Chapter 4

Nora’s eyes filled instantly with tears after being yelled at. They spilled over in big drops as she pulled a folded sheet of paper from her bag and thrust it toward him.

“I know I shouldn’t have come here,” she whimpered, “but… I’m pregnant.”

“The doctor said things got too… intense last night. The baby’s a little unstable. I’m really scared, Nico. What if something happens to our baby? This is our first pup.”

My whole body went rigid.

It felt like a giant hand had wrapped around my heart and squeezed, hard, until I could barely breathe.

Nora… was pregnant?

No wonder she’d had the nerve to flaunt everything in my face last night.

Of course. She already knew she was carrying his pup.

For a moment, Nico just stared at the test results, stunned. Then his brows slowly relaxed.

“Nine weeks?” he murmured. “You need to be careful in the first trimester.”

“Go wait in the car,” he added gently. “I’ll take you back to the hospital for another checkup. I’m not letting anything happen to the pup.”

Only then did Nora’s tears stop. She broke into a smile and stepped forward to kiss him.

Nico’s gaze darkened. He grabbed the back of her head and deepened the kiss, taking control. They clung to each other, lips locked, Nora’s arms wrapping around his neck like she never wanted to let go.

Finally, he pushed her away, voice low and rough.

“You’re pregnant and still trying to seduce me. There’s a pup in there, remember? Be good and wait in the car.”

Watching him walk back toward the house, I quietly went downstairs and sat back at the dining table as if nothing had happened.

For the first time, I felt something that almost looked like… relief.

At least we didn’t have a pup.

At least I could leave without any chains holding me down.

Nico opened the door, that familiar apologetic smile already on his face.

“Claire, something urgent came up at work,” he said smoothly. “I must go out of town right away. Just stay home and be good, okay? I’ll bring you a present when I get back.”

I nodded, giving him exactly what he wanted to see.

He only relaxed when he saw there was nothing unusual in my expression.

I watched his back as he walked away, thinking: this is probably the last time I’ll ever see you.

That afternoon, my phone lit up with a message from Nora.

It was an ultrasound image.

“Claire, I’m already carrying Nico’s pup. This is his first pup. You, as his mate, can’t even give him an Alpha heir.

Wouldn’t it be better if you divorced him early and just handed that identity over to me?”

It was probably because of the baby in her womb that Nora completely lost her patience with me.

However, I had already decided to leave and had long given up on Nico.

Now, staring at that blurry black-and-white ultrasound, my heart didn’t even ripple.

Over the next two days, Nico really didn’t come home.

It was the perfect time.

I spent that time going through every inch of the house, pulling out everything that belonged to me. The things I couldn’t take, I threw away one by one.

In the end, I only kept the necessary stuff I needed to bring to the research base.

On the day I left, I woke up before dawn.

I packed all my things into a single suitcase and waited for the institute’s car to arrive.

Just as I was about to call my professor to ask how much longer it would be, my phone buzzed again with a new message from Nora.

A wedding photo.

In it, Nico was kissing her on the lips.

“Nico already promised me he’ll divorce you when he gets back and give me and the pup a proper name.”

“My pup will be the future Alpha. And you? So what if you’re Nico’s Fated Mate? He only loves me.”

“You’d better hurry and get out of that villa, or won’t it be embarrassing when he slaps a divorce agreement on the table first?”

This time, I replied.

“Congratulations. You’re about to get exactly what you wanted.”

Right after I hit send, the car from the institute pulled up outside.

I grabbed my suitcase and left.