Freya’s POV
<b>1 </b>barely restrained augh. I knew how ridiculous this all must have looked to anyone who knew the truth.
“Kade.” I murmured under my breath, “go on.”
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His eyes glimmered, predatory and amused. “Your brother’s a finance graduate, right? Does he even know how to code? Build drones? And yet he thinks he can im a UAV patent?”
Giselle’s face froze. Her tone was sharp, defensive. “And Freya? What skills could she possibly have to im a patent?”
Lana, zing with fury beside me, sprang to her feet. “Freya graduated top of her ss at Halston Combat Academy! She was the top of The Capital’s science track. Is that enough? Your brother’s only got brains for money, apparently. He wants to grab Freya’s patent, yet now pretends he can’t pay her 1.53 million?!”
<b>I </b>let the words hang in the air, feeling the pack inside me stir with raw satisfaction. Giselle’s mouth fell open, disbelief written across her face.
Graduated from Halston? Top of The Capital in science? That… Freya?
Impossible. In her eyes, I was nothing. And yet here I was, standing at the center of truth while she gaped like a wolf caught in the sun.
<b>“</b>You’re… lying,” Giselle stammered, disbelief still clinging to her words.
<b>“</b><b>You </b>can always <b>ask </b>Caelum himself,” Lana said, cold and deliberate.
Giselle turned toward her brother. His silence confirmed everything. The truth, undeniable, pressed against the air like the scent of blood in <b>a </b>full moon hunt.
While Giselle gawked at my qualifications, the others in the room were more shocked by how little I’d requested for the <b>divorce</b><b>. </b>Only 1.53 million? Most had assumed I’d demand far more, and now they began to realize how unfairly I’d been <b>treated </b>all these <b>years</b>. After <b>all</b><b>, </b>by any normal division, I could have imed half of Caelum’s wealth.
“Caelum,” I said, my voice <b>even</b><b>, </b>razor–sharp, “keep the patent. I only want the 1.53 million we <b>agreed </b>upon.”
His <b>face </b>darkened with humiliation and rage<b>. </b>I could <b>feel </b>the pack instincts ring from him, but the audience’s <b>gaze </b>made him look small, almost pitiful. “Freya… I haven’t refused. Once the shares unlock, you’ll get your money. Why push me like
this<b>?</b><b>” </b>
<b>“</b>Push <b>you</b><b>?</b>” I snorted, and <b>then</b><b>, </b>deliberately, I brought out a thick stack of documents. “These <b>are </b><b>your </b>private <b>card </b><b>statements </b><b>over </b><b>the </b>past <b>two </b>years. Just the <b>jewelry you </b>bought for Aurora–over twenty <b>pieces</b><b>, </b>totaling more than <b>50 </b>million. And now you tell me you <b>can’t </b>pay 1.53 million for <b>a </b>divorce?<b>” </b>
Caelum’s <b>face </b>darkened further<b>, </b>but I didn’t <b>give </b>him <b>the </b>chance <b>to </b>respond. I flicked my wrist<b>, </b>sending the entire <b>stack </b>scattering across the <b>stage </b>toward the audience<b>. </b>
Invoices<b>, </b>photos of <b>every </b><b>piece </b>of jewelry<b>, </b>and the marked prices flew through <b>the </b>air. Even the ne and earrings Aurora wore that day were among them. Alone, those <b>two </b>pieces were worth over 10 million:
Eyes turned toward Aurora, Some of the reporters pointed and murmured.
Her face drained <b>of </b>color. <b>She </b>hastily removed her ne and earrings, trembling. Her n to appear <b>regal </b><b>and </b>superior, to highlight my supposed inadequacy, had backfired spectacrly. The jewelry now felt like a burning coal in her hands.
One reporter pressed, voice sharp. “Miss Aurora, are these gifts really from Mr. Grafton, as shown <b>in </b>these documents?”
<b>“</b><b>Are </b>the pieces you’re wearing today also from him?” another asked.
“Do these gifts carry any particr significance<b>?</b>”
She stammered, caught, the <b>cameras </b><b>capturing </b>every microsecond. “These… are just gifts from Caelum as a <b>friend</b><b>. </b>Nothing
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more.”
Kade’s tone waszy, but it carried teeth. “As a friend… your friend’s generous, huh? Willing to give you 50 million in jewelry but balks at paying his wife 1.53 million for a divorce.”
Aurora’s face shifted from white to red. She tried to argue, but her words died before they even left her throat.
Another reporter turned to Caelum. “Did any of the 50 million in giftse from investors‘ money? You just said all your personal funds are tied in thepany. Were you lying?”
His <b>jaw </b>tightened. “No. None of this involvedpany funds or investors. It’s all personal money.”
But then Giselle, desperate to attack, shouted, “That’s because Freya cheated! That’s why my brother won’t pay!”
A ripple <b>of </b>shock swept the room.
“And I have proof!” she continued, fingers pointing at Kade. “She cheated with him!”
She pulled out photos–Kade and I, drinking, eating skewers,ughing.
I felt the wolf in me bristle. My teeth ached to shred her lies apart. The smell of deceit, the scent of pack politics, the falsity in the air–it all called for one thing: dominance, control, and truthid bare.