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Chapter 1 The New Wolf In Town: Adeline Horns blared profusely while fireworks shot off into the night sky, it’s official. We have a new Alpha. I looked over into Bailey’s widened eyes, watching the shock and horror settle over my friend’s face. “You know what this means Adeline? Alpha Jaxon managed to kill Alpha Max. Alpha Jaxon is taking over the Silver Moon Pack. A monster replaced by a bigger, more brutal monster” Bailey shrieked. Just the thought of his name shot shivers down my spine. It seemed that a surprise attack had happened late into the night. Word had gotten to Alpha Max that Alpha Jaxon was hungry for his pack next. Alpha Max ensured the pack’s borders were secured, tripling the amount of warriors. How easily he managed to overtake the pack left much of our pack stunned. While I had known Alpha Max’s methods may have been considered unorthodox, I was sure that all Alphas were merciless to some degree. Truth be told, the stories and legends told about Alpha Jaxon were enough to give any wolf nightmares for a week. He was known as the most dangerous and ruthless Alpha since the original Alpha himself. He ripped out throats for leisure. He was selfish and spared no one in his path that crossed him, taking over weaker packs to gain himself land, wolves and power. “Maybe, but he’s never going to be my true alpha, he leads in fear and kills to ensure his title as Alpha. That’s not an Alpha in my eyes”, I proudly exclaimed to Bailey. She rolled her big brown eyes at me, “Addie, you and I both know that no one in the Silver Moon Pack is going to have a choice but to bare their necks to him or face having their throats ripped out”. Baring a wolf’s neck was a move done to give a wolf’s complete submission to another wolf. We would all be expected to bare our throats once the coronation of Alpha began. Footsteps echoed down the hall until my sister, Leah, walked into the kitchen, pulling a seat right beside us at the kitchen counter. She tousled her dark, wavy curls away from her face and sighed, “I can’t believe that Alpha Jaxon was able to take over the pack in a few, short hours. I know he’s a beast but we have one of the biggest packs in the East. It’s probably why he’s been cursed by the Moon Goddess herself”. Bailey furrowed her eyebrows and claimed sarcastically, “Oh, that’s just great. Our new Alpha is also cursed. Write that down amongst his great qualities. GREAT!” Leah let out a slight chuckle and spoke softly, “you guys really haven’t heard? Alpha Jaxon hasn’t been able to find his one true mate because the Moon Goddess doesn’t believe that he deserves one for all the cruelty and bloodshed he’s caused since becoming Alpha. That’s why he has decided to take a compatible mate instead, her name is Beverly and she’s so fierce that she could make any wolf shutter in fear. I don’t doubt that she’s as cold as he is which is what makes her so compatible. The mating ceremony is expected to commence after the coronation for Alpha of Silver Moon Pack”. I cocked my head at her, caught my breath and simple words were fighting to escape my gasp. “Leah, the Moon Goddess would never deprive any wolf of their mate. She would never deny even the most ruthless of wolves, the chance to be with their true mate. His one true mate probably rejected him; I don’t know who would willingly accept to be mated to such a beast”. The Moon Goddess blessed each of her wolves with a mate; she unconditionally loved all of her wolves. A mate was the missing piece of a wolf’s soul and nothing could keep mates apart, besides the Moon Goddess herself, which she would never do. A mate could be revealed as a wolf turned 18 years of age; however, some wolves took much longer to find their mates. Finding a wolf’s true mate was the ultimate accomplishment and made their wolves that much stronger. Although rare because of the magnetic pull, a wolf could reject its’ true mate but usually the pain of not completing their soul caused them to die eventually. My 18th birthday was soon approaching in the upcoming days and I so desperately hoped that my mate would find me, it felt so romantic. One wolf made just for me by the divine Moon Goddess herself. It was something that I’ve dreamt about since I was a little girl. Applause and chanting started to fill up the streets, “Long Live Alpha Jaxon”. Mom and Dad ran down the stairs and prompted us outside. To my surprise, every single wolf belonging to Silver Moon Pack was outside awaiting the arrival of Alpha Jaxon. He walked through the streets as if it was his own personal parade, as wolves fell to one knee in submission to the new Alpha. Dominance poured off of him, I had never felt such a powerful wolf. A red haired beauty stood