Chapter 2.

I watched Lucian kiss her, I didn’t cry or maybe there was something wrong with me.

Or maybe I already cried so much over the past three years that my body had finally run out of tears.

Lucian was the first to pull away, His eyes found mine. For one brief second, I expected embarrassment, guilt or anything. 

Instead, his brows drew together. Irritation flickered across his face. As though my presence had interrupted something important.

“How long?” I asked.

Lucian’s expression hardened.

“What?”

I lifted the divorce papers in my hand.

“How long have you been seeing her?”

Silence settled over the room,  Selene stood beside him, perfectly composed.

Lucian didn’t answer immediately. That was enough to answer.

Still, I waited. He sighed.

“It doesn’t matter.”

I stared at him.

“It matters to me.”

“Our marriage is over, Merryn.”

“Was it over when you started seeing her?”

His jaw clenched.

“Don’t turn this into something it isn’t.”

A bitter laugh escaped me.

“I just saw  my husband kissing another woman in the same room where he just told me he wanted a divorce. What exactly am I supposed to turn it into?”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed.

“You knew Selene was important to me.”

“I knew you loved her.”

The words tasted strange.

“I didn’t know you were still sleeping with her.”

Selene’s gaze shifted between us. Then she spoke.

“I came back because Lucian and I were never truly finished.”

I looked at her. She didn’t sound smug. That somehow made it worse. There was no need for cruelty in her voice.

She spoke as if she were stating a fact. As if I had simply occupied a space that had always belonged to her.

My eyes dropped on my wedding ring.

I had twisted that ring around my finger whenever I felt nervous.

I had kissed it once after Lucian came home from a battle, believing stupidly that surviving together meant we were becoming something real.

Now Selene’s eyes followed mine. She smiled faintly.

“You can keep it for tonight.”

My fingers went still.

“Tomorrow, I’ll need the Luna ring.”

I looked up, she was looking directly at me.

Not challenging me but mocking me. She already believed she had won.

My gaze moved to Lucian. He said nothing. That silence hurt more than her words.

I nodded slowly.

“Congratulations.”

Selene’s smile widened. Lucian looked away.

Then he said, “There’s a formal dinner tonight.”

I almost thought I had misheard him.

I looked at him.

“You’re serious?”

“You’re still my Luna until the divorce is officially announced.”

The irony nearly made me laugh.

“YourLuna.”

His expression remained cold.

“You’re expected to attend.”

“No.”

His eyes sharpened.

“Merryn.”

“I said no.”

“You will attend.”

I stared at him. Then he leaned closer, his voice dropping.

“Don’t embarrass me.”

Something inside my chest cracked.

Even now, even after divorcing me.

Even after kissing the woman he had apparently never stopped loving.

His greatest concern was still himself.

Not what he had done to me, not whether I was all right.

Not whether standing beside the woman replacing me would hurt.

His reputation, that was all I had ever been to him.

Another thing he had to manage. I looked at the divorce papers in my hand. Then back at him.

“Fine.”

His shoulders relaxed slightly.

“But I’m not going because you ordered me to.”

He frowned. I turned before he could answer.

“I’ll go because I’m still Luna.”

The formal dining hall glittered beneath hundreds of crystal lights. I almost turned around when I entered.

Almost, Lucian was already seated at the head of the table.

Selene sat beside him.

Of course she did.

The place beside the Alpha had always been reserved for his Luna. Apparently, my replacement had arrived before my divorce was even official.

I walked toward the table. Conversations softened as people noticed me. Then stopped.

I pulled out my chair and sat at the opposite end alone.

No one joined me. For several minutes, I pretended not to notice.

I reached for my wine, a woman across the table leaned toward another guest.

“She certainly dressed boldly tonight.”

Her companion looked at me. Then at my dress.

“It takes confidence.”

They both laughed. My hand paused halfway to my glass. I looked down. The dress wasn’t revealing.

It was simply fitted. For once, I hadn’t hidden myself beneath layers of fabric.

I wanted to feel beautiful. That had apparently been a mistake. Someone else spoke.

“Well, at least Selene looks appropriate beside the Alpha.”

A few people murmured agreement. I kept my eyes on my plate. My appetite had disappeared. I picked up my fork anyway. A piece of roasted meat sat untouched in front of me.

“It’s almost impressive,” another woman said. 

“The Alpha managed to look miserable for three years.”

Laughter spread around the table, My fingers tightened around the fork.

Then a young she-wolf, probably no older than twenty, looked directly at me.

“I suppose the Alpha finally realized Luna shouldn’t look like that.”

The fork stopped, the room seemed to shrink.

I slowly lifted my eyes.

The girl looked pleased with herself. Then I looked at Lucian. He had heard every word. His expression didn’t change.

For one foolish second, I waited.

I waited for him to tell them to stop. To remind them that I was still his wife. To do anything that would prove the last three years hadn’t been entirely meaningless.

Instead, he looked at me. His gaze traveled over my dress. Then he said calmly,

“Perhaps you should have worn something less noticeable.”

My stomach dropped. The fork slipped from my fingers and struck the plate. Nobody laughed this time. They didn’t need to. The silence said enough.

I pushed my chair back. Lucian’s eyes followed me.

“Merryn.”

I stood.

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

And before anyone could stop me, I walked away. My legs didn’t shake until I reached the staircase.

Then I gripped the railing. My nails dug into the polished wood.

I had promised myself I wouldn’t cry.

So I didn’t,  I simply kept walking, one step after another. Up the stairs. Down the corridor.

Toward the room I had slept in for three years.

I opened the door and stopped.

My suitcase sat on the bed, packed.

Every dress, every pair of shoes. Every book I had left scattered across the shelves.

All of it was gone from its usual place. My breathing slowed. I walked toward the bed. A white piece of paper rested on top of the suitcase.

I picked it up, There were only two lines.

Your room will be given to Selene after the divorce. My fingers tightened around the note until the paper creased.

They had already packed my life, already decided where I would go, already decided who would replace me. A sound came from the hallway.

Voices, I stepped closer to the door and listened. 

“Tomorrow,” Selene said softly, “Will she really be gone?”

“Yes.”

Lucian’s voice was quiet and certain.

“Tomorrow, Merryn will be gone.”

My hand tightened around the note. For three years, I had made myself smaller to fit into Lucian Vale’s life.

I had swallowed insults. Changed my clothes.

Skipped meals, pretended not to notice when he walked away from me.

Pretended not to care when he refused to hold my hand and tonight, they had packed my belongings before I even agreed to leave.

I looked at the suitcase. Then at the note in my hand. Something inside me went very still.

Tomorrow, Merryn will be gone.

Fine, but tomorrow, I decided, I wouldn’t leave quietly.