The hospital doors swung shut behind me with a satisfying click, cutting off my father's booming voice mid-threat. I didn't need to hear the rest - I knew the script by heart.

Disobedient daughter. Ungrateful heir. The Emerson family mantra.

Behind me, the door creaked open. I didn't need to turn to know it was Liam. His presence was like a storm at my back, electric and suffocating.

"Avery-" His voice was rough, conflicted. I kept walking.

Then, like clockwork, Riley's breathy whimper cut through the hallway. "Liam... my chest... it hurts..."

I didn't stop to watch him choose. Again. He chose Riley.

After the ward's door snapped closed, I turned and stared blankly at the closed door.

"He chose her over us." Lydia whimpered in both shock and pain. His tenderness with Riley must have been too much for her to bear.

"It was expected." I replied, trying to hide my disappointment.

"But still..."

"It's for the best. We weren't meant to be." I cut off Lydia's haunting whines.

"... It's high time we let go." I added in a whisper, taking a sharp breath. I swallowed hard when I heard Lydia's mournful howls.

I'm sorry.

I walked to my car and contacted my best friend Savannah.

"You're actually doing it?" Savannah's voice crackled through my phone, equal parts shocked and thrilled. "Finally ditching that gilded cage?"

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, my wolf Lydia restless beneath my skin.

"If I stay, I'll either kill Riley or become her."

"Meet me at Platinum Heights in twenty."

The luxury apartment complex gleamed under the afternoon sun, all floor-to-ceiling windows and sleek modern lines. Savannah was already waiting outside, her dark curls bouncing as she waved me over.

"Took you long enough." She teased, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Now let's go find you a penthouse worthy of a runaway alpha heiress."

We'd barely stepped into the lobby when we heard a familiar saccharine voice dripped with false surprise. "Oh my god. Avery Emerson?"

Rachel. Riley's favorite sycophant-a social climber with more plastic in her face than the agency's furniture. She leaned against the reception desk, her designer dress probably costing more than the security guard's annual salary.

Her lip curled in a smirk. "Slumming it without Daddy's credit cards, Avery?"

Savannah's grip on my arm tightened. "Ignore the rabid chihuahua."

But Rachel slithered closer, her perfume choking the air. "Riley told me all about your little tantrum. Honestly, it's pathetic. She's sick, and you're still jealous because-"

"Because Liam actually prefers his mate over the psycho who tried to gut her?" Savannah finished sweetly.

"Shocking." Rachel mocked with a fake gasp.

I tuned out their bickering and slid my bank card across the marble counter. The receptionist swiped it, frowned, then swiped again.

"I'm sorry, Miss Emerson. This card has been... declined."

Rachel's loud laugh could shatter glass. "Oops. Guess Daddy finally cut you off!" She twirled a curl around her finger. "Want me to call Riley? Maybe she'll lend you some cash because it seems like you really need it at the moment."

Savannah looked ready to shift and rip her throat out. I caught her wrist-then pulled the matte black card from my wallet's hidden slot.

The receptionist's eyes bulged. The embossed silver crest-a wolf's head crowned with thorns-glinted under the lights.

The manager materialized out of thin air, bowing slightly. "Miss Emerson, our apologies. We have the Skyview Penthouse reserved for VIP clients. Allow me to show you immediately."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "What-what is that?"

Savannah snatched the card before I could stop her, squinting at the embossed silver wolf insignia. "Holy shit. Is this-"

"None of your business," I said in a playful tone, grabbing it back.

Rachel lunged forward. "Let me see that-"

The manager stepped between us, his polite smile frozen. "I'm afraid unauthorized persons aren't permitted beyond this point."

"Unauthorized?" Rachel shrieked. "Do you know who my boyfriend is?"

The manager didn't blink. "Precisely. And I'd say the same thing even if he showed up in person."

Rachel's jaw dropped as shame hit her.

Savannah's cackle echoed through the lobby as the elevator doors closed on Rachel's furious face.

As the door closed, Savannah hissed, "Since when do you have that?"

I stared at the ascending floor numbers, my pulse steady for the first time in days. "Since I stopped playing by my father's rules."

The doors opened to a sprawling penthouse, all glass and gleaming surfaces, and the city stretched out beneath us like a kingdom.

Savannah whistled. "Damn. Remind me never to bet against you."

I walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the sunset paint the sky in hues of fire. Somewhere out there, my father was freezing my accounts. Liam was probably comforting Riley.

My heart still ached, but not that much. What I couldn't see was-somewhere across the city, in a penthouse even taller than mine, a phone lit up with a notification.

Black Card #0721 activated.

A shadowed figure smiled.

"Finally."

The penthouse was finally quiet. After hours of unpacking and arranging furniture-most of which Savannah had insisted on "testing" by dramatically flopping onto-I was left alone with the city lights twinkling beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lydia stretched beneath my skin, restless but content.

"Freedom." She whispered.

"Okay, spill." Savannah plopped onto the marble kitchen island, swinging her legs like a child. She pointed at the black card I'd left on the counter. "That thing just made the snobbiest real estate manager in the city bow like you were royalty. Who the hell gave it to you?"