proud by his side, looping her arm around his large bicep. I figured she was the compatible mate he had chosen. She was nuzzling against his ear, visibly whispering something that made him excited. His eyes began to glow the most beautiful gold colour that I have ever seen as he let out a smirk and looked into her eyes. At that moment, a pang of jealously swept over me. I couldn’t understand why, he was a notorious beast that I had no interest in being my Alpha. Someone that savage should disgust me, I told myself over and over again. She was also my soon-to-be Luna and thoughts of her mate made guilt wash over me. All I could imagine were those eyes looking into mine with that same glowing gold determination in them. He was wearing a tight white long sleeve shirt, perfectly moulding each and every muscle on his chest and arms. My heart raced as I imagined having those huge muscles hovering over me as he took me for himself. I clenched my legs together, feeling my wetness sweep down my thigh. In an instant, he dropped his gaze from his mate and his eyes pierced towards me, canines enlarged. I felt my face heat up and immediately dropped to my knee on the cold concrete under me in submission as the other wolves had done. I couldn’t even hold my eyes to look in his direction, flustered as I was feeling excitement radiate through my wolf. There were gasps from the crowd around me until I felt a large, strong hand grip my chin causing me to gaze up into those mischievous glowing gold eyes. My mouth became uncomfortably dry yearning for more of his touch. In that moment, I thought fear would puddle through me, but instead the only puddle was the one between my legs. I couldn’t hold it any longer as a let out a soft moan, quiet enough for only him to hear. He simply nodded, releasing my chin and walking back towards his mate. He grabbed one hand behind her waist and pulled her into the most passionate kiss that I had ever seen exchanged. Fuck, he was so tempting and I felt so drawn to him. The dangerous aura that surrounded him attracted my wolf as she whimpered watching our new Alpha smash his lips against his mate.

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When I was six years old, I saw a book about the primeval forest called *True Stories*, which contained a wonderful illustration. It depicted a python devouring a wild beast. This is what it looks like when drawn exactly as it was. The book described it like this: "These pythons swallow their prey whole without chewing, and then they can't move anymore. They sleep for six months to digest what they've swallowed." At that time, I thought a lot about the dangers of the jungle, so I drew my first picture with colored pencils. My first picture looked like this. I showed my masterpiece to the adults and asked them if they were scared. They replied, "What's so scary about a hat?" I hadn't drawn a hat; I had drawn a python digesting an elephant. So I drew the inside of the python's belly so the adults could understand. These adults always needed explanations. Here's my second picture. The adults advised me to put aside these dissected or complete python drawings and focus more on geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar. And so, at the age of six, I had to give up my promising career as an artist. My first and second drawings were unsuccessful, which discouraged me. Adults themselves never seem to understand anything, and children have to explain things to them over and over again—it's incredibly annoying. Later, I had to choose a different career and learned to fly airplanes. I've flown almost all over the world. Indeed, geography has been a huge help. I can distinguish China from Arizona in the US at a glance. Geography is invaluable if you get lost at night. Thus, in my life, I've had frequent contact with many respectable people. I lived in adult circles for a long time, observing them carefully, but this didn't change my opinion of them much. Whenever I met a somewhat clear-headed adult, I would take out the first drawing I had kept and test it on him. I wanted to know if he could really understand it. But he always answered, "It's a hat." So I stopped talking to him about pythons, primeval forests, and stars, and instead talked about things he could understand. I talked to him about bridge, golf, politics, and ties. This pleased the adult, for he had made a reasonable friend. I lived a solitary life, never truly confiding in anyone, until the accident in the Sahara Desert six years ago, which brought an end to that existence. Something in my plane's engine broke down. With neither a mechanic nor passengers around, I attempted the difficult repair myself. For me, it was a matter of life and death; I only had enough