There was a time when Jared's arms were my sanctuary. As long as I was with him, I wouldn't have flinched even if the world ended. But now, my heart twisted painfully.

Before I could stop myself, I found myself asking, "Do you love me, Jared?"

My voice shook so hard I barely recognized it. "You said you'd only ever love me. Was that true? You wouldn't fall for someone else while you're still with me, right?"

I felt him stiffen for a split second, then he tightened his hold around me. He nuzzled against my cheek and brushed a soft kiss across my skin.

"Of course, I love you. You're my mate. Who else would I love? We've been together for five years—haven't you realized what kind of person I am?"

Those same words, delivered in the same tone, had been said five years ago.

Back then, it was our first anniversary of being together. The tabloids caught him walking into a couple's hotel with another woman. That got people talking.

"I heard the Alpha has a mate, but that woman sure doesn't look like our Luna."

"Please—it's pretty common for Alphas to cheat. Anyone with power never limits themselves to one partner."

When those comments hit the feeds, I felt like the sky cracked open above me. My mind went blank, and my hands turned cold.

In the photos, the woman wore a mask and a cap. I couldn't see her face at all, but I was certain that the man beside her was Jared. Amid my panic, I immediately called Luciana, sobbing and breaking down.

"He cheated, Luciana! He cheated! The paparazzi caught him. What do I do now?" I cried desperately into the phone.

Crying and shaking, I ran toward the hotel he had gone to. My thoughts were in disarray, like every possible nightmare scenario was collapsing into one big disaster.

"If he really cheated, I'd break up with him on the spot." That was what I swore to myself back then.

After asking around for his room number, I rushed down the hall and barged into his hotel room. The next second, confetti and streamers rained down on me.

"Happy anniversary, Monica!" Jared exclaimed, standing in the middle of the room with a bouquet of roses. He dropped to one knee. "Do you like my surprise? I asked Luciana to help with the decorations."

Luciana stood there with her arms crossed, staring at the decorations like they were beneath her. "If this wasn't for my best friend, I'd never drop my work to help with something this lame. And don't look at me—he's the one who begged me to help.

"He said only I knew what you liked. Even bought me gifts to sweet-talk me into planning with him. Ugh."

She slung an arm around my shoulder. "Cheating? Please. As if I'd ever steal your mate."

When I looked around the room, I saw my name spelled out with balloons on the wall. Immediately, guilt exploded in my chest. I couldn't believe I had doubted him and Luciana because of a single sensational headline.

That feeling never left, no matter how many years had passed. Since that incident, I told myself I would never question Jared again.

Contrary to my beliefs, I saw Luciana sobbing so hard she could barely breathe in the crystal orb. "Don't go. Please, I'm begging you."

Jared turned his face away, like the sight of her tears physically hurt him. He pried her off. "This will be the last time we see each other."

She threw herself into his arms, whispering, "Then, stay with me for one last night… Please?"

That "last night" they spent together was three days before our mating ceremony. That same night, I got into a car accident and was rushed to the hospital. I couldn't reach him, nor could I contact Luciana, who had vanished suddenly.

Later, when I told my friend what happened, she hesitated for a long time before advising, "You should watch out who you befriend, Monica. Don't let anyone take away your mate."

Back then, my smile instantly vanished. I had even snapped back, "Even if the whole world turns its back on me, Luciana will never do that to me."

I used to trust Luciana with my whole heart, and the more I trusted her then, the more it hurt now.

Jared once told me something I should have listened to more carefully. He said he came from a broken home, where his father cheated on his mother.

When his mother found out, she severed their mate bond and walked away without looking back. Since then, young Jared never saw her again.

"There's one thing I hate most in this world, Monica. It's betrayal," he told me once.

"I'll never forget the disappointment in my mother's eyes when she left. I lived through that pain once, and I promise you you'll never experience it. The last thing I'll do is follow my father's path. So, believe me when I say I'll cherish us forever."

And so, I believed him.

Now, sitting beside me, Jared set down the food he had cooked and leaned in with that familiar smile. "Stop crying, okay? It hurts me to see you like this."

He inched closer, intending to kiss away the tears threatening to roll down my cheek.

Visions from the crystal orb flashed rapidly in my mind. Jared and Luciana, tangled together in the bed, were in the heat of passion. He was just as gentle then, kissing her tears away.

She cried, demanding his promise. "Even if we're not together, your heart can only ever belong to me. Promise me, will you? If you ever fall for Monica, I'll make sure she finds out everything you've done.

"That way, she'll leave you, and you'll be mine alone."

Jared's warm breath hit my face, snapping me back to reality. His lips were just inches away when my stomach decided to churn upside down. I couldn't hold it anymore. I bolted to the bathroom and vomited until my head spun.

His eyes were wide with worry. "Monica, are you okay? I-I'll contact the best healer in the pack. Just hang on!"

