Chapter 1

Emily

"Help me!" I screamed, my voice echoing through the hallway as I tumbled down the long staircase. My body hit each step with a sickening thud, pain exploding through me until I crashed at the bottom with a sharp cry. For a moment, the world tilted and blurred into nothing but spinning lights and ringing silence.

Then I felt a stabbing, searing pain deep in my abdomen. It was as though someone had plunged a burning blade through my stomach. I clutched my stomach instinctively, my breath hitching in terror. 

“Please…” I gasped, forcing my head up only to see my mother in-law standing at the top of the stairs like she wasn't the one that just pushed me, her lips curved into a smile that made my blood run cold.

"You should be more careful, Emily," she said causally as she walked down the stairs.

I could barely breathe as I pressed my hand against the floor, trying to push myself up, but the pain in my abdomen worsened. A wet warmth began to spread beneath me. I looked down and froze.

Blood was pooling beneath me. My breath came out in short, panicked gasps. "No…"

“Get up!” Matilda yelled as she rushed towards me. "Get up this instant! Don’t you dare stain my floor with your filth! Do you think this house was built for gutter rats like you?"

Her heels clicked sharply as she descended the stairs, her eyes filled with disgust as she stared down at me writhing in pain.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Please, someone help me.”

She let out a humorless laugh. “Help you? Oh, Emily the only thing you’ve ever helped is yourself, leeching off my son, pretending to be a Luna when you’re nothing but a barren, good-for-nothing waste of space!”

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears burning down my cheeks. I’d heard those words so many times that they had almost lost their sting. 

For five years, this had been my life. The humiliation rituals, the curses and the abuse!

But I had endured. Because I loved Julian. Because I thought one day, somehow, he would love me back.

The sound of footsteps made my heart jolt. I turned my head weakly and saw Julian approaching.

Julian Logan, the perfect man. Head of Logan Group. The one everyone admired. 

To the world, he was everything an alpha should be. People envied me, whispered that I must have done something right in a past life to deserve him.

If only they knew the truth.

His kindness never reached home. It stopped right at our doorstep.

His gray eyes swept over me, then moved away just as quickly.

“Julian…” I croaked, reaching out a trembling hand toward him. “Please I need to get to the hospital.”

He didn’t move. Didn’t even flinch. Instead, he walked past me and went straight to the bar.

He poured himself a drink. Calmly. Smoothly. As if I didn’t exist.

My chest tightened painfully. “Julian, please, I..”

“Enough,” he said coldly, setting the glass down with a clink. “You can stop pretending and get the fuck up. I’m not in the mood for your silly dramas today.”

"You heard him,” his mother interrupted “Now get up before I drag you out myself!”

When I couldn’t, she grabbed a fistful of my blouse and yanked. Pain shot through me as she dragged me across the floor toward the door, while all Julian could do was watch.

For Five years, I have worked hard and tirelessly for the Lagon family but all I got in return was hate, humiliation and abuse.

Julian was my childhood crush and then I became his secret pen pal after he lost his father in the last war, but somehow my best friend Ava stole that identity from me. 

After her death I still went ahead to marry Julian, hoping that one day he would love me again, and finally see me for who I am. After our marriage, I made sure I secretly made Julian rise to the point of fame.

Now that he is finally stable, he looks at me like trash.

Like I was a dirt scraped off his feet, like my whole existence disgust him.

By some miracle, I managed to get myself to the pack hospital. 

"Congratulations Mrs. Emily Lagon, it's just as we suspected, you're 5 weeks pregnant. Although you almost lost the baby due to the fall, you have to be careful next time." The doctor said the moment he walked right into the hospital room.

I placed my palm on my mouth, gasping as tears settled at the base of my eyes. This had to be the best news of my life. Now Julian and his mother will have no choice but to treat me as a Logan and a Luna.

"Mrs Emily, are you alright?' Dr Anna questioned with a gentle touch snapping me out of my thoughts.

I nodded my head and collected the test results from the doctor's hand. Hopefully, this news will change everything and bring my marriage back to life. I was going to give Julian the best news and what he had always wished for.

"I am, doctor, thank you,"

I was just rushing out into the parking lot when I bumped into someone, sending a bag tumbling to the ground.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” I bent down quickly, gathering the fallen items. “I wasn’t looking where I..”

“My dear…” a soft, trembling voice interrupted.

I froze. That voice…

I looked up, and my heart nearly stopped. Madam Langford. Ava’s grandmother.

Her pale eyes met mine with recognition, though I knew she couldn’t really see me. The old woman suffered from Alzheimer’s, and half the time, she didn’t remember anyone. But now, her gaze softened in a way that made my throat tighten.

“Ava,” she whispered, reaching for my hand. “Oh, my sweet girl… you came back to me.”

My lips parted, but no sound came out. I couldn’t bring myself to correct her. How could I? Her frail face looked so peaceful, so happy.

“Yes,” I said softly. “It’s me.”

Her hand trembled as she reached into her bag and pulled out a small, worn journal. “I’ve kept it for you,” she said, her voice barely audible. “All your letters. The ones you wrote to that poor boy.”

My heart stopped.

I took the journal in trembling hands and flipped it open. My eyes widened as I saw tmmy handwriting.

The letters I wrote to Julian before Ava stole it from me 

Tears filled my eyes as I clutched the journal to my chest. “Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you so much.”

I rushed into the pack house, the still-warm pregnancy test report crumpled in my sweaty palm. My heart pounded, not from running but from the two bold lines that changed everything. Tonight, I would finally have news worth celebrating.

I opened the door, excitement fluttering in my chest, but then my phone buzzed.

I glanced at the screen and froze.

A breaking news alert.

ALPHA Julian FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM HIS CHEATING WIFE.

Below the headline was a picture of me  in a man’s arms, in a compromising position I had never been in.

My heart stopped. The room spun. I stumbled backward, clutching the wall for balance.

Then my eyes caught an envelope on the table.

I picked it up with trembling hands, tore it open… and when I saw the bold words staring back at me, my breath caught in my throat.

DIVORCE PETITION.