Chapter 3: I Meant Nothing to Him

Irene’s Point of View

For a second, Eugene lowered his head.

He looked… broken.

Like something inside him was too heavy to carry.

Like he was about to fall under it.

But I felt nothing for it.

No pity.

Only pain.

Sharp.

Burning.

This was him?

This was the man I waited for?

My mate.

My future.

The one I thought I would spend my life with.

“The battle was intense,” Eugene said.

His jaw tightened.

His voice came out rough.

“You wouldn’t understand. You weren’t there.”

He paused, then added,

“I was lonely. And you weren’t there.”

My chest twisted.

But anger rose faster than the pain.

Hot.

Wild.

“So your first thought was to find another woman?” I snapped.

My voice shook, but I didn’t hold back.

“You couldn’t even wait a few months?”

The words came out sharp.

But I didn’t care.

His excuses…

they sounded empty.

Weak.

Like he was trying to hide something ugly.

“Irene!” Eugene raised his voice.

But there was no real force behind it.

“You don’t understand how I feel!”

His eyes flashed.

“You weren’t the one fighting those lycans! You don’t know what it’s like to almost die!”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

Slow.

Cold.

But his words…

they hurt more than the tear.

There was no regret.

No guilt.

Only reasons.

Only excuses.

Like his pain mattered more than mine.

Like it was enough to destroy everything we had.

But what about me?

What about my pain?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” I said.

My voice broke.

I wiped my tears quickly, almost roughly.

“I tried to become the perfect Luna for you.”

I swallowed hard.

“I wanted you to be proud of me.”

My chest ached, but I didn’t stop.

“I was lonely too,” I whispered.

“Every day. Every night.”

My hands clenched at my sides.

“I prayed for you. I waited for you.”

My voice grew stronger.

“Not once did I think about another man.”

Not once.

Eugene’s jaw tightened.

He looked at me,

but there was no comfort in his eyes.

Only something heavy.

Dark.

The bond between us stirred.

I could feel him.

His guilt.

His regret.

It was there.

But buried.

Hidden under excuses.

Under pride.

Under fear.

He felt my pain too.

I knew he did.

It moved through him,

slow and bitter.

And still…

he said nothing.

Nothing that mattered.

“It’s different, Irene,” he said at last.

He shook his head.

“Our situations are not the same.”

The words hung between us,

and somehow, they hurt even more than everything else.

Something inside me snapped again.

Different?

That was his answer?

“You didn’t even apologize,” I said.

My voice was low, but it trembled.

“And I thought… at least… you felt sorry for me.”

The words came out slower this time.

Heavier.

Eugene stilled.

Like I had struck him.

His eyes widened, confusion flickering across his face.

As if it had never crossed his mind.

As if he had been so busy defending himself…

he forgot something simple.

To say sorry.

And that hurt more than anything else.

“Irene…”

His voice softened.

For the first time.

“I… I’m sorry.”

The words fell between us.

Quiet.

Fragile.

But they didn’t reach me.

They didn’t touch anything inside me.

It felt like he said them

because he had run out of things to say.

My chest tightened.

Not from relief.

From something colder.

“You don’t feel sorry,” I whispered.

My voice shook, but I held his gaze.

“You don’t regret it.”

I didn’t look away.

“Your words mean nothing.”

His eyes widened again.

But instead of stepping back,

he stepped closer.

His hands reached for mine.

He grabbed them.

Tight.

Too tight.

Like he was afraid I would slip away.

“Irene… we can fix this,” he said quickly.

“We can still be together.”

Fix this?

The words landed wrong.

Cold.

Ugly.

Like this was something broken he could patch up,

not something he had shattered.

I stared at him.

My thoughts spun, slow and sharp.

How could he say that?

How could he believe anything could go back?

Nothing was the same.

Nothing would ever be the same.

My eyes narrowed.

Something inside me turned cold.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

My voice trembled, but I didn’t look away.

Eugene hesitated.

His face shifted.

Guilt.

Fear.

Desperation.

All tangled together.

“We can still be together…” he repeated.

But this time,

it sounded worse.

Hollow.

Like even he didn’t believe it.

And that was enough.

I pulled my hands away.

Hard.

My chest rose and fell fast.

Anger surged through me.

Hot.

Sharp.

“If you think I’ll accept this… then you don’t know me at all,” I said.

My voice cut through the space between us.

Cold.

Final.

Eugene froze.

But I didn’t wait.

I turned,

and ran.

