(Olivia’s POV)

    Theodore released Matthew’s cor, his hands shaking as he frantically tried to reach me. But the Pack Enforcers blocked his path, their bodies forming an imprable wall between us.

    My voice cut through the air like a de, each word carving into his heart. “We are no longer mate. Don’t you remember that I rejected you?”

    I clutched my chest, feeling the familiar ache that had haunted me for years. “You could have rejected me properly. Instead of cheating on me, betraying our bond, and forcing Leo to grow up in a broken home.”

    Theodore’s face crumpled with anguish. “Olivia, please—”

    “All of this is your fault,” I continued, my voice steady despite the pain. “After I left you, your various actions were nothing more than selfish excuses.”

    “It wasn’t like that!” Theodore cried out, struggling against the enforcers who began dragging him away. “You don’t understand-”

    His desperate protests faded as they hauled him from the room. Matthew walked toward me, his movements

    careful and gentle.

    He reached for my hand, but I pulled away. My emotions were a storm I couldn’t let him see.

    “I forgot my phone,” I said, avoiding his gaze.

    Matthew simply opened his other hand. My phone rested in his palm, as if he’d known I would need it.

    Looking at his hand, a pang of sorrow hit me. I would never meet anyone as gentle or considerate as him again. I was lucky to have met him at all.

    As I reached for the phone, he caught my hand. “Be careful not to get it wet,” he reminded me softly.

    I pulled my hand free, nodded lightly, and walked away without meeting his eyes.

    The washroom was quiet except for the soft sound of makeup being applied. Audrey Vale stood at the mirror, her reflection perfect and untouchable.

    I activated the recorder on my phone before speaking. “Why did you disappear before testifying? And why are you here with Theodore now?”

    Audrey’s demeanor was cool as she turned to face me. “I was mistaken about what I saw. Theodore wasn’t

    with any killer.”

    Her eyes burned with resentment. “I can’t understand why you’re so careless with the hearts of Alphas like

    Theodore and Matthew.”

    “What are you talking about?” I demanded.

    “Who are you to use Theodore of cheating when you’re two–timing him yourself?” she sneered. “Don’t y dumb.”

    Her voice grew sharper. “At the dinner table, he was constantly serving you food, and you ate everything.

    Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

    Confusion must have shown on my face because Audrey’s smile turned vicious.

    “Don’t you know that The Sovereign’s Table is Theodore’s restaurant?” she delivered the final blow. “He

    opened eighteen restaurants for you, all of them serving Stonehaven cuisine.”

    The words hit me like a physical blow. Suddenly, I remembered Matthew hadn’t eaten a single bite of the meal.

    I turned and left without another word, leaving Audrey staring at her beautiful reflection. She wondered bitterly why Alphas‘ eyes never lingered on her the way they did on me.

    Matthew was waiting in the hallway, his golden eyes immediately finding mine.

    “Why didn’t you tell me this was his restaurant?” I demanded, breathless with anger and hurt.

    “I only realized when we arrived,” he exined quietly. “Your well–being was more important than revealing the truth at that moment.”

    “But he was the one controlling thezy susan, wasn’t he?”

    Matthew’s quiet “yes” was all the confirmation I needed.

    Looking into his gentle golden eyes, I saw a tenderness I had never touched before. Tears streamed down my face as I threw myself into his arms.

    “Your feelings are important too,” I sobbed into his chest. “Your feelings are very important.”

    He held me close, his arms a sanctuary from the chaos. Then he kissed me tenderly, and for a moment, the world felt right again.

    (God’s POV)

    From a distance, Theodore watched her melt into another Alpha’s embrace. His fist mmed into a marble pir, knuckles splitting and bleeding.

    Audrey approached him with concern. “Theodore, your hand-”

    He snapped, grabbing her by the throat and pinning her against the wall. “Don’t think you can do whatever you want just because you have something on me.”

    His grip tightened as he showed her his phone. The recording from the washroom yed clearly.

    “Who gave you the nerve to criticize my mate?” he hissed.

    He threw her to the ground, his voice cold as winter. “Go back to the Northwood Manor. Now.”

    Audrey crumbled, remembering how she had onceughed at ra for confronting the Luna. Now she understood the gnawing pain of watching the Alpha you desirevish his heart on another.

    A pack enforcer helped her up, harding her a stack of entertainment contracts. Theodore’s promise to make her a superstar.

    But her desires had changed. She now wanted only to destroy Olivia.

    After Olivia drove off, Matthew stood outside with Killian. The scientist’s heart ached seeing them together, the intimacy he could never share.

    Matthew’s tone was deceptively mild as he faced Killian. “Can’t you give up? I’ve always considered you a friend.”

    His golden eyes hardened slightly. “Or… do you want to be my enemy?”

    Killian was stunned. He knew Matthew was the power behind Olivia’s rescues, an Alpha King of immense influence.

    Torn between his feelings and his professional responsibilities, he reluctantly got into the car with Matthew to report on his project.

    Back in her office at Shield Chain Technology, Olivia sat under the newly installed sprinkler system. She opened herptop, fingers flying across the keyboard as she activated her encryption–breaking system.

    The familiar code flowed across her screen, each line a piece of her past as Cipher. High above her, the sprinkler head’s hidden monitor shed a red dot.

    On the other end of the monitor, a figure from the Umbral Syndicate stared at the encryption system