Chapter 2

That evening, Ethan actually returned to the manor by seven—a rare occurrence.

When he walked in, I had just finished an online interview with a company in the human city. The hiring manager was very impressed and wanted me to start next week.

"Next week? Do you have plans next week?"

I calmly closed my laptop and came up with a random excuse without missing a beat.

"Nothing major. Just meeting up with a friend for dinner."

Ethan nodded, not thinking much of it. He took off his coat, draped it over a chair, and raised an eyebrow when he noticed the cake in the trash.

"Still throwing a fit? Over something so small?"

I replied flatly, "I'm not mad."

Ethan scoffed, clearly not believing me.

"Not mad? Then why did you throw the whole cake away?"

"Honestly, you're almost thirty. Why are you still acting like a teenager obsessed with sweets? It's not even a special occasion, yet you went out of your way to buy a cake. I think you're just—"

He stopped mid-sentence. His eyes had caught the digital candle shaped like the number "3" sitting in the trash.

He stared at it for a long moment, then slowly looked up at me, hesitating.

"Today is... our third anniversary?"

He didn't even remember.

Feeling guilty, Ethan rubbed the back of his neck and stepped closer, softening his tone.

"Emily, I'm sorry. The pack business has been so crazy lately that it slipped my mind. And about this afternoon... I really was just talking business with her. You're overthinking things."

Over the years, Ethan had mastered this push-and-pull tactic. He would hurt me, then throw me a bone. It was classic gaslighting, keeping me on a leash.

But that trick only worked when I was still in love with him.

A shattered heart doesn't flutter anymore.

I turned my head away, avoiding his touch.

"It's fine. Go back to your work. The pack comes first."

Ethan froze. Annoyance flashed across his face, but he suppressed it and pulled a small jewelry box from behind his back.

"Look, Olivia was worried you’d be upset, so she wanted to give you this to make peace. It's a piece from her own collection that she rarely wears. See if you like it."

He opened the box to reveal a lotus-shaped necklace. Most of the tiny diamonds on the petals were already missing.

I took one look and snapped the box shut.

"I don't want it."

Just an hour ago, Olivia had posted a picture of a brand-new, glittering gemstone necklace on the pack's private SnapChat stories.

Her caption read: *Traded a piece of junk from my closet for a gorgeous new necklace! Alpha Ethan is the best!*

Being rejected by me repeatedly finally snapped Ethan's patience.

"Emily, my patience has limits! Do you really have to be this petty with a young girl?"

"Olivia is a pack administrator now. She’s busy every day, yet she still took the time to worry about your feelings. Why can’t you learn from her and stop making me lose my temper?"

The "young girl" Ethan spoke of was only two years younger than me.

But in his eyes, Olivia was an innocent, talented, and hardworking young werewolf.

And I was just a nagging, useless human Luna who did nothing but lounge around the manor all day.

The memory of the woman who had used her entire family's fortune to save his pack's finances had long since faded from his mind.