Chapter 4 Divorce

Lucian’s shock lasted only a moment. When he recovered, anger darkened his face. “No.” “We will not divorce.” “What is the matter with you? What have you been thinking about lately? Stop these childish efforts for attention.” I’ve never heard him speak so quickly, but how could he be frantic for me, his wife, who’s always be neglected? “This isn’t about attention,” I tried to say. Lucian stared at me, “You’ve always been so obedient, but lately you have been acting out, and I’m tired of it. You need to stop making trouble for me and for Sheila.” His words wound me, but it’s the mention of Sheila that sliced straight down into my soul. He wasn’t listening to reason. He wasn’t listening at all. What could I ever say to convince him? Was Cathy right – should I even bother to try anymore? I had only one question left, and it seemed the most vitally important. I asked, heart in my throat, “Lucian, have you ever loved me?” He stared at me for a long moment. I thought, just for an instant, that I saw something soften in his eyes, but when he blinked, it was gone. Perhaps I imagined it because I so badly wanted it to be there. “Be serious, Aria,” he said, his voice flat, polite but otherwise void of all emotion. “Do your housework and leave Sheila alone.” He did not answer my question, which itself felt like an answer. After everything I’d done for this marriage and what I thought was our love for the past three years was entirely meaningless. Lucian might have been an elegant gentleman to the rest of the world, but he had showed that gentle side to me in some time. He’d patronized me by talking down to me and insulted me by choosing Sheila over me. Softly, with resentment bubbling up inside of myself, I asked, “How can you care about Sheila so much, when she is being dishonest?” “What are you talking about?” Lucian asked. “Sheila’s foot injury is fake,” I told him, explaining slowly so that not a single word could be missed or misinterpreted. “She is totally unharmed.” Lucian’s brow drew together in confusion. “It seems genuine. How can you be so sure?” Rather than answering his question, I forced a smile. “Don’t worry about that. In fact, don’t worry about anything. I’ll see myself out. I imagine that’s what Shelia would want. She’s likely nearby eavesdropping on this conversation right now, delighted with what she’s hearing.” I walked to the door, ready to storm out. Pushing on the door, I met some resistance. I pushed harder, and Sheila stumbled backwards away from the door, though remained standing. “Oh, Lady Shelia! Be careful. Here, let me help you! Wait…” said a nearby maid, scrambling to help. Yet even as she spoke, her eyes traveled down to Sheila’s supposedly-injured ankle – the one she was standing on right at that moment, perfectly fine. “Ms.Sheila?! Your, your ankle...?!” Lucian moved from behind me, stepping around me and out into the hallway, and looked shocked too. His eyes were trained on Sheila, though she seemed set on actively ignoring his gaze. With a small sigh, I turned and walked away. Behind me, I could hear Lucian speaking to Sheila in a soft voice. Though I couldn’t hear the words, the tone implied that he was comforting her. He was continuing to take her side, even though I had provided him with proof that she had been lying. I wished I could say that I was surprised, but I wasn’t. At this point, it was just one more nail in the coffin of our marriage. The evidence was so obvious that even Luna stayed quiet in my head. The divorce wasn’t just a request anymore. It was a necessity — And I’d settle for nothing less! In my closet, I grabbed my suitcase, dragged it to the bed and started filling it up with my clothes and personal items. With the way he was choosing someone over me, I doubted Lucian’s desire to take care of my child, so I decided not to tell him at all. He would definitely prefer a child born to Sheila anyway. My child? I could raise it on my own! *** THE NEXT MORNING. *** Lucian’s POV I woke up with my alarm. I rolled out of bed, showered, and changed into a suit, as per usual. Standing in my closet, I perused my tie collection. Which would Aria pick? “Aria?” I called out, knowing my voice could be heard in the hallways. Every time I had called for her in the past, she would come