Chapter 1

~ EVANGELINE

“Come on, man. You already know how I feel about that woman. She bores me out so much and I am fucking exhausted of her constant presence. Why do you think I am here?” a familiar voice floated out of the room, and I paused, my hand resting on the doorknob.

That voice sounded suspiciously like my husband. But who was he talking about? A co worker?

A man laughed at his words, and unable to stop myself, I leaned in to hear more.

Who was this person that my husband hated so much?

“Dude, I have no idea why you are still in that marriage. Just let her go if you dislike her that much, man,” another man said.

My heart leapt into my throat.

I seemed to have misheard that man. He couldn't possibly have said marriage, right?

My husband chuckled before speaking again.

“Come on, you know I can't just leave her like that. She's so easy to fool. I mean, she has no idea that all of those business trips were just to avoid and stay away from her. She's so gullible, and that is actually the only thing I like about her. So naive. Believes all of my lies. Doesn't ask any questions. Can you guys believe that I haven't even had sex with her?”

The men howled with uncontrollable, uproarious laughter, and my stomach swopped as realisation dawned on me.

A wave of dizziness hit me, and I had to hold on to the doorknob to avoid falling down. My legs suddenly went weak, and it was taking all of my willpower to hold on.

They were talking about me.

My husband and his friends were mocking and laughing at…me.

My wolf went still with rage, but my pain overwhelmed what she was feeling.

Tears stung the back of my eyes. I should leave before I heard any other thing that would break my heart, but I found it hard, impossible even, to move.

And as if it was my husband's intention to thoroughly humiliate me on our third wedding anniversary, he went on.

“And that's not even the best part. The best part is that tonight is our anniversary and we are not spending it together. She's back home, and I am right here having the fun of my life. I haven't been home to celebrate any important occasion with her during the three years we've been together, and honestly? I fucking love it that way.”

He said those words proudly, and his voice sounded so smug that it pierced something in my chest.

So this was it.

I meant absolutely nothing to the man I married.

I loved him, hell, I had travelled all the way to this hotel just because I wanted to celebrate our anniversary with him.

If only I had known that he wasn't on a business trip like he told me he was.

If only I knew how he felt about me all these years.

If only I knew I was a subject of discussion, a symbol of mockery between him and his friends.

My torture, however, hadn't ended. One of my husband's friends spoke again.

“Hold on. If you've been married to that woman for three years and haven't slept with her yet, does that mean that you are sleeping with another woman outside? You have a side chick or something?”

My heart pounded loudly in my chest, and I waited with bated breath for his response.

My husband went silent for a long moment, and I wondered if he wasn't going to say anything. I was about to turn around and leave when his voice floated out of the room and into my ears.

“I am not sleeping with another woman on the side. But I do have someone I am in love with,” he said softly.

I pressed my ears closer to door, wanting to hear the one word I knew was going to destroy me.

My husband was silent for a beat before he said, “Margaret. I am in love with Margaret.”

I gasped, and instantly slapped my hands over my mouth. The men didn't seem to hear me though.

My heart pounded so loudly in my chest that it drowned all other sounds. My husband's words echoed in my head, repeating itself over and over.

He was in love with his sister in law.

My husband, the man I had been married to for years, Alexander, was in love with his brother's wife.

“...does that mean Margaret is your destined partner? The one you want to spend the rest of your life with?” the voice floated into my ears, shaking me out of the daze I had descended into.

I could imagine my husband shrugging at the question, a glass of wine dangling from the tip of his fingers.

“I have no idea. Honestly though? I want her to be. I mean, she's the reason why I haven't had sex with my wife. I want Margaret to know that I am madly in love with her and would do anything to prove my feelings even if it meant ignoring the wife I got married to.”

My heart sank. And my wolf howled loudly in my head. My husband's words were too mean, too cruel.

I couldn't remain standing there, listening to him speak about me that way. Forcing my legs to move, I gently backed away from the door.

My vision was swimming, and my head spun from the wave of dizziness that slammed into me. My heart felt as though it had been yanked from my chest, shredded violently, and then stomped on until it remained nothing less than…nothing.

I left the building in a haze, and all of my plans to spend the anniversary with him and make it a special day for us both faded into nothing.

How could I have been so naive?

How could I have missed the signs?

They were right there. He didn't take any precaution to hide them. But I had been so foolish, so blinded by the love I had for him, and he had played me like a fool.

I had no idea, no memory of how I got home. Everything became blurry after I left that damned doorway, and I wasn't in control of my actions.

All that I knew was that it started to rain at some point, and by the time I walked past the doorway and into the house, I was thoroughly sick. From a mixture of cold and heartbreak.

