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Chapter 2

Autor: Bonnie
After Vivian returned to Blackridge, Aaron did not contact me once.

In the past, I would have stared at my phone, waiting for him to explain why she needed him again. This time, the mate bond dissolution papers had already been signed, and I had no desire to send myself back to a man who only remembered me when Vivian no longer needed him.

Bella took me to lunch in the city center. Near the end of the meal, she handed me her phone.

Vivian was trending.

In the photo, she stood beside Aaron with her hand on his arm, a pink diamond ring shining clearly on her finger. The entertainment accounts wrote that the Alpha of Blackridge had bought the five-million-dollar diamond at last night's pack charity auction, and Vivian was the first woman to wear it. The comments were already asking whether she would become Blackridge's next Luna.

Bella's face darkened. "Your bond was just dissolved, and he already let her wear that kind of ring. She is not explaining anything because she wants people to misunderstand."

I looked at the diamond and found that it hurt less than I expected.

"If she likes it, let her wear it."

Bella stared at me for a moment. "The calmer you are, the more I think Aaron deserves to rot."

We left the restaurant not long after, only to meet Aaron and Vivian at the entrance.

Vivian was still on his arm, with the diamond displayed so openly that even someone trying not to look would have seen it. The moment she noticed me, satisfaction crossed her face before she replaced it with panic.

"Aaron, why is Claire here?"

Aaron's expression cooled. "Claire, I thought we agreed. No more staged encounters."

I stopped Bella before she could answer.

"We finished our meal and were leaving. Not everyone who appears in front of you came there for you."

His face stiffened, but Vivian quickly looked toward the glass doors, then turned back to me with a fragile smile.

"Claire, there are entertainment reporters at the front door, and several pack gossip accounts are waiting outside. If they photograph us leaving one after another, they will say I stole your Alpha. Could you leave through the staff passage? I am in the middle of a promotion, and one bad headline could ruin both my release week and Blackridge's image."

She wore Aaron's diamond, stood beside him, and still managed to sound like the wounded one.

"Vivian, do you really think those reporters just happened to be waiting there?"

Her eyes reddened. "Even if I am not a top star, I am still the only she-wolf from Blackridge who entered Hollywood. Is it strange for reporters to follow me?"

Aaron frowned. "Enough, Claire. She is only trying to avoid trouble."

She wore Aaron's diamond and still expected me to leave like the shameful one.

"Fine," I said. "I only wanted a quiet meal."

I took Bella toward the staff passage, but Aaron's pack guards blocked the way before we reached it.

Aaron came to stand in front of me, his voice low with the command he was used to giving as Alpha.

"Apologize to Vivian."

I looked at him.

"I arrived first, finished first, and agreed to leave through the back because she asked. She was afraid reporters would misunderstand, so I stepped aside. She was afraid people would say she stole your Alpha, so I cooperated. Tell me what I should apologize for."

He did not move the guards.

"Claire, do not make this ugly. Every step Vivian takes is watched by the media. You know she cannot bear controversy right now."

There it was again.

Vivian could not bear controversy, so I had to bear humiliation. Vivian could not afford scandal, so I had to apologize for existing in the same place as her.

I turned to Vivian.

"I am sorry I happened to eat here today. I am sorry I did not avoid you in advance. I am also sorry for frightening Blackridge's Hollywood star."

Vivian's expression froze, and Aaron went silent as well.

I did not wait for either of them to recover. I took Bella and left through the staff passage.

The air in the back alley was cold. Bella cursed Vivian for acting and Aaron for being blind. I listened for a while, then laughed.

Bella stopped. "You can still laugh?"

"Because I really do not care anymore."

Not long after, Aaron's messages arrived.

[Claire, stop throwing a tantrum.]

[That pink diamond was meant for you, but Vivian liked it, so I let her wear it for a few days.]

[Next time, I will buy you something better.]

In the past, those words would have hurt me for a long time. I would have asked why Vivian always received my things first and why his compensation only came after he had already made his choice.

Now, I only turned off my phone and checked the calendar.

Fifteen days left.

