005 | Divorce and Runaway

Aurora’s POV

Selene clung to Ethan’s arm like a limpet as they left. He steadied her as she wobbled; seeing that broke me all over again.

 Had she been right? Would he really choose her over me? His mate? His wife? His Luna?

With clumsy fingers I picked up my phone. My hands shook as I waited for my parents to answer.

Ring, ring, ring…

We’d always had a good relationship – until now. Despite the struggles we’d faced and the poverty that had made them money-hungry once Ethan had entered our lives, I’d always thought they loved me.

All of a sudden, it felt like their love for money had outrun their love for me. 

“Aurora? How are you?” asked my mum as soon as she picked up. 

“I’ve been better.” I took a deep breath. “Mum, have you spoken to Ethan lately?”

She sighed. Nearby, I heard my dad’s gravelly huff. “Is this about the divorce? Ethan has already been more than generous.”

Dad cut in, “Especially after what you’ve done.”

I almost crushed the phone in my grip. “I haven’t done anything!”

Mum sighed again. “Aurora, you won’t get any more money out of him. You need to be careful. If you aren’t, the Alpha family… they’re powerful. It won’t just be our money they take away.”

I bit back a growl. “This isn’t about money.”

Dad took the phone off Mum. “You need to accept this,” he said bluntly. “You can’t fight it. What’s done is done, and Ethan is at least being fair. More than fair,” he added, his voice so self-satisfied that a new spark of anger lit in my belly. 

All they cared about was the money. It didn’t matter to them if I was telling the truth or lying, if I were married to my mate and happy or single, alone, and miserable. Either way, they got Ethan’s money – and that was apparently all they cared about. 

‘If that’s how they’re going to be,’ I told Violet, hiding my pain behind my anger, ‘then I’ll keep my babies and start a new family. I don’t need them,’ I lied to myself, holding back tears.

But the wound they’d left behind was raw, and it throbbed and throbbed – even once my choice was made.

* * *

Months passed by in a blur. My belly grew, and my love for my babies grew with it. 

Then, when our divorce proceedings got even uglier, Ethan froze my assets. 

Then my family and I fell out. Badly. It was worse than before; now, they were both fully on Ethan’s side, telling me that I’d been an unfaithful wife. When my dad told me I deserved everything that had happened to me, I knew I couldn’t go crawling back to them for help. If they would believe him over their own daughter, then…

I had nowhere to go and nobody to take me in. With only the few meagre possessions I could carry around with me, I was forced to live outside. I found shelter in the woods, stringing up my coats across branches to give me some small protection from the elements, but every night was spent huddled under my lone blanket, cursing the moon for allowing such a cruel fate to befall me.

Zoe helped me financially as much as I’d allow, but I declined most of her help. This was my burden to bear, not hers. I worked three different jobs and took on all the extra hours I could. 

Over the next few months, the divorce proceedings took over my life. I was entangled in a battle against my husband, the man I’d once looked to as my soulmate, my safe place, my home, over custody of our unborn children. 

“It’ll be all right,” my lawyer said, over and over. “The mother always wins these kinds of cases.”

Not me, though. 

At the final hearing, Ethan presented so-called evidence of my affair. I lost custody of my babies before they were even born. 

All the while my health declined. Living outside during my already complicated pregnancy was taking its toll. Zoe eventually insisted that she help me rent a flat and, when I blacked out in the middle of the woods for hours and woke up disorientated, I reluctantly agreed. Not for me, but for my twins.

“You’re looking better,” said Doctor Jean, but her voice was grim. “There’s some colour in your cheeks again.”

I was back in the hospital for more tests. I tried to sit up straighter, but my huge belly made it difficult. She helped me, eyeing me with pity in her gaze. 

“Have you heard anything about my request?” I asked, skipping the small talk. I’d grown cold over these past months.

Ethan had kept me hidden from society. Why should I bother conforming to it now?

Doctor Jean shifted her weight from foot to foot. “Yes, I have. The court has arranged for you to give birth in hospital.” She didn’t say it like it was good news, though that was what we’d both been hoping for.

“But?” I prompted.

