Chapter 1

At the Alpha ceremony for my fated mate, Liam, he publicly chose another Omega—a low-ranking one—simply because she was a negotiator and I would have been a burden. Four years later, he returned with that same Omega, now pregnant with his child.

“Harper. You’re still here.”

Liam’s voice sent a shiver through me. I hadn’t seen him in the four years since he publicly rejected our bond at his ceremony.

I was crouched on the floor, putting my son’s toy dinosaur truck into his toy box.

I stood up and turned around.

Liam was taller and more handsome than he was four years ago, but I was no longer the girl who had been so hopelessly in love with him.

For a fleeting moment, I saw a flash of suppressed longing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by icy restraint.

Because a petite figure peeked out from behind him, her arm linked intimately with his.

It was Chloe.

She wore a pure white sundress, her long hair flowing over her shoulders, making her look fragile and innocent. What stood out most was her gently rounded belly.

“Harper, are you working as a nanny here?” Chloe asked, feigning surprise. “I had no idea you were still so hung up on Liam.

” She lowered her head shyly. “But… I’m carrying Liam’s children. Twins. I can’t live without him. Please, forgive me…”

My expression remained neutral. “Is that so? Congratulations, then.”

My reaction clearly wasn’t what they expected.

Liam frowned. “Harper, are you still upset about what happened four years ago? At the time, I…”

I cut him off, my patience wearing thin. “I’m not. You don’t need to explain it to me again.”

“Same as always, stubborn and headstrong,” Liam said, his gaze growing more complicated. “It must have been hard, watching over this empty manor.”

He thought I was here waiting for him.

He thought I was so desperate to wait for him that I’d demean myself by working as a nanny.

I said nothing, just looked at him quietly, as if he were a stranger making a ridiculous scene.

“Since you can’t bear to leave me, since you’re willing to stay and wait,” he paused, as if bestowing a great honor upon me, “after Chloe gives birth to my heir, I can let you care for my children. At least you won’t have to do this sort of menial labor anymore.”

Chloe stiffened for a moment before a triumphant smirk spread across her face. The idea of me staying to watch their happiness probably delighted her.

I scoffed. “What makes you think I can’t live without you?”

Liam’s expression darkened instantly.

He took a step forward, his powerful Alpha presence washing over me. “Don’t forget what we are to each other! The Moon Goddess bound us together. It’s a bond you can never escape!”

He thought he could still control me with the weight of that title: fated mate.

“No other Alpha will ever want a rejected mate!” His voice was filled with a cruel certainty. “Your only future is here! This is where you belong!”

“Liam!”

A sharp, authoritative voice cut him off.

Liam’s mother hurried down the spiral staircase, her expression stern.

She shot a cold glare at Chloe, not bothering to hide her dislike. Chloe instinctively shrank back.

Then, her eyes turned to me, and that coldness melted away, replaced by an unnerving caution, even a hint of reverence.

“Harper, are… are you all right? He wasn’t rude to you, was he?”

Liam froze. He couldn’t comprehend his mother’s attitude. In his eyes, I was just a rejected mate, powerless and alone.

“Mother,” Liam began, his brow furrowed in annoyance, “you don’t have to worry. She’s…”

“Shut up!”

Liam’s mother had never spoken so harshly to her pride and joy. Her voice trembled slightly with fear, her eyes wide with panic.

“You have no idea who she is now!”