CHAPTER 5: I REFUSE TO BREAK

~~~Anya~~~

Maybe it was just me. But the air felt heavier than usual the moment I stepped out of Sterling Corporation. My heels clicked softly against the pavement as I walked past the glass doors and tried to ignore the whispers that followed me out of the building like shadows.

“They said Alpha Kane really rejected her.”

“Even at that, she still works here.”

“Pathetic. How embarrassing.”

I shooo my head then kept it high, but each of their words still found its way into my head and chest like tiny needles. 

Rejection. Pity. Humiliation.

Those were the exact things people saw and say when they look at me now. They no longer see me as the daughter of the Beta anymore. Not the hardworking project manager of Ridgewood Holdings who had helped secure half of the company's contract even in the absence of the Alpha. 

Just! The woman the Alpha had thrown away!

I tightened my grip on my hand bag and kept walking. I had promised myself that the last thing I'd ever do was to cry in front of them again.

“Anya!”

I turned briskly at the familiar voice. Talia. She was standing across the street, waving at me. Her smile faded the moment she got a proper view of my face, she hurriedly came towards me. 

“Hey,” she said softly, nudging her shoulder closer to mine.

I tried to smile, but simply said, “I'm fine.” 

She gave me a look that simply said she didn't believe me. “You don't have to pretend with me, you know that right,” she murmured.

That was the moment my chest tightened. Because Talia had been there through everything. Through the night that I found out Kane was my mate. To through the weeks I tried to convince myself that he might actually change and accept me even after I saw him with another lady. And through the day he shattered everything from scratch.

“I didn't cry,” I said calmly. 

Talia frowned. “And that's not something to be proud of.” 

“I know,” I whispered. “But it's something.”

For a brief moment, neither of us spoke. Cars passed on the street, people walked by, life moved forward like nothing had happened. Yet, my very world felt like it had been torn apart. 

Talia calmly looped one of her arms across mine. “Come on,” she said.

“Where?” 

“Of course, we're going to see your father in the hospital.”

I paused, then blinked. The hospital. My father. For a moment, guilt stabbed through me. I hadn't visited him today yet. Work had indeed kept me busy… and then the humiliation in Kane’s office had ripped off all the bit of energy I have left.

“ He really asked about you this morning, he missed you,” Talia added gently.

That was it. I needed to see my dad. He also needs to see me. “Okay,” I sighed. 

We started heading towards the hospital. It wasn't far from the business district. The serene street’s environment between the buildings was surrounded with tall trees that swayed softly in the evening wind. Neither of us spoke for a while. Then finally, Talia broke the silence

“You know he's an idiot right?”

I almost laughed. “Which one?” 

“Of course it's Alpha Kane I'm talking about.” 

Yeah. Of course. “The idiot, is still an Alpha, Talia.” I reminded her. 

“In this,” she said, moving her little fingers to show the situation at hand, “I don't care if he's the moon goddess herself,” she muttered. “What he's doing is so cruel, Anya.”

I didn't respond. Because the truth was–she was damn right. The memory replayed in my mind again and again. From Kane standing before the entire pack, close to me. Holding Meena’s hand. Looking straight at me while he said those words. “A pack needs a Luna with teeth, not a soft heart.” I had never felt smaller in my entire life until then. And yet… what hurt the most wasn't entirely the rejection. It was how easily he thought of keeping me for himself and throwing me away at the same time. 

“You loved him,” Talia said quietly, pulling my thoughts back to her. 

I stopped walking, and turned to her. Loved. A past tense. Yeah, maybe that was the right word for it now. 

“I respected him and gave him a reason to change, for me, at least,” I corrected, softly.

Talia just listened, she didn't argue. 

Soon after, we arrived at the hospitals entrance. The familiar sterile scents and the bright white lights cling around me the moment we stepped inside. My father's room was on the second floor. He was sitting up in the bed when we walked in reading a newspaper. The moment he set his eyes on me, they felt alive, his tired eyes brightened. 

“Anya,” he said, between a smiling voice. 

