Chapter 8 My father's boot slammed into Ethan's chest with a sickening thud. "You filthy beast! I must've been blind to ever let my daughter marry you! Look at what that wretched woman did to my children!" Ethan shook his head in terror. He knew better than anyone how ruthless my father could be- and he knew he was no match for him. "Alpha King, I swear I didn't know!" he stammered, panic thick in his voice. "It was all her! I swear it was her doing!" "I'll make her apologize to Sera right now!" Ethan lunged at Layla, seizing her by the hair and slamming her head against the floor-again and again. Her screams tore through the room. "Ethan! How could you do this to me?" Within minutes, her forehead was a bloody ruin. My gaze fell on the ruby ring on Layla's finger-and I froze. That ring... Ethan had once spent every cent he had to buy it for me. Seeing it gleam on her hand now felt like a cruel joke. Ethan followed my stare, his face twisting with fury. "Who gave you permission to touch Sera's things? Give it back, you filth!" He ripped the ring from her finger with such force that I heard the snap of bone. Layla barely had the strength to cry out. Desperate, she sank her teeth into his hand. He struck her hard across the face, sending her crashing onto the cold concrete. "Ethan! I'll kill you!" Layla's voice broke into a feral howl. He ignored her completely. Instead, he held out the ring to me like some grotesque offering. "Sera, this is yours." Disgust surged in my chest. To think he could brutalize the woman who'd borne his child for years -just to win me back. I must've been blind to ever love a man like him. I gave him a cold, withering look. "Ethan, I don't want your filthy scraps." The words hit him like a slap. Ethan tossed the ring aside. "That's fine, Sera. I'll buy you a bigger, better one." Chapter 8 Dreame-Read Romance Stories 100.00% 4.4 FREE Installed Open Everyone knows that only the richest attend that school. Our families were billionaires. That soft, honeyed tone-once my weakness-now made my stomach turn. My father hurled a stack of papers at his face. "Sign it. And stay the hell away from my daughter." Ethan dropped to his knees before him. "Alpha King, please! I messed up-it was all her fault! You have to believe me! I've only ever loved Sera!" But I saw through him. He wasn't remorseful-he was terrified. Ethan had grown used to the luxury that came with being tied to the Silvermoon Pack, and now that it was slipping away, he was scrambling to survive. I let out a low, bitter laugh and glanced at the vial in my father's hand. "You want to prove your loyalty? Go ahead. Pour that on her." It was meant to scare him off. I never thought he'd actually do it. But Ethan snatched the vial from me without hesitation and splashed the wolfsbane-laced toxin onto Layla. Her screams were gut-wrenching as the poison burned through her skin. "Ethan! How could you?" she shrieked, her voice raw and breaking. Ethan didn't flinch. "You hurt Sera. You deserve this." There was no mercy in his eyes-only cold, fanatical devotion as he emptied the vial, every drop meant to prove his loyalty. It was monstrous. I felt no pity for Layla. She'd hurt me, and she was paying the price. Yet in that moment, I saw it clearly-we were both fools, both blinded by the same heartless man. Pathetic. "Sera, is this enough?" Ethan asked, gesturing to Layla's crumpled body like she was a trophy. I exhaled slowly, shoving the divorce papers toward him. "Sign it. You're leaving with nothing. Any problem with that?" He blinked at me, stunned. "Sera, you said-" "I never said I'd forgive you," I cut him off with a sharp laugh. "Don't be so naive, Ethan. "But I did this for you Before he could finish, my father's boot hit him square in the chest again. "Sign the damn papers! Chapter 8 100.00% Dreame-Read Romance Stories Everyone knows that only the richest attend that school. Our families were billionaires. 4.4 FREE Installed Open Or I'll make you!" "Alpha King-please!" he gasped, but my father grabbed him by the throat. "Sign. Now." Ethan's trembling hand scrawled his name across the divorce papers. Relief surged through me- sharp, hollow, liberating. I wanted nothing more to do with him. My father's glare could have set him ablaze. "You think I don't know about the shady deals you've been pulling with Silvermoon's assets? If it weren't for Sera, I'd have gutted you myself long ago, you ungrateful dog." He dialed his assistant right in front of Ethan. "I want a full investigation on everything he's touched. Leave nothing buried." Layla had already lost consciousness by then. My father slipped an arm around my shoulders and led me out, closing the door on that nightmare. Later, Ethan was sentenced by the werewolf tribunal to decades in prison for assault and embezzling pack funds. With my brother's influence inside, his days behind bars were pure torment. Sometimes, my brother sent photos-Ethan's body a map of bruises, not a single inch spared. Every day was the same. Layla was imprisoned too, charged with assault. She wouldn't see daylight for at least a decade. Ethan's family tried to stir trouble, but my father and brother drove them off before they could even set eyes on me. Love had burned me out completely. I was done with it. Autumn in Lunaris City. Maple leaves drifted lazily to the ground. I sat alone on a park bench, watching strangers pass by, a pang of homesickness curling in my chest. I'd left home to escape the pain-to bury the ghosts of my past. A leaf spun down through the air, and instinctively, I reached to catch it. At the same moment, a larger hand caught the other end. I looked up-and met the warm, steady eyes of a man with a quiet smile. "They say if two people Chapter 8 100.00% Dreame-Read Romance Stories D Everyone knows that only the richest attend that school. Our families were billionaires. 4.4 FREE Installed Open catch the same leaf," he murmured, "they're destined to stay together." My heart, long thought dead, skipped a beat. "May I have the honor of taking you to dinner, beautiful?" he asked softly. Something in his gaze-sincere and unguarded-stirred the part of me I thought had died forever. I smiled, finally ready to let go of the past. "I'd like that." Chapter 1