Đang tải thông tin quảng bá...
I Lost a Husband, But I Gained an Empire
NovelShort
Hoàn thành
“Blair, if you wish to dissolve your mate contract with James, you must voluntarily give up the ten million-credit resource allotment granted to you by the clan, as well as one-third of your designa...
Chương (6)
第1章
“Blair, if you wish to dissolve your mate contract with James, you must voluntarily give up the ten million-credit resource allotment granted to you by the clan, as well as one-third of your designated core-territory shares. You will leave Moon-Mark City with nothing.”
“Alright.”
The clan adjudicator paused for a moment, startled. His tone grew even colder.
“You must also relinquish all future custody rights to any offspring, and you are forever forbidden from forming any bloodline link with James or any of his future young. Do you understand what you are agreeing to?”
“I accept.”
My voice was calm, cold—like wind cutting across a snowfield.
Three days ago marked the fifth year of my Moon-Vow union with James, and also the day our mate contract was supposed to be renewed.
But my mate—the Alpha I once believed was destined for me—was lighting fireworks at the Galactic River with his childhood sweetheart, the clan’s most beloved Omega.
Those were frost-silver fireworks, reserved only for the royal bloodline during their most significant celebrations.
Many werewolves stopped to admire them. Someone casually captured the moment on an image stone and posted it on the MoonNet. The scene spread quickly across the clans, drawing waves of praise.
“They look perfect together.”
“An Alpha is born to stand beside the gentlest Omega.”
“Compared to his current mate, that one is much more pleasing to the eye.”
Even James’s friends sent me messages, half-joking:
“Why didn’t you go?”
“So what are you going to do now?”
I replied only one line:
“What else is there to do?”
That night, I sat alone in the vast, empty Mate Hall.
The oil lamps beneath the silver dome had gone cold.
The anniversary feast I had prepared with my own hands exuded a faint chill.
Listening to their laughter on the image stone, my chest felt as if a silver blade had sliced it open.
Five years of companionship.
Five years of night-bound journeys at each other’s side.
All of it shattered—destroyed entirely by a single display of frost-silver fireworks.
1.
That night was my birthday.
James had promised he would return early to our shared territory to celebrate with me.
But at dusk, he suddenly sent a message through the mind-link, claiming the clan had urgent matters to handle and he might return late.
I believed him.
And even so, I still waited for that moment when he would open the door—
even if it was only to cut a small piece of cake with me under the full moon.
I never imagined that his so-called “clan duty”
was actually lighting royal fireworks at Riverbend Cliff with his childhood sweetheart—
the Omega most blessed by the clan, Aria.
How ironic.
In the image stone, James’s handsome Alpha features were illuminated by the shimmering trails of moon-scar fireworks.
The man who was usually cold, distant, and stone-faced
was smiling—truly smiling.
And the way he looked at Aria…
his gaze was so gentle it nearly melted into the night.
A gaze I had never once received.
I always thought he simply disliked expressing emotions.
I even believed that an Alpha’s aloofness was instinctive.
But after seeing that recording, I finally understood—
he had simply never given his warmth to me.
I let out a faint, self-mocking laugh.
I unwrapped the birthday cake I had bought for myself and quietly ate it.
The sweet cream dissolved on my tongue,
yet somehow, everything tasted like nothing.
I picked up the communication stone and sent a mind-link call to James.
He answered quickly, his voice still clipped and icy.
“What is it?”
As he spoke, I could clearly hear the roar of moon-flame fireworks in the background.
Frost-silver fire—something only royals or high-ranking Alphas were permitted to ignite.
I fell silent for two seconds, swallowed the cake in my mouth, and asked calmly,
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the council hall processing documents. Did something happen?”
He had likely already left the cliff; the sound of fireworks was fading.
His tone remained perfectly even, not a hint of guilt.
A high-tier Alpha’s lies were always flawless.
I glanced at the image stone still replaying that scene over and over,
and suddenly, I felt nothing at all.
“Let’s dissolve our mate contract.”
“You’re overreacting again.”
I let out a low, cold laugh.
“Why don’t you check MoonNet, my dear clan hero?”
With that, I severed the mind-link.
Since I was the one who initiated the dissolution,
I no longer had any reason to stay on his territory.
