Hearing that Silas used to love me deeply, Chloe pouted and rolled her eyes in defiance.

She brought me a cup of tea, her voice dripping with a sickeningly fake sweetness. "Aria, how could the Alpha make you wait so long?"

"It's so weird. Whenever I go to him, no matter how busy he is with pack affairs, he drops everything to see me. He says I'm the most important person to him." She smiled, her eyes curving into sweet little crescents.

For a split second, I spaced out. When she smiled, she really did look like a younger version of me.

I thought about it carefully. The way Silas treated Chloe really was different.

He had let countless women drift through our lives, using them as tools to humiliate me.

He would bring different she-wolves into the pack, testing my reactions, trying to ignite the dormant fires of jealousy inside me.

But he never kept them around. A day, a week—he always grew bored quickly and then tossed them aside.

Except for Chloe. Silas bought her an apartment outside the pack's territory. He took her out to eat, bought her clothes, and went to the movies with her. They looked just like a deeply in love human couple.

He gave her money, and he gave her love.

I looked up at Chloe and offered a gentle smile. "If you're so important to him," I asked softly, "how can he bear to keep you as his dirty little secret? A shameful mistress?"

"You should convince him to break our mate bond as soon as possible, so he can finally make you his Luna."

Chloe flushed bright red with humiliation. She leaned in close, her voice dropping into a vicious hiss. "The one who is loved is the real mistress of the house! You're just taking up space!"

"The only reason you have him is because you met him first! But look at you now—you don't even carry the scent of a wolf anymore. You're old, ugly, and weak. What makes you think you can compete with me for him?"

Terrified that I might attack her, the Omega rushed over and pulled her away.

But honestly, it was fine.

I made a promise to myself a long time ago: I would never get angry over Silas again. I would never cry for him again. And I certainly wouldn't fight other women out of jealousy over him.

He wasn't worth it.

As Chloe was pulled away, her foot slipped, and she fell to the floor.

The porcelain teacup shattered, and a sharp shard pierced her palm. Wolf blood pooled on the smooth marble floor.

Through the glass walls of the conference room, Silas saw her fall. With hundreds of elite werewolves watching him, he slammed his files down, pushed open the door, strode over, and pulled Chloe into his arms.

"Who the fuck hurt her?!" His Alpha aura erupted instantly, freezing and suffocating.

The well-meaning coworker stumbled back, pale and trembling.

"I did it," I lied. "She got what she deserved."

Chloe glared at me through tear-filled eyes and cried out, "That's right, I deserve it! It's my fault for falling in love with a mated Alpha! It's my fault for letting people call me a homewrecker!"

"But Silas," she sobbed, clutching tightly to his shirt, "as long as you love me, I'll always stay by your side. No one can tear us apart."

She cried so beautifully. Even while saying something so ridiculous, she still looked brave and devoted.

Silas let out a soft chuckle, and the oppressive tension dissipated. He wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Be good. Look at you, crying like a little pup."

He really was different with her.

I lowered my eyes, too exhausted to watch anymore. "It's my birthday today," I said to Silas. "I want a hundred thousand dollars."

It was both tragic and comical. Our marriage was blessed by the Moon Goddess, yet our mind-link had been closed off for ages. I never reached out to him unless I needed money.

Silas always hated me, calling me a gold digger. Yet, in the past, whenever I asked for money, he would sign the check without hesitation.

But today was different. He looked at me, a cruel, mocking smile playing on his lips. "You want money? Fine."

"But Aria," he drawled, "bow your arrogant head and apologize to Chloe first."

He was actually trying to buy my dignity with a hundred thousand dollars, just to get an apology for Chloe.

This was the first time he had used his wealth to humiliate me, all for the sake of another woman.

I slowly clenched my fists, a faint smile ghosting my lips. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood rising in my throat and turned toward the elevator.

Suddenly, I didn't want the money anymore.

I found myself gripped by a morbid curiosity.

Silas, I thought, if you knew that money was just to buy me a little more time... to make my descent into death a little less agonizing, if you knew how much I suffered before I died... what kind of face would you make?

I returned alone to our cold, empty packhouse.

I curled up under a heavy blanket, shivering and drenched in sweat as waves of excruciating pain washed over me.

I swallowed a handful of human sleeping pills, lying to myself: If I fall asleep, it won't hurt anymore.

In the drug-induced haze, I had a dream.

I dreamed of when I was twenty. Back then, Silas was a rogue without a pack, dirt poor, but he loved me with all his heart.

On my birthday that year, we walked past a high-end bakery in the human city. I saw a couple sitting by the window, the girl eating a delicate strawberry cake. It looked exquisitely beautiful and mouth-wateringly delicious—and, of course, outrageously expensive.

It was snowing heavily. I remember scooping up a handful of fresh snow, molding it into shapes, and laughing as I looked up at Silas. "Look, Silas! Doesn't this look just like that cake?"

Silas clenched his jaw, his eyes blazing with fierce love and deep shame. He pulled me tightly into his arms, burying his red-rimmed eyes into my hair.

Three days later, he stood outside my door holding that exact same cake.

A whole cake cost fifty dollars. He had braved a freezing blizzard, handing out flyers in the human city for three days just to earn twenty bucks. I have no idea how he got the rest of the money.

When I saw his frostbitten, bleeding knuckles, I broke down and sobbed.

"Silas!" I cried, pounding on his chest. "Your hands are meant for fighting, for leading, for achieving greatness! Not to be ruined just to buy me some sweets!"

I told him I didn't deserve something so expensive.

Silas frowned and cupped my face. "Aria, you are the most amazing woman in this world. You deserve every beautiful thing the Moon Goddess has to offer."

I finished that cake through my tears. So many years had passed that I couldn't even remember how it tasted. All I knew was that I had never tasted anything better since.

I slept for a long time. Half-awake, I heard my phone ring. I picked it up, and through the speaker, I heard his deep, raspy voice.

"Aria?"

I smiled, lost in the illusions of the past. "Silas... it's snowing so hard. I want to eat cake."

Before he could answer, I rolled over and let the darkness swallow me once more.