I snatched the broken pieces from his hands and threw them down with force, grinding them.


    under my heel.


    "Whatever gift he gave you, I''ll rece it tenfold," I snarled, my wolf marking its territory.


    Olivia stared at me with horror, her emerald eyes wide with disbelief and rage.


    "You... you..." She couldn''t even form words, her body trembling with fury.


    The door to the pottery studio burst open, and an elderly she-wolf rushed out, her face creased


    with concern.


    "Oh no! The mug!" she eximed, looking at the shattered pieces on the ground. "Poor Lily worked on that mug for two whole months. She wanted it to be perfect for her father."


    The world seemed to stop spinning. I stared at the broken pieces, suddenly understanding


    what I had destroyed.


    "Lily made this?" I whispered, my wolf whining in distress.


    "Yes," ra continued, oblivious to the tension. "She was so determined to make


    it all by herself. Said her daddy would love it because she made every part of it. I can help her make


    another one if you''d like?"


    Olivia''sugh was bitter, cutting through the night air like a de.


    "There won''t be another one, ra," she said, her voice hollow. "Lily is dead. She died on her


    fifth birthday, waiting for her father who never came."


    ra''s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, Olivia, I didn''t know..."


    But Olivia''s attention was fixed on me, her emerald eyes burning with usation.


    "She spent two months making this for you," she said, her voice breaking. "While you were


    476


    buying Emma crystal-embroidered gowns, Lily was pouring her heart into this mug for you. And you just destroyed it, just like you destroyed her."


    Each word was a silver dagger to my heart. I looked down at the shattered pieces-tiny fragments of colored y, each one representing hours of my daughter''s effort and love.


    Love I had never acknowledged. Love I had never returned.


    "Olivia, I didn''t know-" I began, but she cut me off.


    "Of course you didn''t know! You never bothered to know anything about her! You were too busy ying daddy to another man''s child while your own daughter died alone!"


    (Olivia''s POV)


    The rage that had been building inside me for years finally erupted. I couldn''t stop the words pouring out, each one dripping with the pain and resentment I''d carried since Lily''s diagnosis.


    "She asked for you every day during her treatments. ''When is Daddying?'' And I made excuses for you. I lied to protect her from knowing how little you cared."


    Ethan''s face had gone pale, his amber eyes wide with shock and what looked like genuine


    remorse. But it was too little, toote.


    "I''m done,” I said, my voice suddenly calm. "I''m done making excuses for you. I''m done pretending that what you did to us was anything less than cruel."


    I turned to leave, unable to bear looking at him or the destroyed remains of Lily''sst gift.


    "Olivia, wait-" Ethan reached for me, but Lucas stepped between us.


    "I think you''ve done enough damage for one night, Stone," Lucas said, his voice low and


    dangerous.


    The two Alphas faced each other, their wolves bristling beneath their skin. The air crackled


    with tension as neither man backed down.


    I took advantage of their standoff to step away, suddenly feeling lightheaded. The emotional toll of the evening-the confrontation at the Stone Ancestral Hall, the public rejection, and now


    this final heartbreak-was too much.


    The world tilted sideways as my knees buckled beneath me. I heard someone call my name


    as darkness edged my vision.


    As I began to fall, strong arms caught me. Through blurring vision, I saw Ethan''s face above mine, his expression twisted with concern.