I looked at the cold remains of the birthday feast on the table,
stood up, and walked toward the kitchen.
I found a few containers and carefully packed everything away.
Then I quickly packed my luggage, summoned a night-running carriage beast,
and returned to the small apartment that belonged solely to me.
That apartment had been a gift from my parents for my coming-of-age ceremony.
After I bonded with James, he always said that traveling between our two clan territories was a hassle,
persuading me to move into his Alpha stronghold in the central district.
But the distance between those two territories
was the same distance that had grown between him and me.
We lived on the same land,
close enough to touch,
yet separated as if by the entire Frozen Sea Strait.
A distance harder to cross than any mountain.
Back in the long-unseen apartment—
my private inheritance from my adulthood ceremony—
I tidied up quietly.
After washing the dishes and leaving them to dry under the candlelight,
I lay down on the familiar bed.
The next morning, there were only a few messages from James on the communication stone.
What’s wrong with you now?
Come back when you’ve calmed down. Don’t be stubborn.
He must have returned to his Alpha estate last night
and realized I had already moved out.
I didn’t respond to any of the messages.
I simply continued living at my own pace.
After all, situations like this were nothing new between us.
Whenever Aria felt the slightest emotional ripple—
fear, restlessness, or even waking up startled by thunder—
she would call James through the mind-link.
And no matter how late it was,
he would immediately throw on a coat
and rush to her territory to comfort her.
I had questioned him, argued with him, pleaded and reasoned—
all useless.
He would always reply with the same cold line:
“A filthy-hearted person sees filth everywhere.”
第2章
Every time he left me for Aria, he would return with a house full of moon-roses to soothe me.
And every time, I allowed myself to fall into that false tenderness, pretending nothing had happened.
But this time, I was truly tired.
That night, when I walked out of the Clan Affairs Tower after work, I saw him standing outside.
He wore a dark Alpha ceremonial uniform—broad-shouldered, long-legged, tall and imposing—his presence so commanding that many people turned to look.
Passing werewolves instinctively stepped aside from his aura.
That oppressive force was something only high-tier Alphas possessed.
If it were any other day, I might have walked up to him, urging him softly to get in the car so the clan wouldn’t stare.
But today, I simply wanted to pretend I didn’t see him.
I headed alone toward the Moon-Mark subway station.
It didn’t take long for James to catch up.
He didn’t mention my leaving, didn’t bring up the contract at all—he merely said, lightly:
“Tonight is Vito’s birthday feast. He invited us.”
I stopped walking and looked at him.
“Of course.”
We boarded his vehicle together.
The cabin was silent—so silent that even the faint ripples of the mind-link felt like winter wind, cold and biting.
A breeze slipped through the window seam, carrying the chill of night mixed with a faint jasmine scent.
Aria’s scent.
As an Omega, her natural fragrance was soft, soothing—something that instinctively pleased an Alpha.
It wasn’t overwhelming, just familiar enough to make my chest tighten with cold.
Casually, I asked, “Do you like the smell of jasmine?”
James’s eyes flickered ever so slightly—an involuntary emotional reaction common to Alphas.
“It’s fine,” he said flatly.
“Really?”
I laughed inwardly.
“Then why have you always carried that scent on you for the past few years?”
I didn’t press further.
In wolf-clan customs, scent transfer meant deep emotional closeness.
But he had never once explained it.
We arrived at the Moon-Mark Hotel where we were meeting.
Vito and Aria had clearly been waiting.
When Aria saw James and me appear side by side, she froze for a moment.
“Good evening, James… Blair. We’ve been waiting a while.”
Her voice was soft, tinged with the Omega’s natural gentleness and deference.
I smiled faintly, without warmth, and turned to Vito.
“Apologies. I came in a rush and didn’t prepare a gift.”
Vito had been James and Aria’s childhood companion—
the three of them had grown up together in the same training camp since they were pups.
James had brought me to their clan gatherings back when we first bonded,
which was how I became familiar with them at all.
“I sent one for you,” James said calmly.
Then he guided me toward the seating area.
Two seats were left—directly opposite each other.
Whether the arrangement was intentional or not, I no longer cared.
I released his hand and walked straight to the opposite seat.
James’s expression shifted slightly, but he said nothing.
He simply sat in the empty seat beside Aria.
