I said nothing.

Kyle's tone sharpened on the other end of the line. "Serene? What's wrong? Are you upset? Just tell me where you are. I'll come right now!"

He still read me like a book. As an Alpha, he could read my emotions without trying, and he always knew exactly how to make me feel safe.

"I'm home. I don't really feel like going to the park today," I said.

There was a beat of silence before his voice dropped to a gentle murmur. "Okay. I'm coming home."

Kyle didn't ask why I'd blown him off.

I knew he didn't let it slide out of love. It was because the one he truly loved had already agreed to be his mate. I was just a prop, something arranged to please his darling.

When Kyle walked in, I had just stepped out of the shower. The moment I saw Vivian behind him, I had to hold back a scream.

"Kyle, why did you bring her here?" I asked.

He just couldn't wait to drag Vivian here and shove her in my face.

Kyle gently took my hand. "Serene, I know there's been some misunderstanding between you and Vivian. She heard you were back and insisted on coming to apologize."

I shot him a look. I was sick of him making excuses for her.

Vivian's eyes burned with jealousy as she watched Kyle touch me. Still, she stepped forward with a mask of false remorse.

"Serene, I think it's time you let go of those silly little pranks I played before. We should move on. I'm apologizing, so can you forgive me?"

My voice shook as I met Kyle's eyes. "So you think I should forgive her?"

Vivian and her mother almost killed my wolf when they jabbed me with those silver-laced needles back when I was just a pup.

They even laughed as they tossed the last thing I had from Mom—a photo album—into the fire and watched it burn to ash.

I never asked why he always treated Vivian like she mattered more, as that would've only made me look even weaker.

Kyle's expression darkened instantly. He fixed his gaze on me, disappointment and accusation simmering in his eyes.

"Vivian already told me everything, Serene. Yeah, she owned up to pulling some pranks when you were pups, but did you really have to go that far to get back at her?"

I just stood there, stunned. When I didn't respond, he took it as confirmation of Vivian's story.

"Vivian was in tears telling me you attacked her with silver powder. Serene, did you seriously try to ruin her over some old grudge you should've buried years ago?"

"When did I ever attack her with silver powder?" I blurted, utterly baffled.

Kyle shook his head in disappointment. "She didn't even hold it against you after you did something that vicious. She actually tried to understand you and came to apologize first. But you?

"You just wouldn't let it go and clung to those petty little grudges from the past. Serene, how can you be so small-minded?"

To him, the abuse that almost destroyed me was just petty nonsense, while a blatant lie that was fabricated out of thin air became irrefutable proof of my cruelty.

I held onto my last shred of dignity, refusing to forgive Vivian. And for that, he cast me as the villain.

He'd been the one to carry me from that suffocating, pitch-black basement all those years ago. He'd taken me to the healer himself.

He knew better than anyone how deep their torment had scarred me, and now he was eating up every lie Vivian fed him, acting like I'd made it all up.

Kyle reached for my hand, trying to force one of those hollow, peace-making handshakes. I slapped it away, barely holding back the snarl rising in my throat.

"Kyle, who the hell are you to ask me to forgive her?" I snapped.

They abused me behind Dad's back, fed him lies until he believed I was a monster, and turned him against me. In the end, they couldn't even bother to show up at his funeral.

And now Vivian was pulling the same shit on the person I loved most. From the looks of it, she was about to get away with it again.

Kyle looked down at his hand, already flushing where I'd smacked it. For the first time, he didn't bother hiding his disdain.

"Serene, I'm only doing this for your own good. You're all alone now, with no family to back you up. Vivian is your only sister.

"Why cling to the past and torture yourself? We've got to move forward, don't we?"

His words sounded sincere, but impatience simmered beneath his calm facade.

The very gentleness he'd once used to comfort me now twisted into a blade, driving straight into me. My heart splintered, the pain unbearable.

Fake tears streamed down Vivian's cheeks, her eyes blazing with familiar triumph and defiance.

"I don't expect your forgiveness, Serene. But I'll keep atoning until my sincerity finally heals the wounds I've caused," she said pitifully.

I clung to the doorframe, trying to hold back the trembling rage and sorrow building inside me.

Kyle's face was a mask of impatience.

"Serene, can't you be reasonable for once? What happened to the compassion you're meant to have as the future Luna?" he chided.