In fifteen days, I would leave Blackridge.
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  • The Bond He Broke Too Many Times   Chapter 9

    Claire POVThe next evening, under pressure from Blackridge and the Council, Vivian apologized publicly.She was no longer sitting in a hospital bed crying, and the pink diamond was gone from her hand. In the video, she looked pale, her voice stripped of its usual careful softness.She admitted she had cropped the Celestia footage, contacted reporters before the crash, and used the harassment claim to redirect public blame. She did not say she loved Aaron. She did not mention her father saving his life. She only lowered her head and said she would suspend all promotional activity and accept Blackridge and Council investigations.The comments turned against her.The people who had defended her said they had been deceived. Entertainment accounts deleted old posts overnight, and Blackridge pack media removed every piece of promotion tied to her.Bella sent me a message.[She finally fell.]I looked at the screen and felt little satisfaction.Vivian had lost her reputation. The years I had

  • The Bond He Broke Too Many Times   Chapter 8

    Claire POVAfter Vivian's statement went public, reporters soon gathered outside the Northvale hotel.They could not enter, so they stayed across the street with their cameras lined up, as if they had been waiting for me. The statement never named me, but the blue dress, Celestia's back entrance, and Blackridge's former Luna were enough.Bella's messages kept coming.[Do not go outside.][The comments are insane.][They are saying you stalked Aaron and made Vivian suspend her promotion.]I turned off the screen.Not long after, a Council guard knocked and said Aaron was requesting to see me. His reason was simple. He had proof that Vivian's studio had falsified the story.I let him in.Aaron entered with a colder expression than yesterday. He did not ask whether I was all right. He only placed a tablet on the table."Full surveillance footage."In the video, Vivian stood at Celestia's front entrance and personally asked me to leave through the staff passage. A few minutes later, her as

  • The Bond He Broke Too Many Times   Chapter 7

    Claire POVAaron did not try to force his way into the hotel again.For the next two days, he submitted one meeting request to the Council each day. I refused both. Northvale's rules were simple. A visitor could wait, and the person he wanted to see could say no. With no Alpha command over my head, even refusal became easy.On the third evening, I left the Council office and saw Aaron across the street.He had no guards with him and was not wearing the long coat that marked him as Blackridge's Alpha. Only a dark shirt, plain enough to make him look less like the man who used to give orders and more like someone afraid his power would make me leave faster.I could have walked away.Aaron spoke first."I will not come closer."He stayed where he was, his voice carrying across the street."Claire, I just wanted to know if you were all right."I almost laughed."Now you want to know?"His face stayed quiet, but he did not answer me with the old certainty."I am too late."I said nothing.A

  • The Bond He Broke Too Many Times   Chapter 6

    Claire POVBy the time the plane landed, night had fallen.Northvale was neutral territory under Council jurisdiction. No pack Alpha could walk in and take someone away at will. There were no Blackridge crests here, no Alpha residence, and no one who would hear Vivian's name and immediately expect me to step aside.I walked out of the airport with my suitcase, and the cold air felt almost clean.I had booked the hotel in advance. The receptionist checked my ID, glanced at my surname once, and asked no questions. My room was small, with a view of Northvale's main street below. Council guards passed the streetlights now and then.After showering, I turned off the pack app and left every Blackridge group chat.Then I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time.No one knocked. No one asked me to sign anything. No one told me Vivian needed something again. The room felt strange in its silence, but for the first time in years, I could breathe.Northvale was not a place where I could hide for

  • The Bond He Broke Too Many Times   Chapter 5

    Aaron POVThe Bonding Hall was ready.The elders waited inside with the ledger opened to Claire's name and mine, and the ring box in my hand held a pink diamond larger than the one Vivian wore. I had bought it for Claire, certain she would come back as she always had.This time, her place stayed empty.Bella's call had just ended. Claire had left me with one sentence."Goodbye, Aaron."No tears. No questions. No anger I could answer.That was when I understood she was not waiting for me to chase her.I called again. Nothing.Bella stood at the foot of the steps, watching me coldly."Where did she go?" I asked.She laughed once."Now you care? Every time Vivian came back, you erased Claire from the bond ledger. Every time Vivian left, you wrote her back in. Did you ever think she might stop letting you do that?"I said nothing."She did not tell me where," Bella continued. "Only that she would take any road, any flight, any train, as long as it led somewhere you could not find her."The

  • The Bond He Broke Too Many Times   Chapter 4

    On the nineteenth, Aaron started messaging me in the morning.[Claire, I will be on time tonight.][I have cleared Celestia for us.][Let us talk properly.]I did not reply.That evening, I put on the blue dress I had worn the night we first met and curled my hair the same way. The woman in the mirror looked calm, almost as if she were dressing for a date. Only I knew this was not a date. It was a farewell.Celestia looked the same as it had five years ago.The table by the window had been kept for me, with white roses, silver candlesticks, and the dessert wine I used to like. Aaron remembered many details. That had never been the problem. He could remember everything and still choose Vivian whenever it mattered.I sat at that table and watched the light outside fade.At seven, Aaron called."Claire, the meeting just ended. I am on my way." His voice was lower than usual, as if he truly feared I might hang up. "Wait for me. I will be there soon."I looked at the empty seat across from

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