I want a divorce at all cost

~ DAHLIA

The shock on Zayden’s face as he processed my words sent a thrill through me. His eyes had lost the glassy quality that was associated with being drunk, and I was glad that I decided to confront him.

Silence stretched between us as he stared at me, his jaw slack with surprise.

“What did you just say?” he finally asked, his voice coming out as a whisper. I folded my arms over my chest as I stared him down.

“I said I want a divorce, Zayden. You heard me. You don’t have to pretend otherwise,” I snapped.

He stood up and started to pace at the edge of the bed. “You can’t ask for a divorce, Dahlia, you can’t. We are mates. Mates are meant to be together.”

At the reminder of the damned mate bond between us, anger flashed in my veins. One year ago, when Zayden had deceived me into getting married, he came clean and told me that I was his mate. Which was part of the reason why he forced me into this moon forsaken marriage. His grandfather had learnt about the mate bond, and the pressure on Zayden had made him lure me into…this arrangement.

I stood up to face him. “For moon’s sake, stop bringing up that damned mate bond. I already rejected you, and you know it. Stop acting stubborn and just reject it too. Then I will be free from you, and this stupid, useless marriage!” I was yelling now, but I didn't care.

I missed my kids so much. If Zayden accepted to divorce me, I would be free to go back to my babies. All I needed to do was convince him that we were better off divorced.

Zayden stopped pacing and turned to face me. His eyes were cold as he held mine, and I saw a sliver of defiance in his eyes.

“I am not going to divorce you, Dahlia. And I sure as hell am not going to renounce or reject the mate bond between us. I don’t care about whatever history we have between us. The past is in the past. We will remain married. Mates are supposed to stay married!”

Zayden didn’t raise his voice, but there was a bite to his words that rankled me. My anger flared, and I threw my hands in the air as I responded.

“Marriage is not a do or die affair. And mates who don't like each other live a very good life after rejecting the bond between them. I do not want to stay married to you. Just fucking let me go!”

“Why do you want to leave me so bad? Do I disgust you that much? Is that it, you would rather be suffering out there rather than being with me?” he yelled back at me.

“Yes! Yes, I would. I love my life. For three good years, I have built myself up from nothing. You think staying married to you is going to make me want to throw it away? Absolutely not. Stop deceiving yourself, Zayden. Just…stop. We are not good together. We are polar opposites, and cohabiting together is going to be disastrous in the long run. So for the love of the moon, reject the mate bond and go be with who you really want.”

Zayden, who was probably about to shout back another rejection at me suddenly stopped talking. A slight frown formed on his face.

“Hold on. Is this about Edda? You want to divorce me, you want to make me reject our mate bond, because of her?” he asked, and there was incredulity in his voice.

I scoffed at the disbelief in his voice. “Of course this is about Edda. You guys are obviously still in love with each other. Why not spare me the embarrement of keeping up this fucking charade and just go be with her like you so desperately want to.”

A surprised laughter slipped past his lips. He ran his hand through his hair, and there was a slightly amused look on his face.

“You think I’m in love with Edda?’

“I know you are in love with Edda.’

Zayden shook his head. “I already told you that the kiss was a mistake. Edda and I are not together. We are not in love. Besides, Edda is not my mate. Why will I be with her?”

His last question came out rhetorical, as if he was proving a point that didn’t need proving.

It sounded pretty stupid to me though. He was asking a stupid question. I took a step closer and glared at him with the full force of my anger.

“Stop making statements that are indirectly referring to me as a fool. You tell me that you are not in love with Edda, yet you ‘mistakely’ kiss her like your life depends on it? You leave me here, alone and stuck, while you mess around before the entire pack members? And you’re asking me not to divorce you? Have you lost your goddamned mind?”

My breath came in gasps now, and my vision was obscured by a red, angry hue that made the room, and the outline of my husband, slightly blurry.

“You are taking things out of control. This is too far, Dahlia. Too far. You can’t say words like that,” he quipped.

“I can, and I will. You have to be accountable for your actions, Zayden. You are the Alpha of the Pack, and your reputation matters a lot. You have a responsibility to me, as your Luna. Kissing Edda like that is like announcing to the entire pack that she is their Luna!”

Stunned by my outburst, Zayden stared at me with his mouth agape. Having said my bit, I turned away from him. He might think I said those words because I wanted to be the Luna, but I just wanted him to admit that he was still in love with Edda and divorce me instead.

I missed my kids terribly, and they need me too. Zayden and Edda could rot in hell for all I cared.

All I wanted was a divorce. I needed Zayden to let go of me, so that I would be able to go back to my kids peacefully.

For my babies? I would get that divorce at all cost.