Chapter 4

Silence fell over the room like a tomb. My heart died in that very second.

On the day my father died—the day Julian claimed he was on a "classified mission" and Chloe claimed she was bedridden with a "severe flu"—they had been in the same bed all along. My desperate cries for help over the phone had been nothing more than background music for their sex. Julian hadn’t even shown his face at my father’s funeral.

Afterward, as I was tortured day and night by the grief of losing him, Julian had held me in his arms, whispering sweet lies. "It’s okay, Elara. Your father has become the brightest star in the sky, watching over you. I’ll take his place and protect you forever."

The truth was this filthy.

A flash of panic crossed Julian’s face. He reached out to me. "I’m sorry, Elara. I..." "I was just worked up. I didn't mean it."

I bit my lip so hard the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Like a woman possessed, I began smashing everything in the room—including our framed wedding photos.

"Get out!"

Glass shattered everywhere, creating a jagged, bloody boundary between us. Chloe tried to step toward me, but I hurled a jewelry box that struck her right in the forehead.

"Ah!" she screamed, clutching her face.

The last shred of guilt in Julian’s eyes vanished. He lunged forward, grabbing my wrist and wrenching the object from my hand, throwing it to the floor. The photo album burst open, scattering pictures across the hardwood.

There was the photo of the day Julian proposed, kneeling and swearing to give me the best life possible. There was the day I first introduced him to Chloe, the day the three of us officially became a trio. And there was my last birthday, where they sat on either side of me, smiling as I made a wish.

"Elara, what did you wish for?" "I wish for the three of us to stay together forever and never be apart."

Julian stared at those photos, his grip on my wrist loosening slightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe beat him to it.

"Julian, my head... it hurts so much. Blood! I’m bleeding!"

Julian looked up, stepped right over our memories—literally trampling the photos—and rushed to Chloe’s side. Her forehead was gashed, blood seeping through her fingers. Julian swept her up into his arms and headed for the door without a second thought. At the threshold, he paused for a split second, but he never looked back.

"Regardless of what happened, she was your best friend. You shouldn't have hurt her like this. She’s already suffered enough for this relationship."

With that, he vanished from my sight.

Suffered?

We grew up together. I knew her family was poor, so I shared everything with her. The best cuts of meat, the new dresses my father bought me—I even gave her half my allowance. And now, was I supposed to just hand over the man I’d loved for eight years, too?

I collapsed onto the floor, my tears finally run dry, staring blankly at the broken glass.

Late that night, Chloe called. Her voice was slurred with alcohol. "Elara, I really didn't mean for this to happen. Can you please forgive me? I don't want to lose you as a friend... We grew up together. I don't want a man to come between us." She was sobbing hysterically on the other end.

Then, a bartender took the phone. "Ma'am, we’re closing. If you don't come get her, I’m going to have to toss this drunk out on the sidewalk."

I sat in silence for a long time before finally grabbing my coat. Before her parents died, I had promised them I would look after her. I would fulfill that promise one last time.

When I reached the alleyway behind the bar, I saw Chloe pinned against the wall by Julian. He was kissing her with a desperate, raw intensity.

"Chloe, how many more times are you going to push me away?" Julian’s voice was low and gravelly. "You know damn well you’re the one I love. Why do you keep rejecting me for her?"

Chloe pushed him back, her eyes red. "But Elara is my best friend! I can't steal her happiness!"

"What about your happiness?" Julian gripped her shoulders, questioning her with agonizing frustration.

In that moment, their long-suppressed passion finally exploded. Chloe threw herself into Julian’s arms, clinging to him. "I love you too, Julian... but what about Elara? What do we do..."

Through her sobbing gasps, I witnessed Julian’s choice. "If she won't give us her blessing, I’ll take you away. We’ll leave this Pack behind."

Hidden behind a stone pillar, I let out a cold, hollow laugh. Through my blurred vision, I remembered how Chloe once spent three months' salary to take me to a spa. I remembered Julian cutting up fruit to feed me. I remembered how they used to compete to see who could be kinder to me.

A second later, those memories turned to ash. That love, and those two people, belonged only in the past.

I pulled out my phone and found the job offer that had been sitting in my inbox for months. Julian, I once gave up the chance to be the Lead Healer for the Silver City Pack just to stay by your side.

But now, I was choosing to leave.