Chapter 2

I stared at my phone for a long time, waiting to see Logan's reply.

But he never replied.

The guards long left. I threw my phone on the bed and stared at the cold floor.

I hissed as I tried to move my body, but it felt so numb that it started aching.

A maid, Althea, walked into my room. "You need to change, Miss Freya."

Her hands reached to touch me. But she gasped, her eyes rounding in shock. "Oh, no! You’re burning up!"

​She quickly dialed a number. "Hello? Mr. Hayes? Miss Freya is sick. She has a dangerously high fever.”

My eyes didn't blink, as the cold floor was the most interesting thing to my eyes.

Logan's voice came out, and I could hear it. ​"Give her medicine then," His voice snapped, dripping with annoyance. "Why are you bothering me for that?"

​Then, a sound shattered what was left of my heart… Evica’s voice.

I snatched the phone from Althea and pressed it against my ear.

A sharp moan from my sister pierced the line.

“L-Logan, yes, yes! I—I am com—Ahh!"

Logan let out a low, guttural groan before the call abruptly disconnected.

I felt the sky had fallen over me.

The betrayal was no longer a rumor; it was a loud and clear reality.

Althea cleared her throat. “I think Mr. Hayes is busy—”

I handed her phone to her. She immediately left the room in awkwardness.

My body finally gave out, and I collapsed back onto the mattress.

The fever raged in my blood, but my heart had finally turned to stone.

​I wiped away the last of my tears. "No more," I whispered to the empty room. "No more tears, Freya."

***

​I spent three days lost in a feverish haze. My so-called family never checked to see if I was alive. Logan never replied to my text.

​By the evening of the fourth day,

I was summoned to the Hayes Mansion.

When I stepped inside the house,

I found Helena, Logan’s mother, waiting on the couch in the living room. Composing myself, I approached and forced out a greeting.

​”Aunt Helena.”

I thought Logan had talked to her and his father about breaking the engagement.

"Sit," Helena commanded.

She had always looked down on me.

I moved to a couch, obeying her. Near the couch, tea and snacks were on the coffee table. Trying to show a final shred of respect, I reached out to pour her a cup of tea.

She didn't even look at it. She just flicked the cup away, cold and dismissive.

​"I’m not interested in anything from your hand," she snapped.

​The hot liquid splashed across my skin.

I hissed as the heat took hold; the back of my hand instantly turned red and swollen.

I immediately tried to blow the sting away.

“So weak!" Helena scoffed, her eyes full of disdain. "I’m ashamed my son chose you.”

I realized Logan hadn't told anyone about my message.

Just as the words stung, Logan’s voice cut through the air from behind.

"What are you saying, Mom?"

​I bit my lip, caught between the burn on my hand and the memory of that phone call. One last time, I hoped he would finally take a stand for me.

But when I turned my head to look at him, my eyes froze and my heart crashed in dust.

Logan was holding Evica's waist as both of them walked into the house together.

I was stunned to see them, my heart shattered.

‘Logan, you didn't have time to reply to me, but you have time to sleep around with my sister?’ I thought, feeling a blow of emotion inside me.

Helena got up from the couch and walked over him.

"Logan, my son!"

Logan let go of Evica's waist and turned his head to me. His eyes locked with mine.

There was no guilt in his eyes, but only arrogance. "What are you doing here?"

I was silent, not feeling the need to reply to him. I was feeling sick of him.

He turned to his mother and asked,

​"Mom, why did you call me? I’m not interested in your bickering," Logan sighed, dismissing the humiliation I had just endured.

I scoffed at my own foolishness. Expecting him to defend me was a habit I needed to break.

As Evica smirked at me in my defeat, I turned to leave. But Helena’s voice stopped me cold.

​“Logan, your dad called me an hour ago,” she said, her tone shifting.

“There’s bad news.”

I narrowed my eyes, glancing at her in confusion.

Logan held her hand and asked, “What happened, Mom?”

Helena cleared her throat and replied with a shaky voice,

“Aleric Vance is back to the pack.”

Silence fell like a shroud.

The weight of the name settled over the room like a fog.

​I watched the color drain from Logan’s face. Seeing him crumble at the mere mention of Aleric felt like justice.

‘The man you hate the most is back, Logan. It's good; you deserve to lose everything.’

I shifted my gaze to Helena and said,

“I have another piece of news for you. I am breaking the engagement with Logan.”

