Chapter 3

Our mansion had become a Pinterest wedding board gone wrong—glittery 'LOVE' letters plastered over our wedding photo —the one he'd scowled through at Olive Garden.

In the bedroom that Alpha Caleb and I used to share, a large, framed photo of him and Omega Juliet kissing hung proudly above the headboard.

I spotted something lying face down on the floor and picked it up.

It was the one and only wedding photo Alpha Caleb had reluctantly taken with me. We'd never had a wedding ceremony---he said he wasn't into "grand gestures."

During that photo shoot, he'd barely touched me, his face grim the entire time, like standing next to me was some sort of punishment.

But now? He was planning a full-blown wedding for her. Lavish photos, obvious affection.

So it wasn't that he hated weddings. He just didn't want one with me.

Something inside me snapped. I hurled the frame across the room. The glass shattered into sharp, glinting pieces as it hit the trash can.

My fingers stung---I'd cut myself.

In the bathroom, while rinsing the wound, my gaze landed on something else. Omega Juliet's La Perla thong lounged on the counter like a pink flag of conquest.

A wave of nausea rolled through me.

Then I heard the front door creak open. They were back.

Dinner was as cold as the silence between us.

Alpha Caleb stared at me for a long moment before finally speaking.

"Scar... Juliet's health isn't great. She can't have children. I've already had our daughter registered under her name. I was thinking maybe... we could have another baby later."

His words hit like a slap.

I clenched my fists so hard that my short nails dug into my palms, but nothing could stop the sharp, aching pain from spreading through my chest.

After a long silence, he sighed, annoyed by my lack of response.

"Juliet has a weak heart. If you don't agree, it could cause her stress."

"She's been through so much. Being a mom is all she's ever wanted."

"But because of her condition, she can't give me a child. Isn't that unfair to her?"

"You're my wife. Can't you be a little more understanding?"

I bit down hard on my lower lip, trying to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

Eventually, I let my hands fall to my sides.

Fine.

I didn't have long to live anyway. I'd do it---for my daughter's future.

"Okay," I said quietly. "Fine."

Omega Juliet looped her arm through Alpha Caleb's and smiled sweetly.

She chirped, adjusting her Van Cleef necklace,"Babe, let Scarlett decorate the nursery! She's lived here so long, she probably knows the space better than anyone. She'll do a better job than the maids."

Alpha Caleb turned to me like it was a reasonable favor.

"She's right. Juliet's too weak to do it herself. And the baby is yours too, after all. Just help out, okay?"

I nodded stiffly.

My heart felt colder than ever.

Later, after placing a teddy bear beside my daughter's crib, the door creaked open.

Omega Juliet sauntered in with a smug little smirk, eyeing me up and down like I was something she'd scraped off her shoe.

"So what if your face is, what---maybe seventy percent similar to mine?" she scoffed. "You're just a stand-in. A convenient backup."

"Caleb loves me. Always has."

"And that child you suffered through ten months of pregnancy for? He's giving her to me."

"If I were you, I'd do everyone a favor and drown myself."

A while ago, I would've lashed out. Slapped her. Screamed. Something.

But now... what was the point?

If it weren't for the fact that my days were numbered, and if I didn't need to stay alive a little longer for my daughter's sake, I would've walked out of this toxic house and never looked back.

That night, I curled up alone in the guest bedroom, cold and numb.

Then I heard it---a Omega woman's scream.

Moments later, Alpha Caleb burst in—his Rolex glinting as he backhanded me into the Pottery Barn nightstand and, without warning, slapped me hard across the face.

I crashed to the floor, dazed.