I shrugged, pouring myself a glass of wine. "Just a friend."

"Uh-huh." She snatched the card, flipping it over to examine the embossed silver wolf insignia. Her eyes widened. "Avery. This is a Blackthorne Group card."

I nearly choked on my drink. "What?"

"Don't play dumb." She waved it like evidence in court. "The Blackthorne Group owns half the city's luxury properties, not to mention their overseas holdings. No one knows who actually runs it, but rumor says even the Alpha King's court doesn't mess with them."

She leaned in, grinning. "So. Who's your mystery benefactor?"

I plucked the card from her fingers and tucked it back into my wallet. "Just an old friend I helped with an investment years ago. He owed me a favor."

Savannah's smirk told me she wasn't buying it.

"Now that you're done with Liam..." She said, wiggling her eyebrows, "...this mysterious benefactor of yours sounds like prime rebound material."

I sighed, twisting the black card between my fingers. "I'm not looking for anyone right now."

"Oh, please." She leaned in, her vanilla perfume sharpening as her wolf stirred with curiosity. "Don't tell me you're still hung up on that backstabbing Alpha."

My fingers stilled. "Of course not."

The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. Savannah's knowing look cut deeper than any alpha command. She opened her mouth-Then her phone buzzed violently across the marble countertop.

"Ugh," she groaned, grabbing it with a snarl. "Work emergency."

The elevator doors slid open as she jabbed the button.

"This conversation..." She pointed at me with the ofending device. "... isn't over, Emerson."

The moment the doors closed, my shoulders slumped. The penthouse echoed with the silence of truths left unspoken.

Lydia whined in my chest, equally torn between pride and heartache. Some rebellions, it seemed, couldn't be solved with black cards and penthouses.

My eyes fell on the black card again. If there were anyone else I could call family, it would be Marcus. I met him in the orphanage when we were both young. He was my safe place in a world that had abandoned us both. I always took him as a reliable brother, but sometimes it felt more than that. I wanted him to be the first to see Lydia.

I still remember the moment I first saw his wolf, Ragnar. It was midnight in the orphanage courtyard-moonlight silvering the edges of his massive blackwolf form, those golden eyes burning brighter than any fire. He moved like a shadow given teeth, powerful enough to tear the world apart, yet gentle when his muzzle nudged my trembling fingers.

That night, I ached for my own wolf to rise. I wanted Lydia to emerge-wanted Marcus to be the first to see her, to recognize the other half of my soul the way I'd recognized the wild, beautiful truth of him.

But we were torn apart before my first shift. We didn't meet each other again until five years ago. Marcus had given me this card five years ago, right after the tribunal exiled Riley.

"If you ever need out.." He'd said, his dark eyes unreadable. "...use it. No questions asked."

I hadn't used it. Not even when Liam hesitated. Not even when my parents looked at Riley like she was their real daughter. Until today.

The bathwater was scalding, just how I liked it. Steam curled around me as I sank deeper, trying to wash away the lingering scent of hospital antiseptic and betrayal.

What now? I could rebuild. Start my own company. Cut ties completely. My fingers hovered over my phone. Marcus's number was still there, buried under years of unspoken words. Would he even answer? The last time we'd spoken, I'd told him I was staying with the Emersons.

That I had to make it work with Liam. His reply had been a single text: "Then I hope he's worth it."

I never responded.

Until now, I didn't understand what stopped me from doing that. The doorbell rang. Lydia's ears pricked.

Liam.

I wrapped myself in a silk robe, water dripping onto the heated floors as I padded to the door. The security screen showed a familiar broad-shouldered silhouette.

Of course he'd find me. Alpha tracking instincts and all that.

I yanked the door open. "What part of 'dissolution of engagement' was unclear?"

Liam stood there, his usually impeccable hair tousled, ice-blue eyes burning. "We need to talk."

I rolled my eyes and moved to slam the door. His hand shot out, fingers wrapping around my wrist with that infuriating alpha strength.

"We're still mates, Avery!" He growled. The mate bond flared between us, hot and demanding, trying to coax my submission but I didn't succumb to it.

I couldn't afford to do this time.

"Not for long!" I snarled.

"Don't you dare!" He warned like he knew what I was about to do. I pushed him away, prying my wrist off his tight hold.

Behind him, the elevator dinged again. Riley stepped out, clutching her chest like she might collapse.

"Liam, I told you-I shouldn't-" She saw me and gasped. "Avery! Thank goodness you're safe!"

I stared between them.

"Are you kidding me?" My voice dripped venom. "Couldn't even give me five minutes before bringing your little shadow along? Or is this a demonstration of how you literally can't function without clinging to each other?"

"Couldn't even give me five minutes before bringing your little shadow along? Or is this a demonstration of how you literally can't function without clinging to each other?" I sneered with a scoff.

He really had the guts to bring her here with him, after what had happened at the hospital.

Riley's face turned crimson red at my direct accusation. "It isn't what it looks like, Avery... I was just here to..."

