Chapter 5

Aisling had her arms around Caius's waist, her whole body leaning into his embrace.

I furiously pulled them apart and glared at Caius. "Is this what you do when I'm not around? Holding and hugging her?"

Aisling came over to pull at me. "Talia, I had too much to drink. Don't misunderstand—"

I shook off her hand and glared at her. "Don't touch me! Homewrecker!"

I hadn't used much force, but she cried out delicately and fell to the ground.

"Talia! What's wrong with you?"

Caius roughly shoved me aside and helped Aisling up with concern, carefully checking her over.

My lower back hit the corner of the table. The pain brought tears to my eyes.

Aisling's eyes were red as she held back tears.

"It's all my fault. Please don't fight because of me..."

Caius rushed to comfort her. "It has nothing to do with you. She's the one having a breakdown."

Then he turned to me, his voice cold. "Talia, I've told you so many times—Aisling's mother asked me on her deathbed to take care of her."

"Do you have any idea how hard it is for her to raise a child alone? You're both women. How can you be so cruel as to call her a homewrecker?"

The look he gave me was icy, even carrying a hint of disgust.

"My patience with you has limits. Know when to stop."

"Don't make me regret marrying you."

The moment those words left his mouth, my ears started ringing.

I looked at Caius in disbelief.

I wanted to say, "You're my husband, Talia's husband. How can you take an outsider's side?"

I wanted to say, "Aisling shows off and provokes me every time. Don't you know that?"

I wanted to tell him about Aisling's true face on the phone earlier.

But something was stuck in my throat. After a long time, all I could say was, "Then let's divorce. We'll break the mate bond."

The moment it came out, I suddenly felt liberated.

I didn't even want to bother with Aisling's gloating expression.

Caius froze for a moment, then laughed mockingly. "Talia, besides threatening divorce, what else can you do? Is fighting for attention and being jealous all your life amounts to?"

With that, he helped Aisling leave.

That day, I sat in the living room until dawn.

It wasn't until Lily started crying that I realized my legs were covered in blood.

Only then did I learn that my recent drowsiness was because I was pregnant again.

And by the time I realized it, I had already miscarried.

The second child who came quietly had left just as quietly.

A week later, Caius and I broke our mate bond and signed divorce papers along with custody and property division documents. I got custody of Lily.

Later, my father suddenly fell critically ill. The doctor said he'd been poisoned with wolf's bane, which could only be purchased from witches.

My father was just an ordinary wolf who lived an honest life. I had no idea who would want to harm him.

Despite several attempts to save him, he passed away.

I used what little savings I had left to arrange his funeral.

I tried to find work, but for some reason, no company would hire me. Many companies notified me of employment only to reverse their decision and reject me.

With no other options, I could only take on various odd jobs for meager wages.

Just like that, I went from being the esteemed Luna to a single mother living in a low-income neighborhood.

Lily suffered a lot because of me.

I woke up crying from nightmares countless times, regretting that I had ruined her life.

This time, I wouldn't fight with Caius over jealousy again.

As long as I could provide a good life for myself and Lily, even if Caius found ten more "Aislings," I would turn a blind eye.