Away from him.

Away from everything.

My steps were quick, uneven.

My breath came in sharp bursts,

and I didn’t know if I was running from him…

or from the truth I couldn’t escape.

It felt like I was choking.

The music outside echoed through the halls.

Loud.

Bright.

Happy.

Wrong.

People laughed.

Celebrated.

Welcomed their heroes home.

But for me…

everything felt empty.

Like something inside me had died.

Like I had lost something I could never get back.

The bond between us…

it hurt.

Deep.

Like it was tearing apart from the inside.

I thought about rejecting him.

Ending it.

Breaking everything between us.

But I couldn’t.

Not yet.

My heart was still holding on.

Even as it broke.

Days passed.

One.

Two.

Three.

Then a week.

I stayed locked inside my room.

The curtains drawn.

The world shut out.

I didn’t want to see anyone.

Especially not him.

Every time Eugene came…

he knocked.

Called my name.

Waited outside my door.

But I stayed silent.

I never opened it.

I couldn’t face him.

Not after what he did.

Only a few people knew the truth.

Luna Lorraine.

Alpha Dave.

And my closest friends.

The rest of the pack…

they only saw the distance.

The silence.

The change.

They whispered.

They wondered.

But no one knew…

how broken I really was.

“Irene… don’t be sad anymore.”

Skylar’s voice was soft.

Gentle.

She sat beside me on the bed, close enough that I could feel her warmth.

Familiar.

She had always been there.

Since the orphanage.

Since the very beginning.

We grew up together.

And now…

she was hurting for me too.

“Let’s go out,” she said quietly.

“You’ll feel better.”

She nudged my shoulder, trying to smile.

Trying to pull me back.

But I could hear it.

The sadness in her voice.

And it made my chest ache even more.

Because even she knew…

I wasn’t okay.

“I don’t want to feel better, Skylar,” I said.

My voice was low.

Tired.

Like even speaking took too much from me.

Almost gone.

“I just… want to disappear.”

The words slipped out.

Quiet.

But real.

Tears filled my eyes again.

I blinked fast, trying to stop them.

But they kept falling.

This time… I didn’t wipe them away.

I didn’t care anymore.

My hair fell around my face.

Messy.

Lifeless.

Just like me.

I knew how I looked.

I knew I had stopped trying.

But I had nothing left to give.

The woman I used to be…

felt far away now.

Gone.

Like she had never existed.

Strong.

Proud.

Hopeful.

All of that…

felt dead.

Not because he came back.

But because of what he did.

Because of how he broke me.

“Don’t say that,” Skylar said softly.

Her voice trembled.

“Let’s just go out. Just for a little while.”

She hesitated, then added,

“There’s a party tonight. For the warriors… and the lycan pack.”

A party.

The word felt strange.

Empty.

I didn’t care.

Not about the party.

Not about the warriors.

Not about the lycan pack.

Nothing mattered.

But…

something she said stayed in my mind.

The lycan pack.

They would be here for a week.

Their Alpha was coming.

A peace treaty.

All five Alphas had already arrived.

Everything was moving forward.

The world didn’t stop.

Not for me.

I sat there in silence.

Trying to quiet my thoughts.

Trying to feel nothing.

Then,

A knock on the door.

Soft.

Careful.

Skylar stood and opened it.

“Irene…”

Luna Lorraine’s voice filled the room.

Gentle.

Warm.

Like always.

Too warm.

Too kind.

“I want to show you your dress for tonight,” she said.

Her eyes softened when she saw me.

“I think it will help… if you come.”

She stepped closer.

“You deserve to be there. You deserve to feel happy too.”

Happy.

The word hurt.

I didn’t want to go.

Didn’t want to pretend.

Didn’t want to smile.

Didn’t want to act like I was okay.

Because I wasn’t.

Not even close.

But her voice…

made it hard to refuse.

Soft.

Careful.

Like she was afraid I would break even more.

And maybe I would.

I stayed silent.

My chest felt heavy,

like whatever I chose next…

would change something I couldn’t take back.

What did I want?

To hide?

To stay here forever… where nothing could reach me?

Or,

to stand up?

Even just once?

The questions circled in my mind, slow and heavy.

I didn’t have an answer.

Not anymore.

I sat there, unmoving.

Caught between both.

Between running…

and facing everything I had lost.

And for the first time,

I truly understood something.

No matter what I chose…

no matter what I did next…

nothing would ever be the same again.

And maybe…

that was the part that scared me the most.