Bella's POV

Bella's POV 

“My father's pack was wealthy when I came to yours, why would I depend on you??" I snapped at Ronan.

My voice trembled with rage I could no longer contain.

Surely he was looking for ways to make me stand back and not leave, because there was no reason we would have to depend on him, unless he was twisting everything again to suit his narrative.

 My eyes found Jesse standing at the corner, she had dressed up and was outside now.

Like she had been waiting.

Like she had been ready.

"I'm sorry sister” she said like a wounded cat the second she saw me looking in her direction.

Her voice was soft.

Falling on her knees to further buttress her act, she looked like someone who had been wronged by the world itself.

“Ronan and I have always been in love but because you were the beta's rightful daughter, you got married to him.. I don't want to steal your man sister, I've never coveted him, he's just the one who wants me.. he says you disgust him" she whispered, looking helpless.

But I knew it was all an act.

She was not pleading for forgiveness.

Abd was simply trying to humiliate me.

“You can punish me or even have me imprisoned. Anything you want, I….”

I didn't let her finish when I landed a slap across her face.

The sound echoed sharply in the open space.

Jesse was an orphan I had adopted. She was found at the border, alone and wandering, and I had told my father to bring her into our pack fifteen years ago.

My family adopted her, and I had always treated her like a sister… yet she had betrayed me.

And was now trying to spin the table and make me seem like a villain.

“What did you do to Moonstone Pack companies I placed under your care, Jesse? Why is Ronan saying that we are dependent on him?” I asked her, my voice sharper now, because before I left the pack, I had entrusted the businesses to her as she hadn't found her own mate.

She came to visit Crimson Moon Pack occasionally, so all those times I had believed it was out of loyalty.

Her eyes glinted as she stared at me, and for the first time, I saw something unmasked in them.

Something cold and resentful.

And I was close enough now that no one could hear us properly.

" Did you honestly think I would do that? That I would obey you?” she said softly, almost laughing under her breath.

“All my life, I had to stay under your family like a charity case. Why wasn't I the one born to your alpha parents? Why weren't you the one who was adopted? Why—”

Her voice cracked, but not from pain.

From anger.

“Did you get everything good in life while I only had to survive by your kindness?”

My eyes flew open.

Confused.

Shocked.

Jesse was like this?

Had she been pretending to be grateful to my family all these while for raising her, while silently resenting us?

While betraying us?

My chest tightened violently.

I rushed towards her, wanting to strike her again.

“How is the pack businesses I left under your management? What stupid stories are you spouting?" I asked, my voice breaking with disbelief.

But my hand hung in mid air as a hand held me back.

It was Ronan.

He pushed me away harshly, and I stumbled, almost losing my balance before I managed to stand tall again.

“I'm sorry I'm not as capable as you sister in managing a business, but that shouldn't make you insult me. I know I'm an omega and an orphan your family raised, but that still doesn't make it good for you to bully me all the time" Jesse wept.

Her voice shook perfectly, carefully arranged to sound fragile, helpless and believable.

“I can't compare to you nor have I ever tried to compete with you, you're the Luna of a powerful pack, I get it. But please, stop bullying me. I'm tired of it"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Murmurs immediately followed.

“The Luna is a bully?”

“She’s such a spoilt brat. Bullying the poor girl…”

“Such a vile woman…”

“Look at how she treats an omega…”

Their voices twisted the air around me.

My chest tightened.

“Bullying you?" I snapped at her.

“That is a lie. I've never done that. I've treated you better than every member of my own pack, why are you…” I went on defending myself, refusing to let her false story cling to me like poison.

I needed them to see the truth.

I needed someone to see the truth.

But the crowd was already choosing.

And they had already chosen her.

“Enough Bella" Ronan snapped, cutting me off.

His voice was sharp, final.

“You can't bully Jesse in private and then act like this in public!” he snapped, condemning me openly, his words striking me hard.

And I stood there being rewritten into something I was not.

I stared at the man I had loved for years.

The man whose pack I had resurrected from debt and ruin until it stood strong again.

The man who once held my hand and promised to love and honour me forever because of how indebted he was to me.

All his words had been lies.

All my efforts at strengthening the bond in our marriage, all my sacrifices, my patience…

It had all been one-sided from the start.

A cruel illusion I had been living inside alone.

“Get on your knees and apologize for causing a scene, Bella. And I might forgive you for today" Ronan said.

His voice carried arrogance so casually, like he was offering mercy instead of humiliation.

I looked at him.

Really looked at him.

At how he stood there without shame.

At how he didn’t even flinch at what he had done.

At how easily he expected me to kneel after everything.

I had caught him cheating.

With my sister.

And this was what he was demanding from me?

“Over my dead body, Ronan,” I snapped, my voice breaking but firm.

“I, Bella, reject you and our bond. From today onwards, I annul the bond that binds us together!”

Silence fell.

Then he laughed.

A short, dismissive laugh like I had just told a joke no one was supposed to take seriously.

“I'll get ready and leave the pack with my mother and my wolves. This is where we end, Ronan” I added, turning to leave.

Because I knew if I stayed any longer, I would break.

I would shatter completely in front of them all.

That was when I noticed the triumph on Jesse's face.

Hidden badly behind her tears.

How blind had I been not to notice this all these years?

She didn't resent being saved but resented me for being the one who saved her.

What else had they hidden from me?

What else had I missed?

But I didn't care anymore.

I just wanted to get away from here.

“Leave with what?” Ronan suddenly asked.

His voice followed me like a chain dragging me back.

“We're going our separate ways, we….”

“I never said that I would accept your rejection, Bella.” he suddenly said.

My steps froze.

The air changed instantly.

His voice dropped lower, colder.

“And besides, the marriage agreement… your wolves and your mother will stay in my pack. Have you forgotten what you signed? Or suddenly have a comprehension problem?”

Something inside me snapped.

“How dare you, Ronan?" I snapped.