Chapter 3 - Betrayed and Abandoned

Regina’s POV

Is she calling me…a tramp?

I stare at her unbelievably while holding tears in my eyes.

I’ve never been called this way in my entire life! When I was little, my grandpa used to call me “sweet cupcake” and my parents called me “baby angel.” My brother Gray is the only one who called me by my name. But the way he said my name made me felt so much in love.

Yet ever since I married Nigel, I was referred by others as “filthy rat” “trash” “little piece of shit” and now… “tramp.”

Why did I have to put up with all these humiliations! Was it simply because I loved Nigel?

“You—You take it back!” I gritted out, “I don’t like you calling me that…”

Angel suddenly burst into laughter, “Are you telling me what to do now? Nigel, are you going to let your wife disrespect me like that?”

“Regina!” Nigel snapped glaring at me, “Apologize to Miss Angel right now! She is our Alpha’s daughter. The noblest lady in this pack!”

I looked at Angel in a daze and suddenly realized something.

This girl Angel was the person Melany wanted Nigel to marry. Even Nigel regretted marrying me instead of Angel.

And I could see why everybody preferred Angel instead of me. She was beautiful, confident, and fierce, just like a spoiled little princess.

I was like that once before I married Nigel. But now my skin was no longer soft, my hair no longer silky and even my hands were getting gnarled.

But even so…Even so! Shouldn’t Nigel stand by me? I was his wife. Shouldn’t he defend his wife regardless of what happened.

Had he forgotten about our wedding vows already?

I stared at their holding hands and felt a stab at my heart.

Why was Nigel doing this to me? Didn’t he love me anymore? No…he couldn’t be…It must be because of this debt!

Everything would be fine again if I could help him pay back his debt!

“How much do you own them, Nigel?” I plucked up my courage and asked them.

“The number will shock you to death! Why the hell are you asking about it?” Nigel snapped impatiently.

“B—Because—I can help you as well!” I squeezed my old apron, feeling very nervous. “You don’t need Miss Angel. I am here for you. Just…just come back to me and everything will still be fine!”

My family had disowned me when I married Nigel. But I believed that they would still be willing to help me if I asked them.

Especially my brother Gray. He couldn’t stand seeing me in trouble. He had always been my biggest protector since childhood.

I could help Nigel if he let me.

Yet Angel suddenly burst into a loud round of laughter the next second. She laughed so hard that her body was rocking from back to forth.

“You? You help Nigel?” she cried and walked towards me, “Do you have any idea how much he owned? I bet you haven’t seen that much money in your entire life!”

She showed me three fingers.

I quivered and made a random guess, “…Three billion?”

Angel froze as though she didn’t think I was capable of making such a wild guess. Then she quickly arranged her look and snapped, “Three million! How about that? You don’t even worth one third of that if we sell you to a hundred men!”

I let out a small sigh of relief.

It was only three million. It was much less than I had expected.

Hope surged up in my heart—I really did have a shot of helping Nigel!

“It’s only 3 million! Trust me, Nigel. I can help you!” I can’t wait to tell Nigel about this great news, “Just tell Miss Angel to go back and we can talk about—Ahh!”

A hot slap landed on my check! Angel slapped so hard that my ears had turned deaf momentarily and my vision became blur. I fell to the ground and swallowed a mouth full of blood down.

When that ringing sound in my head receded and I got some of my hearings back, I heard Angel screaming furiously:

“Who does she think she is? Asking me to go back? I AM the alpha’s daughter! I can stay anywhere I want! I can ask my father to expel her if I want!”

And Nigel was trying to ease her off, “I know…I know sweetie. She is a dumbass fool. She probably mistook ‘three million’ with ‘three thousand.’ It’s not worth it to be angry with her.”

“We should sell her off tonight—”

“We still need her to serve my boss, remember? If she does it right, they will get me that ambassador job. And I’ll get the chance to go to Ever Moon Pack. That’s the strongest pack in the world! Just think about the honor it brings me!”

I quivered on the floor and wanted to say something. But a sharp pain came from my mouth as soon as I opened it. I must have hurt my tongue when Angel slapped me.

Angel was still furious. And I heard Nigel talking patiently to her, trying to ease off her fume.

He was never this patient with me. To me, he was always yelling and grumpy.

I looked up shakily and found them walking away together. Nigel pulled Angel into his arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. He didn’t even mind me watching as though he didn’t think I was his wife anymore.

Their back disappeared into the darkness. And only then did I recover enough strength to pull myself off ground.

Something warm streamed down my face. It tasted salty. I didn’t know if it was blood or tear.

Staggered back into the house, I climbed up to the attic, where my room was at.

Nigel chased me out of his room a week after our wedding. He said I snorted too loudly. But I never snorted in my entire life.

So now I was living in the attic, where they kept their old junks in. The attic was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It leaked every time it rained. And I had to share the room with rats and cockroach.

But nevertheless, it was a room to myself.

I climbed up to my room and flipped my mattress over. Underneath it kept a small handbag. It was made of very expensive leather but seemed old and battered now.

It was the only thing I brought out my family when I left.

Reaching into the handbag, I pulled out an old phone. I hadn’t used it for a very long time, so the battery was out.

I charged it for half an hour, and it finally turned on. I opened my contact. There was only one number stored in there.

My brother Gray’s number.

But at this moment, I started to be reluctant again.

What would my brother say if I called him? Would he say that I was stupid? Would he refuse to help me? Would he even not wanted to pick up?

But then I remembered the last time we met before I left home.

He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly, so tight that he was nearly suffocating me. I could feel his breathing was ragged as though he was about to cry.

But my brother was a tough and strong man.

He never cried.

“Call me if you need anything.” He shoved that phone into my pocket, “And remember to come back to me…if anything happens.”

My brother loved me too much.

The world would turn its back on me, but he wouldn’t.

He would never, ever see me suffer and choose to do nothing.

Making up my mind, I dialed that number.

It ringed. And my heart had jumped up to my throat along with it. On the third thing, it finally came through and a familiar voice came out of the speaker, slightly shaking:

“…Regina?”

I covered my mouth to stifle a sob.

I didn’t know it before I heard his voice but now I did…

I missed him.

I missed Gray so, so much.