Was this man defending the woman who had ruined me truly the same Kyle who had once shielded me from every harm?

Had my memories twisted things? Or had all that "protection" just been a delusion I'd clung to all along?

Agony consumed me as I stressed out each word. "Unless Vivian dies right in front of me, I will never forgive her. Never."

Kyle's temple pulsed with a throbbing vein. The air grew thick with his Alpha's oppressive presence, suffocating the room.

"Serene, we've only been apart for two years. How did you get so vicious? You won't forgive Vivian? Fine. Then at least apologize to her.

"I won't have the whole pack whispering behind your back, mocking their future Luna as some petty, bitter woman! Your mother chose to end her own life! If she hadn't, your father wouldn't have remarried.

"Stop blaming Vivian and her mother for everything. And if you're as weak as your mother was, then you deserve to be haunted by your past!"

The word "haunted" cut through the air like a curse, venom dripping from his voice.

I caught the flicker of disgust on Kyle's face. The man who once promised to protect me forever had finally grown tired of me.

All my pain and scars had become nothing but weapons in his hands, wielded to tear me apart. He'd pulled me from the abyss once, only to shove me right back in.

For Vivian's sake, he said I deserved to be haunted and even demanded I apologize to her.

I trembled, my fingers slipping from the doorframe as I reeled back. Kyle caught me just in time, only to notice my swollen and bleeding knees.

He dropped down in an instant, and the tension in his voice slipped through without him catching it. "How did you get hurt so badly?"

After a pause, his voice grew gentler, but the commanding tone stayed strong. "Forget it. If you won't apologize, I'll do it for you. But watch your attitude."

I yanked my hand back, my face draining of color as I pointed toward the door.

"I don't want to see either of you… Get out!" I shouted.

Kyle knew how fragile I was, so he tried to pull me into his arms and steady me.

Vivian's tears traced down her cheeks as she bowed her head. "Serene, I'll go. Just stop tearing yourself apart over me."

She was about to run, but she spun around too fast. Her body crashed into the doorframe with a sickening thud, sending her stumbling sideways.

Kyle let go of me instantly and lunged to catch Vivian, but they both tumbled outside, crashing to the ground. Her head hit the doorframe, blood blooming fast as it seeped from the wound.

He scrambled up, gathering her into his arms as he rushed out.

"Vivian, does it hurt? I'm taking you to the hospital!"

And just like that, they were gone.

Silence wrapped around me like a shroud, and my soul felt like it was falling into an endless pit.

I spent ten years with Kyle, and we ended up as strangers.

I pulled out my phone and booked a flight for the day our mate-bonding ceremony was scheduled. Seven days was all I needed to cut every last tie to my past.

Kyle was right. I had to move forward.

Ten years of love and pain had scarred me to the bone. Now, I'd rip it all away, flesh and soul, even if it bled me dry and even if the marks remained.

The old me was dead. From now on, I'd live for no one but myself.

I threw out everything I'd brought into the home Kyle and I shared. This was never really my place, and now, there wasn't a single trace of me left.

Only my handmade travel journal was left, with old boarding passes pasted in, each one from a trip I'd taken just to be with him. Beneath each one, I'd written down the details of our time together.

I once believed it proved how much we meant to each other, but now it just felt like something sad I made up to feel less alone.

I hesitated for a beat, then ripped each page from the binding and hurled them into the fireplace. The flames devoured them, turning ten years of Kyle and me into nothing but choking ash and bitter smoke.

…

The scent of breakfast dragged me from the depths of sleep the next morning. From the kitchen, Kyle's voice drifted to me.

"Serene, go wash up. I made your favorite pancakes."

He casually packed a portion to go. "Eat up. I'm taking some of this to Vivian. She was pretty shaken up yesterday."

I gave a flat hum, expressionless.

My indifference unsettled him. He walked over, grabbed the first-aid kit, and carefully dressed the wounds on my knees.

"Serene, we've loved each other for so many years. Everything I've done has been for your sake. I don't want you standing alone at our mate-bonding ceremony with no family by your side."

He hesitated before adding, probing for a reaction. "Didn't you say you couldn't find a bridesmaid? I already asked Vivian to stand in for you."

"Fine."

My quick agreement made his eyes flicker with disbelief. Then, he took my hand and brushed a kiss across the back, as though it were a reward for behaving.

