Chapter 2

Elias came home.

His expression was as coolly indifferent as always.

I still couldn't help asking.

"Elias, you're coming to judge the assessment at our school?"

Elias looked up at my voice.

He met my eyes briefly, his expression neutral, and gave a soft "mm."

I continued asking:

"Why did you suddenly want to come judge at our school?"

I said in a joking tone:

"Will you give me special treatment?"

Elias's brow furrowed slightly, his expression serious.

There wasn't a hint of amusement in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, he said:

"This was a decision made by the school's leadership."

"The promotion slot isn't decided by me alone."

The implication was that even though I was his wife, it wouldn't work.

I didn't pursue the question further.

He was always this cold and distant, with his own principles and logic, never willing to make exceptions for me.

And I always foolishly hoped to be his exception.

Elias turned and left, going into his study.

The study door wasn't closed tightly.

I could hear him talking on the phone.

The voice on the other end was Circe's.

Elias occasionally laughed softly in response to Circe.

After hanging up, he pushed open the study door.

He walked to the entryway and casually grabbed his coat from the rack.

Putting on his coat and changing into dress shoes.

He straightened up and said to me:

"I have some work tonight. I'm going out for a bit."

I nodded.

Elias was extremely handsome, with deep-set features, a high nose bridge, and thin lips.

Under his dark coat was a well-fitted suit that made his figure even more striking.

He disappeared through the front door.

He came home very late that night.

The question I wanted to ask stuck in my throat after I saw Circe's Instagram post.

Circe's post was a group photo.

The photo showed four people: Circe, Elias, and two of their high school classmates.

Seeing this photo, I thought that question didn't need to be asked.

I had wanted to ask Elias whether he would favor Circe—I thought he would.

In the past, I was used to leaving a light on for Elias when he worked late.

Now, I turned off the light and slept soundly.

When I woke up, Elias and I didn't run into each other. We each went to school separately.

Everyone at our school put Circe on a pedestal, revolving around her.

Everyone knew that if it weren't for Circe, Elias wouldn't have chosen our school.

The fact that Circe and I didn't get along was my problem.

My colleagues only needed to care about their year-end bonuses and getting their work done on time.

Today Elias appeared at school as the assessment judge.

The principal called Circe over.

When Circe came back, everyone's eyes were on her.

"Circe, is Alpha Elias strict?"

Circe's lips curved slightly, her answer ambiguous and suggestive.

"Elias and I have known each other for quite a while. He's not strict."

"Everyone can relax."

Several people exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

I had already clicked the link and read through Circe and Elias's love story.

If I weren't Elias's wife, I too would sigh about how beautiful young love was.

Unfortunately, seeing the romantic story compiled by Elias and Circe's schoolmates, I could only read heartache into it.

Circe still had a social media account from high school that hadn't been deleted.

It was full of her recorded relationship moments.

I couldn't help scrolling through all these posts.

The more I read, the more I realized Elias had truly loved her.

Elias would patiently read every single one of her posts, then comment and like them.

Elias had been the one to pursue Circe.

The only reason I could be with Elias was because we were fated mates. When Elias wasn't yet Alpha, marrying his fated mate was a powerful advantage for becoming the next Alpha.

When I learned that Elias's ex-girlfriend was Circe, a flash of pleasure crossed my mind, feeling a sense of revenge against Circe.

But I quickly realized I had lost completely.

Elias still had Circe in his heart. Even though I had the Moon Goddess's attraction for him, it couldn't compare to the feeling Circe gave him. To me, this was complete and utter humiliation.

This allowed Circe to get one up on me again.