The Bitter Taste of Truth

I closed my eyes, trying to contain the tremor that threatened to take over. Just for a second. But that was enough. When I opened them again, the anger was already there—raw, alive, painful.

How dare that doctor?

How could someone who barely knew my name, who had just arrived, who wasn't even part of our pack, dare to question my bond?

The mark was there. Not visible, perhaps. But I could feel it. I could feel it when Carlos touched me. I could feel it when he said I was his. When he looked at me that way.

I jumped up. The chair almost fell backwards. Rodrigo got up too, perhaps instinctively. Or because he knew me better than I wanted him to.

“Doctor,” I said coldly.

“You said the injection would solve my problem. So just call me when it arrives.”

I turned around. My hand was already on the doorknob when his voice reached me.

“You don't understand. If he didn't mark you... If this bond continues to be ignored like this... the injection may not even work.”

I stopped. But I didn't turn around.

His voice continued, lower.

“Maybe it would be better to reject him once and for all. That—”

“Doctor,” I cut him off, turning slowly to face him again. “You're going too far. Have you forgotten who you're talking to?”

His eyes didn't flinch. On the contrary. Rodrigo stared at me with something between defiance and pain.

And for a second... just a second... that look seemed familiar to me.

But it passed quickly. Maybe it was just my mind trying to protect me from the feeling of being completely alone in that hospital, in that city, in that life.

“If you're so sure,” he said dryly. "Luna is no longer here, as she said.

I'm sorry. I'll send word as soon as the injection arrives."

I stood there. In the middle of the room. My chest tight, my hands cold, my heart saying one thing and my reason screaming another.

That was it.

Everyone was starting to doubt me.

First the omegas looking at me as if I were just another one of them. Then Tiago with those eyes full of Maura.

Now even the doctor insinuating that I was living a lie.

I clenched my teeth. I wasn't going to break down there. Not in front of him.

I opened the door, left the office, walked straight past the reception desk with my chin up and my back straight, but inside...

Inside, I was falling apart.

On the sidewalk, the wind blew dry. The sun wasn't really burning, but my skin was on fire. I got in the car and slammed the door hard, as if the noise could drown out what I was feeling.

“Home, ma'am?” asked the driver.

“No,” I whispered. “I need to think. Drive... just drive.”

The city passed by the windows like a blur. But inside me, everything was clear.

The doubt.

The fear.

And that suffocating feeling that everything I believed in... was starting to fall apart.

I took a deep breath for the thousandth time.

“You can't lose control, Camila... not now.”

That's what I kept repeating to myself as the car drove down the streets of downtown.

I forced myself to look at the clock. It was almost three in the afternoon. Tiago would be leaving school in thirty minutes.

Normally, Carlos would pick him up. He said he wanted to enjoy time with his son, that it was their moment together.

But on that day...

On that day, I needed to see my boy's smile. I needed to feel that at least there, something was still mine.

“Take me to school,” I said to the driver. “I want to pick up Tiago today.”

He just nodded. The car turned the corner without question.

Maybe I'd even stop by a store afterwards. He had been asking for that game for weeks, but I said I would only buy it if he improved his grades.

Today... maybe it was the day. Even without a perfect report card.

Maybe he deserved it.

Or maybe it was just me trying to hold on to something before I fell apart.

When the car stopped in front of the school, the children began to come out almost immediately.

My eyes scanned every face, every uniform, every child running into someone's arms. But none of them were mine. None.

And fear began to creep inside me like poison.

Minute after minute passed.

The gate emptied.

My heart began to beat faster.

The doorman appeared, checked the list for the day, turned the key, and locked the gate.

I got out of the car without thinking.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to sound calm. “My son hasn't come out yet. Tiago... Tiago Albuquerque.”

The man frowned, confused.

“One moment, ma'am, I'll call the principal.”

I was taken to the main office. The principal smiled awkwardly as soon as she saw me.

“Ah... Luna Camila...”

“Camila, please.”

My voice was already sharp. “Where is Tiago?”

She hesitated. Too much.

My eyes were already narrowed when she finally opened her mouth.

“He's already left, ma'am. Over two hours ago.”

The world seemed to spin.

“What do you mean he left? Alone?”

“No, of course not.” She hurried. “The Alpha authorized his early departure. He said he would take the boy to the mall. He was with a girl...”

“What girl?”

“She introduced herself as Maura.”

And then it hurt. Not like a punch. But like a razor—one of those that cuts clean, thin, cold, and opens everything up inside without haste.

Even so, I smiled. As if swallowing blood was the only way to stay on my feet.

“Oh, yes,” I lied. “He had told me... I think it was earlier today... and I ended up forgetting.”

The principal nodded, relieved. As if the lie had solved everything.

I just wanted to get out of there.

I just wanted to swallow the bitter taste and not throw up all over the school sidewalk.

“Thank you,” I muttered. “Good afternoon.”

I got back in the car feeling my legs heavy, my throat dry, and my stomach completely empty.

In the back seat, I hugged my own bag and rested my head against the window.

Carlos wasn't just taking away my title as Luna's mother—he was erasing me from our son's emotional memory.

And what hurt the most?

Tiago... Tiago was happy about it.

“To the mall. Now.”

My voice cut through the air inside the car.

The driver didn't even question it. He turned the steering wheel and accelerated, probably sensing the tension dripping from my pores.

The ride was a blur. My hands trembled, my nails digging into the leather seat. My head was spinning with questions I already knew the answers to.

Carlos. Maura. Tiago.

The betrayal wasn't just against me. It was against our son too.

As soon as the car stopped at the main entrance, I jumped out. I didn't even wait for the door to open.

My footsteps echoed in the corridors, my heart racing. My eyes scanned every corner, every hallway, every child's laughter.

I didn't know exactly what I was looking for. But I knew I would recognize it when I saw it.

And I saw it.

In the food court.

Like a painting designed to destroy me.

Carlos sitting across from Tiago, laughing.

Laughing.

That laugh he hadn't let out in months. Not even with me. Not even at home.

Tiago was holding a new game in his hands, excited. He was telling him something, his eyes shining.

And there, next to them, as if she had always belonged in that scene...

Her.

Maura.

Tall. Brunette. Sculptural body. Tight dress. Beautiful.

And I felt like a joke.

With my loose ponytail, my blouse without a neckline, my high-waisted pants.

An old woman.

A shadow.

My throat closed up. My chest tightened.

And that's when I saw it.

A bowl.

A damn giant bowl of ice cream, topped with whipped cream, strawberries, and dripping syrup.

Right in front of Tiago.

He raised his spoon, his eyes shining.

The spoon was about to enter his mouth, innocently.

But inside it was poison.

And I exploded.

“Tiago!”

My voice came out loud. Sharp.

Carlos looked up, surprised. Maura turned pale.

I was already there, next to the table, before anyone could move.

I snatched the bowl from my son's hands before he could bring the spoon to his mouth.

“What do you think you're doing?”

My hands were shaking.

My voice cut like a knife.

I looked Carlos straight in the eye.

Carlos's eyes widened. Maura turned pale as if she had seen a ghost.

Tiago stopped with the spoon in the air.

And for the first time... for the first time in a long time... everyone looked at me.

Totally.