Chapter 4
Michael fumbled for his phone, his hands shaking as he turned on the flashlight. Ryan snatched it,
quickly spotting my body.
He didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. He kicked me hard. “Still playing dead? Get up, Sophia! I’ll let this slide if you get your ass over to Linda and beg for forgiveness. Now!”
I hovered above him, a cold laugh escaping my lips. Let it slide? He thought he could just let this
slide?
He kicked me again, harder this time. Still no reaction. He lost his temper, roaring at Michael. “Get
her the hell out of here!”
Michael was trembling, terrified. He didn’t dare touch me, so he gestured to one of the guards.
The guard approached cautiously, reaching for the ropes that bound me. His hand came away sticky
and wet. He brought it to his
nose and his face contorted in horror. He reached out a trembling hand
and checked for a pulse. Then, he turned to Ryan, his voice shaking. “Sir… I think she’s… She’s dead.”
Ryan’s face went white, but he quickly regained his composure. He glared at the guard. “That lying bitch! She’s just trying to pull a fast one.”
The guard stammered, “But sir, she really is…”
Ryan cut him off. “Tell her she has twenty minutes to get her ass up to the living room and apologize
to Linda. If she doesn’t, she can rot down here for all I care!” He shoved the phone back at Michael
and stormed out of the basement.
The guards and Michael exchanged uneasy glances. They didn’t know what to do with my body. Even they, strangers, felt a pang of pity looking at me. But the man I had loved for eight years
couldn’t even bear to look. He thought I was faking.
When I was eighteen, my parents, the Alpha and Luna of the Moonshadow Pack, were killed in a brutal war defending us from an invasion. Though we ultimately claimed victory and saved the pack, their deaths shattered my world. My brother Ethan and I were left alone, and the weight of that loss drove me into a deep depression.
At eighteen, I lost both my parents in a tragic accident. My brother, Ethan, and I were all that was left. I spiraled into a deep depression. Standing on the bridge, ready to jump, Ryan found me. He sang me a song, kissed me softly, and promised to marry me someday, begging me to hold on to
- pe. I fell in love with him that day.
と
The Alpha’s Substitute Luna A Heart Claimed, A Soul Reborn
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Chapter 4
But I couldn’t understand why, after I finally married him, he seemed to despise me.
Sophia, don’t think you can just waltz in here and play happy wife now that you’ve used your family’s influence to trap me,” he’d sneered on our wedding night. “I have someone else. Her name is Linda, and I’ve always loved her, before and after marrying you. We’ll be sleeping in separate rooms. Just be a good little trophy wife in public, and we’ll get along fine.”
Then he’d walked out, leaving me alone to spend the night with my shattered dreams. Were his words on the bridge just empty promises? They were the only thing that had kept me going.
Despite the constant humiliation and loneliness, I never considered leaving Ryan. My brother, Ethan, was horrified when he learned how I was being treated.
Sophia, this is the love you’ve been dreaming of? If you’re not happy here, come home. Always.”
My heart ached, but I shook my head. I wanted to try, to believe that maybe, just maybe, he still remembered the girl on the bridge. I was wrong.
To Ryan, I was nothing more than a pawn in his pursuit of wealth and power. As an illegitimate son, he needed my brother Ethan’s support–the new Alpha of the Moonshadow Pack–to solidify his own claim to leadership in the Stardust Pack. By marrying me, he hoped to secure his position as Alpha and provide a better life for Linda.
He didn’t care that Linda’s assault had nothing to do with me. Linda pointed her finger, and that was all the proof Ryan needed.
I had done nothing wrong, yet I was tortured to death. If there was one thing I was guilty of, it was loving Ryan.
Michael found a few maids and had them carry me upstairs and place me in the bathtub to clean me up. But before they could even get me out of the basement, Linda stopped them.
She had a group of unfamiliar men with her. “Mr. Walker said you’re all dismissed. These men will take care of her.”
Michael hesitated, about to speak, but Linda’s icy glare silenced him. They were just employees, and they couldn’t afford to disobey. Especially not when Linda was clearly the woman of the house now.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
