I collapsed onto the floor along with the giant cake, while Charlotte caught the bouquet and cheered. She shouted in victory, beaming with joy, but all eyes were on me.

The guests began murmuring among themselves, casting disgusted glances in my direction. I could hear their whispers, their insults—questioning who I was and how I dared to cause a scene at such a luxurious wedding.

Tears stung my eyes as shame washed over me, but I forced myself to stand. I kept my head bowed the entire time, struggling to hold back my tears as I wiped the smeared icing from my skin.

“You destroyed my cake!” Nicholas' sister shrieked, lifting the hem of her elegant wedding dress as she stormed toward me. “You made a mess! Do you even know how much this cake cost?!”

Tears streamed down my face as her fury crashed over me, my sobs mixing with the murmurs of the crowd. “I-I'm sorry…” I choked out.

“Your sorry means nothing! This cake cost more than your entire year's salary!” she snapped before turning to Nicholas in outrage. “Nicholas, why did you even bring your secretary here?!”

Nicholas came rushing over, grimacing as he took in the mess I had made—unaware that it wasn't my fault.

I opened my mouth to speak, to tell them that Charlotte had pushed me, but only broken sobs escaped. And even if I did speak up, would it even matter? They wouldn't believe me. To them, Charlotte was flawless, and I was just a foolish secretary from the countryside. Besides, I was a hybrid, surrounded by pure-blooded, high-ranked werewolves. I meant nothing to them.

“I am very sorry, Steph,” Nicholas apologized to his sister, gripping my arm tightly as he pulled me away from the mess.

I winced at the pressure—his grip was so tight it felt like my bones were being crushed. This was the first time he had ever handled me this roughly, and it only made my tears fall harder.

“We're going to leave now. I apologize again—”

Nicholas was abruptly cut off when the giant double doors of the venue suddenly burst open, revealing my parents. They entered with bright smiles—until their eyes landed on me. Their joy faded instantly as they took in my disheveled appearance, their expressions shifting from excitement to shock and concern.

They carried bags of crops from the village, their clothes humble compared to the extravagant attire of the wedding guests. In their eyes, my parents were probably wearing rags.

My heart raced, and my body went cold as they ran toward me, immediately wiping the icing from my skin, which only made me cry harder. I suddenly felt fragile, the urge to collapse into their arms overwhelming.

“Who are these people?!” Nicholas' mother snarled, her voice dripping with disdain. “Who invited these mongrels to my daughter's ceremony?!”

“We received a letter stating that today was my daughter Olivia's formal presentation as the mate of Alpha Nicholas King,” my father said, his confusion clear in his voice.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, but my wince drowned them out when Nicholas tightened his grip on my arm, his anger palpable.

“Did you invite them here?” he whispered, his voice low, breath warm against my ear.

“N-No,” I stammered, shaking my head. My gaze then landed on Charlotte, whose smirk grew wider, silently confirming who had orchestrated this. It was her. She was the one who had invited my parents to this event, to humiliate me, as though my family was something to be ashamed of.

“That wretched girl ruined everything!” Stephanie howled, her tears blending with her fury. “She will never be introduced as my brother's mate—never! Nicholas would never bind himself to a peasant!”

“But he already claimed our daughter—”

“Guards! Remove these peasants from my sight!” Nicholas' mother commanded, her voice laced with venom, cutting off my father's words.

“Oh, wait, Auntie,” Charlotte interrupted smoothly, stepping forward, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Do you really think simply escorting them out after ruining the ceremony is enough?”

Then, in one swift motion, she grabbed a glass of wine from a passing waiter and handed it to the bride's mother—who, without hesitation, splashed the drink onto our faces.

I gasped as the wine drenched me and my parents, staining our clothes. But before I could react further, the guards seized our arms and forcefully escorted us out of the venue.

I looked over my shoulder, desperate to seek Nicholas’s help.

For a brief moment, I saw him hesitate, as if he wanted to run after us—but then Charlotte took his hand. His attention shifted to her instantly, and just like that, we were thrown out without another thought.

The doors slammed shut in front of us, leaving us standing outside as passersby cast looks of confusion and disdain our way.

“What happened there before we showed up?” my mother asked, her voice filled with utter concern. “Olivia, are they hurting you?”

“No,” I replied instantly—a sharp contrast to what I truly wanted to say.

But if I told them the truth, what could they do? I didn't want to underestimate my parents, but I knew we were powerless in this situation. It was better if they didn’t know.

“It's nothing. Both of you must go back to the village now. I'll take you to the port.”

I didn't wait for them to respond; I immediately spun around and hailed a taxi. When we arrived at the port, I purchased two tickets back to the village and handed them enough money for their journey.

