"Josephine," I whispered her name. It sounded foreign on my lips, a name I hadn't spoken in years. "What are you doing here?"
"Me?" Josephine laughed, placing a hand over her chest. "You don't seem so happy to see me. It makes me sad. After all that happened?" She cocked her head to the side, a pout on her red lips.
After all that had happened. My hands formed tight fists as I struggled to keep them by my side. Josephine. The one woman I had hoped to not see again. Memories started to rush into my mind. Of a time, we were young and the best friends in the world. A time where nothing and no one could ever separate us. A time when things were a whole lot easier.
Cian walked over to us, I noticed how he took a stand beside Josephine, their shoulders almost touching. He looked at her, and I swear I saw his cold gaze soften.
"Excuse us for a moment, okay?" He said in a voice he only ever used with me. But now he's using it on Josephine.
"Sure thing hon," Josephine replied in a cheerful tone. She turned to me and waved. "I'll see you in a bit, best friend." She blew me a kiss and walked away, her hips swaying as she made her way up the stairs.
I felt helpless watching my husband, the love of my life, looking at another woman with such eyes. Using such tone of voice on her. Cian turned from her to me, and his eyes went back to being cold.
"What's going on?" I asked. "Why....what is she doing here?"
He didn't reply immediately. Instead he handed a black file over to me. When I hesitated to take it, he took it and put it in my arms. "Sign those papers." He said.
"P-papers?" I sputtered, my heart falling to my stomach. "What papers?"
"Open it and see for yourself and stop asking me dumb questions."
His words plus his cold eyes shot a dagger straight to my heart. I opened the envelope, my hands trembling as I did. There was single sheet of paper inside. I pulled it out, my heart racing so loud I feared it would just burst.
Dissolution of marriage.
I looked up at Cian, a cold chill descending on my body. "You're divorcing..."
"Yes." He said. "I'm divorcing you. Sign those papers and leave my house."
"But why?!" I cried out. "Why?! Everything has been going fine so far? Why?!"
My heart felt like it would split in half. There's no way Cian is divorcing me! I refuse to accept it! He loves me, he does!
"Why?" He scoffed. "Honestly, you're so dense it's so annoying."
His words cut through my heart. "Dense? What do you mean? You love me, Cian. You do."
"Love?" He laughed bitterly. "Don't delude yourself with such a thing, Vanya. I never loved you. Not even a single day on my life"
"What?"
"And maybe if you weren't so delusional you would have noticed it. But instead you chose to live on a fantasy bubble, believing whatever you wanted to, just so you could be happy."
"What does this have to do with divorce!" I screamed, hit tears covering my eyes. My hand went to my stomach; I was starting to feel sharp pangs of pain in my stomach.
Cian sneered at me, His eyes darkening. "I only agreed to marry you, because you look like her."
My heart shattered.
Because I look like her? That's....that's why?
"No," I shook my head, tears rolling down my eyes. "Cian you can't...."
"I've always loved her. She was my first love. And you were just the one in the way." Cian continued, a cruel smile on his face. "She's back now, and there's no need for me to keep up this charade anymore."
"Charade?" I laughed. "That's what you would call three years of marriage?"
Josephine. It has always been Josephine.
"What did you think it was?" He laughed. "You're just an omega, Vanya. Nothing else."
I felt the weight of my baby weighing heavily on my mind. I had been so excited, all I wanted to do was make a nice dinner and break the good news to him.
I can't even gather my thoughts. He's divorcing me. He loved Josephine, he was only with me because I looked like her.
I always hated that. Growing up we looked like twins, but Josephine was more of everything. She had wealthy parents. She had good grades, a social life, everyone was obsessed with her. And I was just the omega who she had befriended. I was her shadow, the only thing good about me was that I shared her beauty.
Or at least I used to think.
And now the love of my life confesses to being her love.
"You're wasting time." Cian sighed in annoyance. "Sign those papers immediately."
