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.

“Have you cooked breakfast already?” That was the first thing he said to me this morning.

They were holding each other’s hands like a married couple in front of me. How ironic. I had no plans of running into them, but they woke up early. I didn’t expect that.

I cooked their breakfast and ate mine. I don’t want to sit and eat with them.

“I did. You can eat now,” I said.

“Thank you, sis,” my sister replied, looking at me with triumph. At first, I didn’t understand why. I thought it was because of what happened last night between them. But when my eyes moved to her body, I realized she was wearing my dress.

“Oh, sorry. I had to wear this because last night I couldn’t walk anymore. I got so limp, he made me so tired. Rowan asked me to wear this dress of yours. Is it okay?” she asked, pretending to be innocent.

“It’s okay, Dea. I will have someone buy her new clothes,” Rowan said. “Tons of it in exchange for that.”

“No, it’s okay. I actually planned to burn that dress since it’s old and overused. I see it as trash. She can have it if she wants. Everything inside that drawer is hers now,” I answered coldly.

I saw Dea’s face contort in shock, anger, and embarrassment. All because I called her someone who happily accepts my trash.

“I’ll change before breakfast, love,” she said quickly and turned her back, trying to save herself. “I have to wear something else.”

That left me alone with Rowan. I was about to head back to my room when he spoke again.

“I have a party to attend later. I want you to come with me,” he said.

I froze in surprise and looked at him. “Why?”

He never brought me to any parties as his wife, only as the gamma. We were always separate, only together during project events. And now…

“Of course you’ll be there. You’re the gamma. You know all about my project, right? Don’t overdress. Stay unnoticed. You have to attend. Don’t give me your drama,” he said before walking away.

Another obligation. See? He will never want to be seen with me and let the city know I’m his wife. To him, I am just the gamma. But I’m resigned. If only he knew.

I had no choice but to follow his orders. I used the driver’s car that night because he left early. I didn’t know why. I didn’t even ask. But when I arrived at the venue at the same time as his car, I saw he wasn’t alone.

In his arms, my sister clung to him tightly, flashing a smile and overdressed. He told me to wear plain clothes to stay unnoticed while he flaunted his mistress.

“Stay behind us always,” he told me once I approached.

I rolled my eyes, and Dea saw it. She responded with a smirk before they walked toward the entrance. Their arrival was announced and applauded. Mine was dismissed and ignored.

“Alpha, this way is your seat. We heard you’re married, so we prepared one for your wife too,” one of the greeters said.

I knew he’d dismiss the wife part and reject the seat. He always did. So my eyes started looking for my own chair.

“Yes, thank you.”

Surprised, I turned to him because he never accepted a seat for me. I wasn’t planning to sit there even if he wanted me to. But when I saw Dea sitting on it, a smirk on her lips, I turned away so they wouldn’t see my face flush in disappointment.

Never did I sit in that wife’s chair. But his mistress could. A lump formed in my throat. I found myself heading to the restroom.

But I hadn’t been there long when Dea followed me.

“Look who’s here,” she taunted. “Even your real parents and your husband won’t choose you over me, right?”

She reapplied her bright red lipstick and kept throwing remarks at me.

“Bye, loser,” she said, sticking her tongue out before leaving me there.

I cried again. The anxiety was eating me up, so I stayed in the restroom longer. But when I finally returned, I didn’t expect to find a cheerful party anymore. The curtains were already burning, and everyone was in chaos.

Panic rose in me, especially when the ceiling looked like it would collapse. I had to run for my life. People were screaming at the entrance and exit. They were pushing each other.

I walked and ran, desperate to escape. But I got stuck in the crowd. I was shoved multiple times, bodies colliding into me, arms slamming against different parts of mine.

I could hardly breathe, but my eyes searched for Rowan. I couldn’t find him anymore.

Tears fell from my eyes as the realization sank in. They were gone. He must have saved Dea first and left me. He didn’t even try to go back. He didn’t even send someone to look for me.

“Argh!” I cried when someone’s heel stomped on my foot and another elbow hit my stomach.

My vision blurred. The noise faded. My body grew cold as my stomach throbbed and something inside felt like it was being pulled out of me. Until finally, darkness pulled me in. No one came to save me. No husband arrived to rescue me from the burning building or the panicking crowd.

No one.