Chapter 3 THE DEATH OF US
CHAPTER THREE
The Death of Us
AVRIELLE'S POV
I stood frozen at the front door, the cold weight of the Alpha’s gown pressing against my skin like a brand. Fate really had to toil with me until I dropped dead, didn't it?
Dread washed over me in icy waves as I pushed the door open, the hinges creaking like a warning. My eyes locked instantly on Ivana, who was lounging in the living room as if she already owned the air I breathed.
I tried to pull the tattered remains of my dignity around me, ignoring her as I made a bee-line for the stairs, but her voice sliced through the silence, stopping me right on my track.
"And where do you think you’re going, looking like a used rag?" she drawled, her eyes raking over the expensive silk I was wearing with a flicker of suspicion.
"None of your business, Ivana," I snapped, my voice thick with irritation. "I don't have to report to you in my own matrimonial home."
She let out a low, venomous smirk and stood up, sauntering toward me. "You mean my soon-to-be matrimonial home?" She shoved her hand in my face, the light catching a massive diamond ring that sat mockingly on her finger. "Yes, you guessed right. Adrian proposed. Last night, while you were out playing the martyr, he was making me his future."
I stared at the ring, the world tilting. "What did I ever do to you, Ivana? Why do you need to snatch everything from me? Why?!"
She let out a hysterical, high-pitched laugh that grated on my nerves. "Because it’s fun, Avrielle. Watching you lose is the highlight of my day."
"You’re a bitch!" I screamed, the words tearing out of my throat before I could stop them.
Ivana’s face contorted immediately. She let out a growl and slapped me so hard my head whipped to the side. "A pathetic, wolfless waste like you has no right to yell at me!" She barked.
Rage, hot and blinding, finally consumed me. Before she could blink, I swung back, my palm connecting with her cheek in a crack that echoed through the house. The force sent her sprawling to the floor with a dull thud.
"Ivana!" Adrian’s voice boomed as he practically flew down the stairs. He rushed past me, his shoulder hitting me so hard I stumbled backward, my ankle twisting with a sickening pop as I landed straight on my butt.
I watched through a veil of tears as he gathered her in his arms, petting her hair and whispering sweet nothings while she feigned a dramatic, dying gasp.
His gaze moved to mine, his eyes filled with a disgust that burned worse than my twisted ankle. "You’ve passed every limit, Avrielle! You’ve become a monster! You’re bullying people now? I don't even recognize the woman I married!"
A monster? Had he look himself in the mirror?. He hadn't even asked what happened; he just looked at me and saw a villain.
Suddenly, the front door flung open with such force it hit the wall. My heart stopped. Stepping into the room was the last person I wanted to see—Adrian’s uncle, Alpha Xavier.
Our gazes locked, and for a split second, I saw a tenderness in his dark eyes that made my soul ache, a pulling sensation so strong I had to look away before I fell apart.
Adrian scrambled to his feet, bowing his head in a frantic greeting. "Uncle, I didn't expect…"
Xavier walked right past him. He didn't even look at his nephew. Instead, he stopped in front of me, and before I could protest, his large, powerful hands wrapped around me. I tried to thrash, but his cold, warning gaze made me go still. He lifted me gently, placing me on the sofa as if I were made of glass.
"You better have a good reason for this mess, Adrian," Xavier muttered, his voice like grinding stones. "I fucking pray you do."
Adrian swallowed hard, staring at the floor in fear, but Ivana—ever the narcissist—stepped forward seductively, trying to shield Adrian.
"Alpha, Adrian is innocent! Avrielle is the one being unreasonable, trying to paint him as…" A low, terrifying growl ripped from Xavier's throat, shutting her up and making me stutter backwards.
Before anyone could move, his hand was wrapped around Ivana’s neck, lifting her slightly off her feet. "What gives a slut like you the audacity to speak to me?" He didn't even wait for an answer before flinging her across the room. She hit the floor like a discarded doll.
