My heart turned to ice.
Muttering some excuse about needing the bathroom, I slipped out.
Alpha Yuri and I were childhood sweethearts, a perfect match on paper.
But the fiery, all-consuming love story of his youth?
That wasn't with me.
Unlike my doting, loyal parents, his dad was a notorious playboy.
His mom screamed, fought, begged, but it didn't matter. She ended up jumping off a building.
His dad formed a new bond in a heartbeat, bringing along a stepson just a few months younger than Alpha Yuri.
I knew Alpha Yuri carried a burning rage inside him.
He poured every ounce of it into clawing his way up, diving headfirst into the cutthroat world of business after graduation.
It didn't take long for him to make a name for himself.
He was brilliant, magnetic, and of course, she-wolves threw themselves at him, some subtle, some shameless.
But he always brushed them off with the same icy line:
"I don't have time for that."
Then he met Willa.
Not only did he go all-in, proclaiming his love for the world to see, he made her his assistant,
the two of them practically glued at the hip.
I stayed in the shadows, swallowing the ache in my chest.
Their romance didn't even last a year.
His dad died suddenly, the company's core secrets were leaked, and it nearly went under.
His stepmom, meanwhile, took those secrets and started her own rival firm.
Alpha Yuri quickly figured out Willa was the mole, sent by his stepmom to get close and steal everything.
She even sent him a video of Willa's bond abroad.
Alpha Yuri spiraled, completely broken.
When I tracked him down, he was getting pummeled by debt collectors, battered and bloody.
I threw myself in front of them, sobbing, emptied my wallet, every last dollar,
and swore I'd help him pay it all back.
That night, under the flickering hallway light, Alpha Yuri sat on the floor for hours.
Finally, he staggered to his feet.
I reached to steady him, but he shoved me away.
"I don't need your pity."
I held on, stubborn, staring into his haunted eyes.
"Alpha Yuri, let me help you."
Back then, I just couldn't stand seeing someone so talented, so proud, fall so low.
I wasn't thinking about anything else.
But he sneered, "What, you want me to sell my soul to you?"
I froze, and before I could say a word, he walked away without looking back.
I helped him anyway.
I poured my savings into his ventures, lined up clients, built his reputation.
His company started to recover.
And he... he started to soften toward me.
Eventually, he proposed.
No grand gesture, no flowery vows.
Just a quiet night, when he pressed a warm ring into my palm.
I stared at it, stunned, then burst into tears, overwhelmed with joy.
I thought we'd made it.
I thought we'd grow old together, side by side, unshakable.
Little did I know, our story had a leading lady named Willa.
The bullet comments keep saying I'm just a stepping stone for their epic reunion, a throwaway villain to push their love story forward.
But why?
Why should my years of loyalty, my sacrifices,
clear the path for her so-called "destiny"?
Why does Willa get to waltz in with her "main-character" halo and tear our life apart like it's her right?
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, eyes stinging with unshed tears, and wiped them away.
I'm not done.
No one gets to kick me out of this game but me.
I stepped out of the bathroom, the comments went berserk.
[Can the side chick just get lost? I'm here for the main couple's swoony romance, not her mopey face!]
[Clown show incoming! Male lead's about to confess his love in front of everyone-so sweet it's gonna give me cavities!]
I squeezed my eyes shut, pretending I couldn't see them.
