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."