Chapter 257: Side Story Four

Chapter 257: Side Story Four
Elena's POV

I was twenty-two when Victor and I held our Moon Ceremony.

From the moment I first saw him, I knew he truly was my destined mate. That soul-crashing feeling was like lightning coursing through my body, as if our lives had already been bound tightly together among the stars.

For reasons I couldn't understand, Victor always locked himself in his study. At first, when I knocked to check on him, he'd dismiss me with: "Darling, I'm handling family matters. I'll be out soon."

But that "soon" often turned into entire nights. Whenever I snuck close to his study, I'd hear his hushed muttering and the rustling of ancient parchment—sounds that sent chills down my spine.

He also despised humans; we didn't even have a single human servant in our home.

"Victor, we could consider hiring some human helpers. They're quite skilled with gardening," I once suggested.

Victor's face immediately darkened. "Never allow humans on Morgan family grounds! They cannot be trusted, Elena." His tone ensured I never brought up the topic again.

Despite this, he was a perfect husband and father in every other way. He adored Alexander, and countless times I watched father and son playing in the yard, my heart overflowing with happiness and contentment.

"Look at our son, Elena," Victor would proudly tell me. "He'll become the greatest Alpha the Morgan family has ever known." The tenderness and love in his eyes seemed so genuine then, almost making me forget his darker side.

Until I discovered he had an illegitimate son—with a human, no less. My world shattered in an instant.

Fighting back tears, I stormed into Victor's study, slamming the door behind me.

"You have a child in the human district?" My voice shook with anger and betrayal. "Tell me this isn't true, Victor!"

Victor initially denied it: "Elena, who told you such an absurd thing?"

"Stop lying!" I screamed, tears finally spilling over. "The entire family is talking about it!"

Under my insistence, he finally admitted it. He approached me, trying to take my hands. "I swear, Elena, this happened before I met you. I had no idea the child existed until recently..."

"How could you do this to me?" I choked out, my heart feeling like it was being sliced open. "We're destined mates, Victor. Does that mean nothing to you?"

"It's precisely because we're destined mates," he pleaded, "that I hope you can understand. That child and his mother have nothing to do with us, Elena. You and Alexander are the only ones I love."

I coldly yanked my hand away and turned to leave. That night, I locked myself in the guest room, my pillow soaked with tears. I kept asking myself: If he could hide something like this, what else don't I know?

Later, I secretly searched for information about him and this child in the news. The human woman's name was Shelly, and she and the child had been living in such poverty in the human district. Looking at those blurry photos, my heart was torn between anger and compassion.

I gradually accepted the reality, even agreeing to let Victor bring the boy, Marcus, into our home.

"Why would you do this?" Grace privately asked me. "You don't have to accept this child."

I gave her a bitter smile. "This isn't any one person's fault, Grace. It's more about fate's arrangement. Besides, the child is innocent."

Until one day, I noticed Victor frequently leaving our bedroom in the dead of night, and suspicion grew in my heart.

"Where are you going again?" I pretended to wake up one night, watching him dress.

"Some work needs handling," he replied without turning around. "Go back to sleep."

But the unease flickering in his eyes and his tense shoulders told me he was lying.

Finally, one night when Victor slipped out again, my heart raced, but I couldn't stand it anymore. I quietly followed him.

He went to the human district! My first thought was that he'd lied to me—he was still seeing Shelly.

"How dare he?" I sobbed quietly in my car, my heart feeling like it was being torn apart. "After I forgave him, he still chooses to betray me!"

I parked and followed him from a distance. Victor wound through several dimly lit alleys, finally stopping at a rundown house. I hid at the corner, watching him knock. The door opened—it was Shelly.

I nearly rushed forward to confront them, but what happened next froze me in place—

Victor grabbed Shelly by the throat, her feet dangling in the air as she struggled, her eyes full of terror and desperation.

"Please... please... Victor..." Her broken pleas reached my ears.

"I warned you," Victor's voice was cold and merciless. "Never try to defy my orders."

When Shelly's body finally went limp, Victor tossed her to the ground like discarded trash. I covered my mouth, afraid of making a sound, my entire body cold, barely able to breathe.

Why? The reason he killed Shelly—I've never been able to figure it out.

But now I know this man is a monster.

I rushed home, locked the door, and curled up in bed, fear and shock making my entire body tremble. When Victor returned, I pretended to be asleep, my heart beating so fast it nearly burst from my chest.

Later, he brought Marcus home, and I couldn't help wondering: did he kill Shelly to gain custody of Marcus?

"Why did you suddenly decide to bring Marcus home?" I cautiously asked him.

Victor glanced at me, saying calmly: "His mother committed suicide. A mixed-blood child cannot survive in the human district. Regardless, he has Morgan family blood."

Suicide? I almost screamed out loud. I saw with my own eyes how he murdered that poor woman! But I forced myself to stay calm, just nodding.

Later, I only saw a tiny mention of Shelly's death in an obscure corner of a newspaper. Because she was human, the police hastily ruled it a suicide. My fingers traced those brief lines, my heart filled with helplessness and despair.

Out of pity, I treated Marcus like my own child. Whenever I saw the timid look in the boy's eyes, my heart ached as if cut by a knife.

"You don't need to do this," Victor once said coldly. "He has nannies."

"He needs a mother," I answered firmly, looking directly into his eyes. "Every child does."

But Victor and I could never go back to how we were. I could never forget the bloodthirsty way he treated his former lover. Even lying beside him at night, I'd wake up startled, afraid I might feel hands tightening around my throat.

"You've been tense lately," he remarked suddenly one day. "Is it because of Marcus's arrival?"

I forced myself to smile: "Just a bit tired. So many family affairs to handle."

Gradually, I couldn't be close to him anymore. If not for the family and Alexander, I might have left him long ago.

Ironically, though we were destined mates divined by the Selene Elder, after love faded, my connection to him also diminished.

"How can a destined mate's bond disappear?" I secretly asked the Selene Elder.

"Only when the heart completely closes, refusing to accept the other," the Elder looked at me meaningfully, "does the connection weaken. Your wolf is protecting you, Elena."

I don't know if it was because of everything I'd experienced that my wolf blocked those sensations, but I was glad to see this happening, because I no longer wanted to be spiritually connected to such a man.

Between Victor and me, love had long vanished, leaving only the shackles of fear and doubt imprisoning me.