Chapter 4

I clamped my hand over my mouth, unable to watch another second, and fled in disgrace.

I ran until my lungs burned, finally collapsing in the shadow of an ancient tree with my hands pressed hard against my chest.

The mate bond was contracting violently, as if a thousand dull knives were carving up my soul all at once.

I bent over, gasping for air, tears blurring my vision.

I had thought the scene at the banquet was painful enough, but what I had just witnessed was suffocating.

Once, Aiden had been so innocent.

Even on the night he marked me, he had held me so carefully, his kisses reverent and restrained.

"Elara, my moon," he had whispered hoarsely in my ear. "I love you so much that I don't want you to have a single regret. I want to wait until the coronation, until you become my true Luna."

Back then, he had treasured me.

Back then, my heart was filled with sweetness, and I believed I had truly found the right one. But now, the cruel reality had slapped me hard across the face.

After some time, the crystal in my pocket vibrated.

Cassia was a demon that would never leave me alone.

This time, she sent a moving mind-link image.

In the image, the back seat of his luxury SUV was a mess, torn stockings tossed in a corner.

In the aftermath, Cassia's voice was a lazy, triumphant drawl.

[This car is filled with our scent. That Alpha musk is just intoxicating. Oh, by the way, Aiden promised to give me your Luna sigil. Look...]

The image shifted.

On the small of her back, where her skin had once been flawless, a dark red sigil now bloomed.

It was the design Aiden had personally created for me, the symbol of the highest honor in the Black Moon Pack: the Luna's sigil.

[See? He's already carved his mark on me. Now, this spot is mine.]

I didn't reply. I just severed the disgusting mental connection.

After fixing my disheveled hair and makeup, I walked out from the shadow of the ancient tree as if nothing had happened.

Just as I reached the estate gate, Aiden rushed back.

He reeked of their mingled scents, the smell assaulting my senses.

I was about to push him away, but the next second, I was pulled into a scorching embrace.

"Elara, where were you? I've been looking everywhere for you," he said, his voice anxious.

I took a deep breath, fighting back the urge to gag, and looked up at him. "Didn't you say you had to handle an urgent matter?"

Aiden's eyes flickered away, unable to meet mine.

"Yeah... It was a bit tricky, but it's been resolved." He paused, his tone becoming exceptionally gentle.

"By the way, about that sigil... I mean, the one for the coronation ceremony. I was thinking of altering the design a bit. It might take a little longer to have it inscribed for you."

I laughed, a hollow, brittle sound. Tears burned in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

"What if I want the original one?"

A flicker of panic crossed Aiden's face. He quickly cupped my face, cooing softly, "Baby, that design is a bit outdated. I want to give you the best. Be good, okay?"

The best?

Once, he would have given me anything I wanted.

Now, what I wanted, he would refuse, even if it meant lying, all for another woman.

His body was tainted, and his heart was rotten to the core.

Looking at his facade of sincere devotion, I suddenly felt incredibly tired.

I pushed him away abruptly and took a step back, my voice as cold as ice.

"Forget it. I don't want it anymore."

With that, I turned to walk away.

Aiden instinctively started to follow but then froze.

Following his rigid gaze, I saw Cassia by a flowerbed not far away, deliberately turning so we could see her profile.

Aiden's face went pale.

She was wearing a backless top, and the Luna's sigil on her lower back was faintly visible.

Aiden tried to explain, but I pretended not to see and walked straight past him, brushing by her shoulder as I left.

Behind me, I could faintly hear Aiden's suppressed roar. "Cassia! Are you insane? I warned you not to show yourself in front of Elara! She is the one line you do not cross!"

The woman's seductive laugh followed. "Oh, Alpha, don't be angry. I just love this mark so much..."

That night, Aiden didn't come back.

I didn't wait for him like I used to, nor did I fly into a rage and demand answers.

Instead, I quietly handled my own affairs.

Since I was going to fake my death and leave Aiden forever, I had to erase every trace of my existence in this world.

When the time came, I would leave him with nothing but a fake corpse and haunted memories.

I dragged out a heavy, large chest.

It contained all the gifts Aiden had given me over the past ten years.

At fifteen, the wolf fang necklace he bought with his first bounty, which he said was a talisman to protect me.

At eighteen, the moonstone scepter that symbolized the pack's wealth, which he said was a testament to our joint rule.

At twenty-two, the pink diamond tiara that took three years to create, because he said I was his one and only Luna.

At twenty-five, the engagement ring engraved with ancient vows, with which he swore he would marry no one but me, for better or for worse.

...

One by one, memory by memory.

Once treasured, now all a joke.

Without a shred of sentimentality, I took photos and uploaded them to the Rogue black market.

The price: one silver coin.

Regardless of their original billion-coin value, each item was listed for one silver coin.

These tokens, once symbols of the Black Moon Pack's highest honor, quickly caused a sensation on the black market and were sold out in an instant.

Just as I had sent the last of them off, the door was violently thrown open.

Aiden burst in, bringing with him the storm and the reek of alcohol.

He stared at the empty corner, his voice trembling. "Elara, the things on the rogue market... What is this? Are you selling everything I gave you as if it were trash?"