001: Cheating bastard

Diana's POV

The heels weren't mine.

I stood frozen in the doorway of the house I had called home for three years, staring at a pair of red stilettos tossed carelessly by the shoe rack. They weren't mine, and they weren't likely any of the maids' either. The staff knew better than to leave things lying around at midnight.

The gift bag was still swinging gently at my side. I had been imagining this moment for two days, picturing my husband, Ian's face when he saw the watch I picked out for him, the surprise I had flown home early from a business trip for.

I almost laughed the heels off as nothing.

Almost.

Maybe a cousin had stopped by, or one of Ian's friends had brought someone home from a party. Anything else felt more believable.

Then I climbed the stairs, careful not to alert him. He should be sleeping by now.

The bedroom door was already cracked open. I pushed it the rest of the way, and the bag slipped from my fingers before my brain finished processing the sight in front of me.

Ian shot upright, panic flooding his face. "Diana! This isn't what it looks like!"

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” I said in a deadly quiet voice.

It was exactly what it looked like.

Brielle, the girl he was fucking in my bed, didn't even have the decency to hurry. She sat up slowly, pulling the sheet against her chest, a smile tugging at her mouth like she had been waiting for this. "Well. This is awkward."

I couldn't speak at first. I just stood there, staring at the woman I had called a friend for years and the husband I would have trusted with my life.

"Get out," Ian said to her, though his voice cracked on the words. "Diana, please, let me explain—"

"Explain what?" My own voice came out smaller than I wanted. "Explain why she's in our bed?"

Brielle laughed, short and cruel and delighted. "Our room. Cute." She stood and wrapped a robe around herself, unhurried, as if she wanted me to watch every second of it. "Ian and I have been together for years, sweetheart. Long before you walked down that aisle."

"That's not true," I said, though my voice shook harder now. "Ian, tell me that's not true."

Ian said nothing. He stood there in his boxers, his mouth opening and closing like he wanted to speak but couldn't find the words. Three years of marriage, and this was the silence he offered me.

"You're not going to say anything?" I asked, my chest tightening. "Ian!"

"I never meant for you to find out like this," he finally said.

I let out a breath that felt like it had been trapped in my lungs for years. "So it's true. All of it."

Brielle walked closer with her arms crossed in front of her, and that was when I noticed it. The diamond bracelet on her wrist, catching the light from the lamp. My stomach dropped.

"That's my bracelet," I said slowly. "Ian told me it was still being customized. He said it wasn't ready yet."

"Oh, this old thing?" Brielle held up her wrist and turned it, letting the diamonds sparkle. "Ian has excellent taste, doesn't he? Too bad it was supposed to be your birthday gift."

"Brielle, stop," Ian snapped, but there was no strength behind it.

My throat closed up. I had spent weeks imagining Ian slipping that bracelet onto my wrist, imagining his voice telling me how much he loved me. Instead he had given it to another woman, using my own money to do it.

"How long?" I asked, looking straight at Ian now. "How long exactly has this been going on?"

"Diana—"

"How long, Ian?"

"Three and half years," Brielle answered for him, clearly enjoying every second. "Give or take."

My knees felt weak, but I refused to let them see me fall apart. I had promised myself a long time ago that I would never cry in front of people who didn't deserve my tears, and I wasn't about to break that promise for the two of them.

"Get out of my house," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

"Diana, please, just let me explain everything," Ian said, stepping toward me.

"Don't touch me." I backed away and picked up my purse from where I had dropped it. My hands trembled, but I kept my chin up. "We're done, Ian."

"You don't mean that," Ian said. "You're just upset. We can fix this."

"There's nothing to fix." I turned and walked toward the door.

"Diana, wait!" Ian ran after me, grabbing my arm.

I yanked it away. "If you touch me again, I will make sure everyone in this pack knows exactly what kind of Alpha heir you are."

That made him stop.

I walked down the stairs without looking back, even as Ian called my name over and over. Every step felt heavier than the last, like the house itself was trying to keep me inside it. I stepped outside into the cool night air and pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking as I dialed my best friend Sussy.

"Diana? How did he take the surprise? Give me all the details." Sussy squealed with excitement. She had dropped me off just a few minutes earlier.

"Can you come back?" I asked, my voice finally breaking. "Please."

Sussy didn't ask questions. Within ten minutes, her car pulled back into the driveway, and I climbed in, refusing to look at the mansion behind me.

"What happened?" Sussy asked, reaching over to squeeze my hand.

"Ian," I said. "And Brielle."

Sussy's face went pale. "The Beta’s daughter!? That bitch!."

"Just drive," I whispered. "Please, just drive."

Sussy took me to a hotel across town, one I had never been to before, far from anyone who might recognize me. I sat on the edge of the bed once we got to the room, staring at nothing.

"I ignored so many signs," I said quietly. "The late nights. The excuses. I thought I was being paranoid."

"You trusted him," Sussy said, sitting beside me. "That's not a crime."

"Isn't it?" I asked. "I saw the signs and told myself I was imagining them. That makes me a fool, not a victim."

"It makes you someone who loved her husband and mate," Sussy said. "There's a difference."

I pulled out my laptop from my bag, my hands still trembling. "I need to know everything he's been hiding."

I logged into our joint accounts, scrolling through months of transactions. My chest tightened with every line. Payments for jewelleries I never received. Transfers to accounts under Brielle's name. Money moved in ways I never approved, hidden behind vague labels I never thought to question.

Then I saw an email notification I almost scrolled past. ACCESS DENIED: Safety Deposit Box Request, Ruffo Family Vault.

I opened it, confused. I hadn't requested access to anything at the bank, let alone the box that held my family's must guarded treasure.

The Moon Crown.