Chapter 0002

•ISOLDE•

I couldn't sleep the previous night, knowing that Caleb fucked my best friend on our bed because he thought I couldn't hear them.

I could still remember the sounds of her moans and the wet sounds of her vagina when Caleb was fucking her.

I thought I would lose my mind.

When I woke up in the morning, Caleb was coming out of the shower with her. He squeezed her butt in front of the mirror and kissed her cheek.

He told her how good she felt, and how he hadn't had that much fun in a long time.

When she had left the room, Caleb put the hearing aid in my ear and smiled while helping me out of bed.

And before he left for work, he told me how much he loved me. And how grateful he was to me for giving birth to our perfect son.

He even told me how he was doing everything he could to help me restore my eyesight and hearing. But if I were still blind and deaf, I would've believed him.

I believed everything he said before. When he told me he would make me his wife when we had been together for three years, I believed him.

And he kept his words, even though he was only 28 and barely made enough for both of us. I believed every word he said.

But I made the gravest mistake of my life when I put him in charge of the company that my father left in my care when he died four years ago.

As I sat on the balcony, overlooking the garden that I had planted three months before Sylvan's birth, my heart broke, wondering how many times Caleb had lied and slept with Talia on our bed.

His cheating was one thing, but him bringing my best friend to our bed and sleeping with her was another thing.

I trusted both of them and never thought they could cause me unimaginable pain. My chest tightened and my heart broke more times than I thought possible.

I didn't know if I should scream at the top of my lungs, or drive a stake through both of their hearts.

Caleb and I were together for two years when I introduced him to Talia. She was seeing someone as well during that time, and I never thought she would end up sleeping with my husband one day.

I trusted her with my life. She was like a sister to me, and I loved her with all my heart.

But sitting there with the truth that weighed heavily in my heart, I realized I had never truly known Caleb and Talia.

"Oh, thank you, Glen!" Talia's voice came from behind me. "I found her!"

I swallowed and pretended to be staring at nothing. I wasn't wearing my eyeglasses, so I hoped she wouldn't notice that I could see now.

She closed the sliding doors before she leaned toward me with her arms folded across her chest. My chest tightened when I saw the dress she was wearing.

I had bought it on the day I wanted to tell Caleb about our pregnancy during a dinner date.

He couldn't take his eyes off me, and when I told him I was pregnant, it felt as if we were starting a new chapter in our lives.

“Hi, Isa,” she chuckled as she leaned her face toward mine. I blinked and kept my eyes steady, though I almost broke out of character. “I never thought I would be this happy to see you so helpless.”

I swallowed. Talia knew everything about me. She and I had been through so many things.

Her betrayal hurt more than being blind.

"I loved you, Isa, I truly did," she muttered, leaning against the balcony bars. "But I couldn't have stood back and watched you have everything I have ever wanted. You come from a wealthy family, while I come from nothing. So, don't you think I deserve a break? I want to live, just as you did, and stop being in survival mode all the damn time.”

My stomach dropped.

How could I have known that she wanted my life, even though I paid for her college tuition and found her a job in her desired firm?

I did everything for her and ensured that she was able to take care of herself and her family. And I wanted nothing in return.

"And now that you're fading from the picture—" she leaned closer, crouching to my level. "Caleb and I will get married. I will be his Luna once your divorce from him is settled."

I kept my breathing steady, even though my heart was racing. I wanted to get up and crush her head against the wall, but it was too soon for me to let my mask off.

"I am sure you have noticed how Caleb has been restraining himself from you," she sighed, straightening up. "He is fed up staring at a statue."

Statue? I wanted to laugh. Ten years of friendship and I never knew she hated me this much.

"As for the boy." Her voice dropped. "I won't have him. Caleb says we'll figure it out, but I've already figured it out. I won't let Sylvan grow up to challenge whatever children Caleb and I have." She smoothed the loose hair from her face. "He won't be Alpha after Caleb. I'll make sure of that. He will be given away to some poor farmer in another pack."

Nine months of carrying Sylvan inside me; I bled for him, nearly died for him, hadn’t held him long enough, and she already wanted to take him away from me.

“But I am sorry about how miserable you are,” she muttered. “You deserve a peaceful death when it comes.”

She pushed off the railing and walked back inside. The balcony door clicked shut.

A cry broke through my throat, and I pressed my lips together until they trembled.

Sylvan was inside the house, sleeping and unaware that his mother was being threatened. And they had already decided his fate.

But I would not let her touch him. I would burn the entire world down before I let her anywhere near my son.

I slid my cell phone from my pocket and called my assistant, Kate. She was the only person who knew that I had regained my sight and hearing.

“Kate.”

“Yes, Mrs.—”

“Miss Mooncrest,” I corrected her. “Kate, I want you to review the transfer contract I signed with Caleb. Find a possible clause that could reverse my former decision to make him the CEO.” I breathed. “I want him out of my company.”