Moonlight Under The Mistletoe: Cursed Alpha’s Savior

2: LIFE IS WINNING, IT GOT WORSE

I tried to process what I was seeing. My husband—the man I’d loved and trusted for five f*****g years—was now sitting on our couch, smiling at this other woman like I didn’t even exist. I felt my heart pounding in my chest like it was going to leap out

I picked myself off the floor and stacked towards him. “What… what is going on here?” My voice came out trembling, yet he barely turned to look at me, eyes still glued to the woman next to him.

The woman met my gaze and smiled, that smug expression making my blood boil. “Cookie?” she asked sweetly, holding the tray out toward me.

I felt something snap inside me. Without thinking, I slapped the tray right out of her hands, sending cookies flying across the room. “Are you out of your mind?” I shouted, my voice shaking with rage. I stepped closer, shoving her back as I glared at her. “Who the hell are you, and why are you in my house?”

She looked shocked for a split second, but before she could say anything, my husband jumped to his feet. His hands went to the woman, helping her up, gently brushing the crumbs from her robe. He turned to me, his eyes flashing with anger. “What’s your problem, Coco?”

I was so stunned I couldn’t even speak at first. My husband—my husband—was standing there defending her. My anger flared. I took a step closer and, without even thinking, slapped him across the face, hard enough that my hand stung. “My problem? My problem? You are my problem!” I shouted, my hands gripping his shirt as I shook him. “You owe me an explanation!”

He grabbed my wrists and shoved me back, hard enough that I stumbled and fell to the ground. My head spun, and I could feel tears prickling at the edges of my eyes, but I bit them back. I wouldn’t cry, not in front of him, not in front of her.

“You’re acting crazy,” he said coldly, crossing his arms as he looked down at me. “I’m sick and tired of this, Coco. I want out.”

I stayed on the ground for a moment, stunned, my mind barely processing his words. “How long has this been going on?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I didn’t want to know but I asked anyway.

He looked at me with a strange sort of indifference. “A year,” he replied, his voice as casual as if he were talking about the weather.

I felt my stomach twist. A year. All this time, while we’d been trying to have a baby, while I’d poured my heart and soul into this marriage, he’d been with her? I looked him in the eye, my voice breaking. “We were trying for a child, Dan. Our child. And this is what you were doing?”

He rolled his eyes, as if he couldn’t be bothered to care. “Yeah, well, maybe I wouldn’t have needed to look elsewhere if you’d done your part,” he snapped. “She’s pregnant, Coco. Something you couldn’t manage to do after all these years. You finally got there, only to lose it.”

“How can you… how can you even say that?” I whispered, struggling to hold back the tears threatening to spill over. I had longed for a child, fought so hard, only to be met with this… heartlessness.

He shrugged, his gaze unflinching. “I’m just being logical,” he said, almost sounding bored. “Face it, Coco. You’re dying. Soon, you’ll be nothing more than a vegetable, and then you’ll be gone. What do you expect me to do? Sit around and wait for that?”

This couldn’t be happening. Not him. Not the man I’d known since university, the man I’d married and built a life with. I thought he’d been the love of my life. And now, looking at him, I felt like I didn’t recognize him at all.

He disappeared into the bedroom and came back holding a stack of papers. He tossed them onto the table in front of me. “Divorce papers,” he said bluntly. “Sign them.”

I stared at the papers, unable to believe what was happening. My hands trembled as I picked them up, my heart shattering as I looked at his signature scrawled across the bottom. He had already signed them, already made up his mind to throw me away like I meant nothing to him.

The memories flashed through my mind—all the laughter, the late-night talks, the plans we’d made. I remembered how he’d held my hand when I confessed my fears about being wolf less, how he’d assured me it didn’t matter. He had been my rock, my safe place, the one who had never cared that I was different. And now I realized he was nothing but a stranger—a cruel, heartless stranger who had only ever been hiding his true self.

I looked back up at him, my voice breaking as I asked, “Did you ever even love me? Or was it all just… convenient for you?”

He didn’t answer, just stared at me with that same cold eyes. I realized then that he wouldn’t give me any comfort, wouldn’t even give me the satisfaction of a single kind word. And maybe that was my answer.

“I’ll sign them,” I said, my voice stronger than I felt. “But know this, Dan—you may have given up on me, but I won’t give up on myself. You can throw me away, but I am stronger than you’ll ever know.”

He laughed, a low, mocking sound. “Yeah, whatever you say, Coco,” he muttered, dismissing me with a wave of his hand. “Just sign the damn papers and get out of my sight.”

I turned away, clutching the papers in my hands as I walked to the door. I could hear them laughing behind me, his voice mingling with hers as they both mocked me.

Two weeks.

Two weeks of hiding out in this shabby room, too ashamed to reach out to anyone, too broke to find anything better. The silence felt like it was closing in on me.

For years, I’d thrown myself into my work, late nights and early mornings, every bit of energy poured into my writing career. And what did I have left to show for it? Nothing. Every dollar I’d earned had gone straight into Dan’s account because I fully trusted him, and now he’d taken it all.

He’d battled me ruthlessly in court, stripping me of everything I earned like I was some stranger he’d never even cared for. No, not a stranger—a nuisance, something he wanted to get rid of.

I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to my knees, clutching them to my chest. I’d tried to be strong, to tell myself that I’d get through this somehow. But tonight… tonight, that strength felt like it had completely run out. There was no one else here, no one to lean on or confide in. I had friends that would be happy to accommodate me for as long as I needed but I didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.

How was I supposed to tell people that my husband, my Alpha, the man who’d promised me the world, had turned out to be nothing but a selfish, heartless son of a b***h. I was trying to be strong but it was hard. I was losing my mind. I just wanted someone to talk to.

Before I could overthink it, I unlocked my phone and found her name in my contacts. I tapped it, holding my breath as it started to ring. Please pick up, please pick up, I begged silently.

On the third ring, she answered. “Coco? Honey, is that you?” Her voice was warm, filled with a concern that hit me like a wave.

A sob slipped out of me before I could stop it. “Mom…” My voice broke, and suddenly, all the emotions I’d tried to bottle up spilled out. “I… I don’t know what to do.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” she said softly, and I could feel her heart breaking through the phone. “What happened? Talk to me, Coco. I’m here for you.”

The words came tumbling out, barely making sense as I choked on each sentence. “Everything fell apart, Mom. Dan… he took everything. The house, the money… he left me with nothing.” I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. “I thought I could handle it on my own. I didn’t want to bother you with it… I didn’t want you to know how stupid I’ve been.”

“Stupid?” she echoed, her voice firm. “Oh, Coco, you are anything but that. You trusted him, sweetheart. And maybe he didn’t deserve that trust, but that doesn’t make you stupid.”

“I just feel so… lost, Mom. I let him handle everything. I thought he’d always be there. And now… I’m here in this awful hotel, and I don’t even know how I’m going to pay for next week.” The words felt like admitting defeat, like giving voice to the shame I’d been carrying.

There was a pause, and then her voice came through. “Come home, Coco. Please, honey. Just come home. We’ll figure everything out together.”

I hesitated. “Mom… I don’t want to be a burden. You shouldn’t have to… to pick up the pieces like this.”

“You are not a burden,” she said, her voice gentle but resolute. “You’re my daughter. And right now, you need help. Let me be there for you. Let me do this, Coco.”