Chapter 1

On the morning of our eighth mating anniversary, Alpha Leo pushed a medical report in front of me.

“My father passed away from illness. Ayla’s condition is very bad now—she has cancer. I want to bring her home so we can take care of her.”

Ayla. My husband’s stepmother, nominally my mother-in-law as well, though we are the same age.

Eight years ago, Ayla married the old Alpha, and I married Leo.

After Ayla became the old Luna, for some reason she often targeted me, even saying things like “I’m the one who deserves to be Leo’s Luna,” which left a knot in my heart.

To be honest, I didn’t want her to move in.

Seeing my hesitation, Ayla spoke weakly, “Leo, don’t make things difficult for Olivia. I can go back to the old manor.”

“My dad is gone, and I’m not around much. I’m afraid the servants at the old manor will bully you…” Leo looked torn.

Charlie suddenly walked up to Ayla and asked, “Are you my biological mother?”

I wavered…

Charlie is Ayla’s son. Back then, claiming wolf clan affairs were too busy, Ayla had always left Charlie to be raised by Leo and me.

Although Ayla and I disliked each other, I still felt sorry that Charlie had never truly been with his biological mother all these years.

And I wanted to believe Leo…

Leo asked me again.

I nodded helplessly, and Leo immediately hugged me excitedly. “That’s more like it, baby. This is the magnanimity a Luna should have!”

I broke free from his arms.

Thinking about the interpersonal conflicts I might face and the loss of personal space, I felt irritated.

I turned to go back to the bedroom but was stopped by Leo. “Olivia, be good. Ayla is sick. Let her have the master bedroom.”

See? Just as expected, something even more irritating appeared immediately.

I took a deep breath and walked straight into the bedroom.

I thought I needed to find something to do to distract myself.

So I dialed that familiar number.

“Elaine, I’m willing to return to work.”

“Really, Olivia? You’ve finally figured it out!” The voice on the other end was ecstatic. “Your departure back then was a loss to the entire wolf fashion world! I’ll arrange your comeback procedures right away!”

I responded bitterly and immediately booked a plane ticket for next month.

That evening, I saw Leo’s latest update.

When I saw his username, the corners of my lips couldn’t help but curl up.

His username was—

“Alpha With a Halo.”

In the past, he told me the meaning of this name was:

“Meeting you brought light into my life. Olivia, you are my Halo.”

Thinking of that, I suddenly felt I had been too petty today.

But then, my smile froze when I saw what he had posted.

It was a photo of Ayla, Jackson, Charlie, and him at a dessert shop that afternoon.

He and Ayla were kissing on the lips, while Jackson and Charlie each kissed their cheeks.

I had seen him kiss Ayla many times before, but he said he only saw Ayla as his mother, that it was just a social kiss, and even accused me of not being generous enough.

Then I saw his caption: 【A Family With a Halo.】

Halo? But I’m not in this picture…

A mutual friend commented below:

【So intimate. Aren’t you afraid Olivia will dissolve the mate bond?】

Leo only replied with one sentence:

【She wouldn’t dare. She can’t leave me.】

Back then, for Leo, I had resolutely resigned from my job as a top designer in the wolf clan.

I had been a housewife for eight years.

And what I received in return were such words of contempt from him.

Tears streamed down my face in an instant.

Dizzy and lightheaded, I saw Leo walk over and hand me a delicately packaged cake.

“Here. I remember you used to love honey cake the most.”

The cake had been left out too long. The berries on top had already sunk into the collapsed cream, and even the frosting along the edges had begun to crystallize.

I sneered. Had it never occurred to him to take me along?

I raised my hand and threw the cake, box and all, straight into the trash can.

“Olivia! Have you lost your mind?” Leo was furious.

“I don’t like it anymore. Just clearing out the trash,” I said coldly.

After hearing this, his anger intensified. “I even remembered that today is our mating anniversary and specially brought you a gift! You’re utterly ungrateful!”

“Taking another woman out to eat on our anniversary and posting kissing photos—is that how it is?” I shot back.

“Wasn’t it because you were in a bad mood this morning that I didn’t ask you?” Leo retorted self-righteously. “Besides, I’ve told you before—she’s my mom.”

He answered as if it were perfectly natural, never even considering who had caused my bad mood, completely failing to grasp what truly mattered.

“Then go be with your mom,” I said lightly.

The veins on his forehead bulged. With a swing of his hand, his fist slammed into the glass photo frame.

Crash—!

The glass shattered into pieces, fragments flying everywhere.

He didn’t spare it a glance and slammed the door as he left.

I sighed, crouched down, and quietly began to clean up.

Among the shards of glass and scattered photo paper, I found a picture of Ayla and Leo.

The photo had been stuck to the back of our wedding picture. I suppose that was why I had never noticed it.

I separated the two photos, and when I saw the words written behind that one, my whole body trembled:

【I’m sorry, Leo. I love you, but I must become the Luna of the most powerful man in the Pack. Please don’t forget me.】

In a daze, I remembered that the meaning of the name Ayla is Halo, and my heart skipped a beat.

At that moment, every doubt had its answer.

Looking at the eyes in our wedding photo that were once filled with love, I tore the picture into pieces without hesitation.