running, eager to please me. Today there was no response. Perhaps she had not recovered from her pettiness of the previous day. Still, something didn’t sit right with me about her refusal to answer. It was too unlike her. “Something’s wrong,” whispered my wolf, Max, into my thoughts. After selecting a tie on my own, I carried my confusion with me downstairs and into the kitchen. Sheila sat alone at the kitchen table. Aria wasn’t down here either. Sheila ate her toast and oatmeal as I approached. Looking up at me, Sheila gave me an awkward kind of smile. The same she had worn yesterday after being caught listening at the door – something we weren’t talking about. I had to walk on eggshells around Sheila right now. “Good morning, Lucian,” she said. “Good morning,” I replied. “Any updates on the search for Dr. A?” she asked. I hadn’t yet checked my messages for the day, but I suspected they remained much as they had been: disappointing. “Dr. A has been missing for three years. There aren’t many leads left to follow. But we will find her, Sheila. I won’t rest until we do.” Even when speaking with Sheila, my mind wandered back to thoughts and memories with Aria. Aria had known right away that Shelia had been faking her ankle injury. How? ...And, did she really leave? “Have you seen Aria?” I asked. “Is she angry with me?” Sheila asked. “She is, isn’t she? That’s why she doesn’t want to come down and have breakfast with us.” I couldn’t say so I kept quiet, though I was quickly suspecting that Aria wasn’t even in the house. “She won’t really go out and try to divorce you, will she?” Sheila asked. I didn't answer the question, just scoffed at the thought. It wasn's politely, but it's true — that's Impossible. A divorce case between an Alpha and a Luna would require a hefty amount of lawyer fees. Aria, as a housewife from an orphan background, would not have enough money to retain a lawyer. At least, not one with any merit. She’d need not just a good lawyer – but the best – to divorce the Alpha King. How could she do this? Yes, she’d come back soon... I was sure of it. This was all some kind of temper tantrum. Once she worked it out of her system, she would be back and refilling her role as my homemaker. Just then, the doorbell rang. Trusting the maids to answer the door, I walked to the kettle, eager to make myself a cup of tea before I faced any more news of the day. A moment later, a maid walked into the kitchen, carrying a letter. “King Lucian, there was a lawyer at the door. He said to give this to you…” Maybe it's just some random ads or a boring lawsuit, I sighed, and then the maid’s letter was torn open. But when I saw the title of that pile of documents with a singular purpose, I suddenly stood up from the dining table. "Lucian?!" Sheila was startled by me and said in surprise, "What’s going on —..." Her voice also faltered in shock when she saw the documents. [Luna Aria Reed had filed for divorce.] [This application will be submitted to the Supreme Werewolf Court. Please respond within three days. ] "...Huh?!" Sheila gasped in shock. I took a deep breath, struggling to believe it. — Aria, filed for divorce...?!
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Contents
Chapter 1 The Second-mate Luna Chapter 2 "Dra" Chapter 3 How To Save Marriage Chapter 4 Divorce Chapter 5 The Return Of Dr A Chapter 6 A Hefty Commission Chapter 7 He Shouldn't Know Chapter 8 Rejected For The First Time Chapter 9 Looking For Fools Chapter 10 A Difficult Adjustment Chapter 11 Who Do You Love? appChapter 12 Try-hard appChapter 13 Finding Herself Again appChapter 14 Guessing Game appChapter 15 Secret Rendezvous! Confirmed Lovers? appChapter 16 Baseless Accusations appChapter 17 In The Doctor's Defense appChapter 18 Lucian's Perfect Match appChapter 19 Double Image appChapter 20 How Can This Be Aria?! appChapter 21 You Should Have A Baby appChapter 22 Where Is Sheila Tonight? appChapter 23 It Started With A Whisper appChapter 24 Under The Starlight appChapter 25 A Night That Felt Like A Dream appChapter 26 The Party's Over appChapter 27 The Choice Between Life Or Death appChapter 28 Quality Of Life appChapter 29 Harder Than It Needs To Be appChapter 30 Impossible Choices appChapter 31 Remove The Mask appChapter 32 Flashes Of The Past appChapter 33 While