Chapter 2

Elowen's POV

"Divorce?" Soren let out a mocking scoff. "Elowen, do you think threatening me with divorce will force me to snatch Iris away from Seraphine and give her back to you?"

His eyes were as cold as ice. "Without me, what the hell are you? A lowly Omega. Have you forgotten that if I hadn't saved you, you would have been played to death in my father Alaric's bed?"

My breath hitched.

"My mother tolerates no threats. She would never have let a slut who seduced an Alpha live. If it weren't for me, my mother Melissa would have poisoned you long ago!" Soren mercilessly tore open my deepest scars. "And now you want a divorce? Do you even have the right?"

He married me but never left a mating mark on my neck.

I swung my right hand hard and slapped his cheek.

"Soren Vane, you disgust me." I trembled, staring at the man I had loved for seven years. "Where is the man who protected me, who fought his entire family and refused to let go even with broken ribs? What have you turned into!"

Back in the main Vane family—the Ironcrest pack now led by Julian—I was brutally bullied for being an Omega. It was Soren who protected me, broke ties with his father Alaric and mother Melissa, left the main pack to create Duskmoor, and swore to love only me for the rest of his life.

Because of that profound love, even when I was tortured after giving birth to Iris, I gritted my teeth and endured.

I thought he was my salvation.

But right now, facing my despair, Soren didn't even flinch. He casually wiped the blood from his face with his thumb, his eyes full of mockery.

"You didn't actually think I saved you for 'love', did you?"

"That day, Seraphine accepted Julian's proposal. I watched them in the courtyard, acting so in love, and I was going mad with jealousy. I just needed an excuse to piss off my parents and create chaos."

Soren took a step closer, pinching my chin, his tone derisive. "You were just a tool against my family. I saved you because I needed to vent my anger. Your pathetic 'deep love' is laughable."

Seven years of endurance, seven years of humiliation... turned out to be nothing but my own wishful thinking.

"For Iris's sake, I'll warn you one last time. Drop your pathetic jealousy." Soren threw my chin aside and adjusted his tie in annoyance, "Stop trying to hurt Seraphine. You will never compare to her."

With that, he turned and slammed the door behind him.

I was left alone in the room. I slid to the floor, clutching my bleeding hand, and suddenly wanted to laugh.

I was finally wide awake.

I stood up, stumbled through the corridor, and returned to my tiny room at the top corner of the house. Ever since Seraphine moved into the main building and claimed she was allergic to my scent, Soren had forced me into this maid's room.

I pulled a battered suitcase from under the bed and packed only my IDs and some cheap clothes. I didn't want to stay in this place a second longer.

Before I could finish packing, the door was kicked open.

Soren barged in with a dark expression, followed closely by a frantic, red-eyed Seraphine.

"Elowen! You bitch!" Seraphine charged at me, shoving her phone in my face, her voice shrieking. "Are you crazy? How dare you leak this to the press!"

I glanced coldly at the screen. It was the biggest tabloid headline in Verhaven—Vane Family Scandal: Two Brothers Sharing One Woman? The Wife of the Vane Heir Suspected of Infidelity!

"If you're looking for a scapegoat, you've come to the wrong place." I zipped up my suitcase.

"Who else could it be?!" Seraphine cried hysterically, turning to grip Soren's arm tightly. "Soren, if Julian's people see this, I'm dead! They'll kill me! It's her, I know she wants to destroy me!"

She spun around and raised her hand, the one adorned with a massive diamond ring, aiming a vicious slap at my face.

I grabbed her wrist tightly and shoved her back.

Wearing high heels, she gasped and fell to the floor.

"Stop with your pathetic victim complex," I looked down at her, my voice devoid of warmth. "I didn't do anything. If you touch me again, I’ll call my lawyer and sue you for defamation. I'll also bring everything that happened at tonight's banquet to court. We’ll see each other before a judge."

"Are you threatening her?!" Soren roared, immediately kneeling to help Seraphine up.

Just then, a tiny figure dashed through the door.

"Leave Mama Sera alone!"

Like an angry little beast, Iris slammed into my stomach, pushing me away with all her might.

"I knew it was you!" Iris pointed at me, her childish voice incredibly cruel. "You're jealous of Mama Sera! You just want to ruin her! You bad woman!"