Terjerat Pesona Kakak Tiriku

 Maddie pov's

“Didn’t I already tell you to stop doing that?” Aaron appeared, his cold, sour face filled with discontent as he began throwing complaints at me.

The moment my eyes met his expression of dissatisfaction, my breath grew heavy. Nervousness washed over me again.

This wasn’t the first time harsh words, carelessly spoken without thought, had come out of his mouth and cut me deeply. But just because it happened often didn’t mean I ever grew used to the pain. Not at all.

I tried to steady myself, forcing down the lump in my throat so I could speak. No matter what I did for him, Aaron always judged my actions as wrong.

The ache in my chest was unbearable. This was the second year of our marriage. I still remembered vividly the overwhelming joy I had felt when I discovered that Aaron and I were mates.

Unfortunately, throughout those two years, it felt like only my feelings for him kept growing, while his did the opposite.

I took a deep breath, exhaling the tightness in my chest as I tried to smile at him softly. Once again, I tried to understand him.

“Do you want something else for breakfast?”

It was difficult to ask, even with a smile. Time and time again, I wondered and tried to figure out what he really needed.

Coldly, he pushed away the plate I had prepared for him and said, “You never listen to me. You don’t understand anything at all.”

I first met Aaron when I was ten years old. Since then, Aaron became my crush, the one who gave me butterflies every time I saw his face. He looked just like an angel, with his bright green eyes and that cold expression that so rarely showed emotion.

But God! When he smiled, it felt like a dozen butterflies burst inside my stomach. He was the most perfect person I had ever met, the one I admired, even to this very day.

To me, he was always number one. And when I turned eighteen, I was overjoyed to discover that he was my destined mate. Aaron, the one I had always wanted, was fated to be mine.

However, not everything turned out the way I had hoped. I thought my love alone would be enough, but it wasn’t. Aaron never treated me the way a true mate should. Instead, he treated me harshly.

Aaron never hesitated to let his words and actions wound me, as if that was exactly what he intended. I had no idea why he was like that. Time and again, I wondered if I had done something wrong, something that unknowingly hurt his feelings. But every time I looked back, my actions had always been perfectly normal toward him.

So I truly didn’t understand.

I placed my hands together beneath the table as I looked at him. “Maybe if you explained it to me, I would understand.”

I am the daughter of a Gamma, one who had always been fiercely loyal to Aaron’s father, the Alpha. The strong bond between our families made Aaron and me close ever since we were children.

Aaron had always drawn my attention. Not because he was an Alpha, that wasn’t what made me love him. It was simply because I loved him. For as long as I could remember, even before I truly understood what love meant.

Since childhood, people had always said how perfect we were for each other. That thought had made me happy, and it painted a clear picture of the future I dreamed of with him.

I do love him deeply, and even my wolf feels the same way about him. But strangely, Aaron never felt the same. He never sensed our mate bond the way I did, nor the connection most fated mates share. I couldn’t understand it. When others described the overwhelming passion and overflowing emotions between destined mates, I couldn’t help but feel envious. I felt… wrong. Because that bond didn’t fully exist between us.

Even so, our marriage couldn’t be avoided. We still wed, and I should have realized it that very day, he hadn’t even smiled.

I thought it was the happiest moment of my life, but I was wrong. From the moment our vows were spoken, a living hell unfolded before me. A hell that tormented me more than anything else ever could.

Aaron had never loved me. To him, I hadn’t changed at all, from the little girl he once saw as nothing more than a younger sister, I had now become a thorn in his life.

“I’ve explained enough, Maddie. You never understand.” His voice was cold, flowing through me like ice that froze my blood.

I rose from my seat and stepped closer, reaching out a hand to touch his arm. I couldn’t bear being ignored any longer. I had to try. “Tell me what you’d like. I’ll make it for you right away. You need to eat, Aaron—”

Before my hand could reach him, he struck it away with force, leaving me stunned. My vision trembled, and I stood frozen. My palm burned from his slap, but more than that, the pain in my chest was far worse than anything physical.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at him, terrified that his gaze would pierce me even deeper, cutting me where I was already broken.

“Stop, Maddie. Stop.” Even without meeting his eyes, I could feel the sharp sting of his words stabbing straight into my heart. “Don’t make me say it again.”

I bit down on my pain, lifting my tear-filled eyes to him, my voice trembling. “Am I wrong… for trying to be a good wife?”

Aaron looked at me with his firm demeanor. He seemed heartless.

“Just stay quiet and don’t do anything.”

My eyes gazed at him in despair, my fists clenched tightly. My chest felt crushed hearing that he expected nothing from me. It was the same as saying I meant nothing to him, while to me, he was my entire world.

Tears fell, streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably. I quickly wiped them away. I must not look like a weak woman, Aaron hated clingy women who always seemed to need help.

I forced myself to lift my head and meet his eyes. Once again, I gave him a smile, trying to hide the sadness within.

“I’m sorry.” I needed to calm him down.

I had to fix this situation.

“I was only trying to care more about you and pay attention to you, because that’s what I should do as your wife—”

“You’re doing something useless.” Aaron cut me off, and I fell silent.

Every word that came out of his mouth was like a slap, a blow, and a pull tearing me apart. He made me feel attacked, and it took me a moment to steady myself before speaking again.

I was not okay. Again and again, I endured his insults and neglect, hoping that someday his attitude toward me would change. But unfortunately, it only grew worse.

“You can’t be more greedy. Becoming a Luna should already be enough for you.” His cold gaze pierced through my chest, gripping it until I felt suffocated, unable to breathe.

Aaron’s departure after uttering the longest sentence I had ever heard from him left behind a chilling atmosphere. The dining room, which should have been warm and filled with laughter, turned suffocatingly grim.

I knew the silent stares of the servants directed at me were mocking. I had long realized that they gossiped about my relationship with Aaron. His cold demeanor and the arguments that broke out between us whenever we were together gave them room to belittle me and not fully respect me.

But I was their Luna. I didn’t want to act foolishly by throwing a tantrum and treating them poorly just because of that.

I closed my eyes, my lips moving in a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. I desperately wished for her to end my suffering soon. I truly couldn’t take it anymore.

My breath came out in a long sigh. I was utterly exhausted, my appetite gone. I rose from my seat and headed to my room, leaving behind the watchful eyes that lingered in that hall.

As his Luna, I wanted to give my best. I always tried to fulfill my responsibilities perfectly.

For a moment, Aaron came back to my mind. Unconsciously, I searched for reasons behind his behavior. Perhaps right now, Aaron was deeply burdened by his responsibilities. The rogues had attacked not long ago; maybe that was what made his attitude grow worse.

“Maybe I should pay more attention to him.” I placed my knitting on the table and glanced at the clock on the wall.

For me, who saw Aaron as the only purpose in my life, I could understand the changes in his behavior in ways others could not. Even though we weren’t emotionally connected, when the time came, everything would surely get better. I believed that.

Maybe if I could be just a little more useful, I would draw his attention back to me. His resentment might even fade. I would do it—at the camp pack, there might be something I could help with.

Right now, they needed assistance. Some werewolves were injured from the clash with the rogues yesterday. As Luna, it was my duty to take part, to ease the burden on Aaron, who led as Alpha.

The moment I arrived there, the smile on my face instantly vanished, my heart pounded, and my feet froze in place.

Have you ever felt like a nightmare was chasing after you?

Right now, I clenched my hands, a sensation like a black wave consuming me until I couldn’t move. This can’t be… my mind froze as the fear rose higher.

The woman who had long disappeared was standing in front of me… 

Smiling as he held her hand warmly.