His choice—guided by territory instincts—felt more like a declaration than etiquette.
I knew what his friends were thinking.
They had never approved of our mate contract,
and had always treated me with a polite, distant frost.
In the past, I had tried to fit into their circle, choosing thoughtful gifts for every holiday.
But those gifts were never used—
the packaging had never even been opened.
They had never considered me one of them.
Thinking back, those symbolic efforts felt laughably naïve.
I said nothing and quietly lowered my head to eat.
The table was lively, filled with fragrances and chatter,
yet I felt as if I were sitting alone on a distant island.
James chatted easily with them,
and while talking, he began peeling the Moon-Bay shrimp on his plate.
According to his habit, he never touched such sea-creature delicacies unless someone else peeled them for him.
Even then, he would only take a symbolic bite—
for a high-tier Alpha, peeling the shells himself was a bothersome task.
But now, he didn’t seem bothered at all.
第3章
He peeled the entire plate of shrimp with practiced ease, then pushed the glistening red meat toward Aria.
After that, he slowly picked up the cleansing towel and meticulously wiped his fingertips.
It was the most intimate etiquette an Alpha could offer when tending to an Omega.
And it was something I had never once received.
Seeing this, my chest tightened—just slightly, but enough.
I had already decided to let him go.
But witnessing him treat another with such tenderness…
that kind of pain still surged up uncontrollably, sharp as frostbite.
Vito clearly noticed too.
He glanced at my expression, then at James, nudging him deliberately with a teasing smirk.
“Don’t just take care of one person. Peel some for your mate too.”
James seemed to suddenly remember something.
He lowered his head, looked at the empty plate before me, and said,
“Order another serving.”
“No need,” I said calmly, taking a sip of my drink. “I don’t like shrimp.”
“What about grilled fish?”
“I don’t like the smell.”
James stared at the table, his brows narrowing slightly.
“And the roast moon-chicken?”
“I don’t like that either.”
He froze—clearly not expecting me to refuse so bluntly.
I lifted my gaze and met his eyes, my voice smooth yet edged like a blade.
“Anything you recommend, I don’t like.”
“Blair, are you upset?”
Aria asked softly, her Omega presence timid and fragile.
“Why aren’t you eating what James ordered for you? Please don’t be angry at him.”
Her careful tone made me seem like a bully picking on the weak.
“How could I be angry?” I smiled faintly.
“Please enjoy the meal. I suddenly remembered there’s work I haven’t finished, so I’ll take my leave.”
Maintaining perfect politeness, I picked up my bag and prepared to stand.
“Oh come on,” Vito drawled, voice full of mockery.
“You’re not seriously mad about James setting off fireworks for Aria, right? Such a small thing?”
The moment he brought up that night, Aria immediately lowered her eyes and spoke softly:
“I’m sorry, Blair. I wasn’t feeling well that day… James only wanted to comfort me.
James, you should apologize to her.”
James frowned.
“I only lit a few fireworks. Why should I apologize?”
The moment the words fell, the air around the table froze completely.
And in the angle James couldn’t see,
Aria lifted the corner of her lips ever so slightly.
A small, delicate smile—
the kind of smile only an Omega shows when quietly claiming territory.
As if telling me without a sound:
This Alpha is mine.
How laughable.
Those who commit wrongdoing are often the last to understand their fault.
And just like the countless times before,
James still didn’t see the real issue.
He always believed that if he soothed me with a few empty words,
I would remain silent, patient, obedient—
the compliant mate I had pretended to be.
Instead, I let out a soft laugh and said gently:
“You’re right.
Those moon-flame fireworks really were beautiful.
Next time, don’t forget to make the display even grander.”
My tone was soft—
yet sharp as a silver blade.
Before anyone could react,
the restaurant manager entered carrying several bottles of rare Silvermoon Wine.
“These are the bottles you and Miss Aria stored with us during your last visit.
Shall I open them for you now?”
The entire private room fell utterly silent.
The manager stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do.
So I spared him the embarrassment.
“Open them all,” I said lightly.
“No need to waste anything.”
With those words, I rose and walked out of the room.
James quickly followed, a rare trace of unease in his voice—
something high-tier Alphas almost never revealed.
“Blair, the company sealed a major deal recently.
