Cruel? I didn't expect that this was Theo's evaluation of me.

I hastily wiped a streak of tears that trickled down my face and took a deep breath.

"Then just have the baby in my belly aborted."

"No." Theo slammed on the brakes, stopping the car at the roadside. He then turned to me with raging eyes.

"Are you crazy? How could you even think of it. I won’t let go of either your or Elena's child. Period."

Several werewolf warriors appeared around our house the next day, and Theo locked me in my room.

He confiscated my phone, cutting me off from the outside world.

One morning, I woke up to the noise downstairs.

When I went downstairs, I saw Aria and her mother standing at the door, directing workers to move luggage into the house.

As soon as Aria's mother saw me, she sneered, "Some people really have no shame, getting pregnant with a bastard child and still have the audacity to live with Theo."

She then hugged Aria’s shoulders. "You’re such a fool, you've suffered so much for Theo! Theo still hasn't rejected that cheap woman!"

"Mom, stop talking about it. This was all my choice!" Elena lowered her head, pretending to be pitiful.

And as Elena's mother took the luggage upstairs, Elena threw a mocking smile at me.

"So what if you're Theo's mate? So what if my child isn’t his? My place in his heart is way higher than you. "

I glared at her for a while and slapped her hard across the face.

Elena palmed her reddened cheek, squeezing out some tears, and looked into the distance.

"Aria, why are you treating me like this? I'm not trying to steal Theo from you." She cried pretentiously.

"Aria!” Theo’s voice echoed from behind. “What did you do to Elena?!"

I turned my head to see Theo infuriated.

So she put up an act for him!!

Elena cried louder, drawing her mother’s attention, too. Her mother glared at me fiercely.

"This woman cheated on you. She got pregnant with another man’s child. Why haven’t you rejected her yet? She questioned Theo.

“Theo, as long as she’s here, my Elena won’t be safe! If you don’t kick her out, I’m taking Elena home!"

“Yes, Theo. Mom is right!”

Elena threw herself in Theo's arms, crying, and gave me a subtle smile.

Theo stayed silent for a long time. Just when Elena thought her plan was succeeding, he gently pushed her away and walked to my side.

"If you want, you can take Elena home, but I won’t ask my mate to leave. "

Elena looked at us in utter shock and stormed off.

“You have hurt my child, Theo.” Her mother snapped. “This is not done. She is bearing your child. She needed to be feel loved. Now, I request you to at least make up to her by giving the best room.”

Theo looked at me and I understood he was asking for one for sacrifice.

I was instantly shifted to the small room on the first floor.

Theo said it was for the sake of Elena’s child and it’s just a matter of a few months.

"Don’t worry, I’m just trying to temporarily appease Elena and her mother. I’ll give you back a proper room soon." He had said when I shifted.

I didn't argue. Honestly, I no longer cared where I stayed. I already had another plan in mind.

Every single day, I was thinking about how to escape from here.

I even planned to have Elena help me. To my surprise, the one person most wanted me to leave, Theo refused to help.

"Aria, since Theo doesn’t want you to leave, how could I help you? You really don’t understand the bond between him and me. We grew up together and we have an unbreakable trust."

At that moment, I saw a trace of determination and seriousness in Elena's eyes.

Maybe I was wrong.

Theo and Elena had a kind of trust that no outsider could break.

Every day after Theo came home, he would tell bedtime stories to the child in Elena’s belly.

By the time he came into my room, it used to be almost 11 p.m. So, I pretended to be asleep.

The room I stayed in was almost like a servant’s quarters.

Elena occupied all the rooms in the house–One, for her child, another for her music practice, and the rest, for storing her things.

Eventually, Theo started sleeping in her room to care for her, but one night, he stood by the bedside and shook my shoulder.

"Are you asleep?" He asked in a soft voice.

When I didn’t respond, he continued, "I know you’re not asleep."

I turned to my right, facing away from him. "What do you want?"

"Aria, do you really hate me this much now? Do you really not trust my love for you?" His voice was laced with pain.

I felt bad for him, but I quickly brushed off that emotion. He didn’t deserve any sympathy.

“After everything you’ve done to me, how can you expect me to believe you?” I silently shed a few tears but made sure not to show him.

"Don’t worry, still I will carry our child to term. But you should know that locking me here is not good for our child. Let me breathe fresh air, give my phone back and let me talk to my mother. I too want my mother to pour my heart out.”

Theo slipped behind me and pulled me into his arms.

"Alright, as long as you’re at ease and resting, I’ll let you do whatever you want." He said, his tone tinged with a bit of excitement.

I am an Omega without a father, relying solely on my mother since childhood.

Apart from my mother, I didn’t have any friends. Also, my mother had no family left behind.

When Theo discovered I was his mate, his parents were dismissive of my bloodline and status.

But Theo firmly chose me, making me believe that our mate bond could overcome everything.

I felt loved like never before, but that spark faded with time.

That night, Theo stayed with me and I didn’t refuse. Although, the lingering scent of Elena’s roses on him made me nauseous.

The next morning, he was in a good mood. As he woke up, he kissed my forehead.

"The two most important women in my life can finally get along.I’m really grateful to you, Aria. I promise I’ll make it up to you in the future!"

After breakfast, he even returned my phone and allowed me to walk outside the villa in the company of werewolf warriors.

