chapter 9

Something flickered in Bella's eyes.

She looked up at Ryan, and the mockery in her gaze slowly hardened into pure disgust.

She knew this act way too well. He always used tears and begging to cover up his lies.

But he'd forgotten something. She wasn't the girl who'd fall for his gentle routine anymore.

Ryan seemed to realize something was wrong. His hand trembled as he reached up to cover Bella's eyes.

Tears streamed down his face as he begged, "Bella, whatever it is, just talk to me, okay? Please don't look at me like that. I'm scared..."

What was there to talk about?

Should she tell him that the man she thought she'd spend her life with had gotten another woman pregnant? That all those vows they'd made to the Moon Goddess were lies, and the whole pack had been laughing at her behind her back? That everyone had been playing her for a fool this entire time?

Saying any of it out loud would just make her feel more pathetic.

Her eyelashes brushed against Ryan's palm. Bella looked down and let out a quiet laugh.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her face. When she looked at him, her eyes were distant and cold.

"Ryan, take me to watch the sunrise tonight."

Ryan's expression stiffened. His eyes filled with worry, but she knew why he looked like that. He was just afraid that if she stayed outside too long, something might go wrong with his perfect little plan.

"It's way too cold out there. Your body can't handle that."

Bella met his gaze. "I want to see the sunrise. I think seeing the sun will make me feel better."

After all, her fake death was supposed to be a cliff accident anyway.

Ryan finally gave in.

He carefully wrapped her in a special thermal cloak made by the pack, then told someone to get the car ready. The whole time, he kept fussing over her. "Don't get cold. I'll warm your hands up in the car."

Bella watched him play the concerned husband and suddenly wanted to laugh. He'd gotten so good at pretending.

Ryan drove with one eye on the road and one eye on Bella's face, watching her reactions.

She seemed calm, like her mood had improved a little.

He let out a quiet breath of relief and started reminiscing about their past, his voice warm and nostalgic.

"The first time I saw you in the forest, you were crouched next to me feeding me jerky. I've remembered how warm your hand felt for ten years.

"The day your parents died, you stood there surrounded by your relatives, and your face was pale as a sheet. Right then, I swore I'd never let you look like that again..."

He remembered every tiny detail. His voice was full of longing, and his eyes even got a little red. When he turned to look at her, his gaze was intense. "Bella, I'm always going to love you."

Bella froze for a second, then quickly looked down to hide the mockery in her eyes.

His love story only seemed to move himself.

If she could go back, she'd choose to have never met him at all.

The two of them sat outside the car looking down at the valley below, and for once, there was some peaceful silence between them.

Then Ryan's communicator went off.

He glanced at Bella and fumbled to hang up, looking like a kid caught doing something wrong.

But the next second, the communicator started ringing again. It kept going like it would ring forever if he didn't answer, like Lina's way of refusing to back down.

"Just answer it." Bella's voice was flat and emotionless.

Ryan gave her an apologetic look before walking off to the side to take the call, keeping his voice low.

At the same time, Bella's communicator buzzed with a message.

"So what if you're having your Mate ceremony tomorrow? You think that matters? One call from me and he'll drop everything to come running. You better let go and give him back to me while you can. Faking sick to keep Ryan around? You're pathetic."

Lina wasn't even bothering to hide how smug she was anymore.

She probably thought Bella would run away and keep her head down like she always did.

But after a moment, Bella actually replied for the first time.

"Fine. You can have him." This wasn't some angry impulse. She was going to hand this lying Alpha right back to that greedy Omega, and she'd do it herself.

The next second, Ryan came rushing over after hanging up his call, that apologetic look already plastered on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. There's an emergency at the pack and I have to head back—"

"Ryan, do you remember what I told you when you first confessed to me?" Bella cut him off.

Ryan's expression froze.

Bella kept her voice steady. "I said I'd treat you like family from then on. And I told you that if you ever fell for someone else, you had to be honest with me about it. I said if I ever caught you lying to me, I'd disappear from your life forever."

Looking into those clear eyes of hers, Ryan felt something twist in his chest.

After a long pause, he forced a smile and leaned in to press a shaky kiss against her cheek. "How could you think that? I'd never lie to you. You have to trust me."

At that moment, the last ember of whatever Bella had felt for Ryan flickered out and died.

She let out a soft laugh, her tone unreadable. "Didn't you say it was an emergency? Shouldn't you get going?"

Seeing how calm she looked, Ryan started to panic.

He wanted to ask her what she meant, but he was terrified that if he pushed too hard, he'd slip up and give himself away.

They were going to complete the mating bond soon anyway. Once they did, once he marked her and locked her in place, she'd never be able to leave. What could possibly happen to Bella if she just stood here for a bit?

Ryan kept telling himself that as he gritted his teeth and turned to leave.

Before he walked away, he called back over his shoulder. "Bella, head home after you watch the sunrise, okay? Tomorrow's our bonding ceremony."

He left without looking back, his figure gradually disappearing from view.

Bella didn't say a word. She didn't try to stop him. She just stood there quietly and watched Ryan go off to find Lina.

Half an hour later, the witch arrived.

"Ms. Frost, the body is ready. I've erased all your records and information. Here's your new identity. No one will be able to track you down after this."

Bella took the documents and handed over her communicator in exchange.

"Tomorrow, deliver the communicator and the body to Ryan. Make sure you put them directly in his hands yourself."

She needed Ryan to see everything. She needed him to know exactly how Lina had been provoking her all this time, throwing his affair right in her face.

She needed him to know that while he was off screwing around with another woman, she'd thrown herself off a cliff.

And she needed the whole damn world to see what kind of lying, cheating piece of trash the Alpha of Shadow Pack really was.

For the rest of his life, she wanted Ryan drowning in guilt. She wanted it to tear him apart every single day, giving him no peace.

She didn't want him dead. She wanted him to live with what he'd done forever.

Every time he saw Lina and the pup, every time he remembered the promises he'd made, that guilt would eat at him like wolfsbane. And that was the best punishment she could give Ryan.

With those final words, Bella took her new identity and left Shadow Pack behind.

The sun was just starting to rise as she drove away.

She caught her reflection in the car window and finally let herself smile.

Outside, dawn was breaking. The future looked bright.

From now on, there was no Ryan, no Shadow Pack. Just Bella.