"Save your explanations for someone who cares." The indignation in my words was as clear as water. I sounded vile, but I didn't care, as long as my words got passed.

But I was wrong.

All of a sudden, I felt Liam's strong hold on my wrist again as he cornered me against the wall.

"Don't you speak to us that way!!" He let out a low menancing rumble, showing his dominance and intimidating self.

I gently cocked my head to the side, wondering why he would think that I would succumb to his authority. I was his mate, for fuck sake! His equal!

"What are you going to do about it?"

My lips twitched into a smirk when I noticed how increasingly infuriated he was at my boldness and resistance to his authority. He snarled, his blue eyes had a piercing glare as they stayed on mine while I maintained eye contact all through. I wanted him to see how serious I was.

"A.. Avery..." Riley's pretended gentle voice finally echoed in the hallway, earning a mental eye roll from me.

She must want the attention back to herself so badly.

"We don't want any trouble, we just came here to check up on you. You weren't at home and..."

I didn't listen to the rest of her honeyed tone blabbering as it only irritated me the more. I pushed Liam off me, making him stagger back a little before he regained his composure.

"I was doing better before you dragged yourselves here!!" I snapped in an abrasive tone.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Avery?" I scorned what I heard Liam's question.

"Really???"

Just then, I heard sniffs and whimpers. I turned to my side only to see Riley shedding tears, with so much emotion... insincere emotions.

"Avery... I know it's all my fault... I know I've wronged you, but why can't you just find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Liam, obviously deceived by her feigned emotions moved to console her, right in front of me.

"You see what you've caused? Riley left the hospital to search for you even though she's supposed to be resting because she was worried for you and you...." He paused with a grimace like he was trying to hold back himself from saying something. "She already apologized... what more do you want from her? Why are you dragging this so far? Hasn't she suffered enough?"

His questions now made him different from how I knew him. He had changed so much in the span of two days. Where is the Liam that supported me then?

Just then, from the corner of my eyes, I saw Riley's sly grin, the malevolent gloating she shows only to me, to let me know that she would always emerge the winner no matter what happens.

And that was all it took for me to finally snap.

"She hasn't!" I deadpanned.

"Avery..." Riley called out in sorrow but I, ignored her.

"Until she has been betrayed by someone she trusts, stripped of all that she owns, and is actually fighting for her life in a sick bed, will I consider us equals. Until then you all should leave me the fuck alone!" I roared in outrage.

I noticed the stunned and petrified look they both gave me, but I didn't care.

"Get out!" I screamed out again, baring my fangs to show I wasn't playing.

"L...let's go.." Riley stammered as she pulled Liam with her. She looked shaken to the core by my reaction, but I know it was all a facade.

Liam on the other hand wasn't ready to leave yet. He was about to say something when I walked into my penthouse and slammed the door behind me.

A few seconds later, I heard the elevator ding again, they've left.

I walked into the kitchen, and the sound of my heavy movements hitting the marble tiled floor filled the penthouse. I opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. I gulped down half its contents before slamming it against the counter.

My encounter with them filled me with rage. The audacity!

The sound of my ringing phone echoed in the kitchen. With annoyance, I pulled the gadget out of my robe's pocket. I was about to end the call when I saw Jenny's name on the screen.

Jenny was another friend of mine, aside from Savannah.

"Congratulations!" Her cheery voice echoed from the other side of the call the moment it connected.

"How does it feel to finally cut ties with those losers?" She asked, not bothering to hide her excitement.

Savannah must have filled her in on everything that has happened. I sighed as I plopped down on the kitchen stool.

"Uh..uh.. don't tell me you're feeling down..."

"It's just too much to take all at once." I muttered as I gently massaged my temples.

"I understand, but you don't have to waste your time being bothered by people who don't value you. You're worth more."

A comforted smile appeared on my face. "Really?"

"Of course. Now that you've cut ties with them, why don't you come back to the company? It's getting hard to handle those scums on the board alone."

"Jenny..."

"You've been gone for too long Avery and coming back would help take your mind off things easily." She coaxed.

The invitation was enticing and better than what I had in mind before. I was initially planning to return to my family as the devoted daughter and impeccable heir after taking some time off, but my encounter with Liam and Riley served as an eye opener for me.

My parents don't care about me, never have and never will so why should I keep trying to earn their approval? They don't deserve me.

"Alright..." I whispered in agreement after my mind had been made up.

"Finally! Can't wait!!" She yelled out happily.

I smiled softly as the call ended. I was about to head into my room when another call came in. It was from an unsaved number.

I stared at it silently, trying to see if I recognized it, but I couldn't pinpoint whose it was. After the third ring, I clicked on the answer button and placed it to my ear.

"Avery..."

I stilled the moment I heard my name.

The sonorous and baritone voice... I could recognize it anywhere... it was something I had heard for more than half my life.

My breath hitched, and my heart beat faster against my chest in eagerness. My body felt restless as I listened to his rhythmic breathing through the phone call.

"Marcus..."