Chapter 3
1254 Words
Bailey
The room was silent as Alpha Eamon leveled me with a steely glare, his voice cold yet commanding as he spoke, "You’ve overstepped, child. Care to explain your blatant disrespect?”
Disrespect? I almost laughed. I'll tell you about disrespect. After years of biting my tongue and enduring the indignities of this family, I was only getting started.
Straightening my posture, I let my gaze sweep across the room, meeting every judging and curious gaze. They probably thought they could break me or silence me with their disapproval. It might've worked any other day, but today… oh, today, I’d decided they were going to hear the truth, whether they liked it or not!
“Disrespect?” I asked aloud this time, my voice cutting through the tension like a hot knife. “If speaking the truth is disrespectful, then so be it. But let’s not pretend that this family has shown me anything even close to respect for one second since I got married!”
Eamon's eyes narrowed, but I pressed on, my voice growing stronger with every word.
“Let’s start with you, Luna,” I turned towards Ethan’s mother who was probably wondering where I'd gotten the audacity from. Well, she needn't wonder for long. Her sharp features twisted into a scowl as I went on. “How many times have you made it your life’s… mission to tear me down? And Goddess knows why because you raised a son who couldn't be honest with himself, let alone his family?!” I laughed. “How is that my fault, huh? Why was I the one to get all the insults and jabs at my worth as a wife, when it was really your son who was failing as a husband?”
Her spine stiffened and she opened her mouth to say something, but I didn’t give her the chance.
“And you!” I said, finally addressing my husband. He flinched at the venom in my tone. “Oh, Ethan… The perfect son, the golden boy, the perfect… husband? If only they knew! But don't worry. I can help with that—"
The room grew colder as I reached into my bag and pulled out the photos I’d printed this morning before my arrival. I took my time spreading my masterpiece across the table for all to see and one by one they peeked, their shocked gasps echoing through the room as they took in the images: Ethan, shirtless and locked in an intimate embrace with an equally shirtless Barnaby. Ethan in bed kissing his so-called best friend. There were even worse ones, ones I couldn't dare to describe. It was all pretty embarrassing to look at, to say the least. But, oh, you know what was wonderful?. The look on their faces!
"Well, what do you think?" I laughed, amusement dripping from my voice. "Behold, the face of this family. Lovely, isn't it?" I was practically fanning the flames and was it wrong that I enjoyed it? It felt so… good to finally let them see the level of hypocrisy I've had to deal with!
And chaos erupted.
“You lying, deceitful bastard!” Eamon roared, slamming his fist on the table. The sound reverberated through the dining hall as he rounded on his son.
“Father—” Ethan started, red faced and trembling.
“Don’t you dare call me that!” Eamon bellowed, his face red with fury. “No son of mine could be… could be…” He couldn’t even bring himself to say the word.
“Gay?” I supplied helpfully, watching the older man flinch as if the word physically hurt him.
Eamon turned his rage on his wife next. “This is your doing! You coddled him, spoiled him, made him weak!”
Lucille sputtered, her composure slipping for the first time. “Eamon, this isn’t—”
“This is exactly what happens when you let emotions cloud judgment,” he spat, cutting her off.
He turned back to Ethan, his disgust palpable. “You are no Alpha. You are no heir. I will not have this disgrace tarnish the Crestfall name!”
Ethan’s face paled as Eamon turned to Luke, his younger brother.
“Luke, from this moment forward, you are the heir to this family. You have a wife, children, a future. You are what this family needs.”
Luke’s face lit up with elation, though he had the decency to feign humility.
“Thank you, Father,” he bowed slightly.
It was the perfect moment to strike.
“And as for me,” My voice cut through the noise, “I’m filing for divorce.”
The room fell silent again, the weight of my declaration hanging in the air.
“You can’t be serious,” Ethan’s voice was low and desperate.
There's no way he thought I still planned to remain with him after this. Facing him, I met his gaze square on. “Oh, I’m dead serious. I’m done being your scapegoat, Ethan. You and your mother's. I deserve better, and I will have it.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched as he grabbed my arm, his grip tight. “We need to talk. Now.”
Eamon let out a bitter laugh, waving dismissively. “Good, go sort out this mess yourselves, though I'm not sure what's left to sort. As far as I’m concerned, this marriage is already over.”
Before I could protest, Ethan was dragging me out of the room towards the balcony. Behind us, Barnaby made to follow, but Eamon’s voice stopped him cold.
“You stay here,” the Alpha ordered. “You’ve done more than enough damage. Frankly, it’s a miracle you’re still allowed under this roof.”
Barnaby froze, his face falling as the full weight of Eamon’s words hit him.
~~~~~
Ethan didn’t let go until we were outside, his grip bruising my arm. The view below was stunning as always but now was hardly the time to admire the scenery.
His perfect façade had cracked completely, and the man before me was unrecognizable. “You’re going to fix this,” he hissed, his voice trembling with barely contained rage.
“Fix what?” I shot back. “The truth? I don’t think so.”
“You’ll tell them those photos were fake,” he demanded. “Photoshopped. A pathetic attempt to ruin me.”
I laughed bitterly. “Even if I wanted to, they’d never believe it. The truth is written all over your face!”
The argument escalated, his fury growing with every refusal.
“You think you can ruin me and just walk away?” he snarled.
“I don’t think. I know,” I said, meeting his glare head-on.
That was the final straw. In his rage, Ethan shoved me hard.
My feet slipped on the tiles beneath and I felt myself toppling over the balcony. I fell, tumbling down the steep hill that bordered the Crestfall estate. Rocks and brambles tore at my skin as I rolled, the world spinning in a blur.
When I finally came to a stop, pain radiated through my entire body, and the air was thick with the unfamiliar scent of Lycan territory.
I lay there, broken and bleeding, waiting for someone to show up. For Ethan to realize his mistake and come after me or at the very least call for help.
No one came.
That's when I realised it wasn't that Ethan hadn’t followed.
He’d deliberately left me to die.
- Writer
