“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.
