Chapter 4

Taking my silence as consent, Linda and Sierra exchanged a victorious glance.

Though they smiled warmly, a sudden wave of dread washed over me.

The next morning, I woke up to find the bed empty beside me.

I called out Ethan's name, but there was no reply. I searched the house until I reached the guest bedroom.

Even with my eyes closed, I could guess what had happened.

An overwhelming wave of agony crushed my heart.

I screamed, knocking a teacup off the table, shattering it to pieces.

Linda walked in. She looked at me with smug triumph, as if she had just won the lottery.

"Your father cheated during my pregnancy. Why should Ethan be any different?"

"Hmph. I ended up with a piece of trash. Why should you get to have a perfect man like Ethan? Now everything is right. Sierra is young and beautiful, and Ethan is handsome and rich. They are a match made in heaven."

Linda grabbed my arm tightly.

"Come on, don't embarrass yourself here and ruin their moment."

"Come with me to abort that baby. I'll introduce you to a man who actually suits you. I think Derek Cole would be perfect."

I swallowed hard, my throat tightening.

Derek Cole was in his forties, a wolf-less rogue.

He spent his days in the black market and was drowning in loan shark debt.

I used to think Linda was just jealous of me.

But this wasn't jealousy—it was pure, unadulterated hatred!

She couldn't stand seeing me happy. She only found joy in my suffering.

Looking up, my eyes caught a vial on the nightstand. It was a mating aphrodisiac, specially made for werewolves.

My heart clenched.

To force Ethan to cheat, Linda would truly stop at nothing.

I violently shook off Linda’s grip, letting go of the very last shred of familial affection I had for her.

I screamed toward the hallway,

"Guards!"

Sierra leaped out of the bed and swiftly snatched my phone away.

With tears welling in her eyes, she looked at me timidly.

"Emily, please, your mother is a good person."

"She didn't mean any harm. She was trying to save me. She said I'm too young and beautiful to end up on the streets. She wanted to help me find a good home, so she drugged Ethan."

"She was doing a good deed! She was helping me! You can't let the guards take her!"

I laughed so hard tears came out.

What a pathetic joke.

Without another word, I slapped Sierra across the face with all my might.

"Shut your shameless mouth! Who gave you the right to speak to me?!"

Sierra clutched her red, swollen cheek, bowing her head even lower.

Linda protectively wrapped a coat around Sierra, murmuring gentle comforts to her—a soft side of her she had never once shown me.

Then, Linda glared at me with a darkened face and slapped me hard, as if avenging Sierra.

"You're the one who can't keep her own man! Why are you blaming Sierra? Yes, I drugged Ethan, but he thoroughly enjoyed it. Last night, I heard him promise Sierra with my own ears that he would take responsibility for her and reject you!"

Linda's words were like poisoned needles, stabbing deep into my heart one by one.

I clenched my fists, gasping for air through the suffocating pain.

Ethan was still lying on the bed, eyes closed, seemingly fast asleep.

I desperately wanted to shake him awake and ask if what Linda said was true.

Did he actually enjoy it?

Did he really want to reject me?

But none of it mattered anymore.

It had already happened. What was done could not be undone.

Whether Ethan did it willingly or under the influence of the drug, he had slept with Sierra.

I couldn't just pretend nothing happened and carry on with him.

I placed a trembling hand over my pregnant belly, my voice raspy.

"Linda... you won."

She had won after all.

Her husband cheated, so she had to make sure mine did too.

She married a piece of trash, so she had to turn Ethan into one.

She was miserable, so she had to make my life even more of a living hell.

Congratulations, Linda. You got what you wanted.

I spun around on shaking legs, wanting to escape this house of horrors.

Suddenly, a warm, firm hand wrapped around my wrist.

"No, she didn't."