“Beta Alex, thank you for helping me with the resignation and the divorce,” I gently told him.

The old man who had played a big role in my husband’s court squinted at me, his eyes filled with doubt.

“Are you really sure about this, Vienna? Where will you go if you separate from the Alpha?”

My lips thinned at that question. Can’t I find a job for myself? The city is wide, and if I can’t stay here because of my husband’s orders, then I’ll try another one. As long as I can finally live like a human being.

“I’ve got plenty of money under my name, Beta. I saved throughout the seven years of our marriage,” I told him. “From my own earnings.”

He chuckled at me. He was getting old, and soon his son would take his place.

“I guess this is farewell to the best Gamma of the court?” The old man hugged me and then let go.

“Farewell…”

With the envelope in hand, I turned away from the council court, where my life for the past seven years had revolved solely around being his Gamma.

Who would’ve thought I’d end up in this pathetic, miserable place in life, even though I’m not the type to give up on anything? All because I married a man who never saw me as more than a convenient name to preserve his reputation.

On our wedding day, I married the man I’d loved since I was seven. I was the happiest woman alive, unaware it was the worst day of his life. To him, I was nothing but a poor substitute for the woman he truly loved.

“I’m here now,” I announced.

Alpha Rowan was there, setting food on the table. To anyone else, it would’ve looked like he was a caring, romantic husband. But the truth?

“What took you so long at the court? You should’ve come home first to handle the food, right?” His voice was sharp, and he didn’t even glance at me.

He wasn’t romantic. He just had no choice but to cook for himself because I was late. He was hungry, and there was no one else to rely on.

“Sorry…” I walked over to the table and looked at what he had prepared. It was just for him.

I wasn’t surprised. He sat at the head of the table and ignored me completely, wearing a smug expression like he was proud I wouldn’t be eating anything since he didn’t include me.

“What do you want?” he asked coldly.

“Can you sign this, Alpha?” I pulled the documents out of the envelope.

His face darkened. He hated paperwork at home, but he knew it had to be serious if I brought it to him.

“Can’t that wait?” he scoffed.

“No—” I started, but his phone rang.

He perked up like a hero answering a distress call.

“Dea.” I shut my eyes the moment he said her name. My sister. The woman he truly loved but couldn’t marry. “Yes, I’m coming. I have all the time for you. Wait for me.”

He hung up and glanced at me sideways. He pushed the plate in my direction.

“Eat this. Dea needs me.”

“But you haven’t signed the papers. It’s important,” I insisted.

His jaw clenched. Without hesitation, he grabbed the papers. He signed them all and slammed the pen on the table.

“There. You know I hate it when you push me. Clean before you sleep. Make breakfast too, so you’re useful around here.”

He sounded angry, but his face looked almost delighted as he took his coat and left without even asking what those papers were.

I slowly opened the documents and read them. He signed the divorce. He signed the resignation. I was walking out of his life, and his final words to me were chores.

That’s right. In this house, I was in charge of everything. Not to make it feel like a home, like a wife should, but to clean it like a maid. He said we didn’t need to hire help because I was already here. That was my role. To him, I was like my mother, who once served in my birth family’s house. No matter how I dressed, I’d always be a woman from dirt.

Even if blue blood runs through my veins because I’m a daughter of one of the elders. I was never counted because the moon goddess overlooked me. To be born as a human in a family of lycans, I am considered a curse and misfortune. My own parents—who was supposed to love me—was the one suggested of switching me with the maid's daughter. She’s the lucky child, born on the same day as me, and the one with a lycan's mark and blood. That’s why my parents chose to have her and made me a maid's daughter. They'll always chose Dea. And Rowan, my husband… he’s choosing her too. Because I was never supposed to be his wife if Dea hadn’t run away that day. I was the substitute bride. The unwanted wife in this house. A working Gamma in his council. And now, as I sealed the envelope again, a tear slipped down my cheek.

Now I’ll be a divorced Luna.

“No one’s choosing me…” I whispered, staring at the plate of food meant for someone else but pushed on me. I am a dumpster for all of them.

“I just chose myself, Rowan. By divorcing you,” I said through the pain.

I never had a pleasant life at all. Or maybe I had but it crumbled when I was fifteen years old.

“You’re not my daughter. You’re the daughter of the elder family of the Morsettis.”

Those were my mother’s final words before she took her last breath.

