Their Masks Fell Off

LEAH DECKER

“Sit down Leah, we need to discuss whatever the attorneys have to say.” Paul spoke first and Ophelia nodded. It seemed as if I'd been thrown into a movie I didn't remember auditioning for.

“What is there to talk about besides these attorneys are here for me and not everyone so why are you all here?” I asked, my anger boiling over the rim of my glass.

“Leah Decker, your parents would want you to be calm and listen to what we have to say.” I scoffed and turned to look at her. “You have no right to tell me what my parents would have loved, absolutely no right!”

“Fine, I'll carry on with the reading.” The female attorney said and opened her bag. She brought out three legal files and passed each to me, Paul and Ophelia.

“What's this about?” I asked.

I opened the file and the first document was staring right back at me with a ridiculous make believe stamp that looked like my father's official stamp.

“This can't be right,I'm eighteen and old enough to manage their assets, properties and__” I choked on my words while Ophelia smiled and looked into my eyes.

“I'm glad you understand where you stand now, thanks for coming by attorney Clark and attorney Simpson.” She said and followed them to the door. I sat there, frozen on my seat as my eyes went over the documents again and again.

“What just happened?” I asked, finally getting my voice. “Why would my parents leave their wealth, their assets, everything to you both when I'm an adult?” I asked and Paul looked right at me before he scoffed.

“Your father was my best friend while your mother was Ophelia's best friend and so I think it is only right that we watch over their hard work before you ruin everything.” I gasped for air, trying to feel my lungs with enough air but my throat and chest continued to be constricted.

“With that being said, we'll take our leave and we hope to see you at the charity gala tomorrow.” I laughed out hysterically and stood up on my feet.

“I don't know why I find it difficult to believe what just happened and why my parents left everything to you and your wife but I will get to the bottom of it and when I do I will make sure everyone knows what exactly happened here.” Ophelia laughed and walked up to me.

All her nurturing look vanished, replaced with a frown, a look of anger and Tim? He stood by the corner, going through his phone again with a little smile on his face.

“You can try to do that but I bet you no one will believe you.” She walked over to the door and paused. “I repeat,no one will believe you and you just have to accept it.”

“Tim,” Ophelia called softly, her voice dripping with a sweetness that now made my stomach turn.

I turned slowly, my heart pounding against my ribs as Tim stepped forward, adjusting the cuffs of his suit like this was just another ordinary announcement. Like we weren’t standing in the same hall where condolences had been shared just hours ago.

Like my parents hadn’t just been buried.

Something cold settled deep in my chest.

“Today has been a difficult day,” Paul continued, his voice carrying authority as he looked around the room. “But as a pack, we must remain strong and united. Leadership must be clear, and order must be maintained.”

The way he spoke… it didn’t feel like grief.

My fingers tightened around the glass in my hand.

“And so,” Ophelia added, her gaze flickering toward me for the briefest second before returning to the crowd, “it is time to make certain changes official.”

A quiet murmur spread across the room.

I swallowed hard, my instincts screaming at me that something was very, very wrong.

Tim stepped forward fully now, standing between his parents like he belonged there,like he had always belonged there.

Not beside me.

But there.

With them.

“With everything that has happened,” he began, his voice calm, controlled, “it has become clear that some arrangements need to be corrected for the sake of this pack.”

My brows furrowed. “Tim, what are you—”

“Leah.”

The way he said my name stopped me.

There was no warmth.

No familiarity.

I felt it like a warning.

The room went completely silent as all eyes shifted between us. My throat went dry, but I forced myself to stand tall, even as something inside me started to crumble.

“You and I both know,” Tim continued, his gaze locking onto mine, “that this marriage has not been… ideal.”

A few whispers broke out.

My chest tightened painfully. “This is not the time for this,” I said under my breath, trying to keep my composure. “We can talk about whatever this is later,privately.”

“There is nothing to discuss privately,” he replied flatly.

The words hit harder than they should have.

My fingers trembled slightly at my sides, but I refused to let anyone see it.

“Tim,” I warned quietly, my voice barely steady, “don’t do this here.”

But he didn’t listen.

Of course he didn’t.

“In front of the entire pack,” he said, raising his voice just enough to command attention again, “I believe it is only right to correct a mistake that should never have happened in the first place.”

My heart stopped.

A mistake?

My mind refused to process it.

“What are you saying?” I asked, my voice cracking despite my effort to stay composed.

Tim exhaled slowly, as if he was the one burdened by all of this.

“As Alpha of Oakwood Pack,” he began, his tone shifting into something formal, something distant and ceremonial, “I, Tim Houston…”

The air around me felt like it was closing in.

No.

No, he wouldn’t—

“I reject you, Leah Decker, as my mate.”

The world went silent. Not quiet.

A sharp, unbearable pain exploded in my chest, forcing a gasp out of my lips. My knees buckled slightly as I stumbled back, my hand clutching at my heart as if I could physically hold it together.

“No…” I whispered, shaking my head, my vision blurring instantly. “No, you can’t—Tim, you can’t do this—”

But the bond…

I felt it. Snapping. Breaking.

Like something sacred had just been violently ripped out of my soul.

A strangled cry escaped my lips as the pain intensified, spreading through my entire body. It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside, piece by piece, leaving nothing behind.

The room erupted into gasps and whispers, but their voices sounded distant, muffled under the roaring in my ears.

I forced my blurry gaze up to him. To the man who had just destroyed me.

He didn’t look affected.

Not even a little.

“I just did,” he said coldly.

Tears streamed freely down my face now, but I couldn’t even wipe them away. My body felt too heavy, too broken to respond properly.

“Why?” I choked out. “Why are you doing this to me?”

Tim didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he turned slightly—

And that was when she stepped forward.

Debbie. My husband's mistress!