5: Rejected

Dana

I blinked several times, hoping to wake up from the nightmare.

Her words dumbfounded me.

"Are you capable of threatening me with death? What happened to you, Rachel?"

"I can kill you. I don't want you to get in my way or Demian's. We will start a family and get married."

Married? Did he already propose to her?

I felt a pang in my heart. I didn't want Demian to marry her. He was the love of my life.

I thought of Rachel's son. The three-year-old boy.

"Have you understood, Dana?" She pulled my hair harder. I groaned in pain and let out a scream.

"Yes! I understood! Let me go!"

Rachel let go of me abruptly. I felt humiliated by her.

"You better keep your promise. Don't make me shoot you. You have no idea what I'm capable of," Rachel reminded me.

After all this, I think I did realize what Rachel was capable of.

Rachel gave me a superior smile and turned around to leave.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea to ask her questions, but the doubt was killing me. I needed to know. Could she lie to Demian about the paternity of her child?

"Is it true that Demian is the father of my nephew?" I blurted out.

Rachel's legs stopped in their tracks. She turned around slowly. I noticed another smile on her face. She didn't answer me, but judging by her look, I knew my suspicions were true. Demian wasn't the father of her child.

I felt rage. With her lies, Rachel managed to snatch my husband away from me. Demian believed her over me! Damn it! I felt powerless.

"And is the baby you're expecting his?" I dared to ask. I knew I was treading on dangerous ground. But I needed to hear her answer.

"Of course it is," she smiled, but I couldn't believe her. There was something in her gaze that made me not believe it.

I wanted to insult her. I wanted to attack her for all the harm she was causing me.

Rachel left.

I cried uncontrollably. I was exhausted. My world collapsed, and I had to flee so that nothing wrong would happen to my children and me. I had to face life alone, without Demian. I felt so alone.

One of Rachel's henchmen approached me and hit me. My vision clouded immediately.

When I opened my eyes, I got up scared from the ground. I remembered Rachel's kidnapping as an instinct to flee danger, but I was no longer in that horrible place. I was in the parking lot again. I got up from the floor. My legs wouldn't stop shaking.

My stomach hurt too much, and I worried that something might be wrong with my children. I went to the hospital emergency room and asked to see a new doctor. My doctor betrayed me. She was on Rachel's side.

I felt relieved when they told me that the babies were fine.

Back home, I realized that Rachel had deleted the message she sent me from Demian's phone. She erased the evidence that could reveal the kind of person she is.

When I got home, I noticed Demian's car parked outside. It seemed strange. I entered the house and noticed Rachel's presence in the living room.

"What are you doing in my house?" I asked angrily.

Rachel smiled at me.

"Your house? Sorry, but this house belongs to Demian. You and he are no longer married," she replied.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded to know.

Demian came down the stairs.

"I've already brought your things to the room, darling," he said.

"Excuse me?" I raised my eyebrows. "His things? Did you bring them here?"

"I've returned to the house, Dana," he explained.

I looked at him furiously.

"You expect me to stay here for a few days while you and she are in the house? You've gone crazy!"

"No, in fact, you won't stay here, Dana. I want you to leave the house. This house doesn't belong to you anymore. I've transferred a considerable amount of money. You can manage with it for a while. Go find another place to live."

"You're kicking me out!" I realized.

My heart broke again. When it came to Demian, my heart shattered. Demian and Rachel continued to humiliate me.

"But..." I complained, but I saw Rachel's gaze.

I remembered every one of her words when she kidnapped me. I touched my wrists and felt a bit of pain. I looked at my wrists and noticed the rope marks. Why were they still there? Why hadn't I healed yet? It didn't make sense.

I looked at Rachel.

Her gaze said it all: she wanted me to leave right away. And I had to obey Demian. It didn't matter if it was unfair or not. I couldn't play by my own rules because Rachel threatened me with death. I had to protect my children from that crazy woman.

"Go, Dana. Haven't you understood?" Rachel spoke.

"Let me get my things, and I'll leave, Demian," I looked away.

I went up the stairs crying, but I made sure Demian and Rachel didn't notice. I noticed Rachel's suitcases on my bed. It wasn't my bed anymore. It was her and my ex-husband's bed. I packed my things in a suitcase while I heard Rachel and Demian laughing in the living room. Both seemed happy. And me? I was shattered. They both made sure of that.

I touched my stomach before leaving the room. I looked at the walls with nostalgia. I felt horrible when I noticed that the picture of Demian and me at our wedding was no longer on the nightstand.

I went down the stairs, and they fell silent. Demian hugged Rachel as if he loved her. Maybe he did love her. But he had no idea how wrong he was.

I walked to the door. I was going to leave without saying a word. But Demian stopped me. Like a fool, I felt hopeful that Demian would ask me to come back.

"What?" I turned around.

"I'll wait for you early tomorrow to reject you as Luna. I want to end this once and for all."

I paid for a night in a hotel. I had nowhere to stay, and I didn't want to ask my father for help because I didn't have a good relationship with him since he married Rachel's mother and cheated on my mother.

