Chapter 3: Me or the Child, Choose

When the servants heard that, they froze mid-motion, holding the heavy picture frames. They looked at Arabella with a mix of shock and hesitation.

For three years in the estate, they had only ever known Arabella as a soft-spoken, gentle Luna. This was the first time they had ever seen her truly angry, and it was genuinely frightening.

They stood there in total silence, unsure what to do.

Seeing this, Celeste pushed out her pregnant belly even further, putting on a defiant look.

"Arabella, Richard already said it. I'm carrying the pack's next heir, so everything has to revolve around me right now. I want this master bedroom. Do you really have to be so stingy and throw a fit over it?"

Hearing that, the servants glanced sideways at Celeste's stomach. Thinking of the power behind her and then looking back at Arabella, they quickly chose a side in unison.

"Luna Arabella, Beta Richard specifically told us to follow Miss Celeste's orders. After all, she's carrying a pup for the pack now. It's just a room anyway—can't you just let it go and let us move her things in?"

This estate belonged to the pack, and they were pack servants, which meant they only answered to Beta Richard’s commands.

As for Arabella, she had always been labeled as barren, unable to conceive a pup. Many of the elders had complained about her for years, and Richard had clearly grown tired of her.

Now that Celeste had shown up with a swelling belly, she was clearly trying to climb the ranks.

Who knew? In a couple of days, Arabella might just be thrown out on the street, and Celeste would be the new Luna!

They needed to get on Celeste's good side right now.

Celeste kicked a suitcase sitting on the floor.

"Arabella, I had the servants pack up your things. You can either move down the hall to the guest room, or just pack your bags and go find a hotel."

Arabella watched as her clothes were tossed around carelessly. Her eyes swept over the pack servants who were already bowing to the new wind, treating her like she was invisible. The fire in her chest burned hotter by the second.

Slowly, she raised her head, locked eyes with Celeste's arrogant face, and let out a cold laugh.

Her hand moved fast, striking hard across Celeste’s face.

*Crack!*

The sharp sound echoed down the entire hallway!

Celeste’s left cheek swelled up instantly.

Now both sides of her face matched perfectly!

Celeste shrieked in pain. "Arabella, you hit me again?!"

Arabella rolled her wrist, her gaze sharp as a blade. "Celeste, do you really think I'm too scared of your baby to touch you?"

"If Richard hadn't jumped in to stop me back at the club, I wouldn't have held back then, either."

The servants froze in absolute terror.

They had always thought the Luna was weak and easy to push around. They never imagined she could move that fast or hit that hard.

A single slap had turned Celeste’s face into a bruised mess!

If the Luna decided to turn those slaps on them... they would probably end up even worse off.

Suddenly, Arabella swept her gaze across the room, causing every servant to instinctively cover their faces and step back in fear.

Celeste hated seeing those spineless servants back away. She quickly clutched her swollen face, let out a flood of fake tears, and began wailing at the top of her lungs like a victim of a brutal crime.

"Arabella, I'm sorry! Please stop hitting me, you're going to make me lose the baby!"

Her cries were loud enough to echo through the entire house.

Arabella watched the performance, instantly reminded of how Richard had jumped to protect Celeste back at the club.

A second later, Richard’s frustrated, cold voice rang out from the direction of the upstairs study.

"Arabella, why are you laying hands on Celeste again?"

Arabella turned her head to look up, locking eyes with Richard’s pitch-black, freezing gaze.

It was even colder than it had been at the club, filled with annoyance and anger.

He was genuinely furious with her.

The moment Celeste saw Richard standing at the top of the stairs, she cradled her belly and practically threw herself into his arms like a frightened deer.

She cried dramatically, "Richard, save me! She's trying to beat me to death!"

Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, making her look entirely helpless.

Richard wrapped an arm around her slim waist, his thumb digging into her chin to force her face up so he could inspect the red handprints. A dark flash crossed his eyes behind his lenses.

"Don't be scared. I'm right here. She won't touch you."

Celeste gripped the lapels of his jacket, crying softly against his chest.

Arabella looked at the two of them playing the roles of star-crossed lovers, feeling physically sick to her stomach.

She forced down the rising panic, letting her trembling fingers steady themselves as she spoke with forced calm. "Richard, this is my home, and this master bedroom is mine. If you want her to live in it, the only way is for us to get a divorce."

"The second you sign the divorce papers, I'll clear out and let her move right in."

When Richard heard the word *divorce*, his grip on Celeste loosened slightly, and his fierce expression softened just a fraction.

He walked down the hall toward Arabella, his deep voice carrying a manipulative, coaxing tone.

"Arabella, don't joke about things like that. You are my only mate; I'm never divorcing you."

He narrowed his sharp eyes, glancing briefly at Celeste with a hidden, heavy look.

"Move Miss Celeste's bags into the guest room at the end of the hall. She will stay there until the pup is born."

Celeste opened her mouth to argue.

She looked up, caught the sharp warning in Richard's eyes, and felt like she had just been shoved into a freezing cellar. Fear crawled up her spine, instantly shutting her mouth.

Swallowing hard, she obediently followed the servants toward the guest room.

Meanwhile, Richard stayed where he was, his thumb sliding over the bare skin of Arabella's arm as if trying to soothe a child.

His voice dropped low. "Arabella, we've been bound for three years. You know how much I love you."

"I messed up with Celeste, but I've already made it clear—the pup she's carrying is mine, which means it's part of our pack's future. Hurting her right now is hurting our bloodline."

"You couldn't conceive a pup, but now that Celeste can, just swallow your pride for the sake of the pack. Once the baby is delivered, you can do whatever you want with her."

Arabella stared at the man she had shared a bed with for three full years, realizing for the first time how completely foreign he felt to her.

So foreign it made her skin crawl.

She slowly raised her head, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "Richard, if you had to choose between me and the child Celeste is carrying... what's your choice?"

Back when Richard had survived that brutal border accident, elite pack doctors had all agreed that unless a miracle happened, he would never be able to sire a pup again.

At the time, wanting to protect his pride and keep the pack leadership stable, she hadn't hesitated to step up and tell the elders that *she* was the barren one, taking the blame entirely on herself.

Now, a miracle had apparently happened, and his recovery allowed Celeste to get pregnant.

If Celeste could carry his child, then Arabella could too.

As long as Richard chose her right now, she was ready to forgive everything he did with Celeste and start over.

Richard met her wet, desperate gaze, reading the urgent hope in her eyes.

He reached out, his strong fingers pressing harder and harder against the corner of her stinging eye.

"Arabella, stop acting like an irrational child. I cannot live without an heir, and the pack demands a future bloodline."

Those words hit her like a rusted blade, driving deep into her chest and twisting until everything turned to bloody pulp. The pain made her vision swim, dark spots blurring the world around her.

It took every ounce of strength she had left just to push Richard away. She managed a broken, bitter smile, her tear-filled eyes empty of any remaining warmth.

"Richard, I get it now."

She finally understood that he never loved her the way she thought he did.

When she first found out he was supposedly sterile, she chose him over everything, willingly giving up her own chance at motherhood just to shield him.

Now that he clearly didn't love her—or perhaps never had—he refused to choose her.

Then she wouldn't choose him, either.

Arabella forced the tears back, straightened her spine, and walked past him without looking back.

Just as her hand reached for the door, Richard's cold voice called out behind her.

"Arabella, you should go stay somewhere else for a while until the baby is born."

"Once the child arrives, I'll personally bring you back home. Until then, you are still my Luna, and the true mistress of this house."