"I love you," I said, hoping my words would get to him. "And I'm..." I caught myself. Should I just tell him?
He regarded me coldly. "I don't care, Vanya. Josephine is the woman I love."
I stared at the divorce papers, tears obscuring my vision. My heart felt like it had been crushed into pieces. The pangs on my stomach increased in intensity every second.
"I can't..." I cried. "I can't sign this. No I..."
"I don't even know why I'm entertaining this." Can said with a vexed sigh. "I, Cian Valor, alpha of dragon claw pack rejects you, Vanya Jacobs as my mate and Luna."
"No!" I cried out, my wolf howling in pain as the mate bond between us snapped. It felt like a hot pain in my chest, searing through the pieces of my broken heart.
"I wanted to do this the human way. But you don't deserve that." Cian said, his voice full of hatred.
A scream of agony tore through my lips. I grabbed my chest, the pain getting hotter and hotter. The next thing I knew, my body fell to the floor and I lost consciousness.
Vanya's POV:"Oh my goodness doctor! Will she be okay?! I don't want anything to happen to my best friend! You have to make sure that she'll be fine! Do you hear me?!"I woke to the sound of an angry voice and machines beeping. The smell of disinfectant in the air let me know that I was in a hospital. For a moment I was lost, then I started to recall all that had happened.Cian rejected me.The pain started to register, along with the sound of my wolf mewling in pain. My hand went to my stomach, and I sighed. The tears started to gather again, stinging my eyes. "Best friend!" I heard the voice cry out. Josephine. I turned my head to her, mustering the darkest glare I could. She grabbed my hand, tears in her eyes. Tears that I was sure were fake. "I'm so happy you're okay now!"I pulled my hand away from her and turned to doctor John. "Where is my husband?" I asked."He..." Doctor John started to say and sighed. "I'm sorry, my Luna, he didn't come.""Oh she's not Luna anymore." Jos
Vanya's pov:"You're supposed to use clarified butter for that recipe." I said, wiping the broth off my finger. "It gives it a more dignified taste.""Yes ma'am. I'll get to it right away!" The kitchen was a flurry of activities. With a huge event coming up in a matter of days, all my chefs had hands on deck to ensure that everything went smoother than oil.The aromas of food wafted in the air. I could feel the heat, and it was making me a bit sweaty. But work had to be done, and it was something I would endure. "Miss Jacob!" I heard a loud voice call my name. I turned to see a junior chef. "I made this for you!" He announced, holding a plate of cake in his hands. He stretched out to me.I held back a smile. "Thank you, Mike." I said, taking it from him."You...you know my name?" "Yes. I know all my worker by their name." I took a bite of the cake. "It's moist, but it's lacking flavour. What was it supposed to be?""V-vanilla!""Well," I handed the plate back to him. "Perfect the r
Vanya's pov:I couldn't ever get used to seeing so many rich and influential people under one roof. The cool air smelled of money and expensive cologne. I myself looked like one of these rich people, dressed in an exquisite dark red gown studded with gems on the plunging neckline. I had my hair done in a princess braid, tendrils of it framing my face and eyes. I held a champagne flute in my hand, sipping it occasionally. It was the good kind, the expensive bubbles tickling my tongue.The dance floor was alive with couples in their attractive designer clothes dancing to fancy piano music. I stood on the balcony, drinking my champagne and watching the event. I had no obligation to be here, but I couldn't say no to the client's invitation.How many of these events have I attended in just three months? A lot of them. And with each one, JAY’S CUISINE was there to attend to all the catering and interior decorating needs. I think this one was a fundraiser for women cancer, I wasn't exactly