I couldn't sleep for almost the whole night thinking about what would happen. Today was the day of rejection, and I didn't feel ready for it. But Demian looked confident and determined enough. He didn't want anything to do with me. Nothing broke my heart more. His indifference hurt like a stab in the heart. My hope of him regretting his actions was dashed, but he loved another woman.

I bought the plane ticket while having breakfast. I forced myself to eat for my children, but my stomach was tied in knots. My trip to Kansas was scheduled for eight in the evening, and I didn't even have clothes to pack. I left everything at my house. Or at Demian and Rachel's house.

Demian sent me a text.

He was waiting for me at his house.

I arrived at Demian's house with a knot in my stomach. I looked at the house with tears in my eyes from nostalgia. I knocked on the door, and the maid opened it.

I felt ashamed.

"Come in," she let me in.

I saw Rachel coming down the stairs wearing my bathrobe. I wanted to comment, but I swallowed my words. She looked at me with venom in her eyes.

"Prepare my breakfast," she ordered the maid.

"Yes, Mrs. Strand."

"Mrs. Strand?" I raised my eyebrows. "Your last name isn't Strand."

"But it's Demian's last name, and he's my future husband," she replied with a wicked smile.

"I see you've taken over the house. Even my bathrobe," I felt disgusted looking at her.

My stepsister didn't wipe her smile.

"Demian and I just..." she didn't finish her sentence. "You know," she chuckled.

I wanted to kill her.

"Go to Demian's office. He'll be down in a moment to attend to you. Don't you dare touch anything in my house," she ordered and left.

A tear fell from my eye, but I wiped it away and headed towards the office. I sat waiting for Demian, who took twenty minutes to appear. When he entered, he didn't even greet me.

"I arrived more than twenty minutes ago," I reproached.

"We were showering," Rachel entered the room.

Both had wet hair.

How audacious.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped.

"It's my house, Dana. I can be here if I want," he retorted.

"I'm not doing this if she's here," I warned.

"Don't be immature, Dana," Demian judged.

"Immature?" I crossed my arms. "I'll leave if you don't get her out of the office."

Demian had no patience to entertain my requests. But he sighed and asked Rachel to leave us alone. Rachel didn't like the idea. But she left, looking at me with disdain.

"It's obvious you love her, letting her use even my bathrobe. You have no shame, Demian."

"And you're not in a position to claim anything because this isn't your house. You should have taken all your things last night."

"I would have if you had allowed me. But you threw me out like garbage."

"That's what you deserve for what you did. Rachel suffered for three years because of you. My son needed his father for three years, and all this time, I thought he was my nephew."

"I won't allow you to treat me like this! Demian, you have to respect me because I'm a decent woman!"

"Does a decent woman do what you did?"

"It's pointless to keep defending myself to someone who doesn't want to listen to me. But I don't care. I'm glad for the lies Carla told you. It frees me from you once and for all. I'll be happier without you by my side."

"Is that what you believe?" He smirked arrogantly.

"Of course. Do you think I need you to be happy?"

My words were venomous, but I knew there was some truth to them. What happened pained me every second. I wanted to scream in pain, but I had to find my happiness for myself. My life didn't end here. Demian wouldn't walk all over me. I wouldn't allow it again.

I know he didn't like my words. I saw it in his eyes, but I didn't care. I pretended to be tough when my heart was breaking. I repeated to myself that everything would be fine. I didn't need him in my life.

"Let's get this over with once and for all. I want you out of my house soon."

His words hurt.

"There's no going back if you regret this. Do you understand? If one day you discover Rachel's true personality, I promise I won't come back to you if you seek me."

"You're dead to me, Dana."

Instinctively, I touched my belly. My children heard what their father said. But it didn't matter. I would give them the life they deserved. We didn't need Demian to be happy.

"I, Demian Strand, reject you, Dana Hall, as my Luna mate."

My hands trembled as did my voice.

"I, Dana Hall, accept your rejection, Alpha Demian."

It's over. Our story ended forever.

"And you are expelled from the pack, Dana."

Thrown out of my house, divorced, rejected by Demian, and expelled from my pack.

"I swear you'll regret this, Demian."

"I doubt it. Rachel has packed your things in the room. Take them and go."

Demian left the office, leaving me there.

I walked to my old room and found all my clothes stuffed in trash bags. I felt indignant. But I didn't want to fight, so I took the bags and went down the stairs.

Rachel was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Are you leaving already?" she crossed her arms with a smile.

When I was on the last steps, Rachel pulled my arm, making me fall with the bags. I hit myself. The pain wasn't strong. But I feared for my children. Rachel bent down to my level and pulled my hair.

"Please, no. What are you doing? Demian!" I asked for help. I wanted him to see this version of his future wife.

"Demian went to work. I thought I told you not to mess with Demian, but I heard you telling him I'm a bad person. You're not holding up your end of our deal."

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again." I felt scared.

"You have all day today to leave, or I'll kill you."

I wasn't going to behave like her. Rachel was a wicked and insecure woman. She was terrified that I would take Demian away from her, but I wouldn't. I made the decision never to beg Demian again, or any man. I was sure that Demian would regret what he did to me.

The love I gave him was valuable and unique, but it was over.