CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

“Let go of me!”

Her fists and legs swung roughly as he lifted her and carried her to the car.

The scene brought fresh memories to her mind.

It was the same way he had lifted her on the first day they met.

But the difference was that this time there wasn’t even a bit of gentleness on his face—only hate and coldness.

Tears welled up in her eyes before she could stop them.

Ryker was momentarily dazed.

Without even realizing it, he reached out to wipe her tears but stopped midway.

She was the one in the wrong—clearly she was only putting on an act for him.

Ember wanted to laugh when she saw him put his arm down.

If it were before, he would have calmly wiped her tears even if his face was devoid of any emotion.

What now?

Was he tired of pretending to love her?

When they arrived at the hospital, Linda was lying on the bed, her face pale. Immediately she saw Ember, she tugged at Ryker’s arm, her face filled with terror.

“Ryker, why did you bring her here? Her face looks scary.”

Ryker immediately turned to her.

“Ember, what are you doing? Apologize.”

“No, I won’t!”

Ember replied.

There was no way she would apologize for something she didn’t do.

Clearly, he was the one who owed her an apology.

Linda tugged at Ryker’s sleeve, her face an innocent mask of pity.

“Ryker, it’s okay. If she doesn’t want to apologize, that’s fine. But I just want an explanation as to why she sent thugs to molest me.”

Thugs?

Why were they both insisting she sent them?

And what was with the white lotus act?

“I didn’t send anyone,” Ember insisted.

Ryker’s face darkened coldly.

“Ember, that’s enough. Linda has forgiven you, yet you still claim you didn’t do anything wrong. Why would thugs molest her immediately after she came back to town if they weren’t sent by you?”

Ember wanted to laugh even when none of this was funny.

All of this felt like a shitty dream.

“Ryker, can you listen to yourself for a minute? Yes, I’m wild, but I’ve never hurt anyone without a reason. Why would I hurt someone I barely knew?”

“You researched about her.”

“And what?!”

Yes—and what?

One of his guards had told him that Ember researched about Linda, but according to the time she did her research, it was at night when he had already taken Linda to the hospital.

So why was he so angry?

Ember was so angry she felt like she could faint. She grabbed a flower vase from the table in the room and threw it angrily to the ground.

“Aaah!” Linda screamed as the sound of the broken vase resounded, even though the shattered pieces were far from her.

“Ember!” Ryker snapped.

“Don’t ever drag me out for this again next time,” Ember said in such a cold voice that Ryker frowned.

He watched as she stormed out angrily, her solitude giving a glimpse of a strong-headed woman.

A small pang of pain tugged at his heart.

It was wrong of him to doubt her.

But then, she had always been mischievous.

Ryker looked at the innocent-looking Linda trembling in his arms and sighed.

The one he loved was Linda.

And although he had only married Ember to keep Linda safe, she was still his wife, and it was wrong of him to doubt her.

Placing a kiss on Linda’s head, he agreed in his mind to apologize to Ember when he got home.

But who would have known Linda wouldn’t let him go home? Instead, she clung to his arm and cried all day for him to stay, and he reluctantly stayed—agreeing in his mind to apologize to Ember the next day.

Once Ember walked out of the hospital building, she immediately called her lawyer.

“File a divorce for me as fast as you can.”

Her lawyer was momentarily surprised.

“What? Luna, are you serious?”

Ember nearly rolled her eyes.

Although she had always made scenes wherever she went, it was obvious to everyone how much she loved Ryker. Everyone knew she did all that just to get his attention and make him show her a bit of love.

“I’m dead serious.”

She was done having fake delusions.

“When will you need it?” he asked.

“As fast as possible—today, if possible.”

“No, it will be ready for signing fourteen days from now.”

Fourteen days?

That was long, but as long as she would be free from Ryker, she could endure two weeks.

“Cool,” Ember replied.

Momentarily noting the days until she would finally be free again.

“But Luna, does the Alpha know about this?” the lawyer asked.

“Let him know and you’re dead,” Ember replied in such a cold voice that Charles, her lawyer, immediately cut the call.

It wasn’t that Ember was afraid he wouldn’t agree to the divorce.

Although, if truth be told, she was a little scared.

But she wanted to see his face when she walked out and he realized she had divorced him—the look on his face.

She just wanted to show him that although she loved him, she wasn’t a fool.

Even if she was a few years ago, she wasn’t now.

Ember looked at her bright, vibrant, and still-hopeful face in the car’s rearview mirror and felt her heart beating wildly in her chest, still longing for freedom.

She took a deep breath.

This time, she didn’t want Ryker or his so-called suffocating fake love anymore. She wanted to be herself again. She wanted to be the Ember who was wild, vibrant, and free once again.

The second thing she did was drive to her father’s house. When she arrived, her father was still having his breakfast.

“I want to call off my engagement to Ryker Hale!”

Robin’s hand trembled, nearly dropping his spoon. He quickly looked up and flew into a temper.

“What nonsense are you talking about again? I’ve always ignored it when you behaved so willfully in the past, but don’t you know how many people would die for the chance to marry into the Hale family?

“Don’t you know just how brilliant Ryker is? He has power, wealth, status, and looks. He’s the Alpha. Everything about him is extremely hard to come by!”

Ember looked at Hector, who looked ready to hand-deliver her back to the Hale family at once.

She scoffed secretly and said, “Since he’s all that, why don’t you let that dear bastard daughter of yours marry him instead? Give up my place and let her marry him.”

Robin froze when he heard Ember’s words. Then his facial expression slowly turned into glee.

“What… what did you just say? You’re really willing to give this chance to your sister?”

“Yeah. You’ve always liked your bastard daughter and the woman you brought in to wreck our home anyway. You raised Sophie to be well-mannered and well-behaved, even spending so much money to turn her into a classy lady. She’d be perfect to marry into the Hale family and become Ryker’s wife.”

“You!”

Robin’s face turned livid with rage as he scolded,

“Don’t call her my bastard daughter! She is your sister!”

“We can’t call off the wedding because the engagement between both families has been set for generations. But since you insist on giving up your place… then I guess this is the best outcome for now. I’ll head over to the Hale family immediately to discuss the wife swap!”

With that, Hector eagerly got up, grabbed his coat, and walked out of the mansion without even finishing his breakfast.

Ember found it simply ironic, watching her father pretend to care for her while secretly rejoicing as he left.