EPISODE 22%
I woke up to darkness and the cold bite of rope against my wrists.R
My head throbbed. The air smelled faintly of mildew and something sharp, it was metallic. I tried to sit up, but my arms wouldn’t move freely. Panic bloomed as I realized I was tied to a chair, ankles bound, wrists behind me, the coarse rope digging into my skin. Where was I?”
The room was unfamiliar, dimly lit by a single flickering bulb swinging above. The walls were concrete, the window too small, too high. It seems like a cellar or somewhere underground since there was not much light coming from the outside.”
I struggled against the ropes, gritting my teeth, trying to slip a hand free. But it was tied tightly I could even feel it gashing into my skin. I panted tiredly, taking some rest and time to consider my situation.
My heart pounded louder than my thoughts.”
Who would do this to me? Why?
Then the door opened. Lucas stepped inside.}
He looked pristine, his suit sharply pressed, a navy tie knotted at his throat, leather shoes polished to perfection. He smelled faintly of cologne and money. But it was all a mask. Because behind that polished exterior were eyes that burned, not with love, not with anger, but with madness.
“Selene,” he breathed, shutting the door gently behind him, as though this was a casual visit. “I’m sorry.“”
I didn’t answer. I only stared, chest rising and falling with tight, fearful breaths.”
“I had no other choice,” he continued. “You wouldn’t talk to me. You kept running, hiding behind Ulysses, acting like I was the monster when I was just… in love.”
1
He crouched down beside me, his hand reaching toward my cheek. I flinched away.”
love you,” he whispered. “Still. Always. Even after everything, even after you lost our baby, I never stopped. I know we were broken, but we can fix it. We’ll have another child. We’ll start over.”
His voice cracked, lips trembling with sincerity that rang false in my ears.
“You remember how it used to be?” he said, eyes pleading. “You’d kiss me goodbye before I went to work. I’d come home tired, and there you were, smiling, waiting. We were happy, Selene. You were mine.”
“You’re insane,” I said, voice hoarse. “I don’t love you anymore.“\
His jaw tensed. “You’re lying. You’re only saying that because Ulysses is rich. Because he can give you things I can’t yet.”
“I’d never choose you again,” I spat. “Even if you were the last man alive.”
ap Lis
Something snapped in his gaze. A vein pulsed at his temple. “No,” he muttered. “No, you loved me. I’ll make you love me again. You’ll see.”
“You won’t,” I said. “Because the only man I’ll ever love again is Ulysses.”
He let out a roar and punched the wall beside me. Then, just as suddenly, he went eerily still. His lips curled into a smile, slow, cold, unnatural.
“Tell me something, Selene,” he whispered. “Do you think Ulysses loves you the same way?”
“Yes,” I said firmly.”
He leaned closer, breathing, brushing my face. “You sure? Want to prove it?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Right now,” he said, standing upright, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve, “Ulysses is attending the International Alpha Congress. A summit where his presence is crucial. His company depends on it.”
“So, I’ll make a call to him and tell him that you’re kidnapped.” He smirked. “Let’s see if you’re really that important. Let’s see if he walks away from everything just to save you.”
I gritted my teeth. “I know he will.”
Lucas’s eyes glinted. “We’ll see. After all, us Alpha still depends on our position in society. Without it, nothing will matter. Not even their mates.”
I did not believe Lucas. Ulysses promised me that he would protect me no matter what. Yet, three days and two nights had passed. There were no signs of rescue, not even a coming call from Ulysses.
Lucas came in twice a day, gloating, his madness barely contained.
“Face it,” he said on the third morning, “you were just a passing fancy. He has real things to care about. You? You’re just baggage.“}
I refused to let him see me cry.”
Lilith started showing up, too. Silent at first, her eyes narrowed with a hatred she didn’t even try to hide. I could feel it pulsing from her. She wasn’t here for Lucas. She wasn’t here out of loyalty.
She was here because she hated me.”
I saw it in the way her lips twisted, the way her eyes burned whenever she looked at me. It was full of jealousy, as if obsessed with
Volvorcing the Alpha After Betraying Me on Our Anniversary
1/2
706
པ་་་ P་ཅ་༤་ སབ་ ་་ ་་ ་བ ་་་་་ ས་ས་་ས་
you really stand.”
He turned and left.
་vཔྤས–ས་་་༄ ་ད་ས་ཅ་ –་་་ཡུ1་པ ཅིསབ་ ་་༦ ་་་༦ དབས་པ་ ་SI༦.J་ཡ་པ་ ་ད་ ད9ས་་ ས་་སར་བ་ས་iས་Ii༦
I watched him go, heart heavy, breath shallow. Doubt slithered in through the cracks in my hope.”
Why hadn’t Ulysses come?!
Did I make a mistake? Was I wrong about him? I bit my lip to keep the sob down.”
Then… I heard a sound.
The door creaked again. I looked at it, thinking it was Lucas who wanted to taunt me again. Yet, it was Lilith who stepped into the
room.&
She looked… unhinged. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes wide with a manic glint. In her hand gleamed a long, thin blade. She closed the door slowly, locking it behind her. Finally, she smiled.§
“So,” she whispered, tilting her head, “we’re alone.”}
I tensed. “What are you doing?“}
She didn’t answer right away. She walked toward me, almost lazily, the knife dangling from her fingers.”
“I’ve always hated you,” she said in the end. “You always get everything. The looks. The love. The attention. Even Lucas, even when I stopped wanting him, he still wanted you. It’s pathetic.”
I struggled in my chair, heart racing. “Get away from me.“”
She raised the knife, her expression fevered. “You won’t have anything after tonight. I’ll make sure of it.”
She took another step forward.
7
“I’m going to end you now, Selene.”
I thrashed against the ropes with everything I had.”
