Timothy POV

The moment I step into the boutique, I see her.

Zara stands in front of me wearing an elegant dress that hugs her curves perfectly. Her blonde hair falls in soft waves. Her makeup is flawless. She looks sophisticated. Refined.

Havoc surges forward immediately, something like relief flooding through him. 'Raven! She's here. She's—' He stops, sensing something. 'She's different. Stronger. The suppression is gone. She's not hiding anymore.'

'She's just wearing expensive clothes,' I snap at him.

'No,' Havoc insists. 'Look at her aura. Her presence. Raven was always powerful—she's finally showing it.'

Overnight, she's become a completely different person. Not the plain housewife who revolved around me.

She looks good. Beautiful, even. Captivating.

And I... haven't slept. Haven't shaved. I look like hell.

Havoc drinks in the sight of her, almost desperate. 'She's magnificent. How did we not see this before?'

"Timothy!" Esta waves the bank card at me. "She must have stolen this from you, right? You wouldn't give her this much money."

"I didn't," I say, rubbing my throbbing temples. "I never gave her money."

"See? She's a thief!" Fiona shouts at Zara. "You pathetic omega! Thief!"

"How dare you speak to my son with that tone!" Fiona steps forward, her wolf rising with dominance. She's a Beta, far above what she thinks Zara is. "You're nothing but a low-ranked omega who got lucky. You should be grateful Timothy even looked at you!"

"Mother—" I start, but Esta cuts in.

"She probably seduced some rich man already," Esta sneers, eyeing Zara's expensive clothes with jealousy. "That's what omegas do, isn't it? Use their looks to climb the ranks. Pathetic."

"False accusations have legal consequences," Zara snaps, snatching the card back. "I don't want your family's filthy money."

She opens her purse and pulls out a check. "Alpha. Sterling. Everything you bought me during our three years of marriage—I left it all at your villa. This check more than covers it. We're even now."

Alpha Sterling.

She's never called me that. So formal. So distant.

Havoc whines. 'She's putting walls up. Raven used to be so open to us, even when we ignored her. Now she's closed off completely. She's severing the connection—'

'There is no connection,' I growl at him.

She throws the check at my face.

A light piece of paper. A detached "Alpha. Sterling." Together, they cause an inexplicable ache in my chest.

She turns to leave. I grab her wrist. "Zara! Did you find another man? Where did this money come from?"

"Do I need to explain to you?" She lifts her chin, giving me a cold smile I've never seen before. "Alpha. Sterling, you only need to confirm the money isn't yours."

"It's not mine!" The words come out too fast, too nervous. "But who gave it to you?"

"No comment." Her tone is haughty.

I see the redness at the corners of her eyes. My heart clenches.

"Zara! I don't care if you're fighting with Timothy—I need you to iron my clothes!" Esta's shrill voice cuts through. "That's what you're good for, isn't it? Serving your betters?"

"And clean my room!" Fiona adds coldly. "The same way you did last time. An omega should know her place. Domestic work is all you're suited for anyway."

"Maybe she forgot," Esta laughs cruelly. "Forgot that without my brother, she's just a nobody omega. No pack. No status. Nothing."

"I'm divorced from Timothy. Don't you understand?" Fury blazes in Zara's eyes. "Go order someone else around. I'm done with all of you."

Their arguing makes something sink in my chest.

This is how my family treated her.

I ignored her. Dismissed her. And she's had enough.

"Timothy!" Esta turns to me. "Aren't you going to control your wife? She lives off you and has the audacity to act like this?"

"Using divorce to threaten us!" Fiona scoffs. "She clung to you so desperately. She'd never actually leave."

"Enough!" I roar. Havoc pushes against my control, Alpha dominance flooding the space. "Zara did divorce me. The way you're treating her—it's too much!"

"Really... divorced?" Esta pauses, then laughs. "Good. An omega like her was never worthy of the Sterling family anyway."

"Exactly, She doesn't deserve to be the Luna of the Blue Moon Pack at all." Fiona says, still merciless. "If your grandmother hadn't forced you to marry her, I never would have allowed it. What makes her think she deserves you?"

"Timothy Sterling." Zara shakes her head, smiling bitterly. "I wish you and your family all the happiness in the world. But you and I? We're done."

She wrenches her wrist from my grip, grabs her shopping bags, and walks away.

Havoc howls inside me—a sound of pure anguish. 'No! Raven, don't go! Please—'

But Raven doesn't even acknowledge him. She's completely shut us out.

'She's leaving,' Havoc whimpers. 'She's really leaving. I can't feel her anymore. The bond—whatever thread was forming—she's cutting it. Stop her! STOP HER!'

I ignore him.

"Zara, we're not finished talking!" I rush forward to block her path.

"There's nothing left to say." She moves past me without looking up. "Talk to your family. We're over."

She walks away. Her scent fades. Raven's presence disappears completely from Havoc's senses.

My wolf collapses inside me, something breaking in him. 'She's gone. She's really gone. I can't feel Raven at all anymore. It's like she never existed. Like we imagined her. But we didn't. She was real. She was ours. And now...'

He goes silent. The kind of silence that feels permanent.

Fiona and Esta keep shouting, but I can't process their words anymore.

Only one thought consumes me: Who is Zara with now?

The money. The expensive clothes and jewelry. What man gave her those?

But she's already gone. Disappeared from view. No answers.

The check lies on the floor like trash. The numbers mock me.

This is what Zara returned to me.

Three years of marriage, ended with one word: "Even."

I laugh bitterly. How did it come to this?

"Timothy!" A soft voice calls from behind me. I turn.

Stella. She's wearing a white dress, chestnut hair falling around her shoulders. She looks pale.

"Timothy, I waited for you at the hospital. But your assistant said you came to see Zara." She points toward the exit. "But Zara already left. I saw her get into a luxury car. A man was driving."

A luxury car. Driven by a man.

Something sour twists in my chest.

"Darling."Stella loops her arm through mine, voice gentle. "Don't be angry with Zara. Maybe she found her true love. We should be happy for her."

"Your leg doesn't hurt anymore?" Her gentleness irritates me now. I push her hand away. "You just left the hospital?"

"Oh, it hurts terribly!" She puts on that pitiful expression. "But I don't blame Zara anymore. I know she didn't mean it!"

"Stella." I laugh coldly. "Do you think I still believe your version of events? You created misunderstanding after misunderstanding to drive Zara and me apart. Well, congratulations. You got what you wanted."

"Timothy, you're wrong!" Tears fill her eyes. She shakes her head helplessly. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just love you so much. I only wanted to be with you..."

She lifts her hand to wipe her tears—and accidentally pushes her hair back, revealing the scar on her forehead.

That scar. She got it protecting me from an attacker.

Guilt knifes through me. "I'm sorry..."

"Timothy! Your grandmother has dementia now. She can't interfere anymore. You andStella can start over!" Esta drapes her arm aroundStella's shoulders.

"I agree," Fiona chimes in. "Stella's the Taylor family heiress. Not like Zara—just some lowly omega."

I say nothing. ButStella hugs me, voice full of hope. "Timothy, darling. I've waited so long for this. Will you love me like you used to?"

Havoc growls in my mind. 'This feels wrong.'

But I don't pull away.