Vanya's POV:"I'll be taking my leave now," Roman announced, leaving with a bow. I couldn't say anything to him, my eyes focused solely on Josephine."It's been only four years?" I scoffed, my eyes wide with surprise. "Is that supposed to make me feel better or what?"Josephine giggled, turning to glance at Cian for a brief moment. "What's the matter babe? Did I say something out of line?" She asked, batting long lashes at me. I rolled my eyes.I resisted the urge to smash my champagne flute into Josephine's eye. Four years, I'm very sure to her it must have been just four years. but to me those four years were full of so much pain and agony that I can't even bear to look at the two of them right now without feeling like I want to smash my glass with my bare hands or scream out in frustration.I controlled my emotions, taking in deep gulps of air to calm myself down. There's no point in over reacting right now, I'm only going to give them the satisfaction that they're looking for. No
Vanya'sPOVI stared at Josephine for a good ten seconds as if she had magically spawned an extra head."You know, I have really high hopes for whoever it is," She said, her smile widening. "You were a former luna, so I wouldn't expect you to be fucking anyone leas than an alpha, right? I mean, it would just be so crazy and low value behavior.""What?" I gasped, my eyes wide. I can't believe the words spewing out of her lips right now. Does she really think this is what is happening? "Oh don't look so surprised." She laughed, waving me off dismissively. "That gown you have on, it's designer. Unless of course it's fake, I don't mind that too."She's talking nonsense. And I don't have the energy to listen to her rant right now. She's doing this to get on my nerves I know that. And it's working. It's fucking working right now."Have a wonderful evening." I snapped, turning on my heel."Leaving so soon?" Josephine called after me, her chilling laughter going down to my bones. "Don't tell
Vanya's POV:It's not like I didn't know Cian's heart wasn't with me. As he had said, I chose to live in my own fantasy bubble, believing whatever the hell I wanted to believe as long as I was happy. Believing that Cian loved me. Believing that the moon goddess finally answered my prayers and mated us together. Believing that we would be together till we died. It wasn't that hard to see if only I looked. How distant he looked sometimes, like something was on his mind. And later I would come to discover that something on his mind was actually on someone. And that someone was the woman I believed was my best friend of all time.I laughed softly. I was so stupid."Here," Tara said, handing a plate with a slice of cake over to me. We sat on the elevated platform right next to our catering van. About four of my staff were in the van, drinking some water and having light snacks. Tara poured some champagne for the both of us and we sat back to enjoy the small treat. I drank the champagne
Vanya's POV:"Come on Tara, I'm driving you home.""But why?" Tara drawled, her head bobbing on my shoulder. The stench of alcohol was heavy on her breath. She raised her head and looked up at me, cheeks flushed and lips bloody red. "How are you not drunk?" She asked, a hiccup leaving her lips."I have high alcohol tolerance." I said. I supported her, my arm over her shoulder as we stumbled to my car. "I'm sober enough to drive us home.""Okay," She mumbled. "I think I'm gonna be sick."Before I could stop her, she doubled over, throwing up the contents in her stomach on the ground. I patted her back, holding her hair back."Let it all out." I mumbled. She gagged and retched, mumbling half apologies about how she's such a mess. I heard approaching footsteps running toward us. I turned to see Mike holding a bottle of water."Is she okay?" He asked, worried eyes glancing at Tara."She's fine." I said, taking the bottle from his hand. I opened it and brought it up to Tara's lips. She dr
Vanya's POVThe next morning, I woke up late.I laid in bed for a few seconds, trying to remember what had happened that left me feeling so tired. Memories of the previous night rushed into my head, making me groan out loud and bury my pillow into my face.It all came rushing back. Cian. Josephine. Tara's breakdown in my car. Tara!I sat up in a start, looking around the room. I heaved a sigh of relief seeing the body lying beside me, warm brown hair sprayed all over the pink silk pillows. I leaned over checking to see if she was still breathing. Thankfully she was.I got out of bed, stretching my shoulders. I still wore my gown from the party, I must have crashed into the bed the moment I came home. So was Tara, she was still dressed for the party.I went about my morning routine, taking a shower and changing into my day clothes. By the time I was done, Tara was still asleep. The clock hanging on my wall read ten thirty in the morning."Marco will kill me." I muttered under my breat