003 — The Girl He Chose Instead

Soraya Miller’s POV

Standing through a three-course meal with my heart breaking apart each second was something I never thought I’d go through.

“Honestly, I think they’ll adore this pairing,” Luna Elara said, wiping away lamb sauce from her lips.

Rielle laughed softly, tucking a golden loc of hair behind her ears. “I hope so. Mother says I worry too much.”

“You do,” Rhoda Thorne agreed immediately.

“Mother.”

“You absolutely do.”

A round of rich laughter followed, and even Cassian smiled.

The sight of it all made me sick to my stomach.

“It’s settled then,” Alpha Dominic announced. “We’ll inform them about the union at the meeting upstairs.”

Rielle looked towards Cassian. “You’re alright with that?”

For the first time since entering the hall, he actually spoke. “Of course.”

Whatever was left of me shattered instantly. I couldn’t breathe.

“You two really do look good together.” Luna Elara’s eyes sparkled in a way I’d never seen before.

Heat rose to Rielle’s cheeks, and Cassian merely offered a small smile.

“You should both take a walk around the estate after lunch,” her mother suggested. “Get familiar with one another outside formal meetings.”

“I’d like that,” Rielle replied brightly. She really seemed like the ideal daughter.

“Good,” Alpha Dominic nodded, a proud smile on his face, as if he’d just made the perfect business decision. “The Founding Families meeting starts in an hour anyway. Gives you enough time before we head upstairs.”

As soon as they started to disperse, I left the dining area immediately. I should have stayed back to assist in clearing things, but I needed a moment to myself to be sure I wouldn’t explode out of anger or immense sadness.

Rounding the corner, I bumped into someone who caught my arm instinctively.

“Well, that’s concerning.” The smooth voice reached my ears, infuriating me even more. “You seem to be having a worse day than I am, and I woke up to my cousin singing.”

I roughly jerked my arm away, eyeballing the dark-suited stranger blocking my path. “Sorry, excuse me.”

“Normally, people cry after meeting me, not before.”

I sidestepped him without a second glance and walked away to the attendants’ floor. The door banged behind me as I paced the length of my small room.

Just then, it opened again, and Clara stepped in.

“Raya.”

I let out a shaky sigh. “Mum, please don’t.”

“Soraya,” she called more firmly. “Talk to me.”

“Please...” I begged, wiping furiously at my face.

Clara’s expression softened, and somehow that made everything worse.

“Why would he do that?” I broke in a whisper, sinking to the bed.

She didn’t answer because she already knew who I meant, and she’d warned me countless times. I didn’t listen.

“Why would he let me believe. . .” My throat tightened painfully. “Why would he wait until now?”

The tears flowed before I could stop them as all our years of intimacy flashed through my mind in one horrid blur.

“I feel so stupid,” I cried, unable to look into her eyes. “I actually... trusted him.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Clara mumbled, wrapping her arms around me.

With the way Azura reacted violently within me, I already knew who it was before the knock sounded. My body tensed up immediately as Clara looked from me to the door and back at me again.

“Should I—”

Her words were cut off as the knob turned and he came in.

“Go away.” My voice was stern, although it still trembled at the edges. “Go away. I don’t want to see you.”

Cassian stood there, suddenly too big and too foreign for this tiny space.

“Let me explain.”

His words riled me up even more.

“Go explain to your fiancée.”

“Sora...”

“Don't call me that,” I snapped at him, disgusted that he even attempted.

Clara left my side and opened the door. “Leave.”

Cassian knew he stood no chance, Alpha heir or not, when Clara’s face looked like that. He didn’t argue; he only looked at me for a second longer before leaving.

I seemed to breathe a little easier as Clara shut the door behind him.

The sound of my sobs filled the air, and she didn’t try to stop me. She gave me the space to be vulnerable in front of her.

After what felt like minutes, a soft knock sounded at the door again, and Clara pulled it open slightly.

Liza poked her head in. “Sorry to disturb you, Miss Miller, but Luna Elara is asking for you.”

Clara’s jaw tensed a bit, but she nodded anyway. “I’ll be there shortly.”

Of course, the meeting would start soon.

Liza’s eyes found mine for a moment before she disappeared again.

Silence settled over the room.

“You know, you don’t have to go,” I muttered, my voice hoarse.

“Yes, I do.”

A bitter smile touched my lips as the painful realization that everything always came back to duty hit me.

Clara came closer and cupped my cheeks, her thumb brushing beneath my eyes. “You will survive this, Raya.”

I laughed weakly. “Doesn’t feel like it.”

“No heartbreak ever does,” she sighed. “I should know.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Clara gave me one more tight hug before she stood.

“I mean, you will survive.”

She picked up her bunch of keys that had fallen when she first came and adjusted her jacket in front of my mirror.

“Try not to lock yourself in here all day.”

I stared at the floor. “I was thinking of going to see Ron.”

“Good.” Her answer came so quickly that it startled me.

“Go to him,” she teased. “The boy lives for gossip; he’ll distract you if nothing else.”