water for eight days. The first night, I slept in that desolate desert, a world away from human habitation. I felt more alone and helpless than a shipwrecked person in a small boat on a vast ocean. And at dawn the next day, when a strange little voice woke me, you can imagine how surprised I was. The little voice said: "Excuse me… could you draw me a sheep?" "Yes!" "Draw me a sheep…" As if struck by lightning, I jumped up. I rubbed my eyes hard and looked closely. I saw a very unusual little fellow staring at me intently. This was later the best portrait I painted of him. Of course, the portrait didn't quite capture his radiance. It wasn't my fault. When I was six, those adults ruined my chances of becoming a painter. I hadn't studied painting since then, except for drawing complete and dissected pythons. I stared in astonishment at this unexpected visitor. Don't forget, I was in a desolate desert, a world away from human habitation. To me, this little fellow didn't seem lost. He showed no signs of exhaustion, thirst, or fear. In short, he didn't look like a child lost in the vast, uninhabited desert. It took me a long time to speak. I asked him, "What...what are you doing here?" He solemnly repeated in a low voice, "Please...draw me a sheep..." When something mysterious captivates you, how can you dare disobey? Even though I was in the desert thousands of miles away and facing the danger of death, my actions seemed absurd and unbelievable. I still took out a piece of paper and a pen from my pocket. Only then did I remember that I had mainly studied geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar, so I said to the little guy with some impatience, "I can't draw." He replied, "It's alright, just draw me a sheep." Because I had never drawn a sheep before, I chose one of the two pictures I could draw—the one of the pythons swallowing an elephant whole—and redraw it for him. But the little guy's answer surprised me greatly: "No! No! I don't want a python; it has an elephant inside. Pythons are too dangerous, and elephants take up too much space. My place is too small; I need a sheep. Draw me one." So I drew him one. He looked at it intently, then said: "I don't want it; this sheep is very sick. Draw me another one." I drew another one. My friend smiled innocently and politely refused: "Look, what you drew is clearly not a lamb; it's a ram, and it even has horns..." So I drew another one. Like the previous ones, he refused it again: "This one is too old. I want a lamb that can live a very, very long time." I was impatient because I was in a hurry to disassemble my airplane engine. So I hastily drew this picture. I said to him, "This is a box, and the little sheep you wanted is inside." To my astonishment, I saw a gleam of joy on my little judge's face. He said, "This is exactly what I wanted... Do you think this sheep needs to eat a lot of grass?" "Why do you ask?" "Because my place is very small..." "Small, but enough to feed it. I drew you a very small sheep." He looked down at the drawing and said, "Not so small... Look! It's sleeping..." And that's how I met the Little Prince.It took me a long time to figure out where he came from. The Little Prince asked me many questions, but he seemed not to hear me at all. Some of his unintentional remarks gradually revealed his origins to me. For example, when he first saw my airplane (I won't draw it, as it's too complicated for me), he asked me: "What is this thing?" "It's not a 'thing.' It can fly. It's an airplane. It's my airplane." I proudly told him I could fly. He exclaimed in surprise: "What? Did you fall from the sky?" "Yes," I replied humbly. "Oh? That's funny." At this, the Little Prince let out a clear laugh. This made me very unhappy. I demand that others take my misfortune seriously. Then he said, “So, you're from the sky too! Which planet are you from?” Instantly, I vaguely grasped a clue to his origins; so I suddenly asked, “Are you from another planet?” But he didn't answer. He looked at my plane, nodded slightly, and continued, “Of course, riding in this thing, you couldn't possibly have come from far away…” He then fell into deep thought for a long time. Then, he took out the little sheep I had drawn from his pocket and stared intently at his treasure. You can imagine how intrigued these vague remarks about “other planets” were. Therefore, I tried my best to know more about its mysteries. “Where did you come from, my little fellow? Where is your home? Where are you taking my little lamb?” He pondered for a moment, then answered me: “Luckily, I have the box you gave me; it can be a house for the lamb at night.” “Of course. If you are good, I will draw you a rope so you can tie it up during the day. And a stake.” My suggestion seemed