Chapter 178
Eric nodded, his movements brisk. “Understood, Alpha.”
Josiah turned to me, her eyes wide with panic. “Sophia, what’s he going to do?”
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gave her a reassuring look, though even I wasn’t entirely sure. “He’s going to make sure Victor never hurts you again.”
A few minutes later, Eric returned, dragging Victor into the room. The man’s defiance had been replaced by fear as he stumbled forward, shoved to his knees in front of Lirian.
“Alpha, the man is here,” Eric announced.
Victor’s eyes darted around the room, desperate and searching for a way out. “Wait, I didn’t mean
to-”
Lirian didn’t even let him finish. His voice was low, but the authority in his tone silenced everyone. “Do it.”
Eric didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Victor by the collar and threw him to the ground with force. “Hitting
woman? What kind of man are you?” he spat, disgust evident in his voice. “You’re a disgrace to your kind.”
Josiah stood by silently, her expression cold and unfeeling. The man she once loved was, unrecognizable now, and as she watched Eric deliver blow after blow, she felt no sympathy.
Victor cried out in pain, each punch breaking down what little pride he had left. “Stop! Please, stop! 1 didn’t mean to-”
Eric cut him off with a growl. “Didn’t mean to? You don’t get to plead for mercy now. You thought you could do whatever you wanted because no one would stop you. Well, guess what? That ends today.”
When Victor was nothing more than a crumpled heap on the floor, Lirian raised a hand, signaling for Eric to stop. “That’s enough.”
Eric stepped back, his chest heaving with restrained anger. “Coward,” he muttered, glaring down at Victor.
Lirian’s voice was calm, almost indifferent, as he addressed Eric. “Take him for treatment. He’s of no use to anyone dead.”
The Alpha’s Subst
hapter 178
Understood,” Eric replied. He grabbed Victor by the arm and dragged him out of the room without another glance.
The room fell silent once more, the weight of what had just happened settling over all of us. Josiah’s shoulders sagged, and she took a shaky breath, her guilt giving way to relief.
“It’s over now, Josiah,” I said gently, squeezing her hand again. “You’re safe.”
She nodded, her eyes filling with tears again, but this time they weren’t tears of sorrow. “Thank you, Sophia,” she whispered. “For everything.”
Lirian, who had been standing silently, finally spoke. “He’s right about one thing,” he said, his gaze fixed on Josiah.
“Victor is a coward. He wore a mask to lure you in, but now you see him for what he truly is. Don’t waste another moment on him.”
Josiah nodded again, her resolve hardening. “I won’t.”
Later, after the doctor treated Josiah’s injuries and confirmed she had no broken ribs, she returned to the room holding a stack of papers. She looked at me briefly before making her way to Victor’s hospital bed.
ictor was lying there, bandaged and beaten, his face a grotesque mix of purple and blue. stood over him, her expression cold and unforgiving as she held out the papers.
“This is the divorce agreement,” she said, her voice steady. “Sign it.”
Josiah
Victor’s regret was etched deeply on his face as he stood before Josiah, pleading with her not to leave him. His voice cracked with desperation, his usual arrogance replaced by a vulnerability I had never seen before.
“Josiah, please,” he begged, his hands trembling as he reached out toward her. “Don’t do this to me. I made a mistake, I know, but… but we can work through this. I can change!”
Josiah, holding the divorce papers tightly, looked at him with a cold resolve. Her dark eyes, usually warm and lively, were now hard as stone. She had given him countless chances, and this betrayal was the final straw.
Victor,” Josiah said firmly, her voice steady despite the quiver in her chin, “there’s no going back. You didn’t just hurt me–you destroyed what little trust I had left in you. And no apology can fix that.”
With that, she turned on her heels and walked out of the room, leaving Victor to sink to his knees in defeat.
Chapter 178
Outside, however, Josiah’s strong façade cracked.
As the cool night air hit her face, silent tears streamed down her cheeks, each drop a testament to the pain she had endured for far too long.
I approached her slowly, hesitant to intrude on her moment of vulnerability.
Placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, I whispered, “It’s okay to cry, Josiah. You’ve been through so much.”
She nodded, dabbing at her tears with the edge of her sleeve. “I thought he loved me,” she murmured, her voice barely audible. “How could I have been so blind?”
Isighed, remembering the dark chapters of my own past. “You’re not blind, Josiah. You trusted someone who didn’t deserve you.
That’s not your fault.” I paused, waiting until her gaze met mine.
“I’ve been where you are now–lost, broken, and questioning everything. But I promise, things will get better. One day, you’ll find someone who loves you for who you truly are, someone who will never make you feel like this.”