"Please!" Adrian cried out, grabbing the Alpha’s leg. "Spare her! She's my mate!"
Xavier looked down at him with pure loathing. "So the rumors are true. You’re dragging our family name through the mud by cheating because you think I’ll back you up?"
"I had no choice!" Adrian sobbed. "Avrielle became a nuisance! She isn't flirty or young anymore! Ivana is my second chance mate... she’s the one my heart desires!"
Xavier gaze hardened as he dusted Adrian’s hands off his pants as if they were filth. He sat down next to me, his face an expressionless mask of stone. "I regret giving you the decree to marry her. No one in this family has ever been so shameless." He growled, slamming his hand against the chair.
Suddenly, he pulled a document from his pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table. "I’ve decided. You’re divorcing her. Now."
"No!" I shouted before I could even think, finding my voice even as my heart shattered. "I’m not divorcing him. I don't care who the hell you are but how the hell gave you the right to butt into my marriage!"
Xavier turned his head slowly, his gaze chilling. "The last person who spoke to me in that tone was fed to the dogs alive, Avrielle. I love your audacity, but don't test me."
"I... I won't divorce her," Adrian whispered, and for a heartbeat, my heart leaped with a foolish, desperate joy. He still loved me. He wasn't going to let go.
And as if to describe to me how pathetic my thoughts were, Ivana scrambled up, her face twisted in a mask of fury. She stormed over and slapped Adrian hard across the face. I stared reeling from shock, expecting Adrian to go crazy but he just stared at her like a lovesick puppy.
"You won't divorce her? After everything you promised me? You’re going to forsake your mate for her?" She grabbed his shirt, shaking him. "Choose, Adrian! Choose between me and your child... and her!"
Adrian’s eyes went wide. "Child? You're pregnant?"
Ivana nodded, tears streaming down her face. "I was waiting for the right time..." And that shattered the last thread of hope I held on to.
The look of pure, unadulterated joy that broke across Adrian’s face was something he had never given me. Not once in five years. And in that moment, I knew. It was over.
Without thinking, he grabbed the pen and signed the papers before the ink was even dry.
"Sign it," he said, shoving the document into my hands, his voice cold and impatient. "It's for your own good. You won't be stuck in a loveless marriage" He muttered with a cold and detached expression. I stared at him blankly, he didn't even show hurt or pain. He didn't think twice before he decided to end out marriage.
“Don't be unreasonable, Avrielle. She's carrying my baby." He growled and I almost laughed of how much of a joke I actually was.
I looked at the paper, the letters blurring through my tears. I remembered the boy who saved me from the enforcers. I remembered the man who promised to love my curves and my soul. If this was what made him happy, I had to let the ghost go. My hand trembled as I scrawled my name, effectively killing the last five years of my life.
I handed the paper to Adrian, who passed it to the Alpha. Xavier stood up without a word and walked out, the heavy door thudding behind him.
"Get out," Ivana hissed the moment the Alpha was gone. "Or do you plan on staying in your ex's house?"
I swallowed hard , blinking back the tears. There's was really nothing to cry for or hold back, “I'd pack my things and leave" I mumbled.
“No, you can't leave with anything, it's Adrian's…so it's mine!" She yelled at my face and immediately turned to Adrian, hugging his arm, whining, "The baby doesn't want her taking anything, Adrian. I want it all."
I wiped my face, my gaze fixed on Adrian, hoping—praying—he would at least let me take my memories, but he didn't even look at me as he muttered in cold tone; "Leave with nothing, Avrielle. I don't want people calling you a gold-digger who stripped her husband's house. Just go."
I swallowed the lump in my throat, what else was I expecting?.
I reached out, placing my phone on the table. I unzipped my boots, pulled off my rings, and unfastened every piece of jewelry he had ever bought me. Barefoot and broken, I walked to the door.
"Bye, Adrian," I whispered. He didn't even look up as the door clicked shut behind me.