Chapter 17 – Shattered
Rhianna POV
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not a wink.
Sebastian never came back downstairs. I knew he was upstairs in our room, maybe sleeping, maybe not, but he didn’t come for me. Didn’t call my name. Didn’t ask if I was okay.
I stayed curled up on the couch with a blanket around me, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of the rain outside until it finally stopped sometime after midnight.
My chest felt hollow, like someone had scooped out all my feelings and left only pain.
When the first light of morning crept through the windows, my eyes were still open.
That was when I heard a soft knock at the door.
I dragged myself up, my body heavy, and opened it.
“Tia,” I whispered.
My best friend didn’t wait for me to speak again. She stepped inside, shut the door behind her, and wrapped her arms around me so tight I almost broke.
“Oh, my goddess, Rhianna,” she said softly, brushing my wet hair away from my face. “What happened? You look like you cried all night.”
“I did.” My voice cracked.
She guided me back to the couch and made me sit. “Okay, talk to me. What happened?”
I swallowed hard, and then it all came spilling out.
“The council… they said if I’m too weak to be Luna, they should replace me,” I whispered, my hands trembling.
Tia’s eyes widened. “They said what?”
“And Sebastian…” My throat tightened. “He just stood there. He didn’t say anything, Tia. He didn’t defend me. He just let them say it.”
Her face turned red with anger. “He what?”
“I just…” I buried my face in my hands. “I don’t want to lose him, Tia. I don’t. But he looked at me like I was a stranger. Like I wasn’t even his.”
“Rhianna.” Tia grabbed my shoulders and made me look at her. “Listen to me. If he cannot defend you in front of a room full of old men, then what is he doing being your mate?”
“Tia—”
“No, don’t ‘Tia’ me,” she said firmly. “You are Luna. You are his equal. And if he can’t stand up for you, then he’s the one who is weak — not you.”
Her words hit me deep, but they also made my chest ache.
“I love him,” I whispered.
“I know,” Tia said softly. “But you have to love yourself too. You can’t keep letting him break you like this.”
I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my cheeks again. “I just want things to go back to the way they used to be.”
Tia sighed and pulled me into another hug. “I know, babe. I know. If I could knock some sense into Sebastian’s head, I would.”
I let out a weak laugh. “You’d probably break your fist.”
“Worth it,” she said seriously, and that made me laugh again — just a little, just enough to feel something that wasn’t pain.
We were still sitting there, talking quietly, when there was another knock at the door.
I frowned. “Who’s that?”
Tia shrugged.
I stood and went to answer it.
And my whole body froze.
Brittany.
She stood there on the porch, looking perfect as always — hair done, makeup flawless, not a drop of rain touching her.
“Good morning,” she said sweetly, her voice like honey but her eyes sharp as knives.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t even know what to say.
Before I could move, I heard footsteps behind me.
Sebastian.
He was coming downstairs.
When he saw who was at the door, his brows furrowed. “Brittany? What are you doing here?”
Before I could even step aside, Brittany did it for me — literally. She put her hand on my shoulder and gently shoved me aside like I was nothing, like this was her house.
Then she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Sebastian’s neck.
“Hello, baby,” she said, her voice soft and sweet.
My breath caught in my throat.
Sebastian didn’t hug her back. He stepped back slightly, his face unreadable. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I know,” Brittany said, smiling wider. “But I came to give you good news.”
“What news?” His voice was flat.
Brittany’s hand went to her stomach, and she beamed.
“You’re going to be a father soon.”
The words hit me like a physical blow.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t speak.
I couldn’t even hear what Sebastian said next — if he said anything at all.
The room spun, and I grabbed the doorframe just to stay standing.
Tia gasped behind me. “What?”
But I didn’t answer.
I couldn’t.
"Im pregnant and it's yours Sebastian "
I just stared at Brittany’s smiling face, at the way she looked at Sebastian like she had already won, like she had taken everything from me.
My heart shattered, loud enough that I swore everyone in the room could hear it.
And then everything went quiet inside me.
No tears. No sobbing.
Just silence.
The kind of silence that comes before a storm.