Chapter 63

Celia

The envelope is heavy in my hands. It is much thicker than the other one that contained a single piece of paper inside of it. I turn it around and notice a dark blue wax seal on the back, holding it shut.

I run my fingers over the wax seal and silently memorize the way the insignia feels marked inside the wax. Flipping over the envelope one last time, I notice that my name has been drawn into the paper.

My blood runs cold. Chills spread across my body and goosebumps litter my skin.

This message is meant for me.

I suck in a breath, unable to fully give as much oxygen to my lungs as possible, the burning sensation tingling the inside of my organs as my heartbeat begins to race. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.

How did…how did Bianca and her allies find us? James and I made sure that nobody was following us before we came home. We even made sure that the area was clear of bystanders and pedestrians before we came home!

I feel nauseous. I hug the envelope to my chest and look around, swallowing the lump that forms in my throat, and quickly move to the bathroom nearby.

I lock the door behind me and turn on the light. The bathroom is white and blue, pictures of the beach and memories from Soren’s childhood hanging on the walls.

I place the envelope on the countertop, unable to bring myself to look at it. I cover my face with my hands and allow myself to let out shaky breaths. My body trembles at the thought of Bianca targeting me. The place where she stabbed me begin to ache, phantom pains taking over my body.

What have I ever done to her? How could she have allowed her jealousy to take over her actions?

I turn to the envelope. My hands reach for it and break through the wax seal with ease. Inside sits a stack of papers.

I bring them out and into the light, the very first page with a handwritten message in black lettering.

You deserve to know the truth about who he is.

A message from Bianca herself. I shudder and move the page out of the way and am now face to face with a page that holds screenshots of text messages between Bianca and Soren.

My heart drops. My eyes glaze over the page and I even notice my name written down a few times.

They…they spoke about me?

I shake my head and try to get the negative voices out of my head. After a minute or two, I let out a breath of air and open my eyes, staring at the pages before me, a flood of printed out text message filling my vision.

Soren: She means nothing to me, you know that.

Soren: Don’t even pay attention to her, she’s nothing.

Bianca: You always look at her first before me!

Soren: That’s because I need to make for sure she doesn’t do anything stupid to jeopardize what we’ve made so far.

I flip to the next page. My heart squeezes inside my chest and my lungs stop working as they burn from the lack of air inside of them.

Soren: Celia is nothing more than a materialistic bitch.

Soren: She’s trying to come for my money and power, that’s all.

Bianca: The same could be said about me, though.

Soren: Trust me, you’re nothing like her. She’s a gold digger and doesn’t deserve the time of day. You will never be like her.

Did Soren really mean that? Could he have possibly said that about me after all of the time we spent together? I even told him about how much loss and angst I went through before signing the contract!

Soren knew that I needed the money! I didn’t want it! I didn’t even take any of the other money he offered to me, just the amounts that were covered in our contract for the medical bills and loans that I have out on my name.

I move to the next page, unable to peel my eyes away from his messages with Bianca.

Soren: I despise her. She means nothing to me.

Soren: She is so ugly in comparison to you, Bianca. You are true beauty while she looks like she was born out of a dumpster fire.

Soren: Celia is a piece of trash. She’ll probably be fired from the hospital before she can do anything to steal your spotlight.

Soren: She’s a waste of space, really. Using up all of the good oxygen too

I close my eyes and shove the papers away from me, placing them back onto the countertop. My body shudders from disappointment and embarrassment. Humiliation is the only thing that I can feel alongside an overwhelming sense of sadness and dread.

So…this is the man who is supposed to be my fated mate? This is the man that Mother Nature have forever tied my destiny to?

I knew I should have never shown up to his wedding with Bianca. I never should have accepted a deal with the Devil. I am a fucking idiot for believing that Soren could have possibly held any kind of positive emotion towards me.

I gather the papers into my hands and shove them back inside the envelope. I wipe away a few stray tears, clearing my throat, and exit the bathroom.

Soren stands in the kitchen. He looks over at me as I approach, a small smile spreading across his face. He gestures to the pan filled with eggs in front of him, spatula in hand. The loud sizzles and cracks from the stovetop make me flinch and I try my best to not show it.

The man who stands before me is not the same man who I thought he once was.

The Soren I was considering trusting and accepting his proposal of starting a relationship with one another. He is not the same man who played board games with me until I grew tired. He is not the same man who I once felt so safe with in the sanctity of his arms and touch.

The man who stands before me reminds me of a villain from a movie. He disgusts me. His casual demeanor makes my skin crawl.

How can he be so casual? Does he not know of his own hatred towards me? How I am a waste of space that is in no competition with any other woman in the world? Those are his own words, not mine, so how can he stand there and pretend like everything is okay between us?

Soren has made me into a fool, a court jester to be laughed at. This whole situation with Bianca coming after me feels fake. It feels like a ploy to give her the crown without any problems arising.

I can now see Soren’s feelings for what they truly are: a guise to get me to marry him so he can get everything he wants in life. Power, wealth, control of two packs, and all of the money he will ever need in life.

#Chapter