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"Sophia, I have something to take care of. I'll be back to see you later."
Without another word, he strode out of the room.
Sophia, being so close, had heard what his Beta said.
A venomous jealousy surged through her.
She desperately called out his name, trying to make him stay.
But Daniel acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, leaving without a moment's hesitation.
Once outside the hospital, Daniel floored the accelerator, the car shooting through the streets like an arrow.
The drive from the hospital to his house normally took forty minutes, but he made it in twenty.
His Beta was still waiting anxiously at the door.
When he saw Daniel, he rushed over.
"Alpha, I've been ringing the doorbell for half an hour, but the Luna still hasn't opened the door."
Daniel suppressed the growing unease in his heart and unlocked the door.
The moment he stepped inside, he noticed how... empty the house felt.
The giant portrait from their mating ceremony that hung in the center of the living room was gone.
The vases they had picked out together for the dining table and coffee table had vanished.
He glanced out the window and saw that the garden, once filled with moonlight roses, was now barren.
The anxiety he had tried to push down resurfaced, his heart pounding in his chest.
He tore his eyes away from the empty spaces and walked straight to the bedroom.
He needed to ask Emily what was going on.
He had been gone for only a month, and the house had completely changed.
He pushed open the bedroom door, but the woman he expected to find resting in bed was nowhere to be seen.
The covers were smooth, without a single wrinkle.
Daniel strode over and threw them back, only to feel the cold, empty sheets.
A terrible premonition began to take root.
He yanked open the doors to the walk-in closet, and the sight inside made him freeze.
All of Emily's clothes were gone.
Her bags, her accessories, her jewelry... everything.
The massive closet was now half-empty, with only his clothes hanging there, lonely and out of place.
Daniel could no longer contain his panic. He quickly dialed Emily's number.
But all he heard was a cold, mechanical voice.
"We're sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable."
It was only then that Daniel finally realized something was seriously wrong.
Emily... had she run away?
She had just donated blood for Sophia. What kind of game was she playing now?
In a flash, he remembered what Sophia had told him before he left the hospital.
She had told Emily about the pregnancy.
Could Emily have left because Sophia was pregnant?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Once he had a reason for her departure, a surge of anger rose within him.
He had explained to her countless times that he was just having fun with other women, that Sophia was just one of them and that he had no real feelings for her.
Getting Sophia pregnant wasn't his intention; it was an accident.
Besides, Sophia had already lost the baby.
How could Emily be so petty?
She had agreed to the fake rejection.
How could a pregnancy that had already ended be enough to make her run away from home?
The more he thought, the angrier he became. He called his Beta, who was waiting by the door.
"Find out where the Luna is. Tell me as soon as you have her location."
The Beta immediately agreed and turned to leave.
But he stopped at the doorway, his steps faltering, and stammered back at Daniel.
"A-Alpha... the... the Luna..."
Daniel's brow furrowed, and he snapped.
"Spit it out! What about the Luna?"
The Beta glanced nervously to the side, too afraid to speak.
After a long pause, he squeezed his eyes shut and blurted out.
"Alpha, the Luna left something for you on the shoe cabinet. You should see it for yourself."
Daniel walked over to the shoe cabinet, his eyes filled with suspicion.
When he saw the official document, stamped with the Elder Council's seal, sitting on the cabinet, his expression froze.
His hand trembled as he picked it up.
The words "Certificate of Mate Bond Dissolution" stared back at him.
