Chapter 3

I didn't care.

A dull ache spread through my chest, making it hard to breathe for a second.

But I realized I was getting used to this suffocation, and it didn't even slow my steps.

In our seven years of marriage, he had broken countless vows. Why care about one last missed appointment?

As long as he signed the dissolution papers, he could watch the moon on a Ferris wheel with anyone he wanted.

After the concert, I walked home alone along the street.

Passing the old district, I stopped.

The cheap meat pie shop where Kaelen and I used to eat every day to save a dollar had turned into a boutique bakery.

Things change, and people change.

Even the beautiful memories of us relying on each other for survival had been obliterated by the flow of time.

I returned to the cold house at 1 AM.

The living room lights were blazing.

Kaelen was frowning, fiddling with his phone.

When he saw me enter, his frown vanished, replaced by anger as he stormed toward me.

"What is wrong with you? You didn't answer calls or texts. You almost stayed out all night, do you know that?"

Was he waiting for me?

But for the past three months, I had been coming home later than this every day for the potion experiments.

Maybe because I wasn't working overtime today, he couldn't bring Elena back to spend the night.

It didn't matter. Once I left, Elena could move straight into the master bedroom.

It was the battlefield she dreamed of conquering.

I pulled my hand from his grip and spoke calmly.

"I haven't been out to relax in a long time. My phone died after the concert."

Hearing me mention the concert, guilt flashed across Kaelen's face as he remembered his absence.

His lips pressed into a thin line.

Awkwardly, he brought out a huge white box and opened it solemnly in front of me.

I instinctively reached out.

My fingertips touched delicate lace and silk.

It was a wedding dress.

When we mated, having been exiled by the Alpha of our previous pack, we simply drank cheap wine with a few friends as witnesses.

Not wearing a holy white dress and walking down the aisle at the Moon Goddess Altar was my regret for years.

But that was the old Seraphina's regret.

The current me only found it ironic.

Seeing that I didn't look ecstatic, Kaelen quickly added.

"I booked the Sacred Moon Church for tomorrow evening. We will fulfill that regret together. The whole pack will witness that you are my Luna."

I looked at the man in front of me and smiled.

I pulled the slightly wrinkled contract from my bag.

"Compared to that, I'd prefer you sign your name on this."

Kaelen took the document, staring at me blankly, then suddenly laughed.

"Seraphina, you've really changed. You're not just focused on your beakers and experiments anymore. You've learned to be jealous. You're using this to get my attention."

"But I'm happy. Whatever form of proof you want, I'll satisfy you."

To show his magnanimity and doting nature, he didn't even read the content.

He flipped directly to the signature page and signed his name with a flourish.

When he handed the contract back to me, his eyes looked emotional, and he leaned in to kiss me.

I was thinking of an excuse to reject this nauseating intimacy when a frantic ringtone interrupted him.

It was the special ringtone he set for Elena.

Kaelen tried to hang up to hug me, but the phone rang stubbornly again.

He wanted to explain, his eyes dodging mine, but I spoke first, giving him an out.

"Answer it. It might be an emergency."

He answered.

Elena's sobbing voice came through.

She claimed she twisted her ankle at the edge of the forest and heard beast howls. She was alone and scared, begging Kaelen to save her.

After hanging up, Kaelen looked at me with a guilty, wandering gaze.

"...Elena is in trouble. She's in danger in the forest. As the Alpha, I must go."

"Go quickly. Don't keep the girl waiting. If the... if she gets hurt, it would be bad."

Seeing me so understanding, without a single question, Kaelen looked stunned.

He suddenly grabbed my hand tight, desperate to figure out what was wrong with me, why I was acting so abnormally.

But the ringtone sounded again like a death knell.

Finally, under my calm gaze, Kaelen slowly let go of my hand.