Those wines were meant for the celebration.”
I waved a hand dismissively, not caring in the slightest,
and walked into the women’s restroom.
When I returned to the private room,
James was shielding Aria from the alcohol.
His hand covered hers around the glass,
blocking the Silvermoon Wine with a natural, practiced motion—
as if he had done it countless times before.
And that scene…
was far too familiar.
Two years ago, at almost the exact same type of banquet—
I, severely allergic to alcohol,
was pressured and taunted by a circle of male werewolves taking turns pushing drinks on me.
And back then, James didn’t stop them.
He didn’t shield me.
Instead, he watched with half-lidded eyes,
wearing the cold indifference and impatience unique to high-ranking Alphas.
第4章
Under the jeering gazes of the others, he pinned my shoulder down against the seat, trapping me in place.
One hand seized my chin, forcing my mouth open.
“It’s just a drink. Swallow it,” he said—
his tone flat, as if he were commanding an obedient beast.
“What are you afraid of? Worst case, I’ll take you to the healer afterward for a stomach cleanse.”
In that moment, I didn’t feel humiliation.
All I felt was cold.
A cold that seeped from the marrow outward.
That wasn’t love.
That was domination—
the habitual control of an Alpha accustomed to obedience.
That same night, after the banquet ended, my body began burning with fever.
Everything felt distant, blurred, as if fire had melted consciousness itself.
Two days later, I was rushed to the hospital with violent abdominal pain.
The healer’s diagnosis was icy and merciless.
There had been a one-month-old pup forming within me.
But due to the alcohol and the forcible stress,
the fetal vein had already collapsed on its own.
When James heard about my miscarriage,
he didn’t grieve.
He didn’t panic.
He didn’t feel guilt.
He stormed into the ward, furious.
Standing at my bedside, he bellowed:
“I told you not to go to that place, and you still insisted! Idiot!
This is what you get for showing off in front of those males!”
In his eyes, there wasn’t a shred of remorse.
Only irritation, anger, and blame.
Remembering that, I returned to my seat in the private room.
I didn’t look at anyone.
I picked up my bag, pushed my chair back without a word, and left.
Just as I closed the door behind me,
I heard Aria’s soft, anxious voice inside:
“James, go after her—apologize.
Blair is clearly upset.”
But James’s voice was cold—cold like iron in a winter night.
“Leave her. She’ll get over it in a few days.”
Every syllable sliced through me like a silver blade.
What had I done wrong—
to make him so certain
that my feelings would never leave him?
That no matter how deeply I hurt,
I would always return like a obedient little wolf at his heel?
James arrived at our territory residence one step after me, his entire body radiating Alpha fury so intense it tightened the air.
“Blair, are you insane?”
He roared as soon as he crossed the threshold, red light flickering in his irises.
“Leaving without a word?
You made that entire dinner awkward. Are you satisfied now?”
I said nothing.
I simply watched him quietly.
He tugged at his collar, letting out an impatient cold laugh.
“If you’re going to act this childish, then let’s just dissolve the mate contract.”
It was the second time James had suggested divorce—
or, in the wolf-clans’ terms, dissolving the Moon-Vow Bond.
The first time had been when he suspected I touched his communication stone.
Back then, I had no spine.
I had knelt at his feet, sobbing until I could hardly breathe,
swearing at the tip of his boot that I would never anger him again.
But now—
I simply lifted my gaze, met his eyes, and said quietly:
“Alright.”
The large living room fell into a frightening silence—
even the air seemed to freeze for half a minute.
James stared at me as if his hearing had betrayed him.
“Blair… what did you just say?”
“I said alright.”
My voice was calm—
calm like a windless night lake.
“We’re getting divorced.”
I rose from the sofa, ready to hand him the property division documents that the clan lawyer had drafted.
But before I could, James suddenly raised his voice, glaring at me with clenched teeth.
“You’re sure you want to dissolve our bond?
You’re really sure?”
I blinked, puzzled by his sudden agitation.
“A divorce… how could that be anything but real?”
James stared at me—
stared as if he were seeing me for the first time—
then abruptly let out a cold, ridiculing laugh.
“I didn’t think you had it in you to play hard-to-get.”
His eyebrow arched with mockery.
“But I’m not falling for that.”