I remained silent the entire time, afraid that if I spoke, I would break down and reveal everything Nicholas and Charlotte had done to me. So instead, I simply waved and forced a smile as I watched their boat sail away.

Then, as they vanished from my sight, I turned to leave—but my eyes caught the booth where I had bought their tickets. A voice whispered inside my head, urging me forward, and before I knew it, I was already standing in front of the booth, purchasing a one-way ticket to another country.

I will disappear today, but before I do, I am forced to pay my ‘husband’ a visit at his office. I received a call from the village informing me that my parents’ land had been taken away by him—as punishment for crashing his sister's wedding.

But the problem was, his real secretary wouldn't let me in.

“I need to talk to him!” I demanded, forcing myself inside the closed door of the office.

“I am very sorry, ma'am, but Alpha King is currently in a very important meeting at the moment,” the secretary said.

“Tell him that I have something important to say, something much more important than his meeting—”

“What is happening here?” a voice suddenly cut in.

I turned my head and saw Charlotte. Her brow lifted slightly when she saw me, but her expression quickly shifted into a wicked smirk as she slowly strode toward me, arms folded against her chest.

“What are you doing here, Olivia?” she asked.

Taking a deep breath, I gathered everything within me to stay calm. “I should be the one asking you that question, Charlotte. What are you doing in my husband’s office?”

The smirk on her face immediately vanished at my response, clearly not expecting me to fight back.

“Oh, wait,” I added, my voice laced with mockery. “Not my husband—just Alpha Nicholas King.”

“W-What do you mean?” she stammered, unease creeping into her voice. I knew she already understood exactly what I meant, but I was going to say it anyway.

“You really thought I didn't know that my marriage was fake? That I didn't know what you did to my pups?” I challenged, my voice trembling with fury as I clenched my fists to stop myself from striking her.

“So you knew.” Charlotte laughed, her earlier nervousness vanishing. “Since when?”

“Is that even important? What matters now is that I will no longer be a fool.”

She laughed again, as if my words were nothing more than the punchline to a joke. “Said by the woman who actually believed she had a miscarriage four times. But don’t worry, Olivia—your pups will serve a great purpose in the world of medicine. You see, I used them in my research to study fetal anatomy and identify the risks of various pregnancy complications.”

“You are evil,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. It was the only thing I could say—the pain was too overwhelming, stealing away the rest of my words.

“I am not,” she said, shaking her head with a smug smile. “In fact, you should be thanking me. I saved you and your pups from further suffering. Just imagine—they were conceived without love. And having you as a mother? God, that would have been awful,”

I raised my arm to slap her, but she was faster. Before I knew it, she had already grabbed a vase and smashed it against her own head, letting out a sharp cry as she clutched her bleeding scalp and collapsed onto the floor.

Her cries instantly caught everyone's attention, and people rushed to her aid. Then the office door burst open, revealing the Alpha.

Nicholas didn't even spare me a glance as he hurried to Charlotte’s side, kneeling beside her.

“Olivia hit me with a vase!” she cried, pointing a trembling finger at me.

Everyone turned to me, their glares sharp and accusing. But I only focused on one pair of eyes—Nicholas'. He was staring at me with pure hatred and anger.

“What is your problem?!” he roared.

“I didn't do anything to her!” I shouted back. “She's lying!”

“No! You are lying!” Charlotte countered, her voice trembling with false distress. “She was furious because I wouldn't let her into your office, knowing you had an important meeting.”

I scoffed, amazed at her ability to twist the situation so effortlessly.

“You are so cruel, Olivia. Maybe that is the reason why the heavens wouldn’t grant us a pup—because they knew you were not deserving.”

Nicholas’ words cut through my chest, slicing it open to reveal my battered heart. But on the outside, I pretended to be strong, as if I wasn’t affected, even though my tears threatened to spill. Then my eyes landed on Charlotte, and the look on her face told me that she wasn't wrong—like she was silently saying, “Told you.”

I took a shaky breath but didn't dare to say anything more, afraid that my voice might break and shatter the facade I had desperately held onto. Instead, I turned around and ran out of the building.

Hailing a taxi, I told the driver to take me to the port as I finally let my tears fall. When we arrived, I didn't waste a single second—I made my way onto the boat and disappeared without looking back.

Meanwhile, in his office, Nicholas was tending to Charlotte's wound. She sat on his lap, biting her lower lip to stifle her winces.

“The doctors will arrive soon, babe. Don’t worry,” Nicholas assured her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“I told you, it's fine. It's just a small wound—” Charlotte was abruptly cut off when the door suddenly swung open, and the secretary entered, panting heavily and sweating.

Nicholas frowned, but before he could talk, the secretary did, revealing news that shook their world and made time stop. “Ms. Olivia boarded a boat a few hours ago to another country, but an unexpected storm came. A-Alpha King… the boat sank.”