Chapter 7
When my plane landed in Gravesend, my best friend Thalia was already waiting at the gate. She pulled me into a tight hug.
“Welcome, Corinna. This is the beginning of your new life.”
The tears I’d been holding back for so long finally burst free.
Thalia seemed startled. “Corinna, are you really sure you don’t regret rejecting the mate bond with Dorian?”
I didn’t blame her for asking. Ever since I told her I was going to reject Dorian, she’d been too stunned to speak.
Dorian and I were each other’s first loves. We’d acknowledged each other as mates and had been together ever since. For six years, we were the golden couple–still wrapped up in each other, like we were falling in love all over again every day.
Everyone envied us.
Even mated couples in turmoil would come ask me how we kept our bond so stable.
Back then, I’d always smile and share every little tip I’d learned.
People used to say I could write a whole book called How to Stay in Love with Your Alpha Forever.
And yet the one who taught others how to maintain a perfect mate bond…
Had failed to keep her own.
Thalia tried to reason with me. “Didn’t you always say perfect Alphas don’t exist? Even if he’s been injured, even if his memory’s been altered… you can’t just abandon him like this. I don’t believe he really forgot the kind of love and vows you two shared.”
Yeah.
I didn’t believe it either.
Until I told her the truth.
Then she got so mad she almost booked the next flight back to tear Dorian and that Omega apart with her bare hands.
I stopped her immediately.
“He’s not worth another second of my time,” I said with eerie calm. “Trust me, he’s going to love the gift I left him!”
Thalia didn’t believe I could actually bring myself to retaliate against Dorian.
So I told her everything
About the pregnancy.
The miscarriage.
And how, after it all, I was still forced to donate blood to Selina.
Her eyes welled with tears. She hugged me tight, and right there, in the middle of a crowded airport, we cried our hearts out.
When we finally stopped, she became even more determined to fly back and beat the hell out of that bastard.
“Corinna,” she said through gritted teeth, “if he doesn’t love you, that ‘gift‘ you left him won’t even count as revenge!”
That was exactly why I hadn’t told her earlier–because I knew she’d lose control.
Just then, a livestream notification popped up on my phone.
Someone I might know was currently live.
Trying to distract her, I tapped into it without thinking.
Chapter 7
70.00%
And then-
It was Dorian and Selina’s mating ceremony.
I reflexively went to exit the stream, but Thalia had already seen it.
She snatched the phone from me, fuming.
“This asshole Alpha! He promised to mark you, and now he’s turning around to mark some other Omega? What, was he just playing with you this whole time?!”
I gave a bitter smile.
I even started to wonder–had those six years of love I held so dearly all been just my wishful thinking?
Thankfully, I was gone now.
And Dorian would never get the chance to hurt me again.
Thalia was still fuming. She whipped out her own phone and rallied a small army of our mutual friends.
One by one, they stormed into the livestream chat, flooding the screen with venom.
To avoid getting flagged or banned by the platform, they got creative with their insults–sharp, sarcastic, passive–aggressive masterpieces.
And honestly, it felt great.
Then came the moment when Dorian and Selina were supposed to exchange rings.
Suddenly, a Beta rushed onto the stage and whispered something in Dorian’s ear.
Dorian froze.
Then turned toward the camera, his eyes wide with excitement.
“Corinna! I know you’re watching this!” he shouted.
“This mating ceremony with Selina—it’s fake! I only planned it because I couldn’t find you. This was the only way to reach you! Corinna, my original personality is back!”
“Corinna, the man who loved you more than anything is back!”
“Do you still remember this wedding dress? I’m waiting for you to come back, put it on, and become my Luna.”
He took a wedding dress from the Beta’s hands and began describing it. How he’d designed it. What inspired him. How each detail symbolized his love for me.
Every word from his mouth was soaked in longing.
And all I felt was disgust.
If he really loved me, why did he betray me right before we were supposed to seal our bond?
If he really loved me, why did he abandon me during the miscarriage?
If he really loved me, why did he force me to donate blood to another Omega while I was still bleeding from losing our child?
If he really loved me, why did he bring Selina back to our home and sleep with her in our bed?
Ithe really loved me, why did he give Selina the wedding ring he designed for me?
