Chapter 224

Hannah

My mind reeled as I stared at those words.

Notice of Divorce.

The world seemed to tilt on its axis as I read them over and over and over again. If I’d had the strength to do so, I might have even pinched myself to find out if I was having some kind of nightmare. But I just stood there, frozen, my arms hanging limply at my sides.

“...What?”

That was the only word I managed to choke out after an eternity, the lump in my throat feeling like millions of shards of glass piercing my esophagus.

Noah’s eyes were cold, devoid of any warmth or love. So much unlike the man who had held me all night. So far from the husband who had thrown me a baby shower and called me his queen and kissed me in front of everyone.

“I want a divorce,” he said matter-of-factly.

My throat bobbed. “Why?” Those shards of glass shattered even more. I could hardly breathe.

Noah merely shrugged, shoving the topmost paper—the one with two lines to sign, one for me and one for him, and one of them already held his signature—toward me.

That movement alone made me feel as if I had been punched in the gut. This had to be some kind of cruel joke, right? Some kind of horrible prank? A poor attempt at macabre humor?

But as I searched his face for any sign of the sweet, loving man I thought I had come to know over the past months, I found nothing but contempt. Before there had been little wildfires burning in those green eyes, but now that forest had turned as icy as the coldest winter.

“You’re... you’re joking, right?” I asked, my voice trembling.

Noah let out a harsh laugh. “Joking? God, you really are as stupid as you look. I’m honestly sorry that you’re dumb enough to believe I would ever love someone like you.”

Each word was like a dagger to my heart. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. This couldn’t be happening. I would have crumpled to the floor had it not been for the wall beside me. I pushed my hand into that wall with what little strength I had, begging my legs to keep me upright.

“But... but the baby,” I stammered, my hand instinctively moving to my swollen belly.

Noah’s lip curled in disgust. “You mean that thing? I’ve always known it’s not mine. You’ve probably been whoring around with Drake or who knows who else. Maybe you don’t even know who the father is.”

With that, he shoved the paper a little closer. He yanked a pen out of the inner pocket of his jacket and threw it on the table with force.

“Noah, what’s happening to you?” I begged, tears starting to form in my eyes. “What’s going on? Yesterday, you... we… Does Zoe have anything to do with this?”

“What? You thought I was actually talking to Zoe today?” He sneered. “I was out finalizing the divorce from my end.”

“But last night—”

“Right,” he huffed, looking away with a clenched jaw. “The sex. I just needed to keep you happy to stop you from trying to take money or items from the house. That’s why I’ve been so sweet, throwing parties for you, buying you things… fucking you. Goddess, you’re just as dumb as you’ve always been, Hannah.”

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. All of it—the tender moments, the lovemaking, the baby shower—it had all been a lie. A calculated move to keep me docile while he prepared to throw me away.

Hot, viscous fury bubbled up inside of me, mixing and mingling with the pain and hurt until I could barely see straight.

With shaking hands, I grabbed the papers and the pen. “You lying bastard,” I spat, scribbling my signature on the dotted lines.

As I signed, my eyes fell on the silver picture frame Noah had given me just the night before. I had put it on the foyer table, hoping to someday fill it and display it where every visitor would see.

Well, not anymore.

In a fit of rage, I grabbed it and smashed it on the floor. The glass shattered, scattering across the marble tiles. “Bastard,” I repeated, my voice hoarse.

Noah didn’t even flinch—not at the frame, and not at the words. As the glass skittered across the floor between us, his expression remained impassive as if he didn’t even recognize the gift he had just given me yesterday.

“There,” I said, shoving the signed papers at him. “You got what you wanted. I hope you’re happy.”

I turned to head upstairs and pack my things, but then paused at the foot of the staircase. My fingers curled around the banister, my arm trembling.

“I died and came back for you,” I said softly, my voice breaking. “Now I just see it was a waste.”

Noah simply shrugged, unmoved by my revelation. “There’s a car waiting outside to take you to Silvermoon,” he said, as if discussing the weather. “I’ll give you thirty minutes to pack your shit and get the hell out.”

Choking back a sob, I rushed upstairs to our—no, his—bedroom. I threw open the closet, grabbing a duffel bag and shoving whatever clothes I could reach into it. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely zip it closed.

For a moment, I paused, looking up at the pink dress that he had torn off of me last night. I grit my teeth, thinking back on those minutes in the clearing when the fabric had been hiked up around my waist and he had made me howl for all of the party to hear.

Now I knew that it was just an act. A… A humiliation.

Snarling, I extended my claws and shredded that stupid fucking dress to bits.

When I finally came back downstairs with one minute to spare, Noah was still waiting by the door, arms folded across his chest. Indifferent—he just looked bloody indifferent at what he had done. At how he had treated me.

“Go to hell,” I hissed, shoving past him.

Just as I reached for the doorknob, I felt Noah’s hand close around my wrist. “Hannah, wait—”

I turned, startled, and went to bite into his hand, but I froze.

His eyes were wide, almost… pleading, as if there was a part of him that didn’t want me to go.

Before I could react, he pulled me close and kissed me deeply. Through our Mindlink, I heard his voice, clear as day: “I love you. Only you. I promise.”

Stunned, I pulled back, searching his face. “Noah, what’s happening...?” I asked, hope fluttering in my chest.

But as quickly as it had appeared, the moment of tenderness had vanished. Noah’s eyes clouded with hatred once more, and he curled his lip back in a hideous sneer. And he… He laughed at me. Jeering, like I was some kind of freakshow.

“Goddess, you really are an idiot,” he spat, releasing my wrist as if he’d been burned.

The hope that had begun to blossom withered and died.

In that moment, something inside of me snapped.

“Fuck you.” I drew back my hand and slapped him across the face with all the strength I could muster. The sound echoed through the foyer like a gunshot.

Noah stumbled backward and fell against the table, sending a vase and those divorce papers flying. He gasped, clutching his rapidly-reddening face, his hair falling into his wide eyes.

I didn’t wait to see if he would recover. I grabbed my bag and stormed out, slamming the door behind me with enough force to rattle the windows.

Outside, the night air was cool against my tear-stained cheeks. True to Noah’s word, a black car was waiting at the end of the driveway. The driver stood beside it, his expression carefully neutral.

“Luna,” he said, inclining his head slightly as he opened the rear door for me.

I almost corrected him. I wasn’t the Luna anymore.

But I couldn’t find the strength. I feared that if I opened my mouth to speak, I might wind up falling to my knees in a pile right then and there.

So I shoved my bag into his hands and climbed into the car, slamming the door behind me.

My entire body trembled as the driver loaded my bag into the trunk. I buckled my seatbelt with shaking hands, rage and confusion and fear and hurt and humiliation washing over me in waves.

All of it—every moment, every look, every tender touch—had been an act.

And Noah was right: I was a fool for ever believing it. A goddamn fool.

As the driver climbed into the front seat and began to pull away from the mansion, I saw the front door open. A tall form stepped out, a pair of green eyes glowing bright in the night. I thought I saw Noah’s mouth open as if calling for me, but I looked away and told the driver to keep going. I wouldn’t fall for his tricks again, wouldn’t humiliate myself further.

And so the facades of the place that had once been my home faded into the night.

The full moon slipped behind a cloud, and the forest went dark.