Chapter 2 Chapter 2

BELLA

Ariana was overwhelmed with questions of where she’s been, how she’s alive with a crowd swarming around her, demanding answers until Brad had swooped in and got  her away from them, declaring her Remembrance Day as an open day celebration for the pack but we are not there celebrating with the rest of them.

We’re at my family house, having dinner in seclusion, the three of us and both of our parents.

I’ve never seen Brad smile this much since we’ve been married. I didn’t even know he was capable of it. He takes a napkin and wipes the oil stain of the corner of Ariana’s lips and she smiles at him, muttering, “thank you.”

My gaze is fixed on Ariana who doesn’t look like she’s aged a day but I can’t shake off the thought: she died, she was buried, how is she alive?

I still remember the event like it was yesterday.

It was the day of the wedding, Ariana had insisted I be her bridesmaid which was shocking, considering the fact that she never wants anything to do with me but my guess was that Brad had told her what he did and she wanted to rub it in.

My sister would never pass up an opportunity to humiliate me but still I accepted, she wasn’t the one who hurt me, it was Brad.

We were on the way to the venue, a private beach just outside the borders of the pack when we were ambushed by unknown men. Everything happened so fast and even though I wanted to stay and fight, Ariana begged me to get help while she and her guards held off the men.

By the time I returned to the scene with Brad and the others, her guards were dead and the car was ablaze. After the fire was doused, we pulled out Ari’s burnt body. Her body was burnt so badly we could only identify her from her wedding dress and moon pendant.

“Do you want more chicken Ari?” Mom asks, grinning from ear to ear, “you’ve always liked chicken.”

“It’s okay mom, I can’t have anymore,” Ariana chuckles.

“C’mon Ari, you’ve grown skinny, you need to eat,” dad encourages.

“She will have plenty of time to eat, you both need to relax,” Brad’s mom chimes in, rubbing Ariana’s arm gently and Ariana smiles back at her.

“Ari,” I call, unable to hold it any longer.

We need to know what happened. I believe since it’s just us, family, now, she should be able to tell us where she has been.

“Yes,” Ariana replies, flicking her brows and for a moment, my heart thuds in hesitation.

I don’t know if I should be asking this right now or wait till later but, “where have you been all this time? We thought the body recovered from the car was you, it had your wedding dress, even your moon pendant.”

The chatter at the table stops and everyone looks at me, giving me different kinds of unpleasant stares like I did a wrong thing to ask. Everyone except Brad who’s looking at Ariana, seemingly interested in her answer as well or he might just be staring at her in admiration like he always does, I can’t tell.

Ariana gently drops the fork in her hand and takes a deep breath.

“I was hoping to at least be back for twenty four hours before I have to relive— well, I— I have been—” she sniffs and shockingly, tears run down the corner of her eyes.

“I—” she hesitates again, “I’m sorry…I’m sorry I can’t, I just can't," she sobs, shaking her head and stuffing her face in her hands and guilt overwhelms me immediately.

She must have gone through something truly horrible for her to break down over just talking about it.

“Are you happy now?” Brad’s mom attacks me with a mean scowl, “you just have to show you’re so insensitive, huh?”

I’m used to her biting words so it barely registers but the way Brad wraps his hands around Ariana, soothing her feels like punctures being made with a hot spike in my heart and I look away quickly, only to lock eyes with mom who’s looking at me like she wants to kill me.

“I’ve always known you to be a heartless child but this level of it….can you not even hide the fact you are not happy Ari is alive?”

Mom’s words feel like a sickle being dragged across my heart and I stare at her with bulging eyes. How did she come to that conclusion?

I only wanted to know where she's been this whole time.

“What do you expect from someone who left her sister in the hands of assailants, all in the name of getting help?” Dad scoffs, shaking his head at me like I’m his greatest disappointment and I am.

I purse my lips, pushing back the tears that their harsh and cruel words want my eyes to spill so bad. This is my life in a nutshell since I’ve been a little girl. I’ll never understand why my own parents hate me so much and take every opportunity to show it.

It was Ariana’s suggestion that I go get help. For some reason, that day, we couldn’t mindlink but no one believed me.

“It’s okay, I’m sure Bella didn't mean any harm and I will tell you all about it, I promise, I just need some time,” Ari says in a more relaxed tone.

“It’s okay Ariana, take your time,” Brad replies, still gently running his palm up and down the length of her back even if she’s already calm.

He’s not even acting like I’m in the room or that he can hear any of the things being said to me. Husbands defend their wives but has he ever seen me as his wife? The woman he loves is back, how can he even look at me?

“Thank you Brad,” Ariana flashes him a cute smile, “I know you must have taken another Luna, where is she?”

Ariana’s question makes my heart pound and the atmosphere suddenly becomes tense, eerily silent.

She doesn’t know yet and I can imagine her reaction won’t be a good one.

Brad withdraws his hands from her and his throat bobs, a clear sign of guilt shining in his blue eyes and the others all look at me at the same time. Ariana follows their gazes and sets her eyes on me, then she looks at Brad and then back at me before looking at him again and the tears follow, plunging me into guilt.

“How could you? My sister?” She pushes back her seat, shoving him as he stands up, her gaze riddled with utter disgust before she runs out of the dining room in tears and Brad immediately runs after her.

My feet move to stand but I keep them rooted to the floor, feeling my heart ache as I watch my husband chase after another woman like I’m not even there but I stomach the pain.

She should have been his wife, not me.

The others are still killing me with their stares but this is one thing they cannot openly blame me for, it was their idea to follow that ancient custom.

My parent’s greed and need to remain In-laws to the Alpha family but I’d be a hypocrite if I say a little part of me wasn’t glad they did, I thought Brad and I would be able to figure things out.

I slowly stand up from my seat, saying no word to no one and I excuse myself as well.

Somehow, I manage to get home and into my room before the torrent burst from my eyes and it’s not even the pain of seeing Brad dote on Ariana right before me that hurts the most, it’s knowing what follows next.

If he rejected me as his fated mate to be with her in the past, what stops him from divorcing me as his Luna to be  with her again?

I see Esme’s gift box on my bed as I stand up from the floor where I have been crying and frown at it in shock.

I know I left it in the hall, did she have it sent here again? What is her problem?

I swat it away in anger but it flies too far and only then does it dawn on me that such a big box should not be so light.

What exactly did she get me this time? It’s mostly jewellery she gets but this feels different.

I slowly approach the box and pick it up, extend my claws and rip it open to satisfy my curiosity when a card falls out and I pick it up, reading words that send my heart into a rapid beating frenzy.

[Your test results came back bitch. You don’t have the Flu. You’re going to be a mom. BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!]