passed.

Bzzz.

The phone on the desk buzzed. I picked it up. Lily had sent me a photo. A hotel suite, rumpled sheets, a bare shoulder, and Lily's triumphant smile.

Even though I'd already decided to leave, I couldn't stay calm. It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing my heart. I had to gasp just to get air into my lungs.

It's okay, I told myself. Evelyn, don't cry. It's almost over.