You Were Out appChapter 34 Visiting Hours appChapter 35 House Arrest appChapter 36 He Would Hate This appChapter 37 Back In The Picture appChapter 38 Not Jealous appChapter 39 No Safer Place appChapter 40 A Man Of Decision appChapter 41 Just Friends appChapter 42 Taking Sides appChapter 43 A Formal Apology appChapter 44 Forever Welcome appChapter 45 Poisoned appChapter 46 Panic Room appChapter 47 Former Apprentice appChapter 48 Caleb's Decision appChapter 49 Debts appChapter 50 Confidant appChapter 51 The Feeling Of Longing appChapter 52 The Hero appChapter 53 An Unexpected Apology appChapter 54 Future Plans appChapter 55 If He Wants A Fight, He'll Get A Fight appChapter 56 Let Me Go appChapter 57 What The Heart Wants appChapter 58 Rejection appChapter 59 You've Been Avoiding Me appChapter 60 Not Jasper appChapter 61 Mutual Rejection appChapter 62 Empty appChapter 63 A New Path Forward appChapter 64 To New Beginnings appChapter 65 The First Meeting appChapter 66 Haunted By The Ghost Of You appChapter 67 Divorce Compensation appChapter 68 Finding A Cure appChapter 69 That Concludes Our Business appChapter 70 Unworthy appChapter 71 Breaking The Doctor's Oath appChapter 72 How To Improve A Disgraced Person's Reputation appChapter 73 Rumors From The Family appChapter 74 Resignation appChapter 75 A Weak Heart appChapter 76 Lucian's Request appChapter 77 A Temporary Solace appChapter 78 Dress To Impress appChapter 79 Where's Aria? appChapter 80 Making An Entrance appChapter 81 Survival appChapter 82 Who Is Dating Who appChapter 83 Lucian's Date appChapter 84 Whispers Of Exile appChapter 85 Pull Over appChapter 86 The Weight On A King's Shoulders appChapter 87 Trust In Dr A appChapter 88 A Stolen Moment appChapter 89 Dr A For Luna! appChapter 90 The Answer Is Going To Be No appChapter 91 A Queue Of Suitors appChapter 92 Untrustworthy appChapter 93 Wake Up Call appChapter 94 Don't Rush appChapter 95 When What's Right Isn't What You Want appChapter 96 Making It Official appChapter 97 The End Of Us appChapter 98 Kind Of Like A Funeral appChapter 99 The Divorce Ceremony appChapter 100 Why Do Right Choices Feel So Wrong? appChapter 101 A New Opportunity To Help People appChapter 102 Looking Eastward appChapter 103 Don't Talk About My Mate Like That appChapter 104 Ex-mate appChapter 105 The One That Got Away appChapter 106 Leaving The Past Behind appChapter 107 Rogue appChapter 108 A Face From The Past appChapter 109 Rogue appChapter 110 In The Name Of Love appChapter 111 The Elders' Request appChapter 112 Does This Change Anything? appChapter 113 A Better Man appChapter 114 Bon Voyage appChapter 115 The Language Of Flowers appChapter 116 The Final Diary Entry appChapter 117 The Only One Left Who Knows The Truth appChapter 118 Is Aria Pregnant? appChapter 119 Five Years Later appChapter 120 Who's Lucian? appChapter 121 Peace Treaty appChapter 122 Lucian's Routine appChapter 123 We Should Visit appChapter 124 Making The Call appChapter 125 Pack Your Bags appChapter 126 Homecoming appChapter 127 Jasper's Strange Behavior appChapter 128 A Marriage Proposal appChapter 129 The Disguise Slips appChapter 130 Handling Rejection appChapter 131 Are You Happy? appChapter 132 Mixed Feelings appChapter 133 You Knew Our Mom? appChapter 134 You Can Admit It appChapter 135 They Would Love You Anyway appChapter 136 Meet The Grandkids appChapter 137 Uncle Lucian appChapter 138 Dr A's Admirers appChapter 139 The Truth Finally Revealed appChapter 140 No More Need To Hide appChapter 141 Not The Father appChapter 142 How Long Have You Known? appChapter 143 Dr A's Press Conference appChapter 144 How Could You Forget? appChapter 145 Dr Aria appChapter 146 Dr Aria's New Assistant appChapter 147 A Blissful Distraction appChapter 148 The Cure appChapter 149 Don't You Miss Home? appChapter 150 You Are The Father appChapter 151 All The Things He Missed appChapter 152 Where I'm Needed Most appChapter 153 Rekindled appChapter 154 To Save A Man's Life appChapter 155 Will You Marry Me Again? appChapter 156 Two Different Futures appChapter 157 When Were You Happy? appChapter 158 – Epilogue: Jasper's New Beginnings, Sheila's Consquences appChapter 159 -- Epilogue: A Day In The Life appChapter 160 -- Epilogue: The Wedding app
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