Chapter 1

I leaned back against the headboard, my chest still rising and falling in uneven breaths. The sheets were tangled around me, still warm with the weight of what had just happened.

Robert slipped out of bed without a word, disappearing into the bathroom. Moments later, the hiss of the shower filled the silence, steam fogging the glass door and blurring the outline of his body.

I reached for the water glass on the nightstand, but my hand brushed against his phone. The screen lit up. One new message.

"Robert, there’s thunder. I’m scared." —Sarah.

The breath caught in my throat. My vision tunneled on that name. Sarah.

The sound of rushing water continued. He hadn’t noticed. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the glow of the screen, from the way my chest tightened until it hurt to breathe.

The bathroom door opened, and Robert stepped out, a towel slung low around his waist. Droplets of water slid down his chest as he dried his hair, moving with the kind of casual ease that made it feel like nothing had just cracked inside me. He walked straight to the closet, fastening his cuffs like I wasn’t there.

“Are you leaving?” My voice was low, unsteady.

“There are some things in the pack that need my attention,” he replied, calm as ever.

The silence stretched until I finally asked the question burning in my chest. “Are you really handling pack matters… or are you going to see Sarah?”

He paused, then chuckled softly, like I had said something amusing. “Are you doubting me, Barbara?”

My throat tightened. Still, I nodded.

Robert crossed the room slowly, lifting my chin between his fingers until I had no choice but to meet his eyes. His gaze was unreadable. “You let your emotions control you too easily. Sarah just came back from abroad. I’m picking her up. That’s all.” His voice was smooth, confident, as if what he was saying was the most natural thing in the world.

But those words? They carved straight through me.

“What about me?” The question slipped out, raw, aching.

Robert lowered his head and kissed me, his breath hot against my lips. “I’ve always loved you, Barbara. That’s never changed.”

For a second, I froze. I wanted to believe him—needed to. But when I pushed against his chest, my voice cracked. “You say that, but she’s always the one you think of first.”

His frown deepened. “Taking care of her doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.”

Then he pulled on his jacket and left. Just like that.

I stood frozen for a heartbeat before the panic surged. A voice inside me begged, Don’t go. My body moved before I could stop it. I grabbed my keys and followed him into the rain.

The storm was brutal, rain pounding against the windshield as I trailed his car. My wipers cut back and forth across the glass, but nothing could erase the sight that awaited me.

Through the blur of water, I saw her. Sarah. She stumbled forward, her steps unsteady. And Robert—my Robert—rushed to her side without hesitation. He scooped her up, carried her like she was the most fragile, precious thing in the world, and settled her carefully into his car.

The breath punched out of me. My entire body went cold. There was no need for excuses, no room left for denial. His panic, his tenderness—it was all for her.

And me? I was just the Luna standing in the rain, watching my mate fall apart for another woman.

My father’s voice rang in my ears, haunting: “Barbara, this was your mother’s last wish. I arranged for you to study abroad. Albert, the Alpha of the Blood Fang Pack, will be there. If you complete the mating ritual, it will be a great advantage for Ashborn.”

I had refused. Because of Robert. Because of love. Because I couldn’t let go of the last thing my mother gave me.

But last night, for the first time, I wondered if all this pain, all this loyalty… had been a mistake.

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Morning came too soon. I hadn’t slept, not really. Images of Robert in the rain with Sarah looped endlessly in my head, each one slicing me open.

When I dragged myself downstairs, breakfast was already waiting on the table. Robert sat there, perfectly composed, flipping through a document as if nothing had happened.

I swallowed the knot in my throat. “Did you know Sarah is my stepsister?”

He looked up, his eyes flickering briefly with surprise. “I found out not long ago.”

My chest constricted. “Then tell me, Robert… what is your relationship with her?”

He leaned back in his chair, calm as ever. “Classmate. We went to the same school. She saved me once, after a car accident. Her health was fragile, so she went abroad to recover.” He took a sip from his cup before meeting my gaze again. “Barbara, I know you don’t like her mother, but this has nothing to do with Sarah. Don’t take it out on her.”

I wanted to scream. To ask the question I feared most. Do you love her? But the way he defended her… I wasn’t ready for his answer.

The rest of the day passed in suffocating silence. He didn’t come to me. I didn’t go to him. The distance between us felt like an open wound that kept bleeding.

By the next morning, I was too exhausted to care. I slept late, hoping to avoid him, but when I came downstairs, he was there—sitting in the living room, flipping through a magazine as though my world hadn’t fallen apart.

“Get ready,” he said without looking up. “We’re going to a banquet tonight.”

I wanted to refuse, to lock myself in my room and disappear. But maybe the fresh air would be better than suffocating in this house.

That evening, the car pulled up to the venue. I followed Robert inside, my steps heavy.

Then my heart stopped.

Because there she was.

Sarah stood on the stage, bathed in light, wearing a pale blue satin dress that clung to her like it had been made just for her.

The host’s voice rang out across the hall. “Tonight, we celebrate the return of Sarah with this special banquet in her honor!”

The room erupted in applause. Cheers, laughter, the sound of glasses clinking.

I stood frozen, my palms going cold.

So that was it.

This banquet wasn’t for us. Not for the pack. It was all for Sarah.