Chapter 3

I looked at Carl's face, twisted with pain, and shook my head. I was about to pull my hand free when Aurora Vale suddenly called out, "Carl!"

At the sound of her voice, Carl let go of my hand.

As if to show Aurora where his loyalty lay, he even pulled a tissue out of his pocket and wiped his hand.

Like I was something dirty.

Aurora walked over to Carl. "Carl, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you'd wait for me at home?

"Oh my God, Vera, you're in a wedding dress... Are you trying to force Carl to mark you again?"

Carl glanced around nervously. There was no way he'd admit to a highborn female Alpha that he'd made a bet out of humiliating his fated mate.

In a panic, Carl reached into the crowd, yanked out a runt, and shoved him up next to me.

"Ha, Aurora, you got it! Today's the day Vera bonds with this runt! We all came to cheer her on!"

The Betas around him chimed in right away. "Yeah, yeah! We all came to support Vera!"

I looked at the drooling runt beside me and felt sick.

The pain of the broken bond left me too weak to argue.

Aurora looked a little suspicious.

Seeing Aurora's suspicion, Carl shoved both of us toward the shrine.

"Go on! Don't waste everybody's time!"

The lowly runt got bold and pressed up against me. "Heh, I'm willing to mark you..."

His stench hit me, and I snapped. I shoved him away, clutched my chest, and gasped for air.

Carl burst out laughing. "Look at her panting! I bet she's been fooling around with this runt for ages. They're made for each other!"

"Carl, how could you say that?"

Aurora smiled sweetly. "Congratulations, Vera! You've finally found someone. His bloodline might be inferior, but that's still better than ending up alone, isn't it?"

I fought through the agony tearing at my soul and fixed Carl with an icy stare.

"I am bonding today. But not with this piece of trash. My family arranged my engagement a long time ago. He's already waiting for me at the altar."

The smile froze on Carl's face.

Just then, my phone rang.

Before coming to the square and going along with his cruel prank, I'd still held on to one last shred of hope.

After all these years together, I'd believed he must have felt something for me, even without the mate bond.

That final hope died when I watched him humiliate me in public to please Aurora.

As laughter closed in around me, I opened the message thread from the unknown number and sent my reply.

The sudden ringtone cut through the jeers.

I answered and murmured a few words of agreement.

"I've made up my mind. I won't regret it. Okay, I'll go in first and wait for you."

I turned to Carl, who'd gone stiff, and calmly explained, "I'm wearing white because my husband is going to give me the grandest marking ceremony there is."

I unzipped my bag, took out a stack of invitations, and handed them out one by one.

"Tonight is my wedding. Everyone's welcome to come!"

Finally, I walked up to Carl and held out an invitation.

His expression darkened. He stepped back half a pace and flatly refused to take the invitation.

"What? Too scared to take it?"

I gave him a cold stare.

"Scared? Ha!"

Carl's face was full of scorn.

"Vera, have you lost your mind? How much did you spend on all this worthless paper just to hand it out?"

He stepped closer and sneered, "You'll stoop to anything just to make me jealous and get me to mark you!

"Do you take us all for fools? You think a few invitations will convince me you can fight your instincts and bond with someone else? You can't live without me!"

A few Betas who'd received invitations began whispering. One of them said, "Look! It's got an Alpha's personal insignia!"

"You're right! Did she actually manage to snag an Alpha?"