Chapter 3

After being drenched on the balcony all afternoon yesterday, I developed a high fever in the middle of the night.

I forced myself up to look for fever medicine.

In my haze, I sensed someone approaching.

I struggled to open my eyes and saw Jasmine looking down at me, contempt curling at her lips.

"Serena, you look just like a stray dog right now. If I had not left the pack back then, do you think Lucian would ever have made you his Luna?"

As if thinking of something, she laughed shyly. "But it doesn't matter. Lucian only loves me now. He even said he would make me his Luna sooner or later. And your son only recognizes me as his mother."

"A Luna living like you might as well smash her head against a wall and die."

Fury cleared my head a little. Seeing that she still wanted to speak, I raised my hand and slapped her again.

Jasmine's lips curved. Then she fell straight backward, right into Lucian's arms as he opened the door.

She cried in his embrace like a fragile flower in the rain. "Lucian, I was only worried Serena was still angry, so I came to see her. But she hit me again..."

She clutched her chest. "It hurts so much. She hit me twice in a row. Am I going to die?"

Lucian's face darkened. He grabbed my throat with one hand.

"Serena! Do you know Jasmine is sick right now? You hurt her again and again. This is murder."

As I suddenly lost air, my brain buzzed.

Only when I was about to suffocate did he finally let go.

He glared at me viciously. "Can you not be kinder? Jasmine finally came back from the hospital, and you are determined not to let her have peace."

With that, he was about to carry Jasmine to the hospital again. This time, Jasmine stopped him, coaxing him with soft words until he carried her into the master bedroom instead.

Not long after, suggestive sounds came from the room.

The sharp pain from the mate bond confirmed that they were cheating.

My fever climbed higher. My heart and stomach burned with pain.

I crouched for a long time before I finally found fever medicine and swallowed it.

Fortunately, because of Jasmine, they did not come home for several days. I enjoyed a rare stretch of peace.

But soon, new trouble arrived.

The schoolteacher called, saying Caleb had gotten into a fight at school.

I called Lucian.

He hung up immediately.

I pressed my lips together and sent a text.

"Caleb got into trouble at school. Go check on him."

"I am busy."

After that, there was no more response.

Just like every time before, whenever something happened to Caleb, the Alpha was always invisible.

This time, if he would not go, then none of us would go.

But I miscalculated one thing.

The school had my phone number on file.

After being bombarded with calls, I could no longer work on my design drafts. In the end, I had to go out.

But as soon as I arrived at the school, I saw Jasmine standing beside Caleb.

Two mothers appeared at once, leaving the teacher confused.

Caleb pointed at me and shouted in front of everyone, "She is not my mom. She is my family's Omega servant."

Then he pressed himself affectionately against Jasmine.

"This is my mom."

Jasmine smiled and stroked his head, looking at me with smug satisfaction.

"Serena, why don't you go back? I am here."

I stood there, almost numb as I looked at the two people who seemed so close.

Fine.

Since he had already chosen.

From now on, Jasmine would be his mother.

"Caleb, you are right. From now on, Jasmine is your mother. I will pretend I never gave birth to you."

---

In the following days, I lived in that house like a transparent person.

I locked myself in my room and spent every day buried in design drafts.

Lydia told me something.

Jasmine's medical records were fake.

I closed my eyes and recalled Jasmine's behavior during this time. In truth, her lies were clumsy. It was only Lucian's love that covered them for her, making him choose to ignore every flaw.

I quietly put the evidence away, planning to give it to Lucian as a farewell gift before I left.

Perhaps he had grown used to my cold anger, because Lucian seemed uncomfortable with my current silence. For once, he took some time away from Jasmine to accompany me, sending flowers and gifts as if we had returned to the days when we were dating.

Back then, he said Lucian Blackwood would love Serena White for his entire life.

But an entire life was too short.

It had not even lasted eight years.

And now, I would no longer expect that laughable love.

On my birthday, Lucian said he had a surprise for me.

His gift did count as a surprise.

It was a divorce agreement.

Lucian's face was ashen. "Jasmine's condition has worsened. During treatment, a family member needs to sign for her. Serena, let us divorce first. I promise, once Jasmine gets through this, we will remarry immediately."

Afraid I would refuse, he explained again and again and swore in the name of the Moon Goddess.

But he did not need to.

I would definitely sign this divorce agreement.

Of course, before signing, I demanded that all assets be transferred under my name.

Lucian frowned for once, but he was afraid I would change my mind. In the end, he said nothing and signed freely.

I looked at Caleb beside him. "Who are you going with?"

Caleb snorted, his eyes full of disdain. "My surname is Blackwood. Of course I am going with Dad. We are the real family."

With that, he made a few faces at me, then ran to Lucian and took his hand.

I nodded. "Last time at school, you said Jasmine was your mother. You were right. You finally got what you wanted. Congratulations."

I ignored their reactions, put the divorce agreement into my bag, and went back to pack.

Since getting married, I had devoted all my thoughts to father and son. I owned very few things of my own.

In less than ten minutes, I finished packing and left the place where I had lived for eight years.

Meanwhile, Lucian looked at the divorce certificate in his hand, and a dull pain spread through his chest.

He felt as though he had lost something important.

But when he looked at Jasmine's smiling face on his phone screen, he forced himself to take comfort.

“She loves me so much.”

“No matter how awful I am, she will endure it.”

“This time will be the same.”

“She is only throwing a few tantrums. How could she really leave me?”

But when he returned home and saw that the house had clearly been packed up, Lucian's face went white. It was as if all the blood in his body had frozen.

Like a madman, he rushed into my room.

On the desk, he found only the "gift" I had left him.

The evidence that the cancer diagnosis was fake.

Lucian's hand trembled as he held it.

He threw the stack of papers straight into Jasmine's face, hitting her hard enough to hurt.

Jasmine froze. When she saw what was in the documents, she collapsed onto the floor.

"Lucian, it is not like that... listen to me... I just loved you too much..."

But Lucian could no longer hear her.

All he knew was that this time, I truly did not want him anymore.