"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry, Dad."

I hugged the photo of my parents, asking for their forgiveness, wherever they might be now.

"I couldn’t keep my marriage. I couldn’t stay with the man I once promised my life to. My marriage isn’t like yours. I’m sorry," I said in a choked whisper.

They once told me, “Rosella, I hope you stay faithful to your husband. Love him until your last breath, because that’s what marriage means. You stay with your other half until death do you part.”

But how could I stay when I was already suffocating? I already gave everything. What’s left of me is so little, and if I give even that to Darius, just because I still love him, I might never be able to stand on my own again.

I clicked on the airline ticket application on my phone. I needed to leave the country, so he wouldn't find me. For the past three weeks of staying here with them, I had prepared the separation and divorce papers.

Today, I finally signed them.

It weighed heavily on my chest as I wrote my name, but I gathered all my strength. I would leave tonight. And before I go, I decided to prepare dinner.

I was still cooking when Sasha suddenly entered the kitchen, someone trailing behind her.

“Mom, please come and sit,” she said gently.

I didn’t answer. I continued cooking.

“Luna, can you make some delicious dishes for me and my mom?” I heard Sasha say.

I froze for a second before turning to her. “I’ll ask the maid.”

She smiled sweetly, but her eyes gleamed with cruelty. “Darius said I shouldn’t trust anyone here except you. He said you’ve been pregnant once, so you know what food is good for someone like me. Since… you were pregnant once, right?”

I clenched my jaw and slammed the ladle on the counter.

“And you accused me of poisoning you, yet now you want me to cook for you again?” I asked with a bitter laugh. “Isn’t that ironic?”

“What’s ironic is still seeing you here. The Alpha’s wife who failed to do what a woman should do. Isn’t it? A woman with a useless womb, still called a wife?” Sasha’s mother intervened.

My eyes narrowed. Darius brought a mistress and now another messy attitude woman?

“You’re in my house. You don’t have the right to disrespect me.”

“My daughter lives here too. She will have all the power as she’s the only one who could give birth to the Alpha’s heir. Shouldn’t you be lowering your head to her, since you’re already worthless?”

“Mom…” Sasha squealed happily. I swallowed hard as she caressed her belly with a smirk. “I think I’m getting stressed, Luna Rose. You’re not doing what I asked. Should I tell Darius?”

I felt the cold in my gut. I no longer want to have a fight with Darius, so I said nothing. I just turned and picked up more ingredients to prepare for the food. Then I heard laughter behind me, knowing full well they won against me.

“That’s what she should be. A maid. If you’re barren and your womb’s rotten, what right do you have to be the wife of a powerful man?”

“Mom, don’t be like that. She’s already pitiful. No one pays attention to her here anymore because… she’s useless.”

They both laughed as if I wasn’t even there. Their words stung so deeply, but I refused to let it show. Even if my eyes welled up and I wanted to cry in a corner. Why does a woman lose her worth just because she can’t have a child? Is that our only purpose? But I could love my husband and that’s what should matter, right?

Later that night, I went to Darius’s office. I didn’t eat with them. I couldn’t stomach watching Sasha feed him with her hands or vice versa. I had to wait until she was done before I could eat, because she always had to taste everything first. That’s what Darius rules.

So I ate alone in my room instead.

When I was done and the night had grown quiet, I knew he’d still be awake. I went inside to have him sign the papers. But like a sick cycle, I walked in on something again.

Not sex this time. Just the aftermath.

Sasha gasped when she saw me, but she didn’t even bother pretending to be innocent.

“Darius is in the bathroom, Luna. Sorry for the mess,” she said, laughing as she glanced at their fluids spilled on the table. “Don’t be jealous, please. You know pregnant women… they’re more aggressive and needy.”

She giggled more and smirked at me. She opened her mouth again, maybe to mock me further, but Darius walked out of the bathroom.

He was shocked to see me there but pretended nothing’s wrong with the scene in front of us.

“Leave, Sasha. I need to speak with my wife,” he said.

Unlike earlier, she lowered her head like a scolded child and left quietly.

“Come here, Rosella. What’s your concern?”

When the door finally shut, I walked to his desk. I placed the two papers beside their mess.

“These are the separation and divorce papers, Darius. I signed them,” I said coldly.

His eyes widened. “Divorce papers? For who?”

I gave him an empty smile.

“For us. I’m divorcing you, Darius. Please sign them so I can leave.”

