Chapter 3

Victoria POV

I took a taxi and followed them to the Silver Crest Pack's packhouse. Emma's car had just stopped at the entrance.

I paid and walked in after her.

Honestly, I rarely came here.

I had my own work to handle.

And Michael's company was doing well.

Most of Silver Crest Pack's young wolves chose to work at the company and live in the city.

Those who stayed at the pack were mostly Omegas and some young children.

Plus some warriors necessary to protect the pack.

Michael and I were too busy to touch the ground, so all these people were managed and cared for by the Elder Luna.

I followed her to a building that looked like a clinic.

Walking in, I saw a boy lying in one of the hospital rooms. It was Alex.

His face was pale, his leg covered with some kind of medicinal paste.

Michael was yelling at a healer.

"Why did he suddenly run to the forest and step in a trap? Is this how you watch him?!"

I recognized the healer too. He was the one who healed my burns.

"Michael, calm down! His injury is fine." He tried to reason with him. "Besides, what's the point of yelling at me?!"

I hid behind the wall, my heart growing colder the more I listened.

"I told you from the start—if you only want a child, you shouldn't have kept Emma around! And now? The kid runs out looking for her every time she leaves, and you don't have the heart to be firm. What kind of situation is this?"

"Victoria is my Luna, but the pack can't be without an heir." Michael's voice was weary. "Besides, Emma is my fated mate. My wolf can't lose her."

So this was the whole truth.

He couldn't lose my business support, and he didn't want to reject his fated mate.

Perhaps that would mean losing something.

I knew that when werewolves Mark their fated mates, they become stronger.

So conversely, maybe rejecting one's fated mate would weaken him?

Just then, the hospital room door opened.

Emma walked in carrying a cup of water, her eyes red. The moment she saw the child in the bed, tears fell.

"It's all my fault... it's all my fault for not taking good care of Alex..." She cried with her shoulders shaking, looking especially pitiful.

Michael softened. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, comforting her gently: "It's not your fault. Alex is our child. I'll heal him."

Those five words—"our child"—hit my heart like a sledgehammer.

Emma leaned against him, sobbing: "Michael, I know I shouldn't expect anything. As long as I can stay with Alex while he grows up, I'll be content..."

Michael was moved by her words. He lifted his hand and wiped away her tears with his thumb.

The gesture was intimately painful to watch.

I clenched my palms, nails digging into my flesh, but I felt no pain.

The pain in my heart had already overwhelmed everything else.

I turned and left, my footsteps numb.

Outside, it had started snowing again at some point.

Snowflakes landed on my face and melted, ice cold. I couldn't tell if it was snow or tears.

I returned to the company soaking wet.

The receptionist stood up in alarm when she saw my disheveled state.

"Miss Victoria, what happened? Should I call Mr. Michael? He'll be heartbroken seeing you like this."

To others, this would sound perfectly normal. To me, it was the ultimate irony.

Heartbroken?

He was heartbroken over another woman right now.

I didn't say anything. I walked straight into the conference room and locked the door.

I leaned against the door, my body slowly sliding down.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I buried my face in my knees and cried out loud.

I thought I'd already gone numb, but seeing that family of three with my own eyes, I completely broke down anyway.

Nine years of feelings, all those moments of life and death together... none of it was his true heart.

He didn't want to lose anything, so he kept two women on the side.

I don't know how long I cried. Only after my tears ran dry did I support myself against the wall and stand up.

I walked into the restroom in the break room. Looking at myself in the mirror—eyes swollen red, face deathly pale—I suddenly laughed.

What was the point of crying?

I changed into a spare business suit and transformed back into that lofty business elite.

The dozens of messages and missed calls from Michael on my phone—I didn't even look at them.

In the evening, I dragged my exhausted body back to that gorgeous manor villa.

I'd already decided. Tonight I would pack my things and leave.

But when I pushed open the door, I saw Emma and Alex sitting in my living room.