to offend the little prince a bit. “Tie it up, what a strange idea.” “If you don’t tie it up, it will run around everywhere, and it will get lost.” My friend laughed again: “Where do you want it to run off to?” “Anywhere. It just keeps running forward…” At this point, the little prince said solemnly: “It doesn’t matter, my place is very, very small.” Then, with a touch of sadness, he added: “If it keeps running forward, it won’t go very far…” I also learned another important thing: the planet where he lived was not much bigger than a house. This didn't surprise me too much. I knew that besides the major planets like Earth, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, there were hundreds of other celestial bodies, some so small they were difficult to see even with a telescope. When an astronomer discovered one of these stars, he assigned it a number, such as "Asteroid 325." I have important evidence that the Little Prince's home planet was asteroid B612. This asteroid was only seen once, in 1909, by a Turkish astronomer using a telescope. At that time, he presented important arguments for his discovery at an international congress of astronomers. However, because of his clothing, no one believed him. That's how adults are. Fortunately, a Turkish dictator, to protect the reputation of asteroid B612, forced his people to wear European-style clothing or face execution. In 1920, the astronomer, dressed in very fine attire, presented his arguments again. This time, everyone agreed with him. I'm telling you these details about asteroid B612 and its number because of these adults. These adults love numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask you any substantial questions. They never say, "What does he sound like? What games does he like? Does he collect butterfly specimens?" Instead, they ask, "How old is he? How many brothers does he have? How much does he weigh? How much does his father earn?" They think that's how they know their friend. If you tell them, "I saw a beautiful house made of rose-colored bricks, with geraniums in the windows and pigeons on the roof..." they can't imagine how nice that house could be. You have to tell them, "I saw a house worth 100,000 francs." Then they'll exclaim, "What a beautiful house!" If you tell them, "The proof that the Little Prince exists is that he's very handsome, he smiles, and he wants a sheep. He wants a lamb, and that proves his existence," they'll just shrug and treat you like a child! But if you tell them, "The Little Prince came from asteroid B612," they'll believe you completely, and they won't bombard you with a bunch of questions. That's just how they are. Children should be kinder to adults and not complain about them. Of course, for those of us who understand life, we don't care about those numbers! I really wish I could start this story like a myth, I really wish I could say it like this: "Once upon a time, there was a little prince who lived on a planet almost the size of himself. He wished he had a friend..." To those who understand life, this sounds so real. I don't like people reading my book so casually. It was very sad for me to tell these stories. My friend and his lamb have been gone for six years. The reason I'm trying so hard to describe him here is so that I won't forget him. Forgetting a friend is so sad. Not everyone has had a friend. Besides, I might become like those adults, only interested in numbers. That's why I bought a box of paints and some pencils. At my age, and having only drawn pythons with closed bellies and open bellies when I was six, I've never tried anything else. Now, drawing again is really difficult! Of course, I want to make these drawings as realistic as possible, but I'm not confident myself. One drawing is okay, another isn't. Also, the sizes are a bit inaccurate. In one place, the Little Prince is too big, and in another, too small. I'm also unsure about the color of his clothes. So I just experimented, trying this and that, making adjustments until it was roughly right. I might have made mistakes in some important details. Please forgive me for that. Because my friend never explains himself. He thinks I'm like him. But, unfortunately, I can't see the lamb through the box. I guess I'm a bit like adults. I must be getting old.Every day I learned something new about the Little Prince's planet, his departure, and his travels. These were all gleaned gradually from various reactions. And so, on the third day, I learned about the tragedy of the baobab tree. This time, it was about the sheep again. Suddenly, the Little Prince asked me, seemingly very worried: "Is it true that sheep eat shrubs?" "Yes, it is." "Ah, I'm so happy." I didn't understand why the sheep eating shrubs was so important. But