When I mentioned my mother’s painting, Taylor's expression softened slightly.
I knew he was remembering the time when the Medina Pack had fallen into ruin.
Back then, Taylor had been stripped of his Alpha authority, reduced to a mere shadow of his former self. He was consumed by despair, drowning himself in whiskey night after night. The pack’s funds were drained, and even the loyal Omegas abandoned us.
One night, Taylor drank himself into a stupor and didn’t wake for three days. Terrified, I sold my mother’s painting—her most cherished possession—to afford a healer for him.
Later, when the pack recovered and I managed to buy the painting back, Taylor was both shocked and remorseful. He almost knelt before me, swearing his gratitude.
He was moved that I had loved him enough to sacrifice something so precious.
And he was angry at himself for letting his grief consume him.
For a while, after that, Taylor treated me with unparalleled tenderness.
I believed we were bound by more than just the mate bond—that we truly loved each other.
But that was before Louise Bennett.
Now, I clung to the last shred of hope, desperate for Taylor to show some semblance of the man I once thought he was.
Taylor’s guilt flickered across his face.
“Louise didn’t mean to,” he said, his voice low. “I’ll find someone to restore the painting for you.”
Before he could finish, Louise suddenly collapsed, her body going limp.
Taylor’s eyes widened, and he turned to rush to her side.
I stepped in front of him, my chest heaving like a broken bellows, my voice trembling with rage.
“She destroyed my mother’s painting. She doesn’t get to walk away!”
Taylor’s expression darkened, and he shoved me aside, his Alpha tone cutting through the air like a blade.
“Eden, it’s just a painting! I can get you a hundred more! But if you’re willing to risk Louise’s life over something so trivial, you’re even more selfish than I thought.”
I stood frozen, his words like claws to my heart.
Mom, I whispered silently, tears blurring my vision. I was wrong.
No matter what I do, I’ll never be enough in his eyes.
Not when Louise is there.
And just like that, my heart shattered into pieces.
