Chapter 2

“You really came.”

That Alpha—the one I once entrusted with all my faith—didn’t even look up from his phone as he gestured for me to sit.

His eyes swept over me with detached indifference, as if I were nothing more than an insignificant object.

“This event was never meant for you, Ella.” He kept his eyes on the glowing screen. “You know you’re not of enough importance.”

I stepped closer, my voice calm, almost bloodless. “And since when did you get to decide that?”

“Don’t do this.” He frowned. “You know I can’t afford too many emotional variables around me right now.”

“Right. I’m too fragile, too emotional, too disobedient. Not even good enough to be the decorative attachment to your Alpha image. Is that it?”

He finally looked up, voice devoid of any apology. “I’ve told you many times—this isn’t about you.”

“But I’m always the one being replaced, dismissed, thrown out of the room.” I was smiling, yet my eyes were a little moist, and a wave of sourness welled up in my nostrils.

“How do you expect me to interpret ‘not about me’? As a polite way of saying ‘get lost’?”

His brow twitched, but he didn’t argue.

I went on, “Don’t worry—I won’t make a scene. I know you hate things getting ‘ugly.’ All you ever wanted was someone who could smile, raise a glass, wear a dress, and stand quietly by your side. Isn’t that right?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Ella, must you make this sound so unpleasant?”

“Unpleasant?” I laughed coldly. “You used me as background for five years, and now you can’t even bother to leave me a shred of dignity? Am I supposed to thank you for your so-called ‘graceful handling’?”

He turned, pulled a box from the drawer, and finally, there was a touch of softness in his voice. “I meant to give this to you myself... as a keepsake.”

I opened it. Inside was a ruby earring, engraved behind the letters N & L.

I froze. “L? Not E?”

He paused, awkwardly avoiding my gaze. “...It was a mistake.”

I snapped the box shut, my voice hoarse. “So now you don’t even bother correcting gifts meant for someone else.”

The door suddenly swung open with a deliberately gentle voice trailing in behind it. “Oops, sorry! I did knock—maybe you just didn’t hear?”

Liora entered, clad in a pale blue dress, cradling a stack of documents in her arms. She smiled sweetly. “Alpha Nathan, I brought your compiled reports—oh? Ella’s here too? You look a little pale. Not feeling well?”

She stepped forward and casually set the papers on the table, knocking over the small stone sculpture that sat beside me, a carving I had made myself after a border mission, of our two wolves standing on a snowy peak.

Crash.

The sculpture shattered.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to... Was that something Ella made? It didn’t look very sturdy, anyway.” Her voice dripped with honeyed innocence, as if I were the one overreacting.

I bent down to gather the fragments. A sharp edge sliced my fingertip, and blood began to seep out slowly. My heart is just like these fragments at this moment.

She immediately stepped back, her tone shifting into feigned concern. “Oh! Ella, you’re bleeding... Alpha Nathan, isn’t she being a little too dramatic?”

“Liora, don’t go near her,” he said to her, then turned to me with a sideways glance. “Ella, must you express your discontent like this?”

I don't know if it's because of anger or disappointment, but my body is shaking uncontrollably, and all my emotions are trying to find an outlet at this moment.

“Relax. I’m not about to throw a tantrum or beg for reconciliation. I just—don’t want to leave any broken junk behind to pollute your view.”

He frowned. “You’re being irrational.”

Filled with anger, I stared straight at him, with what seemed like flames burning in my eyes.

“Then tell me, what’s the rational way? Smile while you throw me in the trash? Applaud your eternal love with your new Luna?”

Finally, he raised his voice. “She’s your sister!”

“She took everything from me, and you still cradle her like a treasure. I gave everything and I was never enough in your eyes.” My teeth clenched. “Nathan, did you ever, even for a moment, see me as your Luna?”

His mouth opened—but no words came.

I said it slowly, deliberately: “I carried your child.”

He turned to me sharply.

“I miscarried the night you were attending Liora’s speech event. Do you know how I survived that night?” I pulled out the broken pieces of the sculpture and tossed them into the trash.

“I held onto that stone through three days of fever, surviving on painkillers and clotting powder.” My voice was soft, but every word landed like a nail. “You tell me—was that ‘junk’?”

The air froze.

He finally turned away. “Enough.”

“You’re right. You should’ve said that long ago.” I zipped my bag. “I’ll leave now. That should clean up the room for you.”

Just as I reached the door, he suddenly spoke.

“Wait.”

I stopped.

He said slowly, “You’re still attending the Moon Goddess Blessing Ceremony tonight. With me.”

I laughed, but my head throbbed with pain in waves, and my breathing grew abnormally rapidly.

“Now you remember I exist?”

“You’re still on my official roster,” he said coldly. “The council invitations have already been sent. I can’t retract them. If you don’t show up, I’ll be in a difficult position.”

“Then why don’t you bring her?” I turned. “Isn’t Liora your ideal accessory?”

“You’re still the only one I’ve officially marked as my bonded partner,” he said. “The formality still stands.”

“So, I’m not even worth more than a ‘formality.’” My voice dripped with disdain.

He stepped closer. “Ella, don’t be like this.”

I stared at him and gave him a low, bitter laugh. “One last time. After this show, we’re finished for good.”