004

I yelled, “YOU MONSTER!”

The words came out raw and loud. My throat hurt. For a second, I thought my heart might stop from how much this hurt.

I clenched my fists hard. My nails dug into my palms, but the pain kept me grounded while everything else fell apart.

Tyler stood there looking shocked. Behind him was Marcus, my father. He was the man who adopted me from Saint Mary’s orphanage when I was twelve. The man I tried so hard to make proud for years.

His pants were back up, but his shirt was still open. He didn’t look sorry. He just looked annoyed, like I had interrupted something small.

I let out a broken laugh.

“You’ve both been treating me like a fool this whole time, haven’t you?”

They didn’t say anything.

“Every time you cheated, Tyler, I blamed myself first. I didn’t get mad at you right away. I wondered what was wrong with me.”

Tears ran down my face. I didn’t try to hide them.

“Was I too inexperienced? Too shy? Too awkward? Too damaged from growing up without real parents? Was I not pretty enough or exciting enough? For years, I tried to change myself into someone you would stay faithful to.”

Tyler shifted on his feet.

“Even when you brought another woman into our relationship, I stayed. Even when people said I deserved better, I stayed. Even when I cried myself to sleep wondering why I wasn’t enough, I stayed.”

My chest felt tight.

“I defended you to everyone. I defended you when they called you selfish. I defended you when they said I was stupid for staying. I defended you even when my gut told me to leave.”

Tyler’s jaw tightened. His fake sorry look disappeared. The charming guy everyone liked was gone. Now he just looked tired of pretending.

“How was I supposed to stay faithful?” he snapped.

There it was. No apology. Just excuses.

He threw his hands up. “You want the truth? You could never satisfy me, Claire. You turned sex into a performance review. You were always nervous. You always needed reassurance. You always asked if you were doing it right, like some dumb virgin.”

He laughed in a mean way. “Do you know how tiring that is?”

My stomach twisted.

Tyler stepped closer. “I’m an Alpha. I have needs. I have instincts. My sex drive doesn’t stop just because you overthink everything every night.”

“Wow,” I said. “You really practiced that speech.”

His face got darker.

“No, seriously,” I continued, wiping my tears. “I thought you cheated because you had no self-control. Turns out you’re just an asshole. That almost feels better.”

“Claire.”

“No, thank you,” I said, putting my hand on my chest. “Finding out you’re a terrible person actually helps my self-esteem.”

“Stop twisting my words.”

“Your words don’t need twisting.”

I looked at Marcus. Seeing him hurt worse than anything Tyler did.

“You know what’s really impressive?” I asked quietly. “You adopted an orphan and still made her feel unwanted.”

The silence felt heavy.

Marcus crossed his arms. “I gave you everything as a child, Claire.”

“Here comes the speech where you turn your help into a debt I owe forever.”

“You should be grateful,” he said.

“I was,” I answered, my voice shaking. “I was grateful every day for the school stuff, the tutors, the pack traditions. I was grateful when you called me your daughter.”

For a quick second, something changed in his face, then it was gone.

“You owe me respect.”

“No,” I said. The word surprised me too. “Kids don’t owe parents forever just because they fed them.”

Tyler said, “You’re being too emotional.”

“Of course I’m emotional,” I laughed. “I’m watching my fiancé and my father explain why cheating on me is my fault. What should I do instead? Clap and cheer?”

I looked down at the Luna ring on my finger. I stared at it for a moment, then pulled it off. It hit the marble floor with a sharp sound.

“Claire,” Tyler said.

I ignored him. My voice was calm now.

“You’re free. I release you from this. Whatever obligation you felt, it’s gone.”

“Claire, stop.”

“No, this is perfect,” I said, waving between them. “You two clearly have something going on. Go make it official. Have a ceremony. Get matching clothes. Send thank-you cards.”

“You’re overreacting.”

“Oh, and congratulations, Dad. I never thought you’d steal my fiancé, but here we are.”

“That’s enough,” Marcus snapped.

“No,” I said. “What’s enough is me being the only one expected to act right while you two do whatever you want.”

Tyler started to panic. “Claire, please. You don’t mean this. You wanted this life. You want to be Luna. You’re not going to throw it away over this.”

“I feel disgusted,” I said, shaking my head. “You keep bringing up the Luna title. You think I wanted it for power? No. I wanted to belong. I wanted a family.”

They both knew how much that meant to me. They used it anyway.

I gave a small, tired smile.

“Thanks for the roof, Marcus. Thanks for the education. Thanks for everything you paid for since you adopted me at twelve.”

I pulled out my phone. My hands shook a little as I opened the banking app. I had saved for years so I would never be stuck like this.

I hit send on the transfer.

I showed them the screen. “There.”

Marcus looked surprised for the first time.

“Five hundred thousand dollars?” Tyler said. “What the hell?”

“Congratulations,” I told Marcus. “That should cover everything you spent on me, right?”

Marcus’s face got hard. “You don’t get to buy your way out of being my daughter.”

“Funny,” I said, putting my phone away. “Because earlier it sounded like you were selling the spot.”

I looked at both of them one last time. My cheating ex and my cold father. The men who made me feel like I was never enough. They didn’t look so powerful anymore.

“I hope you two are happy together. I really mean it.”

I pointed toward the bedroom. “Now if you'll excuse me. I think the newlyweds need privacy.”