Lucian’s POV

After everything that happened at the hospital, after the shouting, after the humiliation, after the whispers and the eyes that burned into me, I couldn’t stand there anymore. I walked out. My chest felt like it was splitting into two, like something was trying to claw its way out of me. I could not breathe properly. My steps were heavy, and my head was full of noise, so much noise I could not even hear my own heartbeat.

I made it to the car somehow. I don’t even remember opening the door, but suddenly I was sitting inside, gripping the wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I just sat there, shaking and breathing hard. My chest… hurt, my chest. It felt like it was caving in.

I started the engine and drove, but it was like I was not the one behind the wheel. The road was blurred. My hands were moving, but I wasn’t aware of them. I wasn’t drunk, but I felt like a drunk man who couldn’t control his body. I was stumbling on the inside, falling into holes that had no bottom.

And it was all because of her. Aria.

Aria, the woman I had loved all my life. Since childhood, since the moment I saw her small hands clutching flowers, since the moment her laughter reached me and something in me changed, she had been my everything. My heart, my air, my reason. I had guarded her like a treasure. I had chosen her every day, even when the world thought she was not worthy.

And now? She betrayed me.

She stood under my roof, my house, my protection, carrying another man’s child. She lied to me, looked me in the eye, and still let me love her while she carried the weight of another man’s blood.

Unbearable. That is what it was. It broke me in ways I cannot even describe.

I told myself I did the right thing at the hospital. As an Alpha, I had to draw the line. That betrayal was unforgivable. That if I allowed it, I would be a fool, a weak leader, a man who had no control over his home. Alphas do not share their beds with traitors. Alphas do not love liars.

But no matter how many times I repeated that, my heart would not listen. Because the truth was clear and cruel: I still loved her. Even after everything, even after the shame, I still loved her. And that was the pain that burned the deepest.

I reached home and collapsed into the chair in the living room. My body sank, but my mind would not stop racing. My head fell into my hands. I was still seeing her face, still hearing her voice, and still asking myself why.

Why, Aria? Why did you do this to me?

That was when the door opened and Father walked in. His steps were steady and strong. He looked at me with those sharp eyes that always saw more than I wanted him to.

“Son,” he said, his voice was calm, heavy with weight, “I know what happened. I know what you are feeling. I know the devastation sitting inside you right now.”

For a moment, a foolish, desperate moment, I looked up at him, hoping he would tell me I could go back to her. That I could fix it. That love was enough.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he put his hand on my shoulder and said firmly, “You did the right thing. You are to become Alpha soon, and an Alpha cannot carry betrayal on his shoulders. In less than twelve hours, the pack will look to you for leadership. And an Alpha is not complete without his Luna. You need a strong Luna beside you. Since you let her go, you must choose another quickly. You cannot step into that role alone, Lucian. The safety of the pack rests on your choices.”

Then he left me, just like that, leaving his words behind like chains around my neck.

Choose another. Forget her. Move on.

How? How does a man tear out his own heart and keep breathing? How do I love another when Aria is all I ever wanted? My chest grew tight again, so tight I thought I might collapse. I hated myself for still loving her, and I hated her for making me feel like this.

The house was silent. Until the door opened again.

Clara.

Aria’s sister.

She stepped in slowly, her face was soft, her eyes were heavy with sympathy that I did not want. I had always known she liked me—everyone did. She never hid it. But I never cared. She wasn’t Aria. She could never be Aria.

But tonight, I was weak.

She came close; her voice was low and gentle. “Lucian… I know you are hurting. I know how much she hurt you. But you don’t have to carry it all by yourself. Let someone help you. Let me help you.”

She reached out, wrapping her arms around me. I froze. My body was stiff, my mind screaming that this was wrong. But I let her hold me. Because I needed someone. Because for the first time in my life, I did not want to be strong.

She pulled back, looking into my face. Her hand brushed my cheek lightly, carefully, like she was afraid I would break. “What you need right now,” she whispered, “is a drink.”

She pulled a bottle of whiskey from her bag. I stared at it. I wasn’t a man who drank. Alphas needed sharp minds and clear judgment. But right then, I wanted anything that would dull the screaming inside me.

So I let her pour. I let her press the glass into my hand. I let the fire run down my throat.

It hurt, but it numbed me just enough. Just enough that I wanted more.

Another glass. Then another. My head spun, the walls tilted, but I kept drinking. Maybe if I swallowed enough, the pain would drown. Maybe if I drank enough, I could forget her eyes, her smile, and her betrayal.

By the time I became tired, half the bottle was gone, my body was heavy, and my eyelids were fighting to stay open.

Clara’s voice came again, soft against my ear. “Lucian… you can’t stay here. Let me take you to bed. You need rest.”

I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. My body didn’t belong to me anymore. My legs buckled, and she wrapped her arm around me, guiding me down the hallway.

We staggered together. The bed met me with a thud. I collapsed into it.

The last thing I remember is darkness closing in.

And then nothing.

I don’t know what happened after that.

All I know is that when I opened my eyes again, the world that was already shattered… broke into pieces I could never gather again