the Little Prince then said: "So, they also eat baobab trees?" I told the Little Prince that baobab trees aren't shrubs, but trees as big as churches; even if you brought back a herd of elephants, you couldn't eat a single baobab tree. The idea of ​​a herd of elephants made the Little Prince laugh: “Then you’d have to stack all those elephants on top of each other,” he said knowledgeably. “Baobab trees start out small before they grow up.” “That’s true. But why do you want your sheep to eat the little baobab trees?” He answered me, “Well, that goes without saying!” as if it were self-evident. But I myself had to exert a great deal of effort to understand this. It turns out that on the Little Prince’s planet, like on all other planets, there is good grass and bad grass; therefore, there are also seeds of good grass and seeds of poisonous grass, but the seeds are invisible. They sleep in the soil until one of them suddenly wants to wake up… and then it stretches out and begins to shyly grow a beautiful and lovely little seedling towards the sun. If it is a radish or rose seedling, let it grow freely. If it is a bad seedling, once it is identified, it should be pulled out immediately. Because on the Little Prince's planet, there are some very terrible seeds… these are baobab seeds. They are so numerous in the soil there that they are a plague. And if you pull up a baobab seedling too late, you can never get rid of it. It will take over the whole planet. Its roots can drill through the planet, and if the planet is small and there are many baobab trees, it will shatter the whole planet. "It's a matter of discipline," the Little Prince later explained to me. "When you've finished washing up in the morning, you must carefully wash up the planet, and you must make a rule to pull up the baobab seedlings on time. When these seedlings are small, they look almost like rose seedlings, and once you can distinguish them, you must pull them up. It's a very tedious job, but it's easy." One day, he encouraged me to draw a beautiful picture so that the children in my hometown would have a deep impression of this. He also told me, “This will be very useful if they travel someday. Sometimes, it’s not a problem for people to put off their work, but when it comes to things like uprooting baobab seedlings, it can cause a disaster. I once met a planet where a lazy fellow lived, and he let three seedlings go…” So, based on the Little Prince’s description, I drew this planet. I’ve never been one to speak in a moralistic tone, but the danger of baobab trees is not widely understood, and it’s extremely dangerous for those lost on asteroids. Therefore, this time, I boldly broke my usual habit of not lecturing. I said, “Children, beware of those baobab trees!” To warn my friends of this danger—a danger they, like myself, have long encountered without realizing its severity—I put a lot of effort into drawing this picture. The lesson I’m presenting is very significant, and the effort was well worth it. You might ask, why aren’t the other drawings in this book as magnificent as this one? The answer was simple: I had tried to paint other pictures better, but without success. But when I painted the baobab tree, a sense of urgency motivated me. VI. Ah! Little Prince, that's how I gradually came to understand your melancholy life. For a long time, your only pleasure was watching the gentle sunset. This new detail I learned on the morning of the fourth day. You said to me then: “I love watching the sunset. Let's go watch a sunset!” “But we have to wait…” “Wait for what?” “For the sun to go down.” At first, you seemed very surprised, then you laughed at your own confusion. You said to me: “I always thought I was in my hometown!” Indeed, everyone knows that in America it's noon, and in France it's sunset; you can see the sunset if you get to France within a minute. Unfortunately, France is so far away. But on your little asteroid, you only need to move your chair a few steps. That way, you can see the sunset whenever you want…

