2

Besides these, there were photos of luxury jewelry and enchanted artifacts he'd given Scarlett.

He'd even bought a heart-shaped private island overseas in Scarlett's name.

While in all these years, the only thing Alexander ever gave me was that artificial heart that brought endless torment and pain.

While I was grieving my mother's death and suffering from bloody coughs and pain, Scarlett was already lounging on the soft sand of her private island, basking in the sun.

My hands shook uncontrollably as I held the phone. Nausea overwhelmed me, and I rushed to the side to retch.

I accidentally bumped the bookshelf, and a book fell out.

Picking it up, I realized it was actually a box disguised as a book.

Inside were several "Voluntary Heart Donation" certificates and stacks of transfer receipts.

Alexander had been sending large monthly payments to these donors' families, maintaining them.

There was only one condition - they couldn't donate their hearts to anyone else. Whenever Scarlett needed one, they must provide theirs immediately.

The last certificate was mine, but the recipient had been changed from my mother to Scarlett.

Back then, Alexander had me sign many papers, claiming they were necessary procedures. I was so focused on getting my mother into surgery quickly, I never read them carefully.

This certificate must have been slipped in then, and my mother's was probably destroyed.

Alexander, you really went to such lengths for Scarlett.

After printing out the mate bond severed agreement, I sat desolately on the couch.

My heart heavy with grief, I didn't sleep all night.

The next day, Alexander thought I had just woken up early and didn't suspect anything.

Perhaps because he'd seen me coughing blood the night before, he thoughtfully prepared a nutritious breakfast himself.

Seeing I wasn't eating, he looked concerned:

"Sarah, why aren't you eating? Are you feeling down?"

"It's nothing. I just miss my mother."

He sighed:

"Sarah, believe me, I miss her too. She was such a kind and gentle soul. It's my fault I couldn't save her. I still remember how she held my hand, making me promise to keep you happy."

If my mother had any strength left in her hands, she probably would have strangled him instead.

Looking at his fake concern, I felt nothing but bitter irony.

Just as I was about to bring up ending our mate bond, Alexander casually mentioned:

"Sarah, you've been so down lately. Scarlett's returning home today - it's her birthday. The main pack house is holding a feast. Why don't we go? It might cheer you up."

"I know you've avoided seeing her since your mother's death, but it's been years. Scarlett didn't mean for any of this to happen... We're all pack family. Scarlett's always been sensitive - I'm worried she'll be hurt if we don't attend..."

So this was his real purpose. All these words just to see his beloved.

I cut him off:

"Whatever you want."

Alexander smiled:

"I knew my Sarah would understand."

As soon as we entered the main pack house, I saw Scarlett dressed like a princess, hanging on my father-in-law's arm, acting coy.

The elderly Alpha indulged her completely, hand-feeding her sliced fruit.

Such doting affection.

Scarlett spotted me immediately and said to my father-in-law in a taunting voice:

"Darling~ you're making me fat with all this feeding! Since your son's mate is here, give her the rest - I don't want these. After all, she doesn't have a mother anymore."

The Alpha noticed me too, looking me up and down with contempt when he saw my simple clothes.

"Who let this sickly runt in? Are you here to spread your poverty and bad luck to us?"

"Our pack holds such high status, yet you dress like a beggar every day. You've completely embarrassed my son. Years of marriage and you can't even produce an heir, let alone show any proper breeding. Did that dead mother of yours teach you nothing about manners?"

Alexander was the Alpha's only son and heir.

He wanted his son to expand the pack's influence by taking a mate from an equally powerful bloodline.

My birth father was a warrior who died protecting the pack. After his death, my mother couldn't raise me alone and had to remarry Scarlett's beta father.

After Scarlett's father died in a car accident, she married Alexander's elderly father to maintain her wealth and status.

When Alexander insisted on mating me, the Alpha reluctantly agreed only because of my hero father‘s high reputation in the pack.

But because my condition made me unsuitable for bearing pups, the Alpha grew increasingly resentful of me.

In the past, Alexander would at least defend me. But now his eyes were fixed on Scarlett, filled with undisguised longing.

Scarlett walked over to Alexander cheerfully, intimately linking her arm with him:

"Son, did you remember to bring Mother a gift?"

Alexander smiled indulgently:

"Of course."

Twenty-eight luxurious designer gowns were wheeled in, each paired with matching sets of exquisite jewelry.

Twenty-eight - Scarlett's birthday.

She jumped with joy:

"These are all limited editions! You're spending too much~ What if someone gets unhappy about it?"

Only then did Alexander remember I was still standing there. My shabby clothes looked even more out of place next to these gowns.