“Oh my goodness, ma'am. Where have you been? I thought you said you weren't going to be home today,” my housekeeper asked as she helped me out of my coat.

I parted my lips to speak, to tell her that my entire world was crumbling around me. I wanted to tell her that for three years, I had been a blind fool. I had given my heart to a man, and he had stabbed me with a stake right in the middle.

But the words refused to come out. My body seemed to have given up on me, and I felt…numb.

Empty.

“Are you okay, ma'am?” the housekeeper asked softly. Tears bubbled into my eyes at the question.

My wolf was clawing painfully against my chest, and her emotions bleeded into mine.

Was I okay?

No. No I wasn't.

Would I ever be okay after what I heard today? I highly doubted that.

The housekeeper sighed when I remained silent, and she gently guided me towards the couch.

“Wait here for me. I'll bring you a blanket and hot tea. You're shivering from getting drenched by the rain,” she explained and bustled off.

I knew I should get out of these wet clothes, but what does it matter? My husband never loved me.

Alexander never saw me as a woman.

That was the last thought in my head before sweet, tempting darkness, dragged me under.

~~

I fell sick.

The cold from the rain seeped into my bones and I spent days in bed, immobile and unable to do anything except drink hot broths prepared by my housekeeper.

Today though, I was feeling very better. I got out of bed and took a long, warm bath.

When I finally padded into the living room, the housekeeper was surprised to see me.

“Hello, ma'am. You look better today. How do you feel?” she asked.

I smiled at her as I sat down on the couch.

“I feel better. Thank you for taking care of me, Ana. I really appreciate,” I stated.

She smiled and nodded at me before walking away.

I picked up my phone to see what I had missed. There was a missed call — several missed calls, actually — from my husband.

Why was Alexander calling me? Did he somehow found out that I was at his hotel a few days ago?

I was about to dial his contact back when another thing caught my eye.

Someone else had called me.

It was Margaret. My stomach dropped as I stared at the missed call.

Why was she calling me? What was going on?

Deciding to read my text messages before thinking of who to call back first, I clicked on the message icon.

The only text I had was from Margaret. A bad feeling settled in my guts and started to spread through my bones.

Something had happened while I was sick. I just didn't know what it was.

With slightly trembling hands, I clicked on the text message. My eyes widened as I read the content, and the phone fell out of my hand.

Margaret's husband, Alexander's brother, was dead.

I instantly connected my phone to the internet. If I wanted to find out what happened, that was my best shot.

Margaret wouldn't be in a good headspacento answer any questions right now, and well, I wasn't willing to call my husband to ask for details.

There were several published articles. Apparently, the media was saying that they had sighted Margaret and her husband at a popular skydiving location, and some witnesses stated that she was the one who kept pestering her husband to go on a dive even when he didn't wanted to.

My heart hammered loudly against my chest as I read. People were blaming Margaret for her husband's death. And if the rumors were true, I couldn't even start to imagine what was going to happen to her.

The door slammed open and I was startled. Alexander walked in.

His brows were furrowed into a frown as he stalked towards me, and I stood up to face him.

“Why the hell were you not picking your phone?” he snapped. His eyes were slightly red and I could sense his wolf's displeasure as he glared at me. He also looked…disheveled.

“I'm sorry. I was…” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“I don't want to hear it. You heard what happened to my brother, right? Get dressed, today is his funeral. Which you would have known if you had bothered to pick up the phone,” he snapped and walked away.

With a resigned sigh, I went to get ready for the funeral. Today was going to be a long day.

~~

“Listen to me. I need you to drive Margaret and her son home,” Alexander said to me. The funeral had just ended, and people were starting to gather around to talk.

“Why?” I asked.

My husband stared at me as it I had just sprouted a second head.

“Don't be stupid, Evangeline . You know the rumours that are goings around. I don't want my mum to make a scene and embarrass Margaret. I mean, she couldn't have known that the equipment was faulty when they went skydiving, right? So I don't see the point. But you know how my mother is. Take them home. I'll deal with my mum and calm her down.”

I stared at him, surprised.

He was willing to take the brunt of his mother's displeasure just to shield Margaret? Seriously?

I wanted to speak, to let him know that I was aware of how he felt for that woman. But I said nothing.

He hated me and loved her, and while that realisation made me want to tear my hair out, I didn't react. At least not visibly.

I only smiled and did as he said.

When Margaret and her son were settled in comfortably, I went into my room, picked up my phone, and dialed a contact.

Bella picked up immediately.

“Hey girl, what's up?” my best friend said as soon as she picked up.

“I need you to draft a divorce agreement for me and Alexander. I am leaving him.”