Chapter 4. Let me explain.

**Stella's POV**

A few minutes later, the mansion is dark when I pull into the driveway.

Inside, Lena is in the kitchen putting away dishes. Her face lights up when she sees me.

"Luna! There you are. I was getting worried." She wipes her hands on her apron and walks toward me. "How did your birthday go? Did Alpha Cole like—"

She stops when she takes in my swollen eyes, tear-stained cheeks, and the frosting still stuck under my fingernails.

"Oh, Luna." Her voice goes soft. "What happened?"

I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. If I try to say it out loud—I'll fall apart again.

"Come here." Lena pulls me into a gentle hug, and I let myself lean into her warmth. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it."

When she pulls back, she cups my face in her hands.

"Looking at your face, I know today has been hard. But it's still your birthday." She walks to the refrigerator and pulls out a small cupcake with a single candle. "I made this for you. Just in case."

The gesture is so kind, so thoughtful, that fresh tears spring to my eyes.

"Lena…"

"Make a wish, Luna."

I stare at the cupcake. At the flickering candle flame.

What do I wish for?

For Cole to love me? For my marriage to be saved? For my daughter to stop calling another woman 'mommy'?

What's the point of wishing for things that will never happen?

I blow out the candle anyway.

"Good." Lena sets the cupcake on the counter. "Now, why don't you go take a nice hot shower and get some rest? Things will look better in the morning."

I nod, even though I don't believe her.

Nothing will look better in the morning.

Nothing will ever look better again.

---

In the bathroom, I turn the shower as hot as it will go. Steam fills the space, fogging up the mirrors.

I step under the spray and let it burn my skin.

The water washes away the frosting. The tear tracks. The smell of Sabrina's perfume that's somehow clinging to my clothes.

But it can't wash away the memory of Maya's voice saying "I'm embarrassing."

It can't wash away the sound of Sabrina's laughter.

It can't wash away Cole's words: "You're not enough. You never were."

I sink down onto the shower floor, pulling my knees to my chest, and I let myself cry again.

I cry for the girl who believed in love and fated mates and happy endings.

I cry for the woman I've become—broken and used and thrown away.

And I cry for my children, who are being raised to think their mother is an embarrassment.

By the time I drag myself out of the shower, my skin is wrinkled. I don't bother drying my hair. I just pull on an old t-shirt and crawl into bed.

Maybe if I sleep, I'll wake up and realize this was all a nightmare.

Maybe I'll wake up and Cole will be beside me, smiling, telling me happy birthday.

'It's not a dream,' Piper says softly. 'This is real. And we need to figure out what to do.'

"Tomorrow," I whisper into the darkness. "We'll figure it out tomorrow."

But I don't believe that either.

I close my eyes and wait for sleep to take me away from this.

---

Hours later, I don't know how long I've been lying there—drifting in and out of a restless half-sleep—when I hear the front door open.

Heavy footsteps follow in the hallway and then Cole's voice. Low and murmuring.

Then the nanny's voice responding.

He's home. And he brought the pups.

I hear Maya's high-pitched chatter. Noah's babbling. The sound of little feet running across the floor.

Then silence as the nanny takes them to their rooms because it's late.

And then more footsteps come closer.

The bedroom door opens.

I open my eyes slowly.

Cole is standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light from the hallway. I can't see his face, but I can feel his eyes on me.

"We need to talk," he says.

"Yes we do," I respond eagerly.

'Don't,' Piper warns. 'Whatever he's about to say, we don't want to hear it.'

But I sit up anyway, pulling the blanket around myself like armor.

"What was that at your office today?" My voice is hoarse from crying.

He steps into the room and closes the door behind him. Then he flips on the light, and I have to blink against the sudden brightness.

He looks… calm. Collected. Like the last few hours didn't even happen.

"What happened will make things easier." he says, walking toward the bed.

"Make what easier?"

He stops at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed. "Now that you know about Sabrina, things are going to change around here. There are going to be new rules."

My stomach drops.

"Rules?" I repeat.

"Yes." His voice is matter-of-fact, and businesslike. "Rules you'll need to follow if you want to stay in this house."

"What rules when I thought you were divorcing me?"

"I am. But the lawyers say it will take time since our marriage was based on an alliance with your parent's pack." He shrugs. "Until then, you'll continue to live here. But things will be different."

"Different how?"

He meets my eyes, and there's something cold in his gaze. Something that makes my skin crawl.

"Let me explain the new rules, Stella." His lips curve into a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "And I suggest you listen carefully."