Chapter 37 - While they celebrated
833 Words
*Ethan – pov*
I hated them. Not normal hatred either. Not evenly jealousy. Something uglier. Something poisonous.
Watching Elara smile at another man felt like someone ripping open my chest with their bare hands. I wanted revenge on het for derailing my life. I never truly realised how much I loved her.
I sat inside the black SUV across the lake road with my hands clenched so tightly around the steering wheel my knuckles ached.
There they were. Through the restaurant windows.
Laughing and touching.
Looking at each other like the rest of the world didn’t exist.
It should be me in there with Elara.
Not him.
Not some towering dark-haired bastard who moved like he owned the entire world.
Every time Raiden touched her—
every time Elara smiled—
Rage burned hotter beneath my skin.
Lucien had promised this would work.
Promised Elara would come back once the pressure mounted enough.
Instead she looked happier than I’d seen her in years.
The thought made something vicious twist inside me.
Then suddenly, Raiden stood.
My eyes narrowed immediately.
“What now?”
I watched him kneel in front Elara and the second he pulled out the ring…
Something inside me snapped.
“No.”
My voice sounded strangled.
“No no no”
Elara stared down at him with wide emotional eyes while he spoke words I couldn’t hear through the glass.
Proposal.
Marriage.
My stomach lurched violently.
“She’s my wife,” I hissed.
The divorce papers sat unsigned because I refused to sign them.
I gripped the steering wheel harder.
This wasn’t happening.
This couldn’t happen.
The girl beside me glanced up from her phone lazily.
“You okay?”
I nearly forgot she was there.
Lena.
That was the name Lucien gave me.
Pretty in a sharp dangerous sort of way.
Dark hair.
Piercings.
Eyes that never seemed entirely human.
Lucien claimed she could “help conceal me.”
I still didn’t fully understand what the hell that meant.
I still wasn’t convinced I hadn’t lost my mind completely.
Because apparently werewolves existed now.
And witches.
Sure.
Perfectly normal.
Lena followed my gaze toward the restaurant window and smirked.
“Ouch.”
I shot her an irritated look.
“She was supposed to forgive me.”
Lena laughed softly.
“Men always think that.”
“She loved me.”
The words sounded weak even to my own ears.
Because if Elara truly loved me, would she look at another man like that?
Lena leaned back casually.
“She’s moved on.”
“No.”
The refusal came instantly.
“She’s confused, he is just a rebound.”
Lena gave me a look that clearly said you’re delusional.
Maybe I was.
But I couldn’t lose everything completely.
Not my reputation.
Not my money.
Not my wife.
And definitely not to this psychopath forest prince.
My phone vibrated suddenly.
Lucien.
I answered immediately.
“Well?”
His voice always made my skin crawl slightly.
Too calm.
Too cold.
I kept watching the restaurant window.
“He proposed.”
Silence.
“Interesting.”
I frowned.
“That’s all you have to say?”
“What exactly would you like me to say, Ethan?”
I grit my teeth.
“He’s moving too fast.”
“Clearly.”
I watched Raiden slide the ring onto Elara’s finger.
Her face crumpled emotionally.
Her smile truly happy.
Not the forced smiles she used to give me at networking events.
Not the exhausted polite affection toward the end of our marriage.
Real happiness.
The realization made rage boil through me instantly.
“Perhaps she needs reminding of what matters.”
Cold slid unexpectedly down my spine.
“What does that mean?”
But deep down I already knew.
Lucien’s voice lowered slightly.
“We will be moving on the parents first”
I hesitated.
Because suddenly this conversation felt dangerous in a way it hadn’t before.
“Do you what you have to.”
Something about my words chilled me instantly.
“All attention is currently focused on Elara and Raidin. The estate will be vulnerable tonight.”
The realization hit slowly.
Then all at once.
“You’re not talking about scaring them.”
Lucien laughed softly.
And that sound—
That sound finally made me understand exactly what kind of monster I’d aligned myself with.
“You said she had very few weaknesses, Ethan.”
Ice flooded my veins.
“Lucien—”
“Pain teaches clarity.”
My pulse quickened dangerously.
“I didn’t agree to murder.”
“Didn’t you?”
Silence.
I remembered every bitter thing I’d said about Elara.
Every angry fantasy.
Every cruel thought.
Lucien’s voice turned soft.
“Too late to grow a conscience now.”
Fear clawed hard into my chest.
Through the restaurant window I watched Elara throw her arms around Raiden’s neck smiling through tears while he held her carefully against him.
Happy.
Distracted.
Completely unaware.
Lucien spoke again.
“By morning, everything changes.”
- Writer