My chest became warmed instantly. “Hello, dad, it's been a while.” I walked closer and hugged him tightly. His arms wrapped around me weakly, but the comfort in his embrace was stronger than anything else in the world, it was the only thing I needed that matters. 

“How're you feeling today?” I asked.

“I feel really better now that you're here.” 

Talia greeted him too before taking the seat close to the window. We kept talking about normal things for a while. The hospital food. The nurses. The news. The weather. Anything at all, except the one thing we were all thinking about. 

My father really looked at me finally. “You're tired, Anya,” he said simply.

My smile immediately flattered. “I'm okay,” I lied.

“You know, you've always been a terrible liar,” he replied gently. 

I sighed, and looked down at my hands. There was no point hiding it from him. “He rejected me,” I finally managed to say. The words came out quietly. But they felt heavy in the room. I doubt if he heard me right.

My father turned his gaze to me, and sighed, “I heard.” 

Of course he did. Even not from me now, pack news spread faster than anything, especially on stuffs like this. 

“I'm really sorry you had to go through that alone, without me being there, Anya.”

For a quick moment, the tears I had been holding back all day long threatened to finally escape. But no, I blinked them away. 

“I thought becoming his mate would finally mean something,” I managed to say. My father watched me in silence, then he said something I never expected. 

“Being someone's mate does not truly define your worth, Anya.” 

I turned to Talia who shook her head silently, then looked back at my dad. 

“You're really strong Anya,” he continued. “You're intelligent. You're kind, just like your mom. I know those things are not weakness.” 

I felt a not tight in my chest. “But he thinks they are,” I whispered. 

My father held my hand and shook his head slowly. “Then that only proves he doesn't deserve them. He doesn't deserve you, Anya.”

Silence filled the room. Talia kept nodding at our conversation anytime our eyes met, keeping me to my ground. Outside the window, the sky had turned dark. My breathing now felt lighter and easier for the first time since that day. Maybe Kane had rejected me. Maybe the pack now saw me as nothing. But even with that, it can't erase who I was. I had worked to hard for that, too hard to reach where I was now. I had fought too many battles already. And suddenly, something new inside me settled. Not revenge, not anger. Just… determination. 

I stood up slowly. “ I won't break,” I quietly said. 

My father looked at me with pride. Talia smiled from the side of my eyes. “Good,” she said, widening her smile. 

Because, from this very moment, deep down, I realized something important. Kane had taken something important from me. The dreams I once cared for. My pride. My place beside him. 

But there was one thing he would never take. Just one that he can't. My strength. If he wanted a Luna with teeth, maybe it was time I stop hiding mine. 

I turned and held my father's hand, rubbing it gently, feeling our strong connection. Then leaned down and kiss his forehead. “I'll visit again tomorrow,” I said. 

“That's my Anya, take care of yourself,” he replied. 

Talia stood up and we both left the hospital soon after. When we step outside, the night air welcomed us cool. For the first time since the rejection, the weight heavy on my chest didn't feel quite as crushing as it used to. Maybe everything I thought I knew had collapsed. Maybe my life had changed. But I was still standing, and that means a whole lot to me now. 

As we reached the end of the steps in the hospital exit, Talia glanced at me. “So Anya, what now?” She said.

I looked towards the city skylines where Ridgewood Holdings towered above the other buildings. Alpha Kane's company. His world, which I was ever part of that now seems otherwise. The place where I had been humiliated. The place I'll have to go back to tomorrow. My old fear tried to creep back in for the moment. The stares. The whispers. Alpha Kane. Meena. 

But then, I straightened my shoulders. “I'll go back to work tomorrow.” 

Talia blinked beside me. “Are you serious?”

I nodded, “yes Talia, I'm damn serious.” 

“Even after everything?”

“Yes. My decision.”

Because, I believe running away will only proves them right. And that satisfaction is what I surely refused to give them. I turned towards the city street lights, my voice steady, “they think I will break,” a small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. “ But tomorrow, I'm going to prove them wrong,” I took a slow breath. And inside the towering building where my fate had been shattered, somewhere far across the city… Alpha Kane had no idea, that the wom

an he had rejected and decided to keep using, was about to become the most valuable wolf in his entire empire even if he chose not to acknowledge it.