She confessed everything in front of the very people she claimed were my real parents. I didn’t even have time to grieve. The truth broke, and the Morsettis heard it, along with a member of a court who happened to be there.

To control the scandal, they confirmed everything and offered explanations I never asked for. But nothing eased the shock in my chest or the fury building inside me.

“We had to set you aside, Vienna,” said Donna, the mother who gave birth to me. “Our family is influential. We had to make the right choice for our name and that is to present Dea as the legal daughter of this elder family."

“We couldn’t let a mere human represent the Morsettis. You wouldn’t want to be a laughing stock, right? Or be the cause of our downfall,” my father added, as if casting me aside had been for my benefit too. "And this truth should never come out."

I didn’t say another word. I'm cold.

“Does this mean you’re switching us back, Dad?” Dea asked. Her voice was calm, but her eyes were sharp and cold as they landed on me.

She had always worn a mask. Sweet, angelic, while hiding the devil just beneath the surface.

“No,” father answered. “We can’t do that. Not now. It would stir up everything we’ve worked to suppress.”

Then he turned to me and took my hand. “But we’ll support you. We can send you to school, Vienna. We’ll provide everything for you.”

That moment told me everything. They would never claim me as their daughter. Not in front of everyone and in their heart. Still, they sent me to school. I used to think that was enough.

I used to envy Dea. She had it all. My real parents. My rightful life. Even the man I loved.

She and Rowan were always meant to be. Childhood sweethearts who grew into lovers. Their engagement had been celebrated for years. The wedding was just a formality. But the night before the official announcement, Dea vanished, and the Morsettis had to play their last card to the Donovans. Me.

Now I’m here. Trapped in a marriage without love. A Luna who’s treated like a Gamma under her own husband. But today, I’ll put an end to it.

I packed all my clothes and belongings. What I could keep went into a suitcase. The rest was left for disposal. Everything had to be gone before I left this place.

“What’s all this for?”

Rowan’s voice came from behind.

He’d just returned. From Dea’s home, where he had spent the night.

“They’re things I no longer use,” I answered, referring to the clothes he once bought for me out of obligation.

“You’re throwing them away? That’s not like you,” he said, suspicious.

Of course he knew that. I was once the daughter of a maid who held onto every little thing. Nothing ever went to waste.

“I’ll donate them to your foundation’s charity. It’ll be good for your public image, especially with your new government partnership.”

His expression flickered. Shocked. I’d never said anything like that before. But then, slowly, he nodded, a faint smile forming at the corners of his mouth.

I thought he might thank me. But another voice interrupted.

“My sister is such a generous soul. So big-hearted and understanding.”

There she was. Dea. Wearing a dress I once believed Rowan had picked out for me.

She smiled sweetly and made her way toward him. Then, suddenly, she ran the last few steps and jumped into his arms, accidentally bumping into a nearby vase.

It hit the floor and shattered.

I gasped. That vase, one of Rowan’s family’s most treasured heirlooms. A wedding gift from his father, etched with our names and our joined hands. A symbol of love and unity in their bloodline.

I had always kept it spotless. I planned to take it with me. It reminded me that even if I had a cruel husband, I once had in-laws who loved me.

But it is gone now. Shattered.

Still, Rowan didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look. If it wasn’t important to him, why should I care?

“Are you hurt? I’m sorry, Dea,” he said instead. He ran his hands over her arms, checking for scratches. Apologizing to her. The one who broke it.

“Sorry,” Dea said, glancing at me.

I swallowed hard. And nodded.

“It’s nothing,” Rowan added. “We can always buy a new one.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. “No need. It was just your father’s wedding gift. I was planning to auction it off anyway.”

I only said it to wound him. And it worked. His face changed. First in surprise, then in anger.

“You want to auction that? Our wedding gift?”

“But she broke it now,” I said calmly.

He fell silent. He remembered. It wasn’t my fault. It was her.

“Sorry, Vienna. I didn’t mean to,” Dea murmured, eyes lowered now.

I wondered why she was even here. Did she come just to cause a scene?

“I’ll have this cleaned up,” Rowan muttered. “In the meantime… Dea will be staying in this room. Just for a week. She needs sunlight, and this one gets the most.”

Then he looked at me like it was nothing. “You’ll move to the guest room, Vienna.”

And just like that, he pushed me out of my room. Of what little was left of my place in this house.