He pulled out his phone, ready to dial, but an incoming call interrupted him. A ringtone I knew far too well chimed through the room, and my body jolted. That special ringtone was reserved for Luciana.

Had this been before, I would have begged him to answer or even told him, "Hurry up. Don't keep Luciana waiting."

To me, Luciana was more important than I was. At least that was how I used to think back then.

Now, for the first time, I saw the shift in Jared's expression when he saw her name on his screen. Perhaps the panic on his face had always been this obvious, but I hadn't noticed it because my subconscious mind told me not to.

He forced a weak smile, then angled his phone toward me, like he needed to prove something. "Look—your bestie. If I don't answer, she'll probably talk badly about me in front of you and drive a wedge between us. Give me a minute. I'll be quick."

Without waiting for my reply, Jared walked out, leaving me alone on the freezing bathroom tiles. When he answered the call, he headed straight into the study and closed the door.

He did it so blatantly that it almost felt like a mockery at this point, yet I had never once questioned it before. I had trusted them too much. Maybe it wasn't all his fault because I, too, had let them weaponize my naivety.

Through the door, I could hear Luciana's soft, broken hiccups from the speaker. Jared said, "It's okay. I'll come right over to you."

When he came out, he tried covering it all with mock irritation. "Your best friend is seriously a headache. She mixed up some important documents and used them as doodle paper. She got chewed out by her boss, and now she wants me to step in for her."

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a dramatic sigh. "I mean, I can't even say no. What if she starts talking trash about me to you again? Honestly, I'm so inclined to block her number sometimes."

Despite all the complaints, Jared failed to notice the faint, unconsciously fond smile on his face. Even he didn't realize how tender he looked when he talked about her.

"I'll go deal with it real quick," he said, brushing past me. "Just stay there and rest. The healer will be here soon!"

Jared shrugged on his coat, already halfway out the door. Maybe I should have done what I always did—tell him to be careful on the road, or not to worry about me and focus on Luciana.

But now, those words couldn't even come out. They tasted like blood in my throat.

I watched Jared's back as he moved toward the door. Fear hit me like a tidal wave. I ignored the churning in my stomach and forced myself up off the floor.

My hands gripped the doorframe, shaking as I tried to hold myself up. "Jared."

His hand froze on the doorknob. He turned, confused, looking at me like I was some shadow in the corner. Even seeing me so weak didn't seem to shake his determination to leave, but I couldn't give up yet.

"Can you not go?" I asked, voice trembling with a tiny desperation. Even now, after everything, I clung to the last sliver of hope that he might stay for me.

I walked barefoot to him and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind. I pressed my forehead against his back, softly begging, "Don't go, okay?"

Tears fell one by one. My chest felt like it was slowly being cut open, a knife scraping through my ribs.

But Jared didn't even give me a pitying glance. He pried my hands off his waist without a shred of mercy and asked impatiently, "If I don't go, who's going to protect her? She's just an Omega, alone in this city, with no one to back her up. If I don't go, who will?"

He then glanced at me as if I were the unreasonable one. "You're a Luna now, Monica. Act like one. It's not like I'm disappearing forever. I'll be back."

In the end, Jared still left. I sat alone in the empty living room, my ragged sounds of sobs and the furious thump of my heart competing with the cold silence.

Then, my phone buzzed—a message from Luciana. "I'm really sorry, Monica. I need him to help me out for a bit. You wouldn't want me to have a hard time, would you?"

Betrayal on every front—love and friendship both stabbing me at once—my brain went blank. My legs shook as I tried to stand, but I still managed to snatch the keys off the table and bolted for the garage.

A few minutes later, I had made my decision. It was time to end this absurd love triangle once and for all.

I parked under the building where Luciana's office was. After a few twists and turns, I found Jared. She was curled against him, crying, while he gently stroked her hair. "It's okay. I'm right here."

Even Luciana's superior hadn't expected this. He wiped sweat from his forehead, dumbfounded. Who would have thought she would summon the Alpha over?

"It's okay. You won't have to work here anymore," Jared added. "Come work for me as my secretary. That way, I get to protect you at all times."

When he held Luciana close and stepped out of the office, I followed silently behind. I saw her pitifully wrapping her arms around his neck before pressing a kiss to his lips.

Although I had already seen it in the crystal orb, seeing it in person still stabbed my heart. My fists clenched so tightly that my nails dug into my palms, blood oozing down the lines of my hand, but I didn't feel a thing.

Of course, Jared didn't pull away. They clung to each other for what felt like five minutes until Luciana gasped for air, ending the kiss. "Can't you just stay with me tonight? Please, just tonight?"

He hesitated for a while, but her helpless gaze eventually conquered him. He nodded reluctantly. "One last time."

Just like what they said three days before my mating ceremony, but we all knew they were lying to each other.

I couldn't take it anymore. As they turned to leave, I stepped in front of Jared and slapped him across the face. His eyes widened in shock, and before he could say anything, I did what I should have done a long time ago.

"Let's dissolve our mate bond, Jared."