Vampires only ever took one mate in their lifetime.

And yet, my vampire husband refused to acknowledge me—his human wife, bound to him through an arranged marriage.

On the night of our tenth wedding anniversary, Jason brought another woman into my bed.

She was wearing my nightgown. She was carrying his child.

And in my hand, I held a pregnancy test I'd just had confirmed.

"Be reasonable, Elena. Jessica just conceived my child. She needs me."

"Go sleep in the guest room. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

My husband shielded the other woman, his smile polished and gentlemanly, though his eyes held the same icy indifference they always did.

When he saw me frozen in the doorway, Jason assumed I was going to do what I always did.

Scream. Cry. Demand to know why he kept doing this to me.

But he didn't know—this time was different.

The ten-year contract had come due, and I was finally leaving him for good.

Elena's POV

I was born into the noble Montclair family, a bloodline that had forged marriage alliances with pureblood vampire aristocracy for generations.

Only the women of our family carried the rare blood that could bond with vampires and produce hybrids capable of walking in the sun.

At my coming-of-age ball, I fell in love at first sight with Jason—heir candidate to the Valerie vampire dynasty.

I should have married him without any fuss and fulfilled the alliance. But my father opposed it.

I was young and headstrong. I refused to give Jason up—even if it meant severing ties with my own family.

I told myself that with enough patience, I could make Jason love me.

I was wrong. For ten years, he treated me like I didn't exist—his unwanted alliance wife, nothing more than air.

He told me I was the type of person he despised most—the kind who won't leave him alone the most.

He told me he would never love me.

I slipped the pregnancy report into my pocket without a word, one hand resting protectively over my stomach, my face showing nothing.

What perfect timing.

It had taken me ten years to finally conceive Jason's child.

I thought this would be the thing that changed everything—that he'd finally see me as his wife.

But Jessica, his subordinate who'd been seducing him behind my back, was pregnant too.

I took a deep breath and turned to look at the woman in Jason's arms.

Crimson eyes. A pale face. That fragile, trembling look—so carefully practiced.

The cloying perfume in the air nearly made me retch.

"Mrs. Valerie... I'm so sorry, please don't be angry. I'll leave right now..."

Her teary-eyed act made Jason's face soften with concern. He pulled her closer, his arm around her shoulder, and the look he gave me was sharp with coldness and disgust.

"The one who should leave is you, Elena."

His cold disdain cut through me, but I just gave a numb nod. I had to admit:

She was exactly Jason's type—a female vampire.

I knew he'd never wanted a human wife. This marriage was forced on him.

I was the one who'd fallen for him at first sight. I was the one who'd clung to him, leveraging my family's bloodline to hold the title of his wife—yet in ten years, I hadn't given him a single child.

"It's fine. Stay here. I don't blame you for any of this."

I gave Jessica a polite nod, holding onto what dignity I had left.

"I just need to pack a few things."

I stepped over the damp clothes scattered across the floor, the sickening smell of the room making my head pound.

This place disgusted me.

I should've known. Tonight wasn't the first time this had happened. How could I still have had any hope?

Jason was only with me because the alliance forced his hand.

He would never care about me, let alone respect me.

Behind me, he murmured soft words to the woman in his arms. I couldn't bring myself to listen anymore.

The wet sound of a kiss sent a wave of nausea through me.

I pulled my suitcase down from the top shelf in silence and packed my clothes, piece by piece.

It took less than ten minutes. The bag was only half full.

The remaining nightgowns had clearly been worn by someone else. I wasn't taking those.

"Since you like these things so much, consider them a gift."

I picked up my bag and looked at the two of them still tangled together on the bed. My heart had gone numb.

"What a good wife. You're getting more generous by the day."

Jason held Jessica close, his tone dripping with mockery. He shared a glass of blood with her and spared me a passing glance.

"Surely you understand by now—no matter how much you fight it, I'll never love you."

"So just be a good little trophy wife. It's better for everyone, don't you think?"

I stared at the sneering man and realized he was a complete stranger to me.

That shy, gentle boy I'd met at the ball—seemed he had never existed at all.

For that one small glimpse of kindness, I'd held on for ten years, enduring every humiliation.

Jason had more women than any human man I'd ever known.

In ten years, they'd come and gone in waves.

Jessica—if she hadn't gotten pregnant with a potential heir, she'd have been replaced by someone new long ago.

I let out a bitter laugh, set the divorce papers I'd already prepared on the nightstand, and looked him in the eye.

"Jason, let's get a divorce. I'm letting you go."

Elena's POV

Jason's face went rigid for a split second before he let out a short, sharp laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. You can't just walk away from an alliance marriage."

He got out of bed and cupped my face in his hands.

