10 Chapter 10
The bowl of porridge in my hands trembled.
“I wasn’t trying to snoop.” Lily’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I was just getting you some clean clothes, but then I saw… I saw-”
Her voice cracked. Tears streamed down her face.
“This is my fault.” She covered her mouth, choking on a sob. “I took him away from you. He was supposed to be yours, and I kept him for five years. I–I’m so sorry, Ava. I really am.”
The kind girl standing before me was now a broken mess.
I set the porridge aside and looked at her, my expression calm. “Lily, you didn’t wrong me.”
Her lip trembled. “But Liam is Brooks.”
I shook my head, wiping away her tears.
“No.” My voice was gentle, yet firm. “Liam loves you. Brooks loved me. I said he’s not the same man anymore, and I meant it.”
Her shoulders shook as she sobbed.
“I risked my life to save you, not to make you call off the wedding.”
She stayed with me until Doctor Reynolds returned, though her eyes never lost their
redness.
Doctor Reynolds took a nap that afternoon, and I never expected him to visit that evening.
The moment Alpha Brooks stepped into the room, I was grateful for my makeup. But at the same time, my heart pounded with worry. Was my wig straight? Had it slipped?
I adjusted it discreetly, hoping he wouldn’t notice.
In his hands, he carried a thermos.
He placed it on the table and opened it, revealing handmade beef steak, freshly baked bread, and drinks. My throat tightened. He must have been unsure what I could eat, so he had prepared two portions. And–a dessert.
A small, unexpected gift.
The food smelled divine. I really wanted to try his steak, to see how well–done it was. But my body was already failing me.
We sat in silence.
He positioned himself by the window while I remained on the bed. But there was no awkwardness–only a quiet understanding.
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We had been here before.
In the past, we’d often spend afternoons like this. I would sit by the window, strumming my guitar, while he lay on the bed, watching me. We didn’t need words. We understood each other.
Not anymore.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
He exhaled. “You don’t have to thank me. You saved Lily. I should be thanking you.”
A pause.
“I didn’t know I’d react that way… I thought it was some kind of disease. I spent years undergoing treatment, thinking something was wrong with me.”
The sweet potato cheesecake on my plate suddenly tasted bitter.
I forced down a few bites, swallowing past the lump in my throat. He wanted to talk—I could
see it in the way he clenched his fists, in the tension around his eyes.
I knew what I should say.
“Congratulations on your wedding.”
But the words wouldn’t come.
Instead, all I could offer was, “Thank you… I hope you…” My chest burned. “Live well.”
Forgive me, Brooks. This was the best blessing I could give you.
He nodded, picking up the thermos. My eyes followed his every step as he walked toward
the door.
And when he left–**when that door closed between us forever–**I dragged my injured leg
to the window.
I looked down.
He reappeared in my sight, his figure moving across the courtyard.
I drank in the sight of him, etching it into my memory.
Because I knew.
This was the last time I would ever see him.
The fifth day of my arrival… was his wedding day.
I was supposed to be in the front row.
But my body had already begun to fail me. The pain came in violent, shattering waves, like
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shards of glass piercing my skin from the inside out.
I lay on the floor, clutching the only photograph we had left–my fingers weakly brushing
over his face.
“Alpha Brooks, where are you?”
Perhaps by now, he was standing at the altar. Exchanging vows with the woman who would walk beside him for the rest of his life.
And I… I would be his Luna in the next one.
The wedding was held at dusk.
Orange flowers draped the venue, glowing under the fading sun. The guests whispered amongst themselves, but Alpha Brooks stood still, his gaze locked on the bride walking toward
him.
him.
His eyes narrowed.
Something about this felt… wrong.
His breath caught. Déjà vu.
The noise around him faded into nothing as his gaze focused on the vibrant girl in front of
His lips parted.
A single name escaped.
“Ava.”
Time stopped.
Lily’s bright smile faltered.
And Brooks–Brooks was drowning in memories.
Memories of five years ago.
Of the day he proposed to me.
