Mauve’s POV

"Time to eat, Luna!"

Amber brought the chicken soup to the dining table. She moved with an exaggerated grace, like she wanted to make sure I noticed every little effort she put in. Setting the bowl down, she turned to me with a smug smile and added, “You should be thankful I’m here to take care of you.”

'So much for taking care as you're extending it to my mate,' I thought.

She picked up the spoon, scooped some soup, and held it to my lips. I opened my mouth, letting her feed me. I had no choice but to play along, to pretend I was as helpless as they thought.

Amber tilted her head. “When Alpha Jester asked me to help you, I couldn’t believe how kind he was. Looking after you must be such a burden for him. Good thing I’m around to make his life easier. Maybe I'm not fulfilling Luna's job, but I am providing for his needs in your absence."

Her words stung, but I swallowed the soup and stayed silent. My mind drifted to the day she arrived.

It was shortly after the accident. I had just come home from the pack hospital, barely holding myself together. Jester brought Amber into our home, calling her a girl from a hardworking family. At first, I thought he was trying to help me, trying to make things easier for us both.

She cooked my meals, fed me, brushed my hair, and treated me like I was a baby. But it didn’t take long for me to notice the way Jester looked at her. He spent more time with her than he ever spent with me. And then, one day, I saw it with my own eyes.

She’d wheeled me into my bedroom, saying I needed to rest. Jester was already there, standing too close to her. I watched as he kissed her boldly, without hesitation. My heart shattered. And just one day, they were discussing Amber's pregnancy. My husband was so happy; they spent the whole day in our bedroom, celebrating the news while abandoning me like a worn-out cloth on the floor. They thought I was numb, then this numbness turned into a burning rage that consumed me.

From that moment on, I chose to stay silent. Pretending I didn’t see, didn’t hear, didn’t understand.

“You’re so slow today,” Amber’s voice cut through my thoughts, showing her annoyance. She tapped the spoon against the bowl. “You know, I worked hard to make this for you, but I guess gratitude isn’t something you understand very well!”

Jester walked into the dining room. His presence was overwhelming as always. He strode over to Amber, pulling her into his arms and pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, barely glancing at me before giving her his full attention.

Amber pouted dramatically. “Luna Mauve doesn’t like my cooking. She barely eats anything I make for her. I cooked that chicken soup for hours so she would feel better, but she barely touched it. My efforts were wasted!"

Jester’s expression darkened as he looked at me. “You should be pleased that someone’s even bothering with you,” he said coldly. “You’ve been nothing but a burden. You couldn’t give me a pup before, and now you’re even more useless.”

The words sliced through me, but I didn’t let them see how much they hurt.

“At least Amber is here to take care of me and my wolf. You don’t get to be upset about anything you see."

Amber placed a hand on his chest, feigning innocence. “Don’t say that, Alpha. She doesn’t understand what you’re saying. She’ll just get confused.”

Jester sighed and leaned down to kiss her again, his anger melting into affection.

I watched them, my chest tight with heartbreak. But I kept my face blank, refusing to let them see how much they’d broken me.

Not yet, I told myself. Don’t let them see. Your time will come. Soon, I’d be free.

Mauve’s POV

Amber giggled as Jester pulled her close. Her laughter rang out, cutting through me like a knife. My lips trembled, but I forced myself to stay quiet. I blinked quickly, fighting to keep my expression blank even as my heart shattered.

I had survived the accident, but sitting here now, I wondered if the pain of their deception would kill me instead. Inside, I screamed for them to stop. Please, not in front of me. But they didn’t care.

Jester lifted Amber onto the kitchen counter, knocking over utensils and dishes. Their hands wandered, their kisses deepened, and my chest tightened with a pain so sharp it felt unbearable.

A tear slid down my cheek. I couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard I tried. Despair, anger, and humiliation burned inside me, but I kept my body still. I couldn’t let them see.

They finally stopped when Amber touched her belly. “Jester, what if my baby gets hurt? We shouldn’t be doing this here.”

"Oh, damn. I didn't realize." Jester froze. Then he saw me in his peripheral vision, so he turned toward me briefly and noticed my tear-streaked face. He let out a soft laugh, brushing it off. “Sorry,” he said casually, like my feelings didn’t matter.

Amber tugged on his arm, pulling his attention back to her. “I’m scared. We need to go to the clinic.”

Without hesitation, Jester grabbed his phone and called Dr. Helen. “We need you at the packhouse now. I'm going to accompany Amber to the clinic, and Mauve is alone at home."

By the time Dr. Helen arrived, the two of them were dressed and rushing out the door. I listened as their car sped away.

