Chapter 96

Agnes

I hesitated, wondering if I had truly heard someone crying or if it was just my ears playing tricks on me. But when I heard it again, a soft sob coming from the stall at the end of the row, I quietly moved forward and lifted my hand to knock.

The stall door swung open before I could knock, and there stood Evelyn, her blue eyes red-rimmed and puffy from crying.

“Evelyn?”

“O-Oh. I didn’t s-see you there,” she said, forcing a smile and abruptly pushing past me. I watched, stunned, as she hurried over to the sink and began to splash water onto her face. It didn’t make sense, seeing the headstrong and outspoken Luna suddenly being reduced to tears.

“What happened?” I stepped forward, pausing for a moment before I placed my hand on her shoulder.

That small touch seemed to make her cry again. She tried to hold it in, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the marble edge of the sink, but it was no use. One tear slipped free, then another, and soon they were streaming down her cheeks in tiny, mascara-colored rivers.

“My husband is cheating on me,” Evelyn said, wiping her snotty nose with the back of her hand. I offered her a tissue from the nearby box and she took it, then proceeded to blow her nose with a loud hoot. All the while, I rubbed her back in slow circles.

“I’m so sorry, Evelyn,” I said softly, biting my lower lip. “You just found out?”

She shook her head and let out an incredulous little squeak of a laugh. “Just found out? Oh, Goddess, no. I’ve known for over a year.”

My eyebrows lifted in surprise. I couldn’t imagine staying with a man who cheated on me for that long.

Evelyn seemed to read my mind and sighed, her shoulders slumping from the sudden release.

“I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I want to leave him. But I just can’t.”

She sighed again and shook her head. This time, her face seemed to be taken over by a look of dark, long-suppressed fury. “I was hoping to find the bitch he’s been cheating with tonight. She’s another Luna. I’m sure of it.”

I frowned, unsure of what to make of that. If another Luna was cheating with Evelyn’s Alpha husband, then that just added layers of complexity to the issue.

But finally I said, “It’s him you should be angry with.”

Evelyn huffed out another little laugh. “I know, I know. I’m angry with both of them, really. I guess I just feel like, since I can’t leave him and he doesn’t give enough of a shit about me to stop the affair, I can at least let out my frustrations on her.”

Even though I had never been cheated on, I understood her pain. Sometimes it was easier to let out your frustrations on someone else—just like how I found myself wanting to be vindictive against Olivia, the one person who, in my mind, seemed to be standing in the way of my happiness with Elijah.

But truth be told, there was so much more standing between me and Elijah than Olivia. And being angry with her and her alone wouldn’t change that.

“Why can’t you leave him?” I asked, snapping myself back to the present.

Evelyn glanced up at me through her lashes. “You, of all people, should know why.”

I pursed my lips and furrowed my brow, genuinely confused. She shook her head. “If I leave him, I’ll be nothing. I’ll have nothing. I married him so young, I don’t even have a degree or a job history. I’ll have no money, no prospects, nowhere to go.”

My heart stuttered a little at that. I had some idea that others knew about my situation with Elijah—that I would be pretty much destitute without him—at least to some extent. I guess I never expected Evelyn, the woman I’d only just met, to be privy to it.

“Oh… I know how you feel,” I managed, my voice smaller than I would have liked. “But there are options for women like us, you know. If you’re this unhappy, you don’t have to stay with him.”

She snorted. “You’re braver than I am, then. I’m too afraid to go out into the world with no savings and no job opportunities. I need to prepare first.”

“Then prepare,” I said, chewing my lower lip. Suddenly, I had an idea. “You know, Olivia was supposed to model the star outfit for the fashion show. But I think it might look better on you.”

Evelyn looked up at me again and sniffled. “Really?”

I nodded. “It’ll help you get your name out there, and it’s for a good cause. It could be your first step toward making a name for yourself that has nothing to do with your husband.”

Although my offer didn’t seem to erase Evelyn’s tears completely, it did bring a smile to her face. To my surprise, she threw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “I’d love that,” she said as she pulled back. “Thank you, Agnes.”

I offered her a warm smile and looped my arm through hers. We headed back out to the main area, finding the other Lunas still chatting about the show. They were more than thrilled to find out that Evelyn was going to be modeling the star piece, and several of them even volunteered to endorse the show in their packs, further expanding the reach of the charity benefits.

“What if we hosted an entire gala for the night of the show?” one Luna suggested as we brainstormed ideas. “That way, we can fundraise even more for the cause!”

I grinned, jotting notes down on a paper. Soon enough, all of the Lunas had gathered around the table, ideas flying like lightning bugs on a summer night.

Amongst these women, I found an immediate and unexpected connection. We were all Lunas, all women in a similar space in life. We weren’t allowing ourselves to be reduced to gaggles of gossiping women who talked about clothes and vacations while our husbands discussed the ‘important’ things in the other room.

And for some reason, that gave me a bit of hope about the future. A future that may or may not include Elijah, and that was okay.

As for Olivia, she didn’t take part in the discussion. She just sat in the corner, arms and legs both tightly crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. The scowl she wore seemed etched into every line of her face as she glared at me for stealing her thunder, but I barely looked at her.

If she chose to alienate herself from this group of wonderful women, then that was on her. But I wasn’t going to fall victim to her cruel gaze. If anything, I was going to let it fuel me—not to impress Elijah or sway him to my side, not to be vindictive, but rather to do my best to uplift the other women in my community as much as I could.

To make up for how much she had once held our pack back.

And soon enough, Thea had joined in, too. She perched on the chair beside me, listening intently as I discussed the future with the other Lunas.

That was what was most important to me that day: to have Thea see a group of strong, powerful women making a genuine change. Not catty mean girls who gossipped and spread rumors.

If nothing else, then I wanted to be a good role model for her.

By the time the sun went down, Elijah finally emerged from the meeting room with the other Alphas. All of them, Elijah included, seemed surprised to find myself and the Lunas huddled around the table, notes spread out between us, our hair messily pulled back and our fingers marked with ink.

Elijah hesitated at the edge of the room, watching me with a mixture of surprise and pride written across his face. It took a moment for me to meet his gaze, but when I did, my heart didn’t flutter, nor did I lose focus on my own task.

Rather, I simply smiled, tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, and returned to work.

And by then, Olivia was gone.