“The specialist doctor I recommended and you requested – your request has been denied, Aurora. In fact, you’re moving to a different hospital.”

I frowned. “But this hospital is where the specialists are. Why would they move me away from the people I need?”

Doctor Jean didn’t have the answers. She just shrugged and apologised before getting on with my tests. 

I didn’t get an answer until I was at my new hospital. It was run-down, with smashed windows on the bottom two floors and shouting echoing through the halls, night and day.

A different nurse saw to me every time I had to go in. They all dodged my questions – until one didn’t. She was younger than the others, with wide, innocent eyes. As she took my blood pressure, I asked her again: “Why was I moved here? Why wasn’t I allowed a specialist?”

“Because you offended Alpha Ethan.” 

My heart froze over. I’d grown used to his callous treatment, but this… to risk the lives of our children because of his petty hatred towards me, all because of some lie about me cheating he’d convinced himself was true, was the last straw. 

He’d used his influence to ensure I was mistreated. He was so far removed from the man I’d married that I almost didn’t miss him.

Almost.

Every day felt like some sort of cosmic joke. I couldn’t believe that Ethan had left me right when we’d finally got everything we wanted. We’d dreamt of having children together for years. It hurt so much that he could break up our family over a misunderstanding.

Had he ever really loved me at all?

Or had it always been Selene?

* * *

About a month before my due date, Zoe stormed into the hospital and demanded to have a meeting with the manager.

“Don’t make a big deal out of this,” I pleaded with her. “I don’t want to make things any worse than they already are.”

“It’s for your own good,” she replied firmly. Then she kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand before she was ushered upstairs, to a fancy floor with unbroken windows, no doubt.

A surname meant so much in our world. It opened doors for Zoe that would always be shut for me.

She came back shortly with a grin on her face and triumph gleaming in her eyes. “I’ve arranged for a better doctor to take care of you this last month.” She put her hands on her hips. “I can’t move you back to your old hospital; Ethan is in control of where you are. But I can make damn sure my best friend is being taken care of by the best doctor in the place.”

I bit my lip. Zoe held a power I never would. I didn’t want to take advantage of it, but for my kids…

“There’s something I need to ask you,” I said gravely. “A favour.”

“You know I would do anything for you,” she replied.

I wondered if she regretted that, later.

A month later, to be precise. 

“Everything’s in place?” I asked nervously, gripping the sides of my bed. 

Zoe nodded. “Of course. I said I’d do this for you; I won’t let you down. But…”

I grunted. My contractions had started. “But?” I groaned, my hands going to my distended belly. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I don’t have a choice.” I forced the words out through gritted teeth. “It’s this, or losing my babies to him.”

Zoe’s jaw was set. “Then we’ll do it, Rory. I won’t let you down.” She checked her phone. “Raina is in position. We’re both ready for you.”

My muscles convulsed. I cried out.

I blacked in and out of consciousness as my babies came. The pain was so intense that I couldn’t stay awake. 

But, for every ounce of blood that soaked into my bed sheets, Zoe tripled it. Her job was to make my labour appear even more difficult than it truly was.

And, when the time came, she and Raina did it.

They helped me fake my own death.

As soon as my babies were born, I was escorted out of the building. A dummy was put in my place. I waited anxiously for Zoe and Raina to meet me outside with my kids.

Zoe came, but she didn’t look happy. She slid into the car beside me and pressed a bundle of cloth into my arms.

I cooed down at the little baby boy. Love surged in my chest – but fear made my heart stall. “Is Raina bringing my other baby?” I asked desperately.

“Raina isn’t coming. She’s tying up some loose ends,” she explained. Her voice was hesitant, and so unlike her own that I started to panic.

“Zoe, where’s my other baby?”

“I’m so sorry, Rory.” She blinked back tears. “There were complications with your delivery, and…”

I clutched my little boy to my chest. “Where’s my other baby?” I breathed.

“Zoe, she… she died. I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t hear anything else Zoe said over the ringing in my ears. As she drove away from the hospital, I clung to my baby and sobbed for the child that I’d lost.

I’d done it. I’d faked my own death and I’d escaped.

But at what cost?