第2章

I made it home in a daze.

One by one, I took down every decoration I'd so carefully prepared for the party.

I saw the buttercream cake I'd left out all afternoon, the one meant for the gender reveal.

The filling inside was pink.

Back when Ron and I first got together, he'd held me close and said he wanted a daughter.

Preferably one who looked just like me. He'd spoil her like a princess.

I'd teased him. "What if it's a boy?"

He'd scrunched up his face.

Then said with exaggerated reluctance, "If he looks like you, I guess that wouldn't be terrible."

I'd twisted his ear and laughed. "Not allowed. Boy or girl, you'd better be a good father!"

He'd pretended to beg for mercy, laughing and kissing me over and over.

But now, he hadn't even cut this cake.

I shoveled the cake into my mouth, bite after bite.

The frosting that should have been sweet tasted bitter.

I couldn't hold it down and ran to the sink to throw up.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Red-rimmed eyes, a face I barely recognized.

The front door opened.

Ron was home.

Diane and Aisha followed him in.

Ron acted as if he hadn't noticed anything wrong with me. He held out a bouquet of roses.

"Babe, I'm sorry I didn't make it back in time today. I got these just for you. Can you forgive me?"

I looked at the flowers.

Roses. My favorite.

He'd even pulled off every single thorn.

The first time he'd brought me flowers, I'd been so excited that I grabbed the stems bare-handed.

The thorns pricked my fingers until they bled.

He'd bandaged my finger gently, blowing on the cut as he applied ointment because he was afraid it would hurt.

It was only a tiny wound, but he'd treated it like an emergency and wrapped my finger until it looked swollen.

After that, every bouquet he ever brought me came with the thorns already removed.

Looking at those flowers, my battered heart nearly wavered.

"Sarah, don't worry. I'll definitely throw an even bigger party..."

Ron pressed the bouquet into my hands.

I took it, numb.

Then I looked up and saw the bright red mark on his neck.

Whatever had wavered in me froze solid.

"Don't bother."

My voice came out raw.

Ron hadn't expected me to refuse. He froze.

Diane frowned and turned on me immediately.

"Sarah, Ron is exhausted from work. As his mate, can't you be a little more understanding?"

"Seriously, it's just a party. Is that really worth throwing a tantrum over? Having a she-wolf like you in the pack is an embarrassment!"

Diane and Aisha's accusations came at me without mercy.

I'd had enough. I pulled up the post from Diane's secondary account.

"Then why were all of you at Kelly's gender reveal?

"I never imagined the man I loved most would betray me!"

Shock flickered across their faces.

Ron recovered first.

"You know your sister got pregnant before she was married. She was already feeling low.

"We just went to cheer her up. That post was only to make her feel better.

"You know how much I love you. How could I ever betray you?"

His expression was so sincere.

If I hadn't seen everything with my own eyes, I might have been fool enough to believe him.

I held up the photo of him kissing Kelly.

"Was that just to cheer her up too?"

At a loss for words, Ron stayed silent for a long time.

Then he sighed.

"Since you already know, there's no point hiding it.

"Your sister is carrying my child. Five months along.

"I kept it from you because I was worried you'd do something rash and hurt her."

Five months.

She was even one month further along than I was.

I screamed, "What about me and our baby?"

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Diane stopped him.

"Sarah, don't blame him.

"Kelly is the one who grew up with him. They were childhood sweethearts. If that lowlife hadn't tricked her back then, she would have been the one to marry him.

"You've taken Kelly's place long enough. It's time to give it back. And Kelly even said she doesn't mind you and the baby being around."

Aisha jumped in. "Exactly. As long as you behave yourself, you can still be Ron's mate."

Their words were beyond absurd.

Kelly was the one who hadn't wanted Ron. She'd thought he was boring and predictable.

So when she met that rogue drifting through the territory, she ran away on their mating ceremony day.

The ceremony erupted into chaos. Both sets of parents were humiliated.

I was the one who stepped forward, took Kelly's place, and completed the mating ceremony with Ron.

Ron had always been proud. He didn't settle.

But that day, he took my hand without hesitation.

"Sarah, from now on, you're my mate for life. We'll stand by each other, always."

Diane had called Kelly ungrateful and vowed to cut her off.

But a year later, Kelly came back.

She sobbed that the rogue had deceived her, that she'd nearly died at the claws of shadow wolves, and begged Ron to take her back.

Ron told her coldly that I was the only one for him.

Diane threw her out, calling her a disgrace to the pack.

But now I realized it had all been a performance staged for my benefit.

Ron was still talking.

"Babe, don't worry. The baby was an accident. You'll always be my one and only mate."

He reached out to hold me.

But I stepped back, dodging his embrace.

I threw the roses at him.

"I will never accept a mate who could do this. Get out. All of you!"