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Chapter Three

Halle Wilder

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As my eyes fluttered open, I saw a dark room.

My chest was rising and falling rapidly as I tried to sit up. The last thing I remembered was drinking a bottle of water and falling to the ground.

I felt a terrible headache as I tried to figure out where I was. When I managed to stand up, I walked around the dark room, trying to locate a light switch.

A relieved sigh finally escaped my lips when the lights turned on and I realized I was still inside my room. I blinked rapidly as I tried to adjust to the brightness.

The bottle of water was still on the floor.

Does it mean that nobody came to find me?

My gaze shifted to the wall clock and I saw that I had been passed out for over six hours. I reached out for the water and examined it, wondering why it made me feel dizzy.

Did someone poison the water, hoping I would drink it and pass out? Was it also part of their plans or was it just a coincidence?

A wave of emotions gushed through me as I recalled everything that had happened earlier. It felt like I was being stabbed with a knife.

I let out a deep sigh and changed out of my wedding dress. Then I grabbed my phone and stormed out of my room.

I ran downstairs and saw that the ceremony was over. Most of the guests had already left. I scanned through the remaining people but didn’t see any sign of Kai, my father, or even Chloe.

“Hey, where’s my father?” I asked one of the maids who worked at our house.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, he went inside with the couple.”

“The couple?” I scoffed bitterly.

People were already referring to them as a couple?

I turned around and fled into the house. I could barely breathe as I paced through the hallway like a madwoman. I opened several doors, calling my father’s name but he was nowhere to be found.

My heart was racing and I pressed a hand to the wall to steady myself. Where was my father? I needed answers from him.

I wanted to know why he decided to betray me just after telling me that he was proud of me. The whole thing didn’t make any sense.

Letting out a deep sigh, I turned on my phone and dialed his number. I watched as it rang continuously. But he didn’t answer.

I tried a few more times. The outcome was still the same.

Shoving my phone into my pocket, I made my way to Chloe’s room. I didn’t even bother to knock. I just pushed the door open.

I wasn’t prepared for the next thing I saw.

Chloe and Kai were having sex. Their bodies tangled in sheets so effortlessly like it wasn’t their first time. Like it was a normal thing.

They were so engrossed that they didn’t even realize that someone else had stepped into the room. My jaw clenched and it took everything in me to hold myself back from saying something.

What could I even say?

How long had it been going on for?

I just shook my head in disbelief and turned around to leave quietly. But just as I was about to step outside, I heard Kai’s voice.

“Halle.”

Did he expect me to stop and have a conversation with him while he was inside my twin sister's? No, I couldn’t do that.

With a resentful snort, I slammed the door and ran back into my room.

I still couldn’t believe what was happening.

Being betrayed by your family and lover in one day wasn’t just heartbreaking. It was soul-crushing.

I sat on the edge of the bed, wondering how everything went wrong. Was I just a placeholder until Kai could get the sister he really wanted?

Wasn’t I enough?

Why did they choose to hurt me like that?

I couldn’t even find my father.

My throat burned from the scream I was holding in. I bit down on my lip so hard that it began tasting like blood. My breath caught in my throat as a new wave of tears streamed down my face.

Suddenly, a soft knock came at the door.

I quickly wiped off my tears with the back of my hand. I had no idea who was behind the door, but I didn’t want them to see me crying.

Just as I was about to stand up and answer the door, it creaked open. I prepared to lash out at whoever dared to come into my room, but I froze when I saw Ivy step into the room.

My best friend.

The only person who hadn’t stabbed me in the back yet.

Her eyes widened in shock as she saw me. “Halle, I heard about what happened.” She exclaimed as she pulled me into a warm hug.

“I thought you were out of town,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. Ivy had something important to attend to, so she wasn’t meant to be around for the wedding.

I was surprised to see her.

“As soon as I heard what happened, I dropped everything. I had to come.”

Great! Even people who weren’t around already knew about my humiliation.

“Thank you,” I muttered under my breath.

“How are you holding up? What really happened?” She asked as she broke the hug, her voice filled with concern.

I stared at her and hesitated for a while.

I didn’t know if I could trust her anymore. What if she were part of them? I mean, I had to be careful. Someone literally poisoned the water in my room.

After contemplating for a while, I cleared my throat and replied. “I don’t want to talk about it just yet, I need to find my father.”

With that, I stormed out of the room and made my way to my father’s room. But on my way there, Kai stopped me in the hallway.

Before I could open my mouth to speak, his husky voice echoed through the hallway. “Leave the pack immediately, or you’ll die.”