Chapter 2

After blowing out the candles, I used feeling unwell as an excuse and went back to the bedroom.

The moment the door closed, Henry’s presence was shut out with it. All the strength drained from my body at once. I collapsed into the bed and finally broke down, sobbing out loud.

My wolf spirit tightened painfully in my chest. Every breath felt heavy, labored.

I cried until I couldn’t catch my breath, cried until my consciousness started to blur.

And in the end, sheer exhaustion dragged me into darkness.

In the middle of the night, a burning-hot body pressed up behind me.

Henry wrapped his arms around me from the back, his hand settling over my lower abdomen, rubbing slowly and patiently, just like he had on countless nights before.

“Jenifer,” his voice was low and gentle, “Did your period come early? Is your belly hurting again?”

So gentle it made my stomach turn.

I clenched my teeth. My wolf blood churned restlessly through my veins, yet I still couldn’t stop myself from testing him. “Henry… is there anything you’re hiding from me?”

His movements paused for a split second.

The next moment, he lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

The gesture was devout almost like swearing before the Moon Goddess.

“Jenifer,” he chuckled softly, “Are you talking nonsense because you’re in pain? How could I ever hide anything from you?”

“You know everything about me.”

I looked at that face, so full of affection, and the very last shred of hope inside me shattered into dust.

I closed my eyes and didn’t ask again.

Let the bitterness flood down my throat and drown me.

I was woken early the next morning by arguing downstairs.

Alpha pressure mixed with an unfamiliar scent, spreading faintly through the living room.

Unease crept into my chest. In the end, I still pushed the door open and walked out.

Standing at the top of the stairs, I saw Isabella Miller at the entrance.

She was holding two pups in her arms, one on each side. The air was filled with the milky scent of infants and young wolves.

Henry stood in the backlight, his face dark.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay at the old house?”

His voice was deliberately low, irritation obvious.

“What if Jenifer finds out—”

No one knew I was already standing there, not still in the bedroom.

Isabella’s eyes reddened instantly. Tears fell at just the right moment.

She gently soothed the pups in her arms, her voice soft enough to melt water.

“Henry, the kids were really too fussy. The moment they smelled you, they wouldn’t calm down. Don’t worry and I won’t say a single unnecessary word. I can handle your parents.”

Henry hesitated.

Until one of the pups lifted his head and timidly called out—

“Daddy…”

In that instant, Henry completely softened.

“…Just this once,” he said at last.

I watched them from afar, like an intruder who didn’t belong.

A fine, dull pain spread through my heart, not fatal, but grinding away at me, one stroke at a time.

Henry was the first to notice me.

He quickly masked his expression, strode over, and pulled me in front of him, his tone deliberately soothing.

“Jenifer, this is Isabella. She’s the daughter of an old family friend of my grandfather.”

“Her family’s had some trouble lately. She brought the two pups to stay for a while.”

So this man had acting skills worthy of an Oscar. No wonder I’d been fooled so completely.

I looked at the pups.

Their brows, their noses, their lips, every feature carried Henry’s shadow, and Isabella’s.

Was I blind?

A metallic sweetness rose in my throat.

I swallowed it down hard, forced a weak smile, murmured a couple of vague responses, then turned to go back to the room.

But Isabella wasn’t about to let me off that easily.

Her voice was gentle. Her words were sharp.

“Henry, Jenifer… could you let me stay in the master bedroom for a few days?”

“The pups are too noisy. Their father isn’t around, and if the room is too small, I’m worried their wolf nature might lose control at night…”

I saw it clearly—

That flicker of guilt that crossed Henry’s face.

In that moment, my heart went completely cold.

The next second, he tightened his grip on my hand and made the decision for me.

“Jenifer, let Isabella have the master bedroom.”

“The guest room is comfortable too.”

Natural and effortless.

Those words were written all over his expression.

I suddenly remembered the first time I stepped into this villa three years ago.

He had held me close and said solemnly:

—“The master bedroom will belong to you alone.”

—“You’re the only lady of this house.”

Now, every promise lay shattered.

I nodded numbly and returned to the room on unsteady legs to pack.

The moment I opened the closet, Isabella walked in.

She slowly surveyed the entire room before letting her gaze settle on me.

“Your room décor is a bit outdated,”

she said flatly.

“I plan to replace everything. You don’t mind, do you?”

I didn’t even have the energy to be angry.

“Do whatever you want.”

Her expression darkened slightly.

Then her eyes shifted, landing on the silk handkerchief beside me.

She snatched it quickly, smiling with innocent sweetness.

“This fabric’s nice,” she said.

“I left in a hurry and didn’t bring enough diapers. One pup each—this works perfectly.”

It was my mother’s.

My entire body went rigid. I reached out to grab it back. “No.”

She clenched it tightly, refusing to let go.

In the struggle, “Splash.”

The handkerchief fell straight into a nearby bucket of dirty mop water.

Filthy water soaked through it instantly.

My head exploded. I lunged forward to grab it.

The next second—

Isabella cried out softly and deliberately twisted to the side, falling to the floor.

Footsteps rushed toward the door.

Henry burst in. He helped her up immediately, his gaze dark as night.

“What happened!”

Isabella’s eyes shimmered with tears, her voice trembling.

“I just wanted to borrow Jenifer’s handkerchief… She got angry, yelled at me, and pushed me…”

“I didn’t!” I was shaking with rage. “That was my mother’s. I would never give it to her!”

But the look Henry gave me was already pitch-black.

I suddenly didn’t want to explain anymore.

I took the two soaked handkerchiefs and left, washing them again and again.

I thought that was the end of it.

Until late that night.

I stood at the corner of the staircase. Everything around me was dark.

Only a thin strip of cold light leaked through the door.

Beside me, a guard hesitated before whispering, “Alpha… do you really not believe Jenifer? She said she didn’t do it…”

Henry’s voice came from the darkness. “My belief isn’t enough.”

“Only by pushing Jenifer down can I give my parents and Isabella an explanation.”

He sounded calm and professional.

My blood went completely cold.

The next second—

A hand shoved hard from behind.

My body lost all balance. The world flipped.

Bones felt like they shattered and were forced back together. Agony tore through me.

I didn’t even have time to scream.

In those few seconds as consciousness broke apart, I still remembered something he once said—

—“Jenifer, I’ll always believe you.”

Now it sounded so ridiculous it was almost laughable.

When I woke again, a stark white ceiling light burned into my eyes in the guest room.

The door was flung open.

Henry rushed in, his eyes filled with something that looked disturbingly like relief.

“Jenifer, you’re awake!”