A genuine laugh escaped me and drew a thin stream of tears with it. She squeezed my hand gently.

“Your heart is hurting now, and that’s alright.”

I looked down at our joined hands, finding comfort in them.

“But don’t make the mistake of thinking this moment is the rest of your life,” she consoled me, even though her words made my chest ache even more. “You’ll wake up one day and realize it doesn’t hurt quite as much as it did the day before.”

“I hope so,” I murmured, closing my eyes for a moment.

“You’re only twenty-one, Raya,” Clara continued softly. “The world is much bigger than this room, this manor, and that boy.”

She kissed my forehead before heading out the door.

I tried to find strength in her words, so I gathered myself, went to the bathroom, and splashed water on my face. I fished my phone out of the bedside drawer to check the time, and it was already a few minutes past three.

The day had gone by so fast, yet so slow at the same time.

I waited a bit more till the redness in my eyes reduced before leaving my room. The place was still busy but not as rowdy as earlier. I slipped through the back path, doing my best not to think too much about what just happened.

But the universe seemed to be out for me today because right there, a distance away, in the exact garden I chose to pass, were Cassian and Rielle.

She looked even more beautiful under natural lighting, an easy laugh spreading across her face as she walked through the flowers with Cassian following closely behind. His fiancée looked like she almost tripped, but he was quick to hold onto her.

Her hair bounced wildly as she steadied herself against him, and even from this distance, I could hear the sound of her laughter.

I didn’t give my emotions the chance to fully settle as I briskly walked away towards the Gamma’s residence. I passed through the servants' entrance, which led straight to the kitchen.

It was very different from the one at the Alpha’s residence, with fewer staff to begin with.

One of the attendants sighted me and called to Ron. “Quinn! Your wife is looking for you!”

I heard his voice before he came into view. “Don’t let me jump you, bitch. She’s not my wife.”

Another attendant snickered. “Then why do you look happier than a newlywed whenever she visits?”

Ron playfully raised his fist to the guy, and that was when he saw me. All the sass on his face faded away instantly.

He rushed towards me and pulled me back outside, worry evident in his features. “Okay, boo. This is not your normal face.”

We didn’t say anything more to each other until we were seated on a stone bench not too far from the Gamma’s residence.

Ron sighed. “You know, I haven’t slept properly since yesterday.”

“Really, why?”

“Because Tristan is a menace,” he said with a 'duh' tone as if I should have already known. “The idiot literally sent me a single heart emoji and disappeared for hours. I mean, what happened to romance?”

I scoffed a laugh at Ron and his dramatics.

“Literally, I’m not overreacting. Do you know Tristan also ignored me all morning?” His voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “And guess who he was with all freaking day?”

“Let me guess.” I indulged in his antics for a moment. “Gamma Owen?”

“Exactly!” He yelped, with an exasperated look on his face.

“That’s his boss, you drama queen.”

“I know,” he maintained. “And they should douche each other while at it.”

A laugh tore out of me before I could stop myself.

Ron’s lips stretched into a slow smile. “Now tell me why you look like someone ran over your wolf and exactly who I need to poison.”

My laugh slowly faded as I instantly recalled what brought me here.

“He’s engaged, Ron.”

He gasped. “No way. Tell me you’re joking.”

I looked away from him, my eyes trailing on the gravel road winding past buildings.

“You mean to tell me the Alpha heir, Cassian, is engaged?”

“How many Cassians do you know?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“Oh, wow,” he muttered under his breath, clearly still shocked at my revelation. “Did he tell you?”

“No.”

He scoffed, already getting annoyed on my behalf. “You found out with everyone else?”

“Yes.”

“This is insane,” Ron exhaled, standing up and pacing a bit. “I know Tristan drives me mad every day, and sometimes, I want to drown him in a river. But at least he talks to me. Our relationship is annoying and toxic and dramatic, but at least I know where I stand.”

A single tear rolled down my cheek, and Ronan was instantly beside me again. He was right. The least Cassian could have done was talk to me to give me the basic respect of not embarrassing me in front of everyone.

“I’ve cared about him for so long.” My voice broke. “I don’t even know who I’m supposed to be... without him.”

“Raya...”

“We’ve been in whatever that was for years, Ron. You know that.” The realization hit me like a MACK truck, but I didn’t cry. I’d exhausted all my tears.

A bitter laughter that didn't quite sound like mine escaped my lips. “I feel so fucking stupid.”

“Stop,” he said firmly, turning me to face him.

“Ron—”

“No. Don’t do that, Raya,” he scolded me. “You can cry and scream. Or even stab Alpha Junior in his sleep, but you don’t get to sit here and act like loving someone made you stupid.”

I let out a sigh, observing the evening glow in the sky as if that would mend my broken heart.

“His fuck-up is not on you, babe. You need to understand that.”

Just then, a sharp cry rang out from one of the nearby buildings. I abruptly stood up, craning my neck to see what was going on.

The woman who supplied flour to our kitchen was racing towards us as if her life depended on it.

She breezed past us towards Blackwell Manor with her child convulsing violently in her arms.