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I asked to stay over 4 times in 4 years. He said no every time. "We're not married yet. I want to respect your space." Then I saw the photo. My intern—the one who stole my work—posted a picture of her feet in my slippers. Standing in his living room. He gave her the spare key. Made her instant ramen—the same late-night snack he always made for me. Drank wine with her—and he never drinks. When I confronted him, he called me petty. "She's just a tenant," he said. "Show some empathy." Two days later, he posted a video in our company Slack. Apologizing for me. Telling everyone I bullied her. Destroying my reputation—for her. I called him. He didn't answer. She did. "Julian's asleep," she purred. "He's been with me all night." Four years I gave him. Four years of waiting, of respecting his boundaries. And he threw me away the second someone new smiled at him. I packed one bag, deleted every photo, and blocked his number. A man not worth waiting for—good riddance. I complained when Julian Brooks rejected my request to stay over—for the fourth time. "Julian, you're so rigid." My apartment's AC had died in the middle of a hun//dred-degree heatwave. Yet he insisted on being old-fashioned about it. Throughout our four years together, no matter how late it got, he always insisted on driving me home. Julian sighed and tried to soothe me. "Be sweet, Chloe. We aren't married yet, and I want us to respect each other's space. I don't want anyone at the office gossiping about us living together." My heart warmed at his words, so I fell right back into our usual routine, venting to him about the recent drama at my office just like I always did. But he kept checking his watch, clearly distracted, and urged me to head back. Fortunately, the HVAC technician found a sudden opening and rushed over to my place. While waiting for him to finish the repairs, I happened to scroll through my Instagram feed and saw a post from our company's new marketing intern, Savannah Cross. [My landlord suddenly canceled my lease, but thank god someone stepped up to help. Otherwise, I'd be sleeping on the streets.] I recognized the background of her photo immediately. It was Julian's apartment. I stared at my phone screen, completely frozen. I stood there so long the technician finished fixing the unit and carefully lowered the thermostat. "Too hot for you, kiddo?" He looked at me with a sympathetic sigh. "Tell you what, I'll knock twenty bucks off the bill. Take it from an old man—there's no rough patch in life you can't get through." Only then did I realize tears were streaming down my face. I forced a smile. "Thank you. You're absolutely right." Julian was a rough patch I was finally moving past. ****** Savannah's photo only showed her legs and her luggage. She was wearing my slippers, standing right inside Julian's living room. The moment I stepped out of his apartment, she stepped right in. Before leaving, I had playfully begged Julian to let me stay. He refused without a second thought. "Chloe, you need to go home. I have urgent work to finish in a bit." As it turned out, there was no urgent work. The only urgency was Savannah. She was the new intern in my department, and we hadn't been getting along. I mentioned this to Julian before. But he never seemed to care, let alone listen. I had no idea Julian even knew Savannah. He'd never mentioned her. Yet it was glaringly obvious that she was spending the night at his place. Another red notification popped up on my screen as Savannah updated her feed again. [Meeting a soft-hearted god at my absolute worst. Blessed.] This time, Julian was in the photo. He was looking down at her with a helpless, fond smile. Two bowls of instant ramen with Spam sat on the table. On weekends, when Julian and I curled up together, that was the exact late-night snack he always made for me. Now, he was making it for Savannah. Savannah's comment sat right beneath the post, smug and flaunting. [Rent is two hun//dred, utilities are free, and no deposit. Best landlord ever.] Landlord. He had let Savannah move in. A sharp, suffocating pain flared in my chest, stealing my breath. To make his commute easier, Julian had rented a two-bedroom apartment near the office. It was a great place—twenty-five hun//dred a month. It used to be a shared rental, but his old roommate had moved out, and they hadn't found a suitable replacement. Worried the rent would be too much, I suggested moving in to split the cost. He flatly refused. "Chloe, I won't take your note, and I don't think it's right to move in together before marriage." It wasn't right for me, but it was perfectly fine for Savannah. I remembered those boundaries so clearly. The first time I asked to stay over was during our honeymoon phase, and Julian strictly turned me down. The second time, I came down with a sudden high fever. Julian still drove me back to my place, watched me take my medicine, and left the moment I fell asleep. The third time was the worst—someone had left a strange mark on my apartment door. I was losing my mind with fear, but Julian still wouldn't let me stay at his place. Instead, he booked me a hotel room. He spent the next day contacting landlords, agents, and movers, ensuring I relocated to a new apartment within twenty-four hours. Four years, and I couldn't get into Julian's place. Savannah managed it without lifting a finger. I had to admit his "traditional" boundaries were reserved