Chapter 4

So they had all known.

That thought did not arrive with anger at first. It came quietly, almost gently, until Sophia realized she could no longer hear anything else.

From where she stood outside the bridal hall, she watched familiar faces move beneath the moonstone lamps. People she had grown up with. Children of old pack families who had watched her and Ethan grow together from cubhood into adulthood. Friends who once laughed and said no one in Ashford Territory would ever separate the two of them. Yet none of them looked surprised to see Ethan standing beside another woman in ceremonial robes. They smiled, talked, applauded, and moved about with complete ease, as though everything unfolding tonight had already become ordinary.

Sophia finally understood.

This had never been a secret.

She had simply been the only person left outside of it.

After everyone entered, she walked around to the rear entrance and entered quietly.

The bridal hall belonged to her.

Years ago, while she and Ethan were still studying in the central territory, she became interested in traditional mating ceremonies and ceremonial robes. What started as idle sketches eventually became something larger. She designed robes in her spare time, studied old records of pack customs, and opened the hall simply because she enjoyed creating things. She never cared to attach her name to it and left all management to trusted people. Aside from the manager, nobody knew the owner.

Every ceremonial robe displayed inside had once passed through her hands.

Including the one Vanessa was wearing.

Sophia climbed to the third-floor gallery and stood where the shadows concealed her.

From above, she could see the entire ceremony.

Moonstones embedded into the vaulted ceiling cast soft silver light over the hall. White silk drifted between carved pillars while guests gathered around the central platform. There was laughter. Casual conversation. The comfortable atmosphere of people attending an ordinary celebration.

At the center stood Ethan.

Vanessa stood beside him dressed in white.

Sophia recognized the robe immediately.

Her eyes lingered on it before memory returned.

That design was called First Love.

She had created it years ago after her first serious fight with Ethan.

Back then, an Alpha named Shane Cross had given her a birthday gift and Ethan became irrationally jealous over it. He waited for her after classes and cornered her inside an empty lecture room, demanding explanations she thought made no sense. She remembered becoming angry and refusing to give in until the argument turned into silence and Ethan suddenly kissed her.

It had not been elegant.

It had not been practiced.

It had been young, possessive, jealous, and painfully earnest.

She remembered returning to her room afterward and staying awake through the night sketching.

She designed First Love to feel exactly like that moment—beautiful but imperfect, overwhelming but sincere.

Now another woman stood wearing it.

Sophia looked away.

Below the platform, voices rose naturally.

Someone praised the bride.

Someone congratulated Ethan.

Someone called for the ring exchange.

No one hesitated.

No one questioned anything.

Ethan accepted the ceremonial ring box and opened it.

From her position above, Sophia could see clearly.

His ring remained unchanged.

The women’s ring beside it matched hers exactly.

For a moment she thought she was mistaken.

Then she looked again.

Same shape.

Same engraving.

Same stone.

Sophia suddenly remembered how Ethan used to remember everything she said.

Every passing wish.

Every story.

Every preference.

She once believed that kind of memory only came from love.

Now she wondered whether remembering was simply something Ethan happened to be good at.

At that moment, the lighting inside the hall shifted.

The room darkened briefly before a beam of moonlight illuminated the gallery.

People turned.

Ethan looked up.

Their eyes met.

Sophia watched recognition appear instantly on his face.

His expression froze.

Then changed.

Without a word, he left the stage.

Vanessa remained standing alone while Ethan crossed the hall and climbed upstairs.

When he reached her, his hands closed around her shoulders.

He looked unsettled in a way she had never seen before.

“Sophie.”

His voice came quickly.

“This isn’t what you think.”

He searched her expression as if trying to determine how much she had already seen.

“It’s a promotional ceremony.”

His explanation continued immediately.

“You know the S Ring was designed for you. You never liked appearing publicly, so Secretary Lynn stood in for the presentation.”

He reached for the ring box.

“I planned to show everything to you on our anniversary.”

His expression softened.

“It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Then he took her hand.

And tried to slide the ring onto her finger.

It stopped.

Sophia lowered her eyes.

The size was wrong.

A strange feeling rose inside her.

For years Ethan remembered every small thing about her.

But somehow—

this ring had never been made for her hand.

Downstairs, Vanessa remained where she stood.

She looked upward.

Her face gradually lost color.

Ethan noticed.

When he spoke again, his tone cooled noticeably.

“Secretary Lynn.”

Vanessa lowered her head.

Her smile looked tired.

“This was only for Lady Carter.”

She spoke softly.

“Mr. Lawson prepared everything himself.”

Her hand rested unconsciously over her abdomen.

“I only helped.”

Ethan immediately turned back to Sophia and pulled her into his arms.

His voice became warm again.

“Sophie.”

He smiled.

“You heard her.”

His hand brushed through her hair.

“Everything I do is for you.”

Then he looked at her and said with complete certainty—

“You’re still the person I love most.”

Sophia stood there quietly.

Twenty-seven years.

She had believed every word Ethan ever said.

What frightened her now was not discovering that people could lie.

It was discovering that someone could betray another person completely and still speak of love as though they believed it themselves.

Then Vanessa smiled.

She looked up at them and said softly,

“I wish Alpha and Luna Lawson happiness.”

After a brief pause, she added—

“And many pups.”

Sophia’s fingers unconsciously moved toward her abdomen.

There was nothing there anymore.

For one brief moment she met Vanessa’s eyes.

Vanessa looked at her quietly.

Then turned and walked away.

Ethan watched her leave.

And then—

without thinking—

he followed.

Sophia remained standing on the third-floor gallery.

She watched him disappear after another woman.

And suddenly understood something she had never allowed herself to see.

Ethan had always feared losing Vanessa.

He had only ever assumed Sophia would stay.