Eleanor’s voice was hoarse with fury, though every word made the bruises on her cheeks throb with pain.
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“All of this–every wound, every shame–it’s that wretched Freya Thorne’s fault. I said from the start, Caelum, you should never have married a woman like her!”
Her words dripped with venom, but Caelum could no longer bear them. His wolf surged within, restless and enraged.
Enough!” he growled, his voice low and edged with Alpha authority. “Do not speak ill of her again. In three years of marriage, she has never wronged me. If anything-” his throat tightened, the guilt scorching-“it’s I who wronged her. Without Freya, I would not have the life I have now.”
“Brother, you can’t mean that!” Giselle, his younger sister, bristled. “What, just because of that 1.53 million she gave you? She only contributed a bit of money to your business. The sess of SilverTech Forgeworks is yours alone, not hers!”
Caelum fell silent. Once, he would have agreed. Once, he would have dismissed Freya’s sacrifice as trivialpared to his own sweat and ambition. But now… now the truth gnawed at him.
“We are not yet divorced,” he said, his voice rough but resolute. “I am still her husband. If I do not stand at her side, then what kind of man am I?”
Giselle froze, staring at him as if she no longer recognized her brother. “Caelum… what’s wrong with you? You’ve never defended her before. Never!”
Her words struck him harder than ws. He staggered inwardly at the realization. Since the day he had taken Freya as his mate, had he ever stood at her side when others tore into her? No. Time and again, he had chosen the pack’s whispers, his family’s scorn, his own pride…… over her.
The weight of his wolf’s guilt was suffocating. He clenched his fists, then turned to his family. “How much money do you still have? Give me whatever you can.”
Giselle’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t be serious. You’re not actually nning to give Freya that 1.53 million, are you?”
“Not give.” Caelum corrected, his tone sharp. “Return. It was hers to begin with.”
-I<b>—</b>I don’t have that kind of money,” Giselle muttered, her eyes flickering away.
Eleanor’s lips pressed into a thin, bitter line. “You asked me for funds when thepany was struggling. I gave you what I had Of course I don’t have any left now.”
But both were lying, and Caelum could scent it. Their words reeked of semess. A hollow disappointment spread through
him, colder than steel! He turned away.
“Fine. I’ll find another way.”
He left the Whitmor estate without another word, his wolf’s ws <b>raking </b>at his chest, and sought out Aurora.
Aurora looked startled when he appeared.
“Aurora…. can I borrow money from you?” <b>His </b>voice was unsteady, roughened with humiliation. “SilverTech’s ounts are tied up. I don’t <b>have </b>ess to liquid funds right now. <b>I </b>need 1.53 million.”
Aurora’s brows furrowed, her wolf watching him with wary calction. “Caelum, I told you before. I can lend you ten thousand, maybe. No more. I only just became co–pilot. My sry <b>isn’t </b>much.”
Caelum’s jaw <b>flexed</b>. Desperation stung his pride. “Then… the jewelry I <b>gave </b>you. Could you pawn one or two pieces<b>? </b><b>Just </b>until I can pay you back. When SilverTech stabilizes, I’ll redeem them for you. I swear it.”
Aurora blinked. “Jewelry?”
“Yes” His voice cracked with urgency. “The nes, the bracelets. If you sell or <b>pawn </b>them, <b>we </b>could raise enough. Later, I’ll buy them back. Better ones, even.”
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Aurora hesitated. Her heart sneered in silence–why should she pawn off her gifts for the sake of another woman? But her mind was sharper, calcting. 1.53 million could sever Freya’s tie to Caelum forever. Then, finally, Aurora could take her ce as the Alpha’s chosen mate, the true Luna of Silverfang.
So she smiled sweetly. “Of course. Wait here.”
She returned momentster with a velvet trayden with glittering jewels. Gold, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires–every token Caelum had ever ced into her hands, every offering he had given her that he had never once thought to give his own wife.
The sight seared Caelum’s chest. His hand slipped into his pocket, brushing against the small, cheap bands he had once bought at a night market. Two hundred yuan rings, the promise of better ones in the future. He had told Freya, Someday, I’ll give you a diamond worthy of you.
Someday had nevere.
Now, looking at Aurora’s tray, he realized why. He hadvished jewels upon Aurora… while Freya had been given nothing but empty promises and loneliness.
He had even betrayed Freya’s only request—that he retrieve herte mother’s ruby ne at an auction. Instead, blinded by Aurora’s beauty, he had gifted it to her. Only Aurora’s disdainful rejection had spared it from being lost among the trinkets on this tray.
The shame was unbearable.
“Caelum?” Aurora’s voice brushed against his ear, lilting, almost coaxing.
He snapped back, his eyes fastening onto a ruby ring. He picked it up, the gem burning against his palm like molten iron. “This one. Pawn this first. When thepany recovers, I’ll redeem it… and buy you something even better.”
The ring’s heat scalded him, searing deeper than flesh. His wolf recoiled. This was not Freya’s. It should have been hers<b>. </b>
Aurora’s lips curved. “Of course. You know I’ve never cared for jewels anyway.”
<b>He </b>forced a tight smile, his chest aching. “Yes. You’re the kind of woman who soars through the skies. These trinkets are nothing to you.”
But <b>as </b>he spoke, his wolf howled low inside him, torn by guilt and betrayal. Freya had been his mate, his true Luna. The one who had stood with him through ruin and hunger. The one who had bled for his future.
And yet… he had given her nothing.
Nothing <b>at </b>all.
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