Chapter 2 of I'm not a Third Wheel anymore

My world crumbled after reading the text. At that moment, I realized over vows had become meaningless and my care and sacrifices meant nothing to him. He could easily break everything for a moment of pleasure with his childhood sweetheart.

Ryan was still sleeping when I got ready for my office. Today, I walked into the office with a sense of determination. My personal life was crumbling, but I refused to let it affect my work.

As I settled at my desk, my werewolf colleague, Rachel, approached me with an unexpected surprise l. "Jenna, remember what you told me a few days ago?"

I was confused while she continued, “That you were brought to this pack from Los Angeles. I told you I have connections there and guess what? I have found your real family. You are not an orphan, Jenna. You have a family in the Blue Moon Pack.”

“I know you didn't want to find your family but I kept looking for it. But, don’t you want to visit them once?” She added in an excited voice, “I have heard our company is opening a branch there. If you want I can recommend you working in that branch.”

I nodded without hesitation. "I'd be grateful for the opportunity."

Rachel was surprised with my quick response. It's because I was never interested in looking for my real family before. I was happy with my life with Ryan. Since they abandoned me in childhood, I no longer cared about them in my adulthood. But, at this moment I wanted to escape from the situation I was currently in no matter how.

Rachel looked up at me suspiciously as she asked, “Jenna, is everything okay? How did your Anniversary celebration go? You worked over time for three days just to get leave early last night. I thought you would come late in the morning but you came earlier than usual. Did you fight with your husband?”

Fight?

For a fight, two people needed to be present at the same time. But, Ryan was never available for me to even have an argument with him.

I forced a smile, saying," We are just fine. Don't worry about me."

Just then my phone buzzed, breaking the moment. It was my husband, Ryan.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked in a casual tone.

"Just work," I replied in a flat voice.

"Did you forget our anniversary dinner plans?" he asked, his voice tinged with guilt.

I bit my lips to hold myself back. Ryan had forgotten our last three anniversaries. His mentioning of our anniversary was a surprise to me.

"No, I didn't forget," I said flatly. "But I did see the photo of you and Emily on social media."

Ryan didn't say anything for a while. He then replied, as if coming up with a good excuse, "That was just a client dinner, Jenna. Don't misinterpret it into something else."

I sighed before speaking in a sarcastic voice, "I believe you, Ryan. The client teased you two as a couple and in the heat of a moment you two became too close to get clicked intimately with each other. But, it was only to impress the client. I know"

The line went silent. Having nothing to say, he hung up. That was how he was. He never bothered explaining himself or seeking forgiveness. He would just walk off the conversation, leaving me stressed the whole day thinking about it.

The same day, Ryan''s mother invited me to dinner. I was surprised with her sudden invitation. She never liked me because I was just an orphan. She always wanted to see Emily as her daughter-in-law because of her Alpha blood. But, it was a calculated move to ease tensions.

As soon as I reached there my gaze fell on Emily who was standing in the kitchen, laughing with Ryan’s mother. Ryan was also there, laughing along with them, looking like a family of three.

I stared at them from afar until Ryan noticed my presence. He walked up to me and said, "Hey, sorry about last night. I got you a gift."

He handed me a small box. There was a beautiful ring shining brightly inside. The pattern and the color of the ring reminded me of the necklace Emily was wearing in the picture she shared on social media. It had the same design. The ring was probably a set with the necklace. Ryan gifted the necklace to his sweetheart and chose to coax me with the ring that came along with it for free. I smiled ironically before saying in a hollow voice, "Thanks. It's as beautiful as Emily’s necklace.”

My words left Ryan in a daze. He immediately moved his eyes off me, trying to hide his deception.

The dinner was ready and the guests were waiting in the dining hall. I excused myself to help Ryan's mother. But, she stopped me, saying,"Oh, Jenna, let Emily serve. She's practically a family."

So, I was not?

Emily began putting dishes on the dining table. Without saying anything, Ryan stood up and began helping Emily. His friends winked at them, teasing them for being too caring to each other. One of his friends even dared to say, “ I wish I had a husband like Ryan who helps his partner in household chores.”

I smiled sarcastically at this before adding, “ Then you shouldn't wish your husband to be like Ryan because he never helped me in household chores.”

My words shut everyone’s mouth, making them realize he was my husband, not Emily's.