When I opened my eyes, the stars had shifted in the night sky.
"Wow... was I out that long?"
My back ached from the cold bench beneath , and the roses overhead no longer looked soft or romantic. For a second, I could not rember how I had gotten there. Then the sting in my chest returned, sharper than before, and I rembered every word Lucas had hurled at .
But it was ok, I had overstepped. He needed ti to think. Whatever it was, we could talk now.
"I’m not having any of it..."
Whispers drifted across the still air. Sounded like they belonged to lingering guests from the party. My mind filled in the sound of glasses clinking and idle gossip. But the longer I listened, the clearer the voices beca. A man’s voice, low and coaxing, laced with desperation. A woman’s voice, tight with anger.
"C’mon babe. You know I’m doing this for us."
I rubbed my temples, half dazed. My first thought, foolish as it was, slipped in before I could stop it. It would be nice if Lucas ever spoke to like that, begging for forgiveness, swearing he would do better.
"Oh Lucas..."
I still loved him, even when every day seed to end in an argunt. Even when he was the worst version of himself. The good monts overshadowed the bad. I told myself it was my fault anyway. I was the one who could not give him children. I was the one who had failed.
But as my sleep daze cleared, and I listened in more, the man’s tone sharpened.
’No, it can’t .’ I whispered in my mind, too scared to say the words out loud.
"Cynthia, please," the voice said, as my stomach dropped.
It was Lucas.
I sat perfectly still, breath caught in my throat, as the woman hissed. "You prefer her to . You want her to be the mother of your children."
Lucas answered without hesitation, his voice smooth but heavy with urgency.
"I told you, I had to keep her under control. She never questioned a thing. I made sure of it."
"What do you an, made sure?"
"I slipped her pills," Lucas said matter-of-factly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "Birth control."
He paused for a couple monts that made doubt what I just heard, then he scoffed. "I even used stronger ones than usual, because she’s the daughter of a wolf. Even if she hasn’t shifted, she’s still a werewolf. Couldn’t risk her body overpowering the dosage."
My hand flew to my stomach. I pressed down as though I might feel the years of lies lodged inside .
He laughed under his breath. "She thought she was barren. Pitiful, really. She blad herself every day, and I let her. Hell, I made her believe it."
My eyes stung, tears gathering faster than I could blink them away. My heart beat so hard I worried he would hear the sound.
Lucas continued, and his words pierced straight through . "She’s worthless, always was. Always will be. I kept her close because of what she offered . Her na, her family, her father’s wealth. The Blackhawk legacy opened doors I would have never touched on my own. That was the point, Cynthia. That’s what you never seed to understand. Love had nothing to do with it."
The roses swayed above , but the world had gone hollow. My breaths ca shallow, ragged, the garden suddenly closing in around .
"I married her for what she could give . Nothing more," he said simply.
I could not sit still any longer. My legs trembled as I pushed myself upright, stepping out of the shadows. My voice cracked before I even ford words.
"Tell it isn’t true, Lucas," I whispered, moving toward him like a child lost in the dark. "Tell you’re just saying this. Please, tell you didn’t an it."
For a heartbeat, his eyes softened, like he might reach for . He even lifted a hand halfway, lips parting. Then his expression shifted, cruel delight replacing every trace of rcy.
"Are you really that pathetic?" he asked.
I stumbled back as the sound echoed in the stillness. My tears blurred him into a figure I barely recognized.
"You never saw it, did you?" Lucas stepped closer, his shadow blotting out the garden light. "Your father’s fortune was mine the mont you ran off with . I built every company in my na. Every contract. Every signature. Yours ant nothing. All that money was funneled into my empire."
My knees weakened but I stayed on my feet. "No. You wouldn’t do that."
His grin widened, mocking. "Yeah... because I already did."
He wrapped his arm around Cynthia’s waist. "Fifty million, siphoned straight from your accounts. And your mother’s little heirloom? That necklace she cherished so much? Sold for thirty million. She would be spinning in her grave if she knew what I bought with it."
The ground tilted. I sank to my knees, palms pressed into the dirt. The tears fell, one after another, hitting the stone at my feet. Each one seed louder than the last.
Lucas and Cynthia approached in slow deliberate steps as they towered above "I should thank you. You found out quicker than I expected. Saves the trouble."
He reached into his jacket and withdrew a folder, dropping it onto the ground beside .
"You were really carrying that with you the entire ti? Oh babyyyy. I love you." Cynthia purred.
"Do yourself a favour and sign those divorce papers." She laughed.
Sothing else slid free from above, landing in the dirt. A cheque.
"Five thousand dollars," Lucas said. "More than you’re worth. Like my baby said, sign the papers, take the money, and get out of my sight."
I shook my head, trembling. "Lucas... please..."
His boot nudged the papers closer. "Don’t make repeat myself."
The garden blurred as my tears doubled. He turned his back before I could answer, already finished with , already walking with Cynthia back to the party.
And in that mont, with nothing but the night air pressing against my skin and the weight of his betrayal crushing my chest, I realized I had lost everything.
I had no money, no family, no love.
Lucas had taken it all, and left with nothing but the clothes on my back.
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