exclusively for me. My phone buzzed with a text from Julian. [Goodnight.] No explanation. No mention of her. [By the way, I found a new roommate. She's moving in tomorrow under an emergency circumstance.] [Chloe, make sure to let me know in advance before you come over from now on.] Staring at the text, I wanted to laugh. But my tears hit the screen first. I wiped my eyes and didn't reply. Savannah posted a third update. One photo showed her clinking wine glasses with Julian, and the other was a selfie where their cheeks were practically pressed together. [Celebrating the new place. Here's to the future, Mr. Brooks.] Late at night. An unmarried man and woman. Living together. Julian never touched a drop of alcohol. Yet he was drinking with her tonight. In an instant, all the determination holding my heart together vanished. It was all so pathetic. I didn't text Julian for the next two days. He didn't seem to notice. It wasn't until later that week, when a sudden torrential downpour hit right at the end of the workday, that our paths crossed. I was waiting for an Uber under the office awning. Savannah was standing right next to me. She was holding her phone, whining cutely to whoever was on the other end. "Can you pull up a little closer? Hurry, the wind is freezing..." A car pulled up right in front of us. Entirely too familiar. Sure enough, the window rolled down to reveal Julian in the driver's seat. He hadn't sent a single text to check on me during this storm, yet he'd rushed over to pick up Savannah. Julian froze when he caught sight of me. "Chloe, you..." Savannah closed her umbrella, opened the door, and hopped straight into the passenger seat. "Julian, you actually know Chloe?" She looked out at me from the dry comfort of the car, her smile radiating sweetness. "Chloe, why don't you get in? Let Julian give you a ride. It's impossible to get an Uber in this weather." My own boyfriend was offering me a ride, and only because she'd graciously granted him permission. Julian remained silent, merely looking at me. I shook my head expressionlessly. "No need." My ride was already confirmed and only three minutes away. No reason to get in that car just to make myself sick. Savannah nodded and rolled up the window. The car lingered for a few seconds before driving off into the rain. When I finally got home and stepped out of the shower, I found Julian waiting in my living room. He still had the code to my smart lock. "Chloe, are you throwing a tantrum?" "When you refused to get in the car, I thought you were just busy, but the more I thought about it, the more off it felt." Julian reached out to grab my hand, but I stepped aside, dodging him. "Is this about me picking up Savannah today?" "Or because I didn't let you stay over the other night and didn't drive you home?" He let out a helpless chuckle. "Don't be so petty. Savannah's an old classmate. I only picked her up because I was passing by—and it's hard to say no when she asks." "Not letting you stay over was for your own good. I promise I'll drive you home next time..." "Julian, let's break up." Julian stiffened, his face instantly darkening. "Chloe, over something this minor?" "Yes." My eyes were entirely dead. "I can't stay at your place, but Savannah can. Don't you find that hilarious?" He'd never intended to tell me about her because he knew exactly how I'd react. "You... let me explain." Julian's eyes widened in shock, clearly not expecting me to already know. "Savannah moved to the city all by herself from a small town, and I'm the only person she knows here." "It's tough for a young girl, and her landlord suddenly kicked her out. If I hadn't stepped in, she'd be on the streets." "Chloe, you're a woman too—show some empathy." Seeing my silence, he let out a heavy sigh. "It's just an emergency temporary stay. Besides, there's nothing going on between us, so we don't need to overcomplicate things." "She's different from you. She's just a tenant." "Just a tenant?" I laughed. "Julian, I told you before that Savannah is the new intern in my department." "During her first week, she spent every single lunch break on the phone in the breakroom. When people teased her about it, she claimed it wasn't a boyfriend, just an old classmate." "That old classmate was you, wasn't it?" Julian's eyes flickered with guilt for a fraction of a second, but he didn't deny it. I used to love sharing things with him, flooding his phone with texts whenever I had a free moment. But his replies were always agonizingly slow, if they came at all. We'd fought about it a few times. Back then, Julian would just look exhausted and say, "Chloe, we're adults. Work is busy, and I need to rest during lunch. Can you stop making things difficult for me?" But when it came to Savannah, it