Chapter 3.

STACY.

The house is eerily quiet after the last guests leave. Only Linda lingers, her ever so kind and loving face is etched with concern as she watches me cradle my now sleeping son.

The warmth in her eyes is a stark contrast to the icy chill that has settled in my heart.

“Stacy,” Linda breaks the silence, reaching to touch my arm, “ I can stay with you tonight if you would like…you should not be alone after … after everything,” she smiles with a tight lipped smile.

I manage to return a small shaky smile, trying to reassure her even though my insides are a turmoil.

“Thank you mom, but I will be fine. I just need time to process all this alone,”

Her eyes search mine, lingering on my streaked face. I can see the doubt to leave me alone but she nods slowly.

“Alright, but please call me if you need anything at anytime… anything at all,”

I nod, my throat too tight to speak. She leans down to kiss her nameless grandpup’s forehead before she reluctantly heads towards the door. I watch her go, my heart sinking even deeper into my guts.

Once the door clicks shut behind Linda, the silence of the empty house crushes down on me.

I know tomorrow word will spread like wildfire about what just happened here. I can't believe I will become the laughing stock of the pack…

My body starts to shake and my vision blurs when suddenly Ava walks into the room.

“Luna, can I take the baby to his room?” She asks in a soft tone.

I blink rapidly to try to hide my tear filled eyes, “ Yes, please take him… There are extra bottles of milk I pumped in the fridge earlier, please stay with him tonight. I don't feel too well tonight,”

Ava nods and gently gets the baby from my trembling arms. I watch her take him to his room upstairs.

A tear trickles down my face as I knew Jason wouldn't be returning home after that showdown with his father.

So I head upstairs , my legs heavy with exhaustion and dread. The moment I step into our bedroom, the memories of the evening come rushing back in vivid painful clarity.

I barely register the plush carpet beneath my feet as I move towards the bathroom, my body on autopilot like a zombie. The second I reach the shower, I step inside still wearing my beautiful dress and turn on the water.

Oh goddess, where did I go wrong as a wife?

The cold stream of water hits me like a shock but I don't flinch. My heart is aching and I can only stand there, letting the water drench me, hoping it would numb the pain. But it doesn't. The tears that I have held back all evening finally break free.

‘ I'm divorcing Stacy…’ Jason's emotionless words ring repeatedly like a broken record.

My legs give out and I slide down to the tiled floor. My body is shaking with sobs.

Why me goddess? I have been nothing but good to Jason, so why punish me like this?

We were happy…. Or at least I thought we were. But now all I can hear is his cruel words echoing in my mind.

‘I never loved you… I love Nicole,’

I cry until I have no tears left. My sobs are nothing more than ragged gasps for air…

Why did his childhood sweetheart even decide to show up after I gave birth to Jason's pup? Could it be a coincidence or planned?

My body is frozen numb from the cold but I don't move.

Eventually exhaustion takes over and I fall asleep on the cold floor wishing this day was just a nightmare I wake up from tomorrow….

***

When morning comes, I'm roused by the sound of the bedroom door creaking open. I'm still laying on the floor, my dress clinging to my cold clammy skin. My nose makes out the unmistakable scent of who just walked in.

It's Jason. His back!

My heart leaps with a desperate hope that maybe he has come to apologize for last night.

I scrabble to my feet, nearly slipping as I rush out of the bathroom.

“Jay, “ I call out in a horse and raw voice. But the moment I see him, my heart sinks.

He is standing by the bed, not with remorse or concern in his eyes but with the same cold indifference as last night.

He takes in my appearance, soaked, disheveled and pitiful. A look of disgust flickers across his face and he scoffs, turning his back to me as he begins to pack his overnight bag.

I can't hold myself back, I feel something in me snap. “ Jason, please… please tell me what I did wrong,” I beg, my voice breaking… At this point, I'm not above begging, not when everything I have built is crumbling around me. “ I can fix it, whatever it is. Just don't divorce me,”

He doesn't even look at me as he continues packing. “There is nothing to fix Stacy. I told you last night, I don't love you, I love Nicole,” he calls her name sweetly while my name sounds as if it's bitter.

His words are like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath out of me but I still speak my mind. “ But we are fated mates and it's a taboo to go against the goddess' wish,” I whisper, barely able to speak through the pain.

Jason doesn't respond. He continues packing like I'm not in the room. I can't take his treatment so I snap at him again.

“We have a son together, How can you just throw all that away?”

Finally he turned his handsome face to face me but his eyes were devoid of any love and warmth I was accustomed to. He lets out a sly smile.

“ Firstly, fuck fate. That bullshit just ties us down to the wrong people… Thank your goddess that I have done my duty and given the pack an heir with you….But I'm done pretending. Nicole is the love of my life and I'm not letting her go like the first time,” he says sternly and the reality of his words slam into me leaving me breathless.

So he never loved me! All this time he was pretending! Wow Stacy, you are the fool in this game.

My hands tremble as I try to understand how the man I love can be so heartless and cruel after giving him the best two years of my life and a son. I refuse to believe his words.

“What about our son, do you love him enough to throw away his family?”

Jason's eyes soften but only slightly, “I care about my son. In Fact, I love him and I want him with me because he is my family,”

A tiny flicker of hope ignites with his words, I move to him and touch his arm, “ Then we can make us work right?”

Jason lets out a sour expression as he pulls his arm away from mine. “Stacy, stop this. This is just pathetic of you… we are going through the divorce and you are not allowed to take my son with you,” he commands sternly with his Alpha aura on.

I whimper as my heart pounds in my chest, rising a tide of panic threatening to overwhelm me. I now understood why most Lunas ran away silently with the news of pregnancy during a divorce with their mate.

“But I'm his mother, I can't leave him. He is too small,”

Jason's eyes darken and his voice drops to a menacing whisper. “ Stacy, if you try to challenge me to take my son, I will forget that you are his mother and kill you myself and he will be raised by a nanny who knows how to do as she is told,”

This is the first time Jason has ever threatened me. The blood drains from my face as his words sink in. My body begins to tremble uncontrollably.

Oh goddess, if this is a dream, please wake me up now…