“You did,” she interrupted. “But now, I have it all back. My family. My place. Eros.” She leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper. “How does it feel to lose everything?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, she turned her back to the crowd, tilting her glass slightly.
And then she poured the wine down the front of her dress.
The glass slipped from her hand, shattering on the floor as she stumbled back, falling to the ground. Her cries pierced the air, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.
“Oh my goddess, please don’t!” she sobbed, her voice trembling. “Why would you do this to me?”
Gasps filled the room as all eyes turned to me.
“I didn’t—” I started, panic rising in my chest.
I took a shaky breath, my hand trembling over my abdomen. No one knew yet, but our child—my child—was growing inside me.
“Remi!” Eros’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and accusing. He crossed the room in an instant, his expression furious. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I didn’t do anything!” I cried, my voice breaking.
“How could you?” my father—no, Alpha Donovan—snapped. “You’ve already enjoyed a life that wasn’t yours, and now you can’t even let your sister have her moment?”
“She’s not my sister!” I yelled, my voice shaking with anger and pain.
Eros’s hand struck my cheek before I even saw it coming. The sting burned, and I stumbled back, clutching my face as tears streamed down my cheeks.
Remi's POV
The slap echoed in my ears, and for a moment, everything went still. The world blurred, the crowd’s murmurs faded, and all I could hear was the sting of Eros’s palm across my cheek. My face burned, but it wasn’t just from the physical pain—it was from the humiliation, the coldness in his eyes. The man I had loved, the man I had sacrificed everything for, had just slapped me like I was nothing. Not his Luna. Not his mate. Just a nuisance.
Tears welled in my eyes, but I forced them back, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break further. But it was too much. My chest ached, a tightness that had been growing for weeks, months, years now. I was drowning in it.
“Remi!” Eros’s voice cut through the thick tension, sharp and accusatory. “What the hell is wrong with you?”