Chapter 2: The Merciless Exile

The cold diagnosis echoed through the grand hall like a death sentence, freezing the blood in my veins. Lucas’s mother’s venomous words—“worthless” and “the bloodline cannot be tarnished by you”—pierced me like poisoned daggers, leaving me utterly broken. Around me, the once-fake smiles of the pack dissolved, replaced by naked contempt and gloating satisfaction.

Lucas’s emerald eyes bore into me, swirling with shock, fury, and the twisted pain of perceived betrayal. He grabbed my wrist with such force that it felt as though my bones might shatter.

“You knew, didn’t you?” His voice was hoarse, trembling with barely restrained rage. “You hid this from me and tricked me into marrying you!”

“I didn’t! Lucas, I…” I tried to explain, to insist that there must be some mistake, that there was nothing wrong with my body. But the distrust and disgust etched into his face silenced me. The words lodged in my throat, turning into silent despair. He wouldn’t believe me. In this family, the old physician’s word was law.

“Enough!” he barked, cutting me off as he flung my hand away like it was something filthy. “I don’t want to hear another word!”

He turned to his mother, the regal matriarch who loomed over us like a judge, and his tone grew cold and resolute. “Mother, you’re right. For the glory and future of the family, I must make the right choice.”

My heart sank into an abyss of ice. The right choice? So, our ten years together—our love—meant nothing compared to his so-called family glory?

“Good,” his mother said with a satisfied nod, her gaze slicing through me like a blade. “Draft the divorce papers immediately. As for her…” She cast a disdainful glance my way. “Give her some money, enough to ensure she can live out her life quietly. Get her out of my sight at once. I won’t have her sullying the floors of the Bloodclaw Pack.”

The scene played out like a brutal drama, a shameless divorce unfolding right there in the cold, solemn altar hall. There was no pretense, no hesitation.

Two emotionless guards escorted me back to the room I once called home—a place now devoid of warmth, as cold as the marble floors beneath my feet. I wasn’t given time to gather my belongings. Only a few simple undergarments and clothes were permitted, enough to fit in a small bag.

The jewelry and elegant dresses that Lucas had once gifted me in the name of “love” were left behind without question. They were, after all, considered property of the Bloodclaw Pack.

Lucas didn’t even bother to see me one last time. Instead, the housekeeper delivered a cold, impersonal check and a divorce agreement already signed with his name.

“Madam,” the housekeeper said, their tone detached, with only the faintest hint of pity, “Master Lucas has instructed that you sign the papers and leave immediately. A car is waiting at the back gate.”

Stripped of everything. That was my reward for ten years of devotion, for pouring my heart and soul into this family.

I held the light yet unbearably heavy check in my trembling fingers, my hands numb with cold. This money—it severed everything. Mechanically, I signed the papers, feeling like nothing more than an item being discarded.

No farewells. No words of parting. Just silence.

Outside, the sky had opened without me realizing it, releasing a relentless, icy rain. The guards “escorted” me to the least conspicuous back gate of the estate. Without ceremony, they shoved me out, and the heavy iron door clanged shut behind me, severing me from the opulence and warmth inside.

The rain soaked through my thin clothes in an instant, chilling me to the bone. I stood in the mud, staring back at the brightly lit castle that no longer held a place for me. Ten years of my life—ten years of love and sacrifice—had led only to this: a brutal divorce and the ultimate humiliation of being cast out with nothing.

The rain mingled with the tears that blurred my vision. But it wasn’t the rain or the cold that hurt the most. It was the crushing agony of a heart betrayed and discarded.

Lucas—no, Marcus. You cast me aside like trash today. But one day, I will make you kneel before me. One day, you will regret this merciless exile with every fiber of your being!