Chapter 3
873words
Jacob panicked. He forgot all his love for me, forgot the vows he made to never let anyone hurt me.
And then he pushed me down the stairs himself.
Each rejection was a blow to my heart, and I finally understood. For Jacob, power and family would always come first.
A tear fell onto the old, worn scarf in my hands.
I wiped my face and took a deep breath.
I had the balcony sealed off.
I tore up every diary I had ever written for Jacob over the last nine years.
And I took a lighter to that old, worn-out scarf, burning it to ashes.
A week went by without a single word from Jacob.
I had already moved my things out of his villa.
He probably thought I was just throwing a tantrum and didn't bother to check on me.
But after a while, it seemed he finally remembered I existed.
Three days before I was set to leave, on our tenth anniversary, Jacob actually called me.
"Emily, our tenth anniversary is coming up. I booked a table at a restaurant. We need to talk."
As he spoke, a text message came through with an address.
It was the restaurant where we had first met.
...
Just like every year, I had a gift ready for Jacob.
This would be the last one.
I sat in the restaurant, watching the clock tick by.
He was over half an hour late, and there was still no sign of him.
Just as I was about to call him, the sky outside exploded with fireworks.
The brilliant flashes of light formed words:
[Happy Birthday, Olivia]
Everyone in the restaurant rushed to the windows, captivated by the spectacle.
And there, in the middle of it all, I finally saw Jacob.
He was in a suit, holding a bouquet of roses, down on one knee proposing to Olivia, asking her to be his chosen Luna.
On the massive screen of a nearby skyscraper, a poster for Jacob and Olivia's bonding ceremony flashed over and over.
"Wow, Alpha Jacob is really splurging. That screen costs a million dollars a minute."
"But I thought his fated mate looked different?"
"Fated mate? That means nothing when there's a powerful alliance on the line. This one right here is the real deal. Childhood sweethearts, a union of two great packs."
The chatter around me was a bitter, ironic soundtrack to my heartbreak.
So it wasn't our anniversary. It was Olivia's birthday, and a public proposal party.
I sighed, tossing the gift I'd brought into a nearby trash can.
I just wanted to get out of there.
But the star of the show, Olivia, suddenly appeared in front of me.
Her gentle, innocent act was gone, replaced by a triumphant, provocative smirk.
"I hear today is your tenth anniversary with Jacob, too. I'll let you in on a little secret: he completely forgot. The only reason he remembered you existed is because it happens to be my birthday."
The old me would have probably lunged at her.
"Is that so? Well, I wish you both happiness."
I smiled, then tried to push past her to leave.
But Olivia suddenly lost her footing, collapsing onto the ground as the table's champagne spilled all over her designer dress.
Before I could even react, Jacob was there.
"Emily! Haven't you caused enough trouble?"
He grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the edge of the table.
Shards of broken glass dug into the palm of my hand, and blood instantly welled up.
"I told you I would handle our situation! Why do you have to hurt Olivia?"
The glass was still embedded in my hand, the pain shooting up my arm.
Before I could say a word, Olivia, who was completely unharmed, clutched her chest and started gasping for air, faking the symptoms of her wolf losing control.
Jacob completely lost it.
His hands trembled as he called his driver, his eyes turning red with panic.
"Do you have any idea how fragile Olivia is? She's delicate, not tough and thick-skinned like you!" he roared, unleashing all his fury on me.
"If you want to be a Luna so badly, go find someone else! I will never bond with you! Get the fuck out of my sight and never let me see you again."
Everyone was staring, laughing at me. The pain in my hand slowly went numb.
I watched them drive away into the night.
My heart still ached, an old, familiar throb.
I took a deep breath and whispered to the empty air.
"Jacob, we're over. On our tenth anniversary, I accept your rejection."
I don't know if he heard me. The only answer I got was the cloud of dust kicked up by his car.
I booked the earliest flight out.
I was done with this place.
As I was about to board, video calls from Jacob kept coming.
I deleted his contact, but he just started texting me from unknown numbers.
"Where are you? Can you stop this childish bullshit?"
The messages kept pouring in, right up until I threw my phone into a trash can.