And the first thing I did was dialed my mother’s number.

Theo didn’t know that my mother had found her second chance mate this year.

We, mother and daughter, were no longer alone,, and with her help, I will soon be leaving this place.

In the following months, I tried to coexist peacefully with Elena.

She had Theo hire a private nutritionist and fitness trainer for her. Whereas I had nothing, and I didn’t even feel provoked by her flaunting it.

But even with all the experts taking care of her, by the eighth month of her pregnancy, Elena experienced an abnormal fetal position.

The doctor at the Pack clinic said she had to go to the largest werewolf hospital for proper care, or it could be dangerous.

Theo immediately packed his bags to take Elena away.

I curled up in the corner of the bedroom, my hands resting on my protruding belly, feeling an unprecedented weakness.

"You shouldn’t keep pretending to be strong." My wolf’s voice was low, "Our mate bond is breaking. If he leaves with Elena, we might not survive."

“No, we will! We have to endure this alone.”

Before he left, Theo glanced at me, his face full of exhaustion, but there was also a little warm care.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Not wanting to give away any signs of weakness, I preferred not to answer.

"Aria, I’ll be back to you before our child is born. Elena’s situation is urgent. When I return, I’ll be with you 24/7. "

I wanted to stand up and tell him that I needed him, too, that both I and my baby needed care. But my ego got the better of me, so I forced a smile and nodded.

Theo stared at me, somewhat surprised. He probably didn’t expect me to let him leave so easily.

He didn’t move until Elena called him. He then slowly took his gaze off me.

But as he was about to step out, he suddenly came running to me and held me tightly in his arms. His tone was more frantic than ever.

"I’m not leaving you, okay? I’ll have my Beta accompany you.He will stay here to take care of you."

My heart skipped a beat. I felt loved again, but I again shook off those feel-good emotions.

"You should go with Elena. If anything happens to her child, you’ll feel guilty for the rest of your life." I whispered.

In truth, what I wanted to say was If anything happens to Elena’s child, you’ll blame me for the rest of your life.

Theo slowly loosened his grip on me and walked away towards Elena.

Just as Theo was about to get in the car, a maid called out to him.

"Sir, please let Miss Aria move back to her original room. The room she’s in now is too damp, it’s not good for the baby."

Before Theo could answer, Elena said, "That won’t do! I’ll be moving back soon. How can she take my room?"

"I don’t want to move back," I told Theo. His face instantly lit up with a warm smile.

"I’ll buy you a new house when I return. I’m sorry for making you suffer for a few days."

With that, he got in the car and drove away with Elena.

After Theo left, I forced my weak body to endure the pain and started packing the things.

I looked at the watch.Six hours were still left before my mother and stepfather would send someone to pick me up.

I glanced at the ten werewolf warriors guarding outside the villa and called my mother. "I'm afraid it would be easy for you to take me. There are many werewolf warriors guarding me here."

"Aria, don’t worry, I will help you resolve this.” A stern, middle-aged man’s voice came from the other side of the line.

You’ll be my daughter from now on, and I won’t let anyone bully you again!"

Although I hadn’t met my mother’s second chance mate yet, his words gave me great encouragement.

But just after I hung up, Elena's mother barged into my room with Theo's parents. Each of them looked at me with disdain.

"You, an Omega, dare to deceive Theo and get pregnant with a bastard.” Theo’s mother hissed. “How dare you stay in our house!"

"If it were me, I would make sure everyone knew and ruin her reputation!" Elena’s mother chimed in, making Theo’s mother angrier. She then stormed over me and landed a tight slap over my face.

A servant, witnessing this, hurriedly stepped in front of me like a shield.

"Miss Aria is very weak right now. Mr. Theo has instructed me to take good care of her. You can't hit her!"

But Theo's mother shoved the servant aside, making her tumble on the floor.

"That fool Theo, still thinking about taking care of her and her bastard child?! Oh, god!! How did I give birth to such a useless son, allowing himself to be manipulated by such a wanton.!"

Theo's father, the Alpha of the Black Rose pack, stepped forward.

"As an Omega, to become my son’s mate is an honor for you. Yet you’re ungrateful and pregnant with a bastard! Fit one thing in your mind. Neither our family nor the entire Black Rose pack will ever accept this child of yours."

He then ordered the two werewolf warriors standing beside him.

"Take her to the pack clinic to abort the child, then expel her from the pack."

He held my arms and I struggled to break free. "No, let go of me!"

I was terrified for the safety of my child.

The servant again helped me to set free from warriors, pleading. "Miss Aria is already seven months pregnant, and her body is very weak! If you make her abort the child, she will definitely die!"

"And the child in my belly is Theo's, not a bastard! It is Elena’s child who is bastard!" I tried to defend myself.

But my truthful words only earned me another slap.

"How dare you talk nonsense! Theo himself admitted that Elena's child is his! I see you’re not just shameless, but also a liar!" Theo’s mother snapped.

"No, it’s not true..." I shook my head desperately. But they taped my mouth shut, not giving me a chance to explain.

I silently mocked myself.

Didn’t you once want to give up this child?

Why are you so sad now?

Tears silently fell from my eyes as my consciousness began to fade.

At that moment, a voice broke through the room.

"Stop! Who dares to touch my daughter!"