With that, he slammed the door and strode out,
Alpha scent flaring with temper.
The silence he left behind was so complete
I could hear my heartbeat.
For the next half month, James never returned to our territory.
And I, in return, quietly moved my belongings out of the Alpha residence piece by piece,
as silently as the moon’s shadow moving across snow.
Until one late night,
I received a mind-link call from Elder Yuan.
第5章
His voice was unusually anxious.
“Blair, James is extremely drunk. His Alpha form is unstable—he needs someone to watch him.”
But I only replied lightly:
“If he’s drunk, let him sleep at your place.
If that doesn’t work, ask Aria whether she’s free.”
Heaven and earth knew—I said that entirely for his sake.
But the James who was supposedly too drunk to stand,
who should’ve collapsed into his beast form,
somehow managed to force himself home—
only to throw a cold face at me the moment he walked in.
He sat next to me, stiff and silent, pretending to watch TV.
That icy attitude appeared every day afterward,
right on schedule.
And yet strangely, he never once failed to come home.
Not a single day.
More than that—
for an entire week straight,
he had someone deliver 999 moon-roses to my office in the Clan Affairs building.
In the past, even a small charm from him would’ve made me rush to post a dozen updates, flaunting my joy.
But this time, no matter how often he refreshed the clan network,
he never saw even a single petal.
James seemed to have completely forgotten about “divorce” and “dissolving the bond.”
Meanwhile, I followed the clan lawyer’s advice
and simply waited quietly for the best opportunity.
“Ningning, where are you? Yes, we’re in Private Room No. 8—come quick!”
Lynn’s voice sounded through the mind-link.
I was heading to the private club to sing with her.
Walking through the dim corridor lit by moon-halo lamps,
I hadn’t yet found the right room
when someone pressed a hand on my shoulder from behind.
“Blair—how did you know I was here?”
Even in the sultry, ambiguous lighting,
the excitement and joy in James’s eyes were unmistakable.
His Alpha scent even warmed instantly upon seeing me.
“I told you I’d be back soon, didn’t I?
But since you’re here, perfect—come in and say hello.”
He practically half-dragged, half-held me into the room.
Aria was the first to come forward.
The moment she saw me, her smile faltered noticeably.
“Didn’t expect Blair-sis would come to a place like this.”
She playfully glared at James,
then swept her gaze over me with thinly veiled disdain.
“James-ge always says you’re fussy and shy.
See? I knew he was lying. Blair-sis is definitely not the silly kind of woman he described.”
In that moment,
I noticed the custom-made coat draped over her shoulders—
The exact coat I had gifted James for our anniversary last year.
Recently, I had asked him to wear it to accompany me to the Gu Family banquet.
He told me impatiently that the coat had been lost during a field mission.
All I had done was murmur, “That’s a pity.”
Yet the man acted like something in him snapped,
exploding with rage:
“It’s an ugly old coat! Of course I tossed it!
You interrogate me like a criminal!
Blair, should I take you to the healer right now and have your brain examined?
You really should fix that pig-brain of yours!”
At that moment, his Alpha suppression was unrestrained—
treating me not as a partner,
but as property.
James then dragged me toward his so-called “old friends,”
making me greet each of them one by one.
While the werewolves joked about him being “tightly controlled by his mate,”
James laughed contentedly,
his eyes glinting with the smugness only an Alpha felt
when surveying what he believed was his territory.
He stared at me—
as if I were still the little wolf cub who used to orbit around him.
When they began egging us on to sing a duet together,
Aria suddenly stepped forward and draped the coat over my shoulders.
She said sweetly,
“Blair-sis wore so little—I don’t want her to catch a cold.”
But I recognized it instantly.
The coat was the same anniversary gift I gave James.
The same one he claimed to have “lost.”
The same one I recently asked him to wear to accompany me to a banquet.
Seeing me wearing that coat—
James stiffened.
His breath hitched, even grew unsteady.
He grabbed my wrist, speaking carefully:
“On the last mission, the temperature dropped suddenly…
Aria didn’t bring anything warm…
So I… had no choice but to lend her my coat…”
I didn’t bother looking at him.
I simply continued replying to my friend’s message.
“Mhm? It’s just a coat.
Lending it to her—or even giving it away—doesn’t matter.”
