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Chapter 6
Judy’s POV
I saw the flicker of panic cross Simon’s face.
But I took a breath, leveled my voice, and lied straight through my teeth. “It’s nothing. I was just talking nonsense. I’m not free that day, that’s all.”
Then I turned to leave.
His boots scuffed against the floor as he instinctively moved to follow, but I didn’t even
look back.
“You’re here with a friend,” I said, my voice cool. “It wouldn’t be right to leave her alone, would it? I’ll go back by myself. You don’t need to
worry.”
That stopped him cold.
I didn’t need to glance over my shoulder to know he was just standing there, watching me walk away. He didn’t even try to stop me.
Coward.
As I turned the corner, I heard her voice behind me-sickly sweet. “Simon, I’m really hurting… My whole body aches… won’t you take me
home?”
My wolf growled low inside me, but I didn’t
pause.
I didn’t need to see it to know what happened next. Simon’s frustration always burned hottest
when he wasn’t in control.
“Know your place,” he snapped. “Stop provoking her.”
I smiled bitterly to myself.
He didn’t deny a word she said.
Back at the house-his house, not mine, not anymore-I didn’t waste time.
I grabbed my suitcase and started packing. I
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Chapter 6
couldn’t stand another second breathing in that stale, traitorous air.
The room still smelled faintly of Simon-his cologne, his musk. The kind of scent that used to make my wolf sigh with comfort.
Now it made me nauseous.
Thankfully, I didn’t own much. I had built a life around him, not beside him. Now, it all fit into a single suitcase.
As I dragged it down the stairs, I passed the vase on the console table. The bouquet Simon had brought me still sat there-half-wilted, petals curling in on themselves like they knew they weren’t wanted.
I stopped.
Stared.
Then yanked the roses out and tossed them straight into the trash.
The housekeeper, who had just entered the hallway, looked startled.
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“Miss… weren’t those from Alpha Simon? You
don’t want them?”
I didn’t even blink. “Used goods. I find them.
dirty.”
She frowned, clearly confused. “They’re just
flowers… how could they be used?”
She didn’t get it. Of course she didn’t.
I didn’t explain.
Instead, I stormed back upstairs and pulled open the wardrobe-row after row of carefully hung clothes, gifts he’d bought me over the years. Bags, coats, shoes. All his “spoils” for having me as his good little Luna-in-waiting.
I grabbed a large trash bag and stuffed them in.
Every stitch, every button.
Gone.
“Throw these out,” I told the housekeeper when she appeared behind me again.
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She blinked. “But Miss, weren’t these your favorites? You said they were precious… gifts. from Alpha Simon. You wouldn’t even wear them-just to keep them perfect.”
I turned to her. My voice didn’t rise, but my wolf pushed through in my eyes.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
She nodded quickly and took the bag.
Then I opened the drawer where I kept my jewelry-most of it gifted by him. Diamonds, moonstone, a necklace he gave me on our third anniversary. I scooped it all into a box and
handed it over.
“These-donate them.”
Her eyes widened. “Miss… some of these pieces
are worth more than-”
“I said donate them.”
She nodded again and left, probably thinking
I’d gone mad.
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Maybe I had.
Once the room was stripped of every trace of
him, I pulled out my phone and booked the earliest flight out.
I was going home.
To my own pack. The one I’d left behind for
him.
I had just finalized the purchase when a message popped up from an unfamiliar
number.
I tapped it open-and froze.
It was a photo.
Explicit. Intimate.
Simon.
And Wilona.
He was shirtless. She was in his lap.
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My hands trembled as I read the message that
followed:
[Judy, if you’re not a complete idiot, you’ve figured it out by now. Simon and I are way more than “just friends.”
Curious why we were at the hospital? We got a little too wild at the bar last night. Things got intense… someone got hurt.]
Then another.
[Also I’m getting married on the first of next month. To your boyfriend.
Yes, Simon.
I’m his first love. His fated mate.The one he’s always truly cared for.
You? You were just a placeholder during his lonely years. Nothing more.]
My wolf whimpered. I could barely breathe.
Five years.
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Five damn years.
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned white. My eyes burned. Hot tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.
That was when Simon came home.
I didn’t hear the door.
I just felt his arms wrap around me from
behind.
“Judy…” he whispered against my ear. “Why are you crying again? I’m home now.”
I wanted to laugh.
He kept talking, like nothing had happened.
“There’s really nothing going on with her,” he
murmured. “Last night I just drank too much with the guys, that’s why I didn’t come home. And Wilona… she’s just a friend. I only ran into her this morning. Please, don’t overthink it.”
I wiped my tears.
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Shut off my phone.
Turned around to face him.
“I understand.”
He looked relieved. So stupidly relieved.
I reached up, gently brushed a strand of his hair away from his face, and smiled.
The face in front of me still looked the same.
Handsome. Familiar.
The Alpha I used to love with my whole soul.
But his heart…
How did it become so unfamiliar?
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