CHAPTER 2

After saying it, she couldn’t meet his eyes. Not yet. She was too scared to look at him because she knew he would be furious. Earlier, she had rehearsed this moment over and over again in her head, but now that she was able to tell, it seemed unreal. The room was filled with total silence so she was terrified of his possible reaction. So, when he didn’t say anything after a few moments, Nadine cleared her throat before speaking again. 

“Marcus…” she whispered and when their eyes met, she swallowed hard. 

“Did you hear what I said? I want a divorce.” 

When she repeated what she had said earlier, the world seemed to stop. The clock ticked on, but Nadine couldn’t hear it anymore. She was too focused on Alpha Marcus but he didn’t move and didn’t speak. It was as if he hadn’t quite registered what she had just said. But what else would he expect? After witnessing his betrayal with her own eyes, did he want her to stay? 

As if! 

He was probably considering his response carefully so Nadine held her breath while waiting. She had imagined anger, maybe shouting, or at least questions, but there was nothing. She had been waiting for a few minutes but Alpha Marcus remained silent. Then finally, after what felt like an eternity, Marcus spoke. 

“What…what did you say?” he stammered. 

Nadine forced herself to meet his gaze even though it felt like the hardest thing she had ever done. His eyes were wide with disbelief, so she took a deep breath to steady herself. “I said, I want a divorce,” she repeated for the third time. “It’s not working anymore,” she added. 

Marcus stared at her as if she had spoken a foreign language, and then he knitted his brows in confusion. “You want a divorce,” he mumbled in a barely audible voice. “Are you sure? Is that really what you want?” he asked.  

Nadine closed her eyes for a moment because she felt the sting of tears that were threatening to spill over. This wasn’t how she had envisioned their life turning out. They had started with so much love, so many dreams, but somewhere along the way, they had lost each other, and now, there was nothing left but empty space between them. 

“You know I don’t want to do this, Alpha. I loved you so much but I just…I can’t do it anymore. We’re both unhappy, Marcus,” she replied and Alpha Marcus let out a shaky breath. 

Then, he stood up and asked, “So that’s it? You just want to give up?”

“Giving up? What choice do I have right now? You don’t love me anymore, Alpha Marcus. So, what’s the use of staying in this union? Correction, I am not giving up on you, but I am letting you go. I am letting you find happiness in someone else, so there’s a big difference.” 

"Letting go?" he echoed. 

“I’m tired, Alpha Marcus. I’m tired of feeling like we’re strangers living in the same house,” she said. 

“Are you sure divorce is the solution to our problem?” he asked another question. 

“I don’t want to do this and you know that, but you are no longer happy with me, Alpha! You are no longer the man who used to love me, and I believe it’s unfair for both of us to remain in this union,” she stated a fact, then added, “Do you even remember the last time we made love?”

“Damn it, Luna! Did you really expect me to sleep with you after sleeping with another man in your bed?” he asked, and since it wasn’t the first time he implied she had another man, she narrowed her eyes on him.

“I already told you the truth! I didn’t invite your friend into my room. I didn’t even let him in. I was indisposed at that time and when I woke up, I didn’t expect to see Zander beside me,” she explained for the nth time, but he refused to listen. “You should have asked your friend who misled him into my room that night when there were a lot of vacant quarters in this place!” 

“I gave you enough time to own up to your mistake, Nadine. I waited for you to come clean, but until now, you still deny it!”

“Because I didn’t let anyone else touch me!” she shouted back. 

“Liar!” he shouted again before he punched her in the stomach.

For a moment, she was completely overwhelmed by pain, and tears streamed down her cheeks. The forceful blow to her stomach caught her off guard, and the impact caused her to gasp for air. Although she was imprisoned in the dungeon and starved for a few days to punish her, he didn’t hurt her physically. He wasn’t this brutal so Nadine was utterly shocked when he punched her without any hesitation! 

“Alpha…” she mumbled. 

Then, she clutched her stomach as she endured the pain, and when she looked up, Marcus was already gone. He stormed outside and left her alone in pain. How could he be so heartless? She tried to get up but a sharp pain persisted.

Fortunately, she managed to hoist herself up, but then, she saw blood running down her legs and let out a blood-curdling scream of terror. Once she grasped what was happening to her, she couldn’t hold back her tears. The physical pain from his punch paled in comparison to the overwhelming anguish at the thought of losing her baby because of a misunderstanding.

Then, Marcus returned and was taken aback to find her bleeding. For a few seconds, he kept staring at the blood running down her legs, and slowly, he realized what had happened. She thought he would hurry up in taking her to the hospital, but he suddenly grabbed her shoulders and shook her body while continuously slapping her face!

“Are you pregnant?” he asked in disbelief, and when she couldn’t respond right away, he lost control and lashed out at her. “Luna, I asked you a question. Are you pregnant?”

She nodded in response and said, “Indeed, Alpha. I am pregnant with your baby.”

Alpha Marcus chuckled at her response and slapped her again. “I can forgive you for sleeping with my friend, Nadine, but I can’t allow his bastard to become my heir!”

Then, his anger consumed him before he unleashed a deadly punch on her. She winced in pain as he kept punching her stomach as if he wanted the baby to die inside. With tears in her eyes, she begged him to stop, but he kept attacking her.

“Don’t kill our child!” she shouted at him when he refused to stop hurting her. “Do you think you will be safe from the Moon Goddess after killing your own baby and your mate?” she asked, but he just snorted as he delivered the last blow.