He left to bring Vivian breakfast and never returned. His call didn't come until I'd finished packing.

"Serene, just head straight to the garage when you're done. I'll be waiting in the car."

When I got there, I instinctively walked toward the passenger seat, only to see Vivian already in it. I slid into the back without a word.

Kyle glanced at me in the rearview mirror, approval flickering in his eyes.

"Serene, Vivian's a jewelry designer. She'll help us pick the perfect ring."

I just closed my eyes, pretending to drift off.

Kyle and Vivian flirted as if I weren't even in the car.

…

The moment we stepped into the store, a sales associate hurried over to Vivian, who was practically glued to Kyle's side.

"Sir, what would you like to pick out for your fiancee today?" the associate asked.

Vivian's lips curled in a smug smile. Kyle cleared his throat, then abruptly yanked me forward.

"Why are you standing back there? Come pick your ring!" he commanded.

The sales associate mumbled an awkward apology and quickly brought out the store's finest diamond rings for me to choose from.

But Vivian was quicker. Her fingers—one already flaunting her engagement ring—drifted over the display as she made a show of dismissing each piece.

"The moonstone on this one's too small."

"This one's got terrible clarity."

She kept going without missing a beat.

Compared to the massive, gleaming moonstone on her own finger, none of them were good enough.

In the end, she begrudgingly picked out a ring with the plainest design.

"Serene, just take this one. It'll do for the mate-bonding ceremony. I'll design you something better later, something that'll outshine mine."

She shoved her ring in my face with a smug smile. "My fiance picked this out just for me. It's one of a kind."

Beside us, Kyle said nothing, his lips curved in an indulgent smile.

"We'll take this one, then!" he chirped.

He didn't even ask if I liked it before paying. He took out the ring and slipped it onto my finger, his expression completely blank. He didn't get down on one knee or say any vows.

The ring was painfully small, and he had to force it over my knuckle.

I knew Vivian did it on purpose. As the pack armorer, there was no way she misjudged the size.

I couldn't be bothered to play along with their charade any longer. With a sharp pull, I yanked the ring off my finger.

The sales associate kindly suggested I could exchange it for a different design.

"No, that's okay. It's just for show anyway," I said.

Kyle's expression darkened. "We don't have to buy it if you're not happy. Vivian can design something for you later."

"This one's fine," I said flatly, with no intention of saying anything more.

Vivian, of course, didn't hold back. Her eyes were already swimming with tears, and the guilt practically radiated off her.

"Serene, this is all my fault for picking the wrong design. I'm going straight to the studio now. I swear I'll design you the perfect ring!"

Without another word, she spun around and took off, ignoring Kyle as he called after her down the street.

Kyle turned on me, furious. "Serene, what are you freaking out about? It's just a damn ring!"

I kept my voice steady. "Freaking out? Really? You asked me to let Vivian sit up front, and I did. You wanted me to wear this ring, and I wore it. What else do you want from me, Kyle?"

He was left speechless by my calm, unwavering tone. He stared for a long moment before finally pulling me into a light hug.

"Serene, once everything's settled, I'll take you on a honeymoon. We'll do the travel wedding shoot then."

It sounded less like a promise and more like a slap in the face.

In the past two years, he hadn't visited me once, but somehow, he'd found all the time in the world to travel the globe with Vivian.

I stared at his location on my phone's GPS, watching it speed toward Vivian's studio.

I turned back into the store and dropped the ring on the counter.

…

The next day, I saw a new post on Vivian's best friend's feed.

"Huge congrats to my dearest Vivian on expecting a little Alpha!"

The photo showed Kyle and Vivian in an intimate pose. And there, around Vivian's neck, was the moonstone necklace—the unmistakable symbol of the Faucher family's Luna.

Without a second thought, I hauled my suitcase outside and flagged a cab to the airport.

Just as the flight attendant announced it was time to power down all devices, Kyle's calls started pouring in relentlessly.

One by one, I blocked him on every platform, then held down the power button until the screen went dark.

With my eyes closed, I drank the potion I'd gone to great lengths to get—one that would break the mate bond between us.

White-hot, suffocating agony ripped through me, making it feel just like death was coming for me. Drenched in cold sweat and gasping for air, I suddenly felt a freedom I hadn't known in years.

From now on, I'd live only for myself.