Chapter 6

Another picture followed.

A grainy, black-and-white image of a tiny embryo. In the top right corner, the text read: 6 weeks.

【Surprised? You know, when I told Andrew the news, he was so excited he acted like a wild beast.】

【Oh, and by the way, he really is a beast with me. Not so… restrained, like he is with you. Is he always gentle when you two are together? Hahaha, that’s because he doesn’t even want to touch you! But with me… God, I can barely handle how feral he gets!】

I leaned back against the hospital bed, the world spinning.

Andrew had once looked at me with that same hopeful excitement, saying, "Our pup will be the happiest child in the world."

But the child we had waited five years for was now growing in his mistress's womb.

Maybe I should congratulate them.

Another message popped up:

【By the way, he said he wants to keep his pregnant mate happy, so he's taking me to New York tomorrow. We're going to have a romantic little getaway~】

I shut off my phone and left the hospital, my face a blank mask.

No one stops a Luna, even one who looks like she's about to collapse.

Back at the estate, I started packing.

I took out all the gifts Andrew had ever given me—the jewelry, the clothes, the designer bags—and threw them one by one into trash bags.

These things, once symbols of love and commitment, were now just hollow props in a one-woman show.

As I was packing, my phone buzzed.

A message from Andrew.

【Babe, I have to go to New York to handle some urgent pack business. I'll probably be gone for three days. I wanted to take you with me, but you're too weak. You should stay home and rest.】

I sent a simple, two-word reply: 【Okay.】

A few minutes later, my phone rang.

It was Andrew.

"Lucia? You're quiet today," he said, a hint of suspicion in his voice. "Usually when I have to travel, you ask a million questions and pout until I promise to come back soon."

"I'm probably just not feeling well," I said calmly. "You go handle your business. I'll be fine resting here."

There was a pause on the other end of the line before he asked tentatively, "Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little off today."

"I'm not off," I said. "Just tired."

Another silence.

I could hear the muffled sound of an airport announcement in the background.

He was already on his way to New York.

"Andrew," I heard myself ask, my voice detached, "if one day you woke up and I was gone, what would you do?"

A confident laugh came from the other end. "Don't be silly, babe. You're my mate. You have my mark. I could find you no matter where you run."

His voice was filled with absolute confidence and possession, as if I were his property.

"Is that so?"

After hanging up, I went back to my packing.

Andrew would never imagine that in three days, when our mate bond shattered completely, he would lose track of me for good.

And then, no matter how powerful he was, he would never find me again.