The Betrayed Luna Chapter 08
Alden’s eyes lit up instantly. He dried his hands in a rush and followed me, close at my heels like a shadow.
We climbed to the hospital rooftop.
The night wind was biting—the kind of cold that clears your head completely.
“Heidi, you’re finally willing to talk to me.” Alden rubbed his hands together, looking at me with anxious hope.
“Dad’s condition has stabilized. The Pack specialist said—”
“Alden.” I cut him off. Reached into my bag and produced a newly drafted bond-breaking agreement. Held it out to him.
“Sign it. This is the last time I’ll ask. If you refuse again, the Werewolf Court summons goes straight to Pack House. I don’t think you want an Alpha’s scandal becoming Pack-wide gossip.”
The smile on Alden’s face froze solid.
He stared at the agreement, dazed. The light in his eyes extinguished—slowly, completely.
“Why?” His voice broke. “I’ve been changing.”
“I gave you everything I own. I’ve been atoning every single day… why won’t you just forgive me?”
“Because what’s shattered can never be made whole again. Because love that arrives too late is worth less than dirt.”
I looked at him. My voice was as calm as if I were discussing the weather.
“Everything you’ve been doing—it moves you, but it doesn’t move me.”
“Every time I see you, I remember the way you held Viola and called her ‘baby.’ I remember you cutting off my father’s life-saving treatment for her.”
“Alden—let me go. And let yourself go.”
Alden stared at me, eyes burning red. Tears slid from the corners.
We stood in silence for a long time. Then, with shaking hands, he took the bond-breaking agreement.
He stared at the signature line. The pen wouldn’t move.
The pen left a dark blot of ink on the paper, just like the damage that had scarred our five-year bond.
“Heidi…” He raised his head one final time, eyes full of desperate supplication.
“Once I sign this—are we really… nothing to each other anymore?”
“Yes.” I answered without hesitation.
Alden closed his eyes. Tears dropped onto the agreement.
He drew one long breath. And finally—stroke by deliberate stroke—wrote his name on the signature line.
The instant he finished, he slid down the wall to the ground, hands over his face, sobbing uncontrollably.
I collected my copy of the agreement. Didn’t look at him again. Turned and headed downstairs.
The moment I pushed open the rooftop door, I was met by the rising morning sun.
Sunlight poured over me—warm and gentle.
I inhaled the crisp dawn air. And felt, at last, the boulder that had pressed against my chest for five years crumble to nothing.
Six months later.
I took what was rightfully mine and returned to New York, launching my own independent design brand.
With solid expertise and a work ethic that bordered on obsessive, my studio quickly made a name in the industry. I landed interior design contracts for several landmark buildings.
My father came to New York. Under the specialists’ care, his condition improved dramatically—now he could accompany my mother to the park every day for tai chi.
Everything was moving in the right direction.
One afternoon, I’d just wrapped up an important business meeting when Tessa slapped a newspaper onto my desk.
“Heidi, look! Alden’s company got acquired!”
I glanced at the headline.
After I left Frostvale Pack, Alden had been like a man with his spine removed. He stopped caring about Pack affairs. Spent his days drinking. Lost all interest in running the business.
Several major projects went catastrophically wrong in succession. The company ran into a severe cash-flow crisis. In the end, he had no choice but to declare bankruptcy and restructure.
In the newspaper photo, Alden’s eyes were vacant. Not a trace remained of the man who’d once commanded every room he entered.
“Apparently he wanders around your old apartment complex every day now, telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s sorry he wronged his Luna.” Tessa curled her lip.
“Serves him right. If only he’d known then what he knows now.”
I picked up my coffee. Took a slow sip.
“His business—don’t bring it up to me again.”
I stood. Walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Gazed out over the glittering city below.
Once, I thought Alden was my entire world.
Now I know—a woman’s world should never be built around a single man.
I turned, smiled at the young assistant who’d just been hired, standing in the doorway:
“Let’s go. We’ve got another site to visit.”