Chapter 3

At that time, I was inseparable from Alpha William.

I had just come out of the pack hospital, eager to tell him the news of my pregnancy.

But the moment I got into the car, I lost consciousness.

Those beasts dragged me across the ground, the excessive cold and brutal torture caused me to lose the baby.

When Alpha William rushed in and held me in his arms, all I had left was a blurry consciousness.

He said, "Don’t be afraid, I’m here."

Wynne’s voice was full of mockery. "How laughable, his gentleness is all fake!"

It was also then that I developed a psychological disorder, unable to leave Alpha William for long, and my body was ruined.

Alpha William comforted me, saying that it was fine, even without a child.

It turned out that from the very beginning, he never intended to have a child with me, and even now, he was still lying.

"Yes, yes!" I pounded the bedspread in agony, "He personally cut off all my possibilities! The love I thought I had, was actually a scheme!"

The pain in my chest made it hard to breathe. I couldn’t resist the physical reaction, collapsing on the bed, convulsing.

His concern for me was real.

But he was only afraid that if I died, the danger would fall on Yasmine.

"Don’t let pain defeat you!" Wynne said urgently, "The more pain, the more you need to stay awake! Think about how he used you!"

I suddenly grabbed the phone. "Ins... Yasmine’s account..."

Photos flashed across the screen, with Yasmine holding champagne in the sea breeze.

Behind her, a giant poster for the art exhibit read "Alpha William Exclusive Sponsorship."

The caption even said, "Thanks to my muse for inspiring every painting."

I slammed the phone against the wall.

"When I was fighting for my life in the pack hospital, he was cutting the ribbon for Yasmine’s art exhibition!"

I kept refreshing the page, Yasmine’s latest post was a photo with the artists.

The location was in Blackthorn Pack’s forbidden studio—the place I was always forbidden from entering.

"Every time I asked if I could go to that studio, he would say ‘it’s not safe.’"

I trembled. "Now I realize, he was afraid I’d discover his secret with Yasmine!"

"Scroll down!" Wynne’s furious shout made my eardrums ache. "Look at every painting she flaunts! They’re all works that William thought of while teaching you technique!"

My fingers mechanically slid across the screen, and Yasmine’s photos at the art exhibition stung my eyes.

"He made me learn to paint," I croaked. "He said I had talent... turns out, he just wanted to turn me into a replica of Yasmine!"

"Wake up!" Wynne said urgently. "Now you understand why he wanted you to learn ballet and read poetry, right? It was all to make you more like Yasmine!"

Suddenly, countless images flashed in my mind: Alpha William’s gentle touch when he taught me how to hold a paintbrush, but I saw the same posture in Yasmine’s Instagram.

Every painting I ruined, he patiently encouraged me, while Yasmine’s works received his carefully crafted praise.

I pulled at my hair, my nails almost tearing through my scalp. "I was like a fool, thinking that was love!"

Wynne urgently said, "He taught you composition, lighting, not because you had talent, but because Yasmine excelled at it! He wants to mold you into the second version of her! Remember the day he gave you that biography of Yasmine’s favorite artist for your birthday? He had already forced her preferences onto you!"

Wynne’s voice was full of anger and heartbreak. "Wake up! You blocked eight silver bullets for him, but he wouldn’t even organize a proper art exhibition for you! Your ten years were nothing but a shield for him to protect his true love!"