And right at that moment,
Lynn sent a blurry side-profile photo with a single caption:
“Your ex-husband is here.”
第6章
I handed the microphone directly to Aria,
then turned to James and said,
“You two sing together.
I have something to attend to, so I’ll leave first.”
Before James could respond,
Aria immediately spread her arms to block my way,
her expression wavering between wanting to cry and wanting to appear virtuous.
“Blair-sis, are you still misunderstanding me and James-ge?
We’re really not what you think.”
Exactly as she intended.
When she lifted her arm,
I saw the delicate tattoo on the inside of her forearm.
A sword and a rose.
A wolf-clan shadow mark.
Sharing the same shadow mark meant shared secrets, shared scent, shared memory—
an exclusive bond between two werewolves.
Two months ago,
I had seen the exact same mark on James.
Matching the sudden panic in his eyes,
I did something no one expected.
Under the stunned gazes of every werewolf present,
I took his hand and Aria’s hand—
and interlaced their fingers together,
like a witness blessing a couple.
I smiled, my voice soft yet cutting through the air like a blade:
“True love is not a crime.
It’s the unloved one who doesn’t belong.
Choose a date soon.
Invite everyone to the wedding.”
With that, I walked out of the private room with calm composure.
James chased after me immediately,
his aura chaotic, on the brink of losing control.
I had never seen his face so pale.
“Blair, I can explain—please, just listen.”
I stared at him, genuinely puzzled.
“You and Aria seem perfectly fine.
Why do you need to explain anything to me?”
“I’m not with Aria!
Yes, we have matching tattoos, and I know how it looks—
but I swear to you, mine was just a stupid bet with Elder Yuan’s group!
It means nothing!
I can have the tattoo master remove it tomorrow!”
“Blair, after everything we’ve been through,
can’t you believe me just this once?”
Because of how frantic he was,
his voice carried a low Alpha growl—
enough to make nearby werewolves stop walking and glance over.
A flash of deep irritation passed through my eyes.
“James, don’t be so emotional.
If you have something to say, wait until I finish meeting my friends.”
Once—
the day I caught him accompanying Aria in and out of the healer’s hall, tending to her the whole time,
I had screamed at him in the lobby like a mad wolf.
And back then, James had dismissed me with the very same impatience and condescension.
Now, the tide had turned—
for the first time, I saw naked shock and hurt in his eyes.
I ignored him completely
and pushed open Room 8’s door without looking back.
The next few hours, my communication stone lit up and dimmed repeatedly.
James sent more than a dozen messages, starting with:
What time will you be home?
I’m waiting in the room next door for you to finish.
Later, he began nagging:
Don’t drink.
If you must, only one or two cups.
I prepared your allergy medicine—take it if you feel unwell.
Eventually, he called.
When I finally picked up,
his voice was so soft, it was almost unrecognizable.
“Blair… your gathering is over, right?
I’ll come pick you up.”
“I already left in my friend’s car.”
At first, James assumed I was joking.
So I switched the communication stone to speaker mode
and let the senior from my academy days—Perry, who kindly offered to drive me—
say hello to him.
James had never met Perry,
but he had heard vague rumors about our “ambiguous” past during our academy years.
Through the communication stone, I couldn’t see James’s expression—
but I could hear his rapid, uneven breathing.
The telltale sign of a high-ranking Alpha on the verge of losing emotional control.
To avoid pointless arguments,
I hung up directly.
That night,
I didn’t return to the Alpha residence.
Almost all my belongings were already packed.
I stayed at Lynn’s place
and slept better than I had in years.
The next morning.
I recharged my communication stone.
The moment it turned on, James’s call came through instantly.
Seeing dozens of missed calls from the night before,
I massaged my temples and shut the device off again.
When I stepped outside,
a silver werewolf carriage was parked at the entrance.
Perry stood beside it,
dressed in a dark ceremonial outfit embroidered with his clan’s crest—
a symbol of honor and protection.
In his arms was a bouquet of everlasting white moon-tulips—
flowers symbolizing new beginnings, eternity, and devotion.
Morning light filtered through the mist,
resting gently on his shoulders.
He lifted his gaze to me,
calm, warm, steady.
“Blair.”
He called my name softly,
as though calling someone fated to him.
“I’ve come to take you home.”