Chapter 3

AVA

My mother's face was a picture of shock when I told her I did not want to marry Lucas. She just stood there frozen. After a moment she let out a sigh. It was a sound that said she felt helpless.

"The wedding is all arranged, Ava," she said. "The invitations have been sent out. How can you say something like this now?"

I buried my face in her shoulder. I held onto her like a child. I did not want to let her go.

"I do not want to be far from you,” I said. My voice was muffled against her shoulder.

My mother stroked my hair, her touch was warm and gentle. It was a touch I knew well.

"You silly girl,” she said. She was trying to be calm. I could hear the concern in her voice. "You have loved Lucas since you were little. You have always wanted to marry him and have a family with him. So why do you not want to now?"

Her words hurt me. They felt like a knife turning in my chest.

I could not say anything for a moment.

Because she was right. In the previous life, I had loved Lucas for as long as I could remember. He had grown up with me. My parents had raised him like one of their own. They trusted him completely.

Especially after we got engaged my father had started to give him responsibilities in the company. He was treating him like a son. Entrusting him not only with business, but with the future leadership of the pack as he eventually became Alpha as my parents passed. 

Becoming an Alpha was never his right, it was made possible because my father treated him like a son, trained him in politics for a long time and he was married to me, the only descendant from the previous Alpha.

To everyone Lucas and I were perfect, we were meant to be.

How could I tell my mother the truth? That Lucas had never loved me? That our marriage was an act.

That even when I had tried to have a baby with him, he had not cared? He had just made sure I would never get pregnant because he felt like if he had a baby with me, he was betraying Vera.

The company... Lucas had taken everything my family had built. He had used it to get extremely  rich and famous and by the time I realized what was happening it was too late.

My chest hurt when I thought about it.

"Ava?" my mother said. She was worried about me.

Before I could say anything a servant came into the room. "Madam, Miss Vera has come back.. Master Lucas is with her."

For a moment everything seemed to stop.

My mother did not notice anything. She just thought Lucas had come to talk about the wedding.. Maybe to check on me after the fire last night.

She squeezed my hand. "Do not think about it much," she said. "Go wash your face and change into something. Do not keep Lucas waiting."

I did not move.

Vera was back, of course she was. Lucas had finally found her again and would not let her go.

Vera was the daughter of my mother's friend. She had come to live with us after she returned from abroad. My mother had treated her like family.

In my previous life when Vera died... My mother had been devastated, she had blamed herself for not taking care of her friend's daughter.

I remembered something. My father had been sending money to Vera's mother, a lot of money and  I had never understood why but this time I was going to find out.

I was not going to let it remain a mystery, I had to warn my mother. Before it was too late.

I did not go downstairs because my ankle was still hurting, so I let the maid take me to the second-floor corridor. I stopped at the railing, and I looked down into the living room.

Lucas was standing there, he looked tall and confident. The same man I had thought I would spend my life with.

Beside him was Vera, she looked soft and fragile and from where I was standing, they looked perfect together.

My chest did not hurt this time. It just felt... Empty.

Then Lucas spoke, his voice was steady and calm.

"Uncle,  Aunt. I came here today to say something. The wedding between Ava and me must be canceled."

Every word he said was not strange to me because I knew he'd pick her over me anyway.

"I had always thought of Ava as a younger sister. I do not have any feelings for her."

I held onto the railing tightly. Not because I was surprised but because hearing him say it like that still hurts.

My mum and dad sat there, staring at Lucas in disbelief.

Lucas continued, his tone was calm and indifferent.

"The person I love is Vera. I hope you will give us your blessing." The words carried more than emotion, they carried a claim.

There was silence after that, it was heavy and suffocating.

For the first time, I did not feel like I was the one being abandoned. I felt like I had finally been set free.  

This time, I was not the one being discarded, I was the one letting go.