“You’re not leaving. We’re not separating. I am not fine with divorcing you, Rosella. You’ll stay here,” he said calmly, but his voice was brewing with storm.

I rolled my eyes and let them fall to his messy desk. I pushed the lacy thong that belonged to Sasha across to him.

“Why would you want the three of us to suffer, Darius? You can have the world for the two of you. You just have to free me—”

“You know Sasha’s pregnant. I’m doing all of this for her and the baby! After that, she’s nothing to me. You’ll remain my wife. Why can’t you understand that?” His voice cracked with frustration.

He rubbed his head, trying to calm down, then walked to the sofa and leaned back, likely to control his anger.

I’d heard of situations like this, but those couples still respected each other. With us, it was different. She was sleeping with him, acting like his wife. What was I supposed to do? Endure it?

“I can no longer endure the torture here,” I said.

“You know what’s torture?” He raised his voice. “That’s marrying a woman who couldn’t bear my child! Finding another woman who can because my wife is a useless—”

I slapped him. We froze for a moment, but I couldn’t stop the tears that kept falling. My chest was burning with anger.

“Useless?” I muttered, shaking.

I saw his throat tighten as he swallowed hard, his eyes softening slightly.

“I’m useless, so you made me live through this hell, Darius, when you promised me heaven?” I shouted. “I. Am. Divorcing. You! I can’t stand living with you and your mistress anymore!”

I turned and stormed out of his room, but then I heard the loud crash of things breaking on his desk. His footsteps followed, and the sound of paper tearing froze me.

“You promised yourself to me, Rosella. To love me and stay with me forever. Why divorce now?” His voice was broken, but it only made me angrier.

“You’re asking me why I want a divorce, Darius?!” I screamed. “You brought your mistress into our home! You let her walk these halls like she owns them, carrying the child I couldn’t give you! You made me her maid, made me give her my blood while I was sick! You stripped me of everything, my pride, my voice, my worth! I just want to be free! Go ahead, marry her. Just set me free!”

But Darius did not flinch. His eyes were cold and sharp, filled with something darker than hate. He pointed at me and said, “No. You’re not leaving me, Rosella. You will stay. You will raise Sasha’s child. You will stand by my side, no matter what.”

I shook my head, my chest rising and falling. “And if I refuse? What then? I filed the divorce, Darius. You can’t undo that.”

His silence was chilling. Slowly, he gave a cruel smile. “Then I have no other choice.”

He whistled sharply. The door opened, and his men filed in, no words spoken. My chest tightened with shock and confusion.

“Lock my wife up,” he ordered, as if this was perfectly normal. “Make sure she doesn’t escape.”

“What?!” I staggered back, stunned. “You would resort to this, Darius? Are you trying to make this worse?”

He grinned at me. Sasha was standing beside him, equally stunned. None of us expected this.

“Yes. If that means I can keep you beside me and stop you from divorcing me…” He signaled to the men who grabbed me by my arms. “Lock her up now.”

“Let me go! Desmond!” I shouted at the one man I trusted. He looked at me with guilt. “Desmond, please! Help me!”

They dragged me to a small, dark room in the mansion’s narrow wing, the place for those who crossed Darius or me.

I whispered to myself in the dark, “If I escape, you will never touch me again…”

He truly locked me away, leaving just enough food and water to survive. He didn’t even visit during the first week. I had to adjust to the dim light.

I spent days crying, with no one to call, not even my only friend who could help. I was suffocating when I heard the door creak open.

I looked up, terrified. Was it Darius?

“Please, help me…” I whispered, but my hope faded when I saw Desmond.

“Luna…” he murmured, motioning for me to stay quiet.

I followed him. “Help me…” I mouthed.

He didn’t answer but pulled a key from his pocket and stepped closer. My heart surged with hope.

“I’ll help you escape, but you can’t get caught. Your plane ticket is in this bag.” He handed me a small pouch.

I grabbed it instantly, clutching the key, nodding urgently. I rushed to the door, glancing back at him.

“Thank you, Desmond. I’ll never forget this…” I said, my heart breaking.

I grabbed a maid’s uniform, shoved the pouch inside the trash bag and didn’t care how I looked or if I stink. The guards didn’t notice as I passed. My heart raced when I reached the gate and saw the taxi waiting.

“Are you Desmond's—”

“Yes! Drive fast. We need to leave now!” I ordered. “Move!”

The car sped off before anyone noticed. I looked back at the mansion, once a heaven to me but now is the hell I escaped. I will never come back. Never.