was never difficult. "For the past two days, Savannah started bringing homemade lunches to work. You made those for her too, didn't you?" "And you're still trying to tell me she's just a tenant?" Those lunchboxes were a matching couple's set I'd bought, left behind at Julian's apartment. Now, Savannah was using them. Julian knitted his brows, completely unable to comprehend my anger. "Chloe, aren't you reading way too much into this?" "Don't be prejudiced against Savannah. She told me there was just a misunderstanding between you two at work..." He didn't listen to a single word I said, but he took everything Savannah said as gospel. I had nothing left to say. The silence in the room grew suffocating until the doorbell suddenly rang. Julian turned to open it. A second later, Savannah poked her head in, smiling warmly at me. "Hi, Chloe. Sorry to drop by unannounced." My gaze pierced right through Savannah and landed coldly on Julian. "You brought her here?" Savannah couldn't have found my address on her own. Julian stood beside her, deliberately avoiding my eyes. "Chloe, Savannah isn't the kind of person you think she is." "Since there's a misunderstanding, you two should just talk it out..." I let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "I spent two weeks pulling all-nighters for our latest marketing campaign, and she intentionally deleted my name from the pitch deck. You call that a misunderstanding?" I was the lead on that project, and Savannah was only supposed to assist me. After all my hard work, she secretly wiped my version from the shared drive history and submitted the campaign under her own name. I'd confronted her directly, but I couldn't recover the deleted file history in time to prove it to management. The drama had caused a massive stir in the office. "Chloe, you shouldn't bully me just because I'm the new intern." "That campaign was clearly my..." Savannah's eyes welled with tears, her voice trailing off vulnerably. "Forget it. You're Julian's girlfriend, and I don't want things to be tense between us. I definitely don't want you two fighting because of me." "Let's just say it was my fault. I apologize." Heartache flashed across Julian's face. "Savannah, I know what kind of person you are. Right is right." He turned to me, his tone hardening. "You shouldn't have to compromise yourself just for my sake." Then he looked straight at me. "Chloe, just apologize to Savannah, and we can all move past this." The final trace of agonizing heartache vanished from my chest. I felt entirely, completely numb. "Julian, let me make this incredibly clear. We are broken up." "Now, take your little friend and get the he11 out of my apartment." Savannah flinched, tears cascading down her face as she clutched the edge of Julian's jacket, shrinking behind him. Julian's expression turned vicious and mocking. "Chloe, are you seriously trying to threaten me with a breakup? You honestly think I'll just bow down to that?" "You are completely unhinged." He grabbed Savannah's hand and pulled her out the door. The door slammed shut with a deafening thud. I collapsed onto the sofa, completely drained of energy. Right then, my phone rang. It was my mom. "Chloe, are you really moving back home? Did something happen out there?" "No, Mom. I already turned in my resignation. I'm just wrapping up my files over the next two days before heading back." "Did you and Julian have a fight?" "No fight. We broke up." I'd already been thinking about changing companies anyway. And after the nightmare with Savannah, I immediately submitted my two weeks' notice. Our director thought he'd struck gold with Savannah, so he approved my departure without a single complaint. My mom went quiet for a few seconds. "Broken up... well, as long as you've thought it through." "It's good that you're coming back. Your dad and I won't have to constantly worry about you getting mistreated out there." My throat tightened, and my eyes stung. "Mom, don't worry about me." "I've already been looking at job openings, and there are plenty of great marketing agencies back home..." "I'm not worried about the job, sweetie. Just don't push yourself too hard." A lump formed in my throat, leaving me completely speechless. I'd hoped to spend my last two days in the city in peace. But Savannah had no intention of letting me go quietly. Just as the workday ended, the company Slack workspace absolutely exploded. Savannah had dropped a video into the main public channel. The person in the video was Julian. His face was dead serious, completely devoid of any playfulness. "Regarding the recent campaign pitch, I am formally apologizing to Savannah Cross on behalf of my girlfriend, Chloe Vance."

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