Noah finally noticed what I was wearing: a white bridal gown.
His entire body stiffened.
“No, that’s not true,” he said quietly. “Talia, tell me this isn’t real. You are mine. “We are meant to be.”
I sighed softly and stepped away from Rhett, approaching Noah and looking him in the eyes. “Noah, our story ended a long time ago.” Today is your Marking Ceremony with Selene. I wish you well. And I hope you will do the same for me.
Noah’s gaze fixed on Rhett, his eyes sharp and feral. “You abandoned me for him?” What does he have that I do not? Is he better than I?”
Smack!
I slapped him, hard.
He looked at me in disbelief: “You hit me for him?””
He grabbed my hand, eyes glistening with tears, and said, “If it helps, hit me again. Hit me until you’ve stopped being angry… Then get back to me, okay? Talia, I love you. I cannot live without you.”
I ripped my hand away from his and walked back to Rhett. “I’ll say it again, Noah: we’re finished. We’re done from the moment you hit me for Selene, left me in that forest, and our child died because you turned your back on us.”
Noah was stunned.
“No, you couldn’t possibly be pregnant? Did the baby die?”
Images flashed through his mind.
I was lying in the dirt, bloodied and begging for help, when he looked me in the eye and turned away to hold someone else’s child.
He abandoned his own child to die.
“Ahhhh!”
He let out a broken scream before bolting out of the hallway like a madman.
Selene gave me a vicious glare and dashed after him without saying a word.
Rhett gently took my hand, his voice calm and warm: “Talia, the ceremony is about to begin.” Don’t let people who no longer matter spoil this day for us.”
I nodded and followed him into the banquet hall, hand in hand.
After becoming Rhett’s mate, not much changed in my daily life; I spent the majority of my time shopping or relaxing with his mother, and they never let me return to work.
“There are already two people making money in this house,” Rhett’s mother would say.
“You and I are just here to look beautiful.”
News about Noah continued to reach me on occasion, owing to the fact that things had spiralled out of control.
Noah beat up the bride so badly on the day of his Marking Ceremony that she ended up in the healer’s place, and her unborn pup died.
People claimed he had lost his mind and was shouting like a madman.
“Our baby has died! Why should yours survive? Why are you allowed to live?! You should all die!”
Noah’s parents locked him up at home and invited every healer and witch doctor they could find, but they all left shaking their heads.
He carried a rag doll around with him at all times, referring to it as his child, and he couldn’t recognise his own parents.
Noah’s mother brought Selene home from the healer’s place, hoping to calm him down. However, Noah hit her every time she got close, and he even strangled her until she nearly passed out. If Noah’s mother hadn’t intervened, Selene might have died.
Selene eventually gave up and ran away, leaving her own son behind.
While listening to all of this, I pushed my plate towards Rhett and whined playfully, “You gave me far too much food. Please help me finish it!”
Rhett’s mother laughed and placed a slice of cake on my plate. “Try this! Leave the rest to Rhett. “He’s always good at cleaning up for you.”
Rhett groaned, “Mom, seriously, who is your real child here?”
We all burst into laughter.
A person who truly loved would never let their beloved suffer, not even slightly.
With Rhett by my side, I knew our future would be filled with happiness.
