Chapter 3

In the comfort of her hotel room, Cynthia watched on her phone the live footage of Aurelia leaving the police station. As soon as she appeared, she was bombarded by a horde of reporters.

And Kane, like a true knight in shining armour, shielded her and answered their questions on her behalf. He had made sure Aurelia walked away scot-free. As Alpha of the Aurora Pack, he had immense power in the city. Getting his mistress out of legal trouble was easy for him.

After being offered handsome compensation, the victim claimed fault, saying that he had jaywalked, causing the accident.

Once the two made it past the reporters, the twins rushed up to Aurelia and hugged her. Watching them, Cynthia did not feel any sense of betrayal or sadness. It was like watching strangers. That’s how numb she had become.

Later that night, it rained with thunder and lightning. Cynthia walked to the window and watched as the heavy rain battered the street outside. Watching it gave her a sense of healing, as if the rain was washing away the remnants of the past five years that still clung to her.

She was standing there for a while when her phone rang. It was a video call from Anna.

“Luna, can you please come back tonight?” Anna begged. “Harry is terrified because of the thunder. He has been crying all night and can’t sleep. You’re the only one who can calm him down.”

It was true, Harry was terrified of thunderstorms. He’d only calm down if Cynthia held him. But that was before, when she was a dutiful mother.

“Isn’t Aurelia with them?” Cynthia asked. “Let her comfort him.”

Anna looked puzzled for a hot second. The camera moved, then Harry’s face appeared. “You don’t care about us at all! You are jealous of Auntie Aurelia, so you have abandoned us!”

Justin appeared in the frame. His face was cold and set, an expression his father usually wore. It felt funny to Cynthia. They were so ready to discard her at the station. Now, they were accusing her of abandoning them?

“Forget about her!” Justin said. He appeared in the frame, hugging his small brother. “She is a bad mother.”

Harry’s cries got louder and louder. Cynthia hung up and poured herself a glass of wine.

Not even a minute later, her phone was bombarded with messages from Kane.

(How can you act like this?)

(Are you even a mother?)

(They are your children!)

(See me in my office tomorrow. Let’s end this. My sons deserve better!)

After he was done venting, she replied, (Good.)

Finally, she could get her divorce.

The next morning, she arrived at the Aurora Corporation bright and early. Parker welcomed her into the office and asked her to wait for Kane, who was in a meeting.

Cynthia looked around the office. It was huge and luxurious, and she had never been there before. Kane had kept her carefully separated from his work life. Other lunas were out there leading their packs in all aspects. Her? She was no different from someone under house arrest.

She stopped when her eyes fell on a green silk scarf draped over the sofa. It was the same one Aurelia wore the day of the accident. Mh. Hadn’t Kane said he didn’t mix personal life with business?

The door opened, and Cynthia expected her husband. Instead, it was Aurelia who walked in, holding the twins’ hands.

The trio stopped short on seeing her. A second later, Aurelia put on a practiced smile. “Oh, your mother is here!”

Cynthia looked at the three, wondering what they were doing at the office so early in the morning. Going on another ‘family’ outing?

“I stayed with the boys last night because they were scared of the thunderstorm,” Aurelia explained. “They wanted to see their father, so I brought them.”

As expected, they had a ‘backup’ mother. Why did they bother calling her last night? “Well, you can leave now.”

“No!” Ethan shouted. “Auntie Aurelia came because you refused to. Don’t tell her to go away.”

“Weren’t you going to divorce Daddy?” Justin asked. “Why are you here? You abandoned us.”

“You seem to be doing just fine with your new mother,” she told them.

“How can you say that to the children?” Aurelia asked, wearing a look of righteousness. “I know you are angry, but they are innocent. Don’t take it out on them. I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped. I’ll keep my distance from now on.”

“No!” Harry cried out. “Don’t leave us, Auntie. Mother, don’t blame Auntie. She only took care of us because you left.”

Aurelia squatted to his height and wiped his tears. ”Don’t cry, Harry. Don’t worry, we adults will sort it out. I don’t want to see you cry, okay?”

“Are you done?” Cynthia asked sharply. Aurelia was too good at playing the victim. She would be entertained if she wasn’t tired of this circus show.

All three pairs of eyes turned to her.

“You two,” she said, gesturing to her sons. “You wanted a new mommy, right? You got her, so why keep complaining? You think it’s wrong to blame her for my own faults? Then, tell me, who was it that wanted me to take the blame for her at the station? Huh? Did your sense of justice disappear at that moment?”

The two boys looked back at her silently, stunned.

She turned to her sister. “And you, spare me the crocodile tears. You’ve been crossing the lines quite happily over the years; why act like you had no idea? Or, do you want recognition for your efforts? Should I tell the world about how well you’ve taken over my wifely and motherly duties? They might congratulate you for being such a thoughtful little sister.”

Nobody said anything for a moment. But the impact of her words was evident–all three had trembling lips and teary eyes. They really were made for each other, seeing as none of them could handle the truth.

“I’ll tell Daddy,” Harry cried. “You are so mean.”

“Did I lie?” Cynthia asked. “If I said anything that wasn’t true, I’ll apologise. Point it out for me.”

More silence.

Aurelia let go of the boys and rushed out of the office. The boys settled on a sofa, huddling together while glaring at their mother. Cynthia took out her phone and played a game.

A while later, Cynthia received a call from the Ramsdale residence's number. Looking at the time, Cynthia figured Aurelia must have arrived home and cried to their parents.

Mentally preparing for more drama, she received the call.