Xesha's POV

He stood before me with a cold stare after saying the magic words I never wanted to hear. The craziest words he should never have said to me—his soon-to-be wife, his Luna.

All the pack members must have been waiting outside, awaiting the wedding ceremony and my coronation as the Luna of the Moon Dawn Pack after several years of our relationship.

"What did you say?" I asked, double-checking and hoping I had misheard.

"Give your place to Helena. Let her replace you as the bride today," he said again, and this time it was clear as he added, "Only as the bride. But you will still receive the luna coronation."

I stood up, staring at Jasper in disbelief and trying to convince myself that he was just joking. However, there was no joke, no laughter, but only his usual cold expression.

He wasn't a romantic man, I knew that. But he had never betrayed me before. So why was this happening now?

I laughed bitterly, approached him, and caressed his chiseled jaw. "You're joking, right?" He shook his head. "Why, Jasper? What happened? This is our wedding. I've been preparing for it for a long time so that it would be my dream wedding. Why—"

"Please don't ask too many questions, Xesha. We don't have much time. Helena has tried to kill herself many times. I don't want that to happen again."

"So you traded it for our wedding, is that it? You made me, your future wife, just a spectator while you and she walk down the aisle and tie the knot, only so that she won't kill herself? Is that it?"

"Xesha, please. It's no big deal. It's just a wedding. The name on the certificate will still be yours, you will still be my wife, you will still be my luna. It's just a formality. Don't make a drama out of it."

Drama? He said I was making a drama, but what about that woman?

Jasper was silent for a moment until a sentence struck my chest hard and seemed to break my heart into pieces.

"She's carrying my pup," he said after a long silence. "I didn't do it on purpose, but I'm guilty, and I have to take responsibility."

I hit Jasper's chest when I heard his confession. I didn't want to believe it. But that's what he said. Jasper wasn't the type of person to lie for anything. He would tell the truth even if it hurt, and this was one of those times.

How can I go on living after this? Jasper is going to marry that woman—his childhood sweetheart—walking down the aisle toward the altar and making vows as if it were between him and me.

They will be happy, but what about me? Everyone will laugh at me for failing to have my dream wedding because my fiancé chose to marry his friend, using all my preparations.

"How could you do this to me, Jasper?" I sobbed, my jaw clenched. My strength seemed to drain away. My gaze became empty, and my chest felt tight, making it difficult to breathe. "When did it happen? Tell me," I asked weakly.

"At the company party at Ravencourt."

"When I wasn't there because I was busy with work? And you were there and fucked her?"

"She forced me to take her too, and I couldn't do anything about it. Besides, she was following her father's orders to represent her pack."

"Bullshit!" I continued to hit him, and he hugged me tightly to stop me from doing what I was doing.

Jasper never liked commotion. He was a calm leader, but cunning. No one would know what was on Jasper's mind because he was so careful in his actions, mainly because of his position as an alpha. However, I could read the cold expression on his face, and if he acted that way, it meant he didn't want further communication.

"I have to go now because Helena is waiting for me. I don't want you wandering around and ruining this wedding," he said, releasing me from his embrace, and shortly after, the door opened.

Someone walked in with a cold expression.

"Helena looks anxious and is crying in her room, Alpha. You'd better get ready now, or she might jump off the balcony," he said, prompting Jasper to rush off after telling his messenger to watch over me.

Even without a baby in her womb, Helena was already a thorn in my relationship with Jasper. She would always use the same tactics—depression and suicide attempts—just to get Jasper's attention.

The two of them were childhood friends. According to Jasper, Helena's parents were not good. They always demanded that Helena be their pride and joy, leaving her with emotional scars, and Jasper was the only person she had ever trusted.

Of course, only Jasper would always pamper her and give her whatever she wanted.

I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. This was my wedding, and I didn't care if she killed herself or went to hell. I was the one who should be at the altar.

I got up and was about to leave, but the man who had just arrived immediately grabbed me and held me in the room. He took a rope out of his pocket and tied me to the window bars.

"What the hell is this, Gamma Brandon?! Let me go!" I screamed as Brandon, one of Jasper's confidants and friends, went too far by treating me like this.

"You need to learn your place, lowly omega!" he sneered. "You're lucky Jasper chose you, but that doesn't mean he loves you."

"We couldn't have stayed together for so long if he didn't love me," I retorted, which didn't seem to faze him, but instead made him grin slyly.

"We'll see if your words are true or just bullshit." Brandon then took a remote and pressed a button, activating a large screen in the room that showed footage of Jasper and Helena's wedding—it should have been me.

Helena walked down the aisle with a broad smile gracing her beautiful face. Meanwhile, Jasper, looking so handsome, stood at the altar, waiting for Helena to arrive.

His eyes sparkled, as if Helena were his real bride.

It was as if the wedding was not a formality, but a sincere commitment.

I began to doubt whether Jasper had really loved me all this time. Or was it all just because his parents disapproved of him being with Helena?

"Are you jealous now? She is very charming. She is more suited to Jasper than you, a lowly omega."

No! This wedding should have been mine.

My attention was now focused on the wedding dress Helena was wearing. Why was it so similar to the one I was wearing?

Was this a formality? When even the dress and jewelry she was wearing were duplicates of mine and just as authentic, could it be called a formality?

Jasper planned all of this. It's my wedding that's fake. That's why he asked me to switch places with Helena.

I pulled my hand away forcefully. However, Brandon tied me up with more than just a regular knot. He is one of the proud warriors of the Moon Dawn Pack, so tying people up must be one of his skills.

"Let me go, Gamma Brandon! I have to go there. I have to save my marriage," I shouted, but instead of getting Brandon's consent, I got a hard slap from him.

I was stunned, holding my burning cheek, not expecting Brandon to dare to do that to me.

He had never shown any affection towards me, as one would expect from a future Luna. However, what he did this time was beyond the pale.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Foxxy? Do you want another slap so you can watch your mouth and your behavior?" he asked, and I just froze.

My gaze returned to the screen, long enough that I didn't realize tears were streaming down my cheeks.

They had exchanged wedding vows. How could I possibly stop it? They were now officially husband and wife, united by a love they had never admitted to—except as lies to deceive me—and witnessed by the Moon Goddess.

How could I separate them?

Was this what Jasper had wanted all along? To marry Helena and make me a mere shield so that no one would know about their relationship behind my back?

I pulled my hand harder until I felt a burning sensation in my wrist. Without realizing it, the rope had broken, and I immediately ran out of the room.

Brandon chased after me, but I hit him in the face with the broken iron and immediately went into my room, took off this fucking wedding dress, and changed into the clothes I had been wearing before.

I walked quickly, intending to leave. Arriving at the back of the hotel, where the wedding was held. I turned around, looked at my former fiancé, who was now standing next to another woman, and then hurried away from there, promising myself I would never look back.

Before, I would always forgive Jasper for all the mistakes he made. I was afraid of losing him, so I would do anything to maintain the relationship all this time.

However, this time he had crossed the line, and I couldn't allow myself to be disrespected anymore.

I will leave, and I will ensure I never return.