​Helena stood frozen in shock, while an evil grin spread across Evica’s face. But Logan's face turned grim.

​I didn't give them another second and walked out of the house without another word.

Logan stormed out, following me behind as I heard his roar. “Freya, stop overreacting.”

I turned to him and snapped back in anger.

“We are over, Logan. I can't stay a single day with an asshole like you.”

​Logan let out a warning growl, his jaw tight. "What did you just say? Say it again!"

​Evica rushed out behind him. She grabbed my arm with a look of fake concern. “How can you do this to Logan, Sister? Don't break the engagement, please!”

She was pretending to be innocent. I glared at her and pushed her away. She fell on the ground.

​“Ahh! Logan, I’m hurt!” she cried out.

​Logan immediately held her into his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice soft, the way it used to be with me.

Then he turned his icy glare back to me. "Apologize to Evica right now. Do it, and I’ll forget the nonsense you just spat.”

​I stared at him in disbelief. "An apology? You are dreaming."

​He froze, stunned by the defiance in the girl who had always obeyed him. In a flash of rage, he lunged, gripping my arm so hard it bruised.

​“I said apologize to—”

​I yanked my arm free and swung.

​SLAP!

​The sound echoed off the stone walls.

Evica let out a gasp.

Logan’s head snapped to the side, his hand flying to his reddening cheek. He looked at me as if I were a stranger.

​"You've been sleeping with my sister while making a fool of me," I said, my voice cold and steady. "Go to hell with her, Logan Hayes."

​I turned and walked away, leaving them standing in the shadow of the house they had already ruined.

-

The loud music thrummed my chest, making my head spin. I gripped my second glass of tequila, leaning against my best friend, Mila. After leaving Logan's house, I directly come to a club to burn my sorrow.

"I have warned you countless times. You never listened to me. I have seen him making out with Evica in a club once," Mila said with disdain.

Her words made me disgust Logan even more.

"I was a fool. But now he can go to hell with his royal Alpha reputation."

Although she was also drunk, she tried to reach for my glass. "I know, honey. I am proud of you. Now stop drinking too much!”

I did not listen to her. My gaze was fixed in the center of the club.

All of a sudden,

The girls gathered around the entrance and began to gasp and whisper.

"Hey! Look at them! What's going on?" I asked Mila, blinking my eyes a few times.

Mila glanced there and chuckled. "Must be male strippers?"

"Oh!"

Mila looked at me with a smirk and winked, "Since you are going to be single again, want to try one?"

Logan's and my family’s betrayal curved into my mind, turning my heart empty. So when Mila said that, my eyes returned their gaze toward the crowd.

A line of massive men in suits started to push the girls away as if making a room for someone.

Then I saw a man walking through the center of the path.

He was tall with broad shoulders that looked like granite. He had a sharp jawline and a nose that was straight. His hair was dark and styled in a sharp undercut, faded at the sides to keep things edgy, and screamed rebellious streak.

His black suit was the peak of old money luxury, perfectly tailored to his frame.

In my drunk state, his jacket looked like a costume to me.

He moved with a predatory gaze that made the air in the room turn cold and heavy.

Girls in the club could not help but stare at him with their jaws dropped.

However, his piercing and dark eyes made others take a step back from him.

"Him! I want him!"

I said to Mila and let out a chuckle. The man really caught my eyes. He made Logan look like a blurred sketch in my mind while he was a masterpiece in front of my eyes.

"Wait, what?" Mila asked with a confused look.

"They must be putting a show!" I mumbled.

Mila blinked a few times to look at where I was pointing at. She was so drunk that she could not see anything but blur. “I think role play…” she murmured with a giggle.

​I stumbled off the barstool, my head spinning as I lunged forward.

I slipped past a guard who clearly didn't expect a small, drunk Omega to move that fast.

Before anyone could stop me, I threw myself directly into the man’s path, forcing him to a dead halt.

The entire club turned silent.

The music seemed to die.

I looked at the man, my vision blurred.

He smelled like rain and power. I smiled and mumbled,

"Nice... Nice outfit. Did you rent this costume?"

He looked down at me, his eyes darkened. His brows furrowed by my question.

I tilted my head and asked, “W-Who are you?”

He didn’t move. He didn't even blink, piercing his gaze at me.

Then he spoke with a voice that was so deep, a silky growl that vibrated my bones.

“Who do you think I am?”