At this distance, I could see the lipstick stain on his neck and smell the sharp tang of perfume on his skin.

I jerked away involuntarily, dropped to my knees, and dry-heaved.

Jason's hands clenched. His expression darkened.

"What? Disgusted that I've been with another woman?"

He towered over me, picking up the divorce papers and giving them a dismissive glance.

"This marriage was your idea. You begged for it, remember? You're the one who insisted on marrying me—and now you want a divorce?"

He tore the papers to shreds and let the pieces fall over me like confetti.

Back then, I'd cut ties with my family to be with him.

My father had warned me—if I chose a vampire alliance over his wishes, I could forget about ever coming home again.

To punish me for rejecting his chosen match, he'd taken over the Valerie family's human-world business interests.

He swore that no matter how miserable my marriage became, he'd make sure I could never divorce Jason.

With my father's deep business ties to the Valerie vampire clan, Jason and I were locked together for life.

I was proud back then—arrogant, even. I believed that if I just tried hard enough, I'd eventually make Jason love me.

I never imagined he'd hate me this much for a marriage he didn't choose. That he'd spend every day and night humiliating me, feeding off my suffering.

Ten years without producing a strong hybrid heir had exhausted the last of his patience.

"Don't forget, Elena—your family doesn't want you anymore. You have nowhere else to go."

"This little divorce stunt doesn't work on me. Haven't you figured that out by now?"

I looked at Jason's smug expression and could only smile bitterly.

He was right. The last few times I'd threatened divorce, I'd called home. No one ever picked up.

But this time was different.

What he didn't know was that when I married him ten years ago, I'd made a secret pact with my father.

If I could make Jason love me and stay faithful within ten years, my father would fully support our marriage and give us his blessing.

But if I failed, I'd go back and marry the man he'd chosen for me.

I'd lost. Completely and utterly.

So this time, I was really going to divorce him.

Elena's POV

Jason saw the silence in my eyes and a flicker of irritation crossed his face.

"Stop making a scene. Your parents had an arranged marriage too, and they each did their own thing. You don't need to stand here pretending to be hurt."

My fists clenched. I clenched my jaw so hard my teeth ached, glaring at him through burning eyes.

He knew this was my deepest wound—and he'd ripped it open without hesitation.

Part of the reason I'd defied my father and chosen a vampire was because I truly believed in their nature.

Vampires were loyal to their mates—forever.

I had desperately wanted that kind of marriage, that kind of love. I'd believed that one day, Jason would feel the same.

But I was wrong.

He'd married me under duress, and all he wanted was a hybrid heir.

Every way I'd tried to please him only made him despise me more—a clingy woman who couldn't even produce a child.

To disgust me and make me give up sooner, he'd never even bothered finding a steady companion. Instead, he brought a different woman home every time.

He would never love me. Maybe he was loyal by nature—just not to me. That was why he resented me so deeply.

I finally saw it clearly. It was time to let go.

Jason noticed the shift in my eyes—the absence of any warmth or longing—and something in his expression faltered.

It was the first time I'd ever looked at him without love.

"Shut up!"

I lost control, lunging forward to slap him across the face.

But as a human, I had no chance against a vampire's speed and strength.

Jessica rushed in front of Jason, making a show of taking the hit for him—eyes closed, head bowed. But her hands were already braced, and she shoved me sideways with hidden force.

I slammed into the wall and crumpled to the floor, clutching my abdomen. The pain was blinding, and for a long time, I couldn't catch my breath.

Jason caught the scent of blood. Something seemed to register, and he moved to help me up.

But Jessica was already clinging to his arm.

"Jason, my face hurts so much. Look—is it swelling?"

That suffocating perfume flooded his senses again, overriding every instinct, making him dismiss the blood pooling beneath me. He turned to stroke Jessica's flawless cheek with tender concern.

"Don't get blood on my floor. Clean it up yourself."

"We should call a doctor, though. We wouldn't want Mrs. Valerie dying here, would we, Jason?"

She called his name in that helpless little voice, pretending to be frightened.

But I saw what she did when his back was turned—the way she raised her brows at me, her smile sharp and venomous.

She mouthed something. Then her eyes cut to my stomach with unmistakable malice.

"Go die with your baby."

They disappeared from sight. The door slammed shut.

In my last moment of consciousness, I felt it clearly—the child was gone.

The last reason holding me back from leaving this place had vanished.

In the darkness, I saw the ball again.

The night I first met Jason. The crowded room, the grand feast—and I couldn't take my eyes off that boy across the hall.

I had told my father: I would never regret this. I wanted to marry the man I loved.

I said I refused to have a marriage like his and my mother's.

All of it had been my mistake.