The second they were gone, the dam inside me broke. I buried my face in my hands and sobbed loudly, the pain too much to hold in. My body shook, and every tear felt like it was draining the life out of me.

Dr. Helen sat beside me and handed me a glass of water. “You’ve held this in for too long. Soon, this will all be behind you.”

I wiped my tears, taking a deep breath to steady myself. My hands were shaking, but I stood up anyway, forcing my legs to hold me. I lifted my chin and stared at the door where Jester and Amber had left.

“How’s my application?” I asked.

Dr. Helen smiled gently. “Good news. You’re scheduled for an interview today.”

My heart jumped. “Today?”

“Yes,” she said. “Get ready. I’ll help you prepare.”

The interview for the pharmacy training at Shadowpine Hospital was nerve-wracking but straightforward. They asked why I wanted to join, what I knew about medicine, and how I’d handle challenges. When it ended, the interviewers smiled and told me I’d done well. Relief washed over me, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a spark of hope.

That evening, Jester and Amber still hadn’t returned. Dr. Helen decided to stay overnight in the guest room. While she rested, I sat at my desk, researching everything I needed to know about the training.

My focus broke when I opened social media. The first thing I saw was a post from Amber. It was a picture of a hotel window overlooking a romantic sunset. She’d tagged Jester.

My stomach twisted with disgust. She wasn’t even trying to hide their affair anymore. Jester’s name appeared beneath the post, showing he’d liked it.

My fingers hovered over the screen. I wanted to react, to leave an angry comment, anything to show my rage. But I stopped myself. They didn’t know I could move now, and I wasn’t ready for them to find out.

Instead, I blocked Amber and deleted my account.

Shaking off the bitterness, I turned back to my computer and focused on the articles and videos about the training program. Every step I took was one step closer to escaping this nightmare.

Mauve’s POV

The next morning, I woke up with my usual blank expression on the bed, but something was different. Jester was sitting on the edge, scrolling through his phone.

“It’s our anniversary,” he said flatly. “My phone calendar reminded me.”

A knife couldn’t have cut deeper. My breath hitched, but I kept my face still, refusing to let him see the storm brewing inside me. He’d forgotten again. Forgotten the years we’d shared, the promises we’d made. Forgotten me. He pulled out his phone and calculated how long we’d been married. He’d forgotten the number until his phone told him. If I hadn’t set the reminder myself months ago, he wouldn’t even remember.

The silence in the room was suffocating. I stared at the ceiling, trying to remember how we got here, how the man who once looked at me like I was his whole world could now barely muster a glance.

“Some college friends called,” he continued, oblivious to my silence. “They’re coming over tonight. They said they want to check on you.”

Check on me. The irony wasn’t lost. I was a ghost in my own home, and now they were coming to see if I was still breathing.

That night, our friends arrived with gifts and food. Despite my blank façade, they cheered me up like I was normal, like I wasn’t silently screaming. For a moment, I felt I belonged. My friends had always been my family since I was an orphan. They knew me better than anyone, or at least they used to.

I remembered one wild college party when Jester had declared, “Among all of us, I will become Mauve's real family. She’s my mate. We’ll be together forever.” His voice had been filled with such conviction, his eyes shining with love. I’d believed him. God, I’d believed him.

A hot tear slipped down my cheek at the memory. One of my friends, Pia, noticed and wiped it away gently. “You’re loved, Mauve. We believe that you will wake up soon, and we will party like those good old days."

I wanted to believe her. I wanted to hold onto that small, fragile hope. But the warmth didn’t last.

From the corner of my eye, I caught Amber’s sour expression as she watched Jester laugh and talk with our friends. She sat off to the side, a dark cloud in the room. For once, he ignored her entirely. I grinned inwardly. At least tonight, she didn’t belong here. Not with my people. Not with my mate.

But the triumph didn't last. Suddenly, Amber clutched her belly and cried out, “My stomach hurts!”

The room fell silent. Jester’s head snapped toward her. Without hesitation, he rushed to her side. "Damn, what did you eat to make your tummy feel upset?"

Our friends exchanged confused looks, whispering among themselves as Jester scooped her up. Her lips curled into a smirk as he carried her away.

“I’m taking her to the hospital,” he announced in a panicked voice. Not a glance, not a word for me.

The door slammed shut behind them. My friends stared at him, stunned. One of them finally said, “He left his mate for her?”

My fists clenched, nails digging into my palms so hard it hurt. Even on our anniversary, Amber had ruined everything. She’d taken him away again.

For the first time in a long while, I let my rage consume me. Images of smashing her perfect façade, of tearing down the lie she’d built, filled my mind. But I stayed still. Outside, I was a statue, unmoving and unreadable. Inside, I was a storm.

This was the last time she would humiliate me.