“Surely, you won’t say no to your sister’s request, right?” Dea leaned against my husband’s shoulder after Rowan dropped that bomb on me.

My chest tightened. She wants to provoke me, for me to get mad and lash out on them, but I said nothing to challenge it.

Request? That wasn’t a request. It was an order. One that didn’t even require my consent.

We never shared a room like real couples do. He never wanted to. He once told me we could use my room if I wanted to mate with him, but not his. He said he didn't want his space "tainted" by anything about sex. But he didn’t know I was aware of what he was really doing. He’d bring Dea here, into his room, whenever I came home late from court. Or when I was asleep, too exhausted to hear their whispers and footsteps.

“It’s only for a week, Vienna. You can have your room back when—”

“Okay. She can have it,” I cut him off with a nod. I turned away and went back to packing.

“O...kay?” Rowan echoed, confused.

I shot him a cold glance. He expected me to fight for it, just like before. He expected tears, pleading, rage. But there was none of that now. Because what’s the point of fighting for something that was never mine to begin with?

“I’m letting her have it like you requested,” I said simply.

Dea squealed in delight.

“See, love? My sister always understands.”

Rowan didn’t look pleased. For a second, I thought my indifference bothered him. But instead of asking how I felt, he walked away, carrying his pride with him. Dea, of course, stayed, wanting the last word, like she always did.

“How’s it like being his wife only in bed?” she asked with a wicked grin. “Oh wait, do you two still mate? Does he even kiss you? I doubt it. He’s with me every night, like he can’t get enough of me. I bet he’s forgotten what you taste like.”

I didn’t speak.

She laughed at my silence. “Bitch. That’s what you get for stealing my life. It will never be yours. Everything is mine, Vienna.”

She stomped her heel next to my foot, trying to provoke me, and smiled smugly.

“Your husband’s staying in this house tonight,” she added. “But he’ll be sleeping with me. And the poor Luna? She’ll spend the night alone, cold and forgotten, while he’s holding me close.”

And just like that, the nightmare became real.

I passed by my room and heard it. Their sounds. Her moans. His voice. Their pleasure. The bed creaked in rhythm, the walls soaked in betrayal. That room, once the only place I could breathe in this house, was now a shrine to my humiliation.

He never held me like that. Never kissed me like that. When we mated, he didn’t even look me in the eye. He never touched me out of affection. For him, I was nothing but a duty. An obligation.

“You’re the only woman who could make me feel this way, Dea,” I heard him say.

And that was it.

I stopped walking. A sob slipped from my lips before I could catch it. I froze. I wasn’t even aware I’d started crying.

I was still hurting.

I was still hoping.

And that was the most humiliating part.

I pulled my phone out with trembling fingers and walked away from the noise, further and further, until their pleasure was only a dull echo in the background.

I opened a number saved long ago. One I never deleted, even when I should have.

“Diego, I’m divorcing Rowan. Please pick me up after a month.”

That was the message I sent to the only man I knew would never turn me away.

Seconds later, my phone rang.

I answered, my voice already breaking. “Diego…”

“He made you cry again?” he said coldly. “Is that why you’re suddenly trying to divorce him again?”

Shame flooded me. I had tried to leave Rowan before. I had promised Diego before. But I didn’t follow through. I stayed. I chose the man who never chose me. And Diego waited, only to be hurt by my cowardice.

“I mean it this time,” I whispered. “I’m sorry for before, but please… help me again.”

I heard his deep sigh over the line. The kind that sounded like he was holding in more than just disappointment.

“It should’ve been me, Yen,” he said, using the nickname only he and my mother used to call me. “It should’ve been me, so you wouldn’t have to live like this.”

I broke down at the weight of his voice. I wasn’t just hurting, I had hurt him too. I chose Rowan. And now I was paying for it.

“I’ll wait,” he said after a pause. “But after a month, whether you change your mind or not, you’re leaving with me. You’re divorcing him. And you’re marrying me.”

His words were final.

I clutched my chest, looking back toward the room filled with betrayal.

Rowan had his happiness. Why couldn’t I have mine?

“I won’t change my mind, Diego,” I said firmly. “Once the divorce is final, I’m marrying you. I promise.”

If I could love a man like Rowan this deeply… then maybe I could love Diego even more.

And this time, I will choose the man who would choose me back.