Chapter 2

Before I could tell him about the blocked passage, Felix cut me off, his voice impatient. "First, you pretended to be with pup. Now, you're acting all pitiful. Chloe, what the hell is wrong with you today?

"Do you really need someone to accompany you just to crawl out of the passage? You're acting like some unweaned pup. Stop messing around. It's really dangerous there. Come out now!"

Mia's sobbing voice came through the phone. "Felix, my body hurts. Did the fire burn me?"

"Mia needs to get checked out. I'll be taking the car. Call for someone to come get you, okay?" With that, Felix hung up.

Even now, he still thought I was joking with my life. I couldn't help but smile bitterly, finding the whole situation absurd.

Our relationship had made it this far because I was the one who had painstakingly kept it together. I kept putting in the effort, trying to close the distance between us, but Felix shut himself away. He refused to come out, and he wouldn't let me in.

I fell in love with Felix at first sight, and my dream was to marry him.

A year ago, Felix was poisoned with Wolfsbane, so he could only lie weakly on the bed, unable to get up. Mia was filled with disdain when she saw him that way, so she fled to another territory that very night and threw herself into another Alpha's arms.

Only I stayed by his side, caring for him day and night. I swallowed my pride and knelt before skilled healers from all over the territory, begging them to cure Felix. All my money and jewelry, even the house my parents left me, went toward paying for his treatment.

I had always been the one who gave more in this relationship.

Maybe my sincerity moved Felix. The first thing he did after he was able to stand again was propose to me. I was so overwhelmed that tears spilled down my face, and I couldn't even get the words out. I just kept nodding.

Even though Felix was still distant, he was willing to stay by my side, and that was enough for me.

About a month ago, Felix started coming home later and later. At first, I didn't think much of it. I simply assumed he was too busy.

Then my birthday arrived. Before he left that day, I smoothed out the wrinkles on his collar. "Are you going to be home late again today?"

Felix paused for a few seconds before realizing what day it was. He kissed my forehead. "No, I'll be home early to celebrate your birthday with you."

His words had me in a good mood all day. I prepared a cake and a spread of his favorite food. But I waited all day and into the night, and he never came back.

With half an hour left until my birthday was over, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I called him.

Felix explained, "A werewolf got hurt, so I got to stay at the hospital to take care of her."

Confused, I asked, "They have a healer to do that, right?"

"It's fine that you don't care if someone gets hurt. But don't start making snide remarks."

Even though I couldn't see Felix's face, I knew he was probably frowning right then. I didn't want to make him angry, so I softened my voice and asked cautiously, "Can you still make it back before midnight?"

His answer was a half-hearted "I'll try."

But Felix was still nowhere to be seen when the clock struck 12:00 am.

My hopes were completely crushed, and I felt a painful ache in my chest. My phone buzzed, and I thought it was a message from him. But when I unlocked my phone, it was a photo from Mia.

In it, a hand was holding an exquisite liquor flask engraved with her name. I didn't pay much attention to the gift. Instead, my eyes fell on the hand holding it. I knew it was Felix's.

"Felix made this reunion gift just for me, spending a whole month working on it himself. After all these years, he still remembered that I like drinking."

I didn't reply to her provocative message. Instead, I just sat there, staring at the screen blankly as my eyes slowly turned red.

At 3:00 am, Felix finally returned home, his clothes reeking of alcohol. When he saw me sitting at the dining table, he asked, "Why are you still up at this hour?"

Instead of answering his question, I said, "Why are you back so late?"

"The werewolf invited me to dinner to thank me. I couldn't reject her."

So, this was why he could reject me without a second thought?

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I choked out. "Do you remember that today, no, yesterday was my birthday?"

Felix looked upset by my sudden outburst, his voice turning frosty. "It's just a birthday. If you really care about it so much, I'll make it up to you another day."

He had prepared a gift for Mia's return, yet he couldn't even wish me a happy birthday. It wasn't fair.

I held back my tears. "Mia is back, isn't she?"

The question clearly hit a nerve with Felix. His gaze was like a dagger, fixed on me, his patience with me completely gone. "Chloe, I've been by your side every single day. What more could you possibly want?"

Yeah, what more could I want? Was it because I never got the same love in return?