Chapter 2. You are embarrassing mommy.

** Stella's POV**

The next morning, I wake up exhausted as usual, my eyes swollen from crying.

Maya and Noah are already awake. I can hear Maya's high-pitched chatter downstairs and Noah's babbling responses.

I drag myself out of bed and change into worn jeans and an old t-shirt. No point in dressing up. I have work today.

Cleaning jobs. Three houses, if I'm lucky.

Being Luna of the Black River Pack means nothing when your Alpha doesn't give you access to pack funds. Cole controls every dollar, and resource. He gives me a small "allowance" for groceries and the children's needs, but anything I want for myself?

I have to earn it myself.

So I clean houses. I scrub floors and toilets and bathtubs for other pack members who pity me but still pay me because they need the help and I need the money.

My stepfather never let me finish college—said an Omega didn't need education, just her master to take care of her.

He was wrong about that too.

Because no matter how humiliating the work I do is, I need the money today more than ever, because tonight I'm going to buy a cake and surprise Cole and the kids with a birthday celebration.

'You're delusional,' Piper mutters, but I ignore her. I'm not going to listen to her negative comments today...

Downstairs, Lena is already making breakfast. She smiles when she sees me, but there's sadness in her eyes.

"Morning, Luna. Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Lena," I say softly.

"Will Alpha Cole be joining you for breakfast?"

I shake my head. "He left early." I answer, recalling hearing him leave an hour before I woke up.

Lena doesn't comment, but I see the pity flash across her face before she turns back to the stove.

Maya runs into the kitchen, her brown curls bouncing. "Mommy! Can I have pancakes?"

"Of course, baby." I bend down and kiss her forehead. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh-huh! Daddy came in and said good morning before he left!"

My chest tightens. He went in to see Maya but didn't even check on me.

"That's nice, sweetheart."

Noah toddles over, arms raised, and I scoop him up, pressing kisses to his chubby cheeks. He giggles and pats my face with his sticky hands.

At least I have them....

After breakfast, I drop the kids off at preschool and daycare, then head to my first cleaning job.

Mrs. Patterson's house is massive—almost as big as ours—and it takes me three hours to scrub every room to her satisfaction.

She pays me sixty dollars.

Next is Mrs. Chen, who needs help organizing her garage. Another forty dollars.

Finally, I clean the pack clinic's waiting room and bathrooms. Thirty dollars.

By the time I'm done, it's 4 PM, and my back aches, my hands are raw, and I smell like cleaning chemicals.

But I have $130 in my pocket.

Enough for a nice cake from the pack bakery in town.

I drive to the bakery, my heart fluttering with cautious hope. The woman behind the counter smiles when I walk in.

"Luna Stella! What can I get for you today?"

"I need a birthday cake," I say, trying to sound cheerful. "Something nice. For four people."

She shows me options, and I pick a small chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and delicate pink flowers. It's beautiful and only costs me $45.

I pay with bills still damp from being clutched in my hand all day, and I carefully carry the cake box to my car.

Tonight, Cole will see how much I love him.

But when I reach home, Lena tells my Cole has the kids with him at his office. I decide to take the party there.

---

A few minutes later, inside the pack headquarters, the halls are quieter than usual. A few pack members glance at me as I pass, their expressions carefully neutral.

I ignore them and head straight for Cole's office, holding the cake box with my both my hands....

When I reach the office door, I hear cheerful voices inside which make me smile to myself before I push the door open.

I find Cole sitting behind his desk while Sabrina is perched on the edge of it, too close to him, her hand on his shoulder.

Maya is sitting in a chair nearby, kicking her legs and sipping juice from a box.

Noah is in a portable playpen in the corner, playing with blocks.

"Mommy!" Maya looks up, but she doesn't run to me. She just waves, then turns back to Sabrina. "Mommy Sabrina, can I have another juice box?"

Mommy Sabrina?! The words hit me like a physical blow but I contain my shock with a neutral expression... Today is my birthday, I don't need her drama today...

"Of course, sweetie," Sabrina says, her voice dripping with false sweetness. She glances at me, and there's a smirk playing at her lips. "Oh, Luna Stella. We weren't expecting you."

I don't respond to her or move but Cole cuts in.

“Stella.” he says, voice flat, and irritated—like I’m already a problem he regrets. “What are you doing here?”

What am I doing here? After last night… that’s the question he asks?

“I—” My voice trembles. “I brought cake. It’s my birthday. I thought we could celebrate together with the kids.”

Sabrina lets out a loud, dramatic sigh.

“Goddess, she’s so embarrassing.”

The words slap me so hard I feel heat crawl up my neck.

Then Maya giggles and echoes her like it’s a fun game.

“Yeah, Mommy Sabrina. mommy is embarrassing.”

The hit lands twice as hard. No—three times. Because this one comes from the tiny voice I live for.

My chest tightens until I can barely breathe. Humiliation burns through me, hot and acidic. I feel small. Pathetic. Like I’m the outsider in my own family.

And worst of all? Maya’s smiling because she doesn’t even realize she just shattered me.

“Maya—” The word breaks in my throat. “Why would you say that?”

But it’s useless asking her that because once again Cole cuts in.

"Stella, this isn't a good time," he says, standing up. His expression is cold, and detached. "We're in the middle of something."

"In the middle of what?" I whisper, tears starting to blur my vision. "Cole, what's going on? Why is she calling your beta 'mommy?"

"Because I picked them up from school on time," Sabrina chimes in casually, examining her nails. "Cole asked me to. Since you were busy doing… whatever it is you do all day. Do you even tend to your mommy duties?"

What mommy duties is she talking about?

The cake box is suddenly too heavy. My arms are shaking.

"Cole, please," I whisper. "Please tell me what's happening."

He sighs, like I'm a burden he's tired of carrying.

"Fine. You want to know?" He crosses his arms, looking at me with those cold blue eyes that used to make me feel safe. "I'm going to divorce you, Stella. Soon. I've been talking to my lawyers."

The floor disappears beneath me.

"Divorce?" The word is barely a breath because I can't understand where this is coming from...

"You heard me." His voice is flat, matter-of-fact. "This marriage was a mistake. You were a mistake. I tried to make it work, but you're not… you're not what I need any more."

"Yay!" Maya claps her hands. "Does that mean Mommy Sabrina will be my real mommy now?"

Real mommy?! Everything goes silent.

I stare at my baby girl, the pup I carried for nine months, the child I birthed and nursed and loved with every fiber of my being—and she's smiling. Genuinely happy that her father is divorcing me.

The cake box slips from my hands.

It hits the floor with a dull, final thud.

The lid pops open, and the beautiful chocolate cake with pink flowers tips sideways, smearing frosting across the hardwood.

I can't breathe.

I can only stand there and stare at the ruined cake I spent the whole day earning money to buy... This cake was supposed to make today special and prove I'm a good mate and mom... Something inside me shatter into a million unfixable pieces.

"Stella." Cole's voice sounds far away but it startles me. "Clean that up. And then go home."

I look up at the man I gave up everything for, the man I loved despite everything.

"Why?" My voice breaks. "Why are you doing this to me?"

He doesn't even hesitate.

"Because you're not enough, Stella," he says simply. "You never were."

Behind him, Sabrina smiles.

Maya swings her legs happily.

And Noah babbles in his playpen, oblivious to the fact that his mother's world just ended.