Chapter 5

I didn't expect the lie I told years ago to still haunt him.

I struggled against his grip, finally wrenching my wrists free. "Whether I did or didn't has nothing to do with you anymore. We broke up, Mason."

Mason looked like he was about to lose his mind. "Am I just some stray dog you can discard whenever you feel like it?"

Before he could say more, the front door swung open.

A girl in a high-end designer dress stepped into the foyer. She was stunning, looking like a literal princess.

I recognized her instantly. She was the girl from the restaurant all those years ago.

The one his family wanted him to marry.

So, Mason was engaged and still trying to mess with my head? Did everyone just think I was an easy target?

"Emily?"

The girl gasped, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Oh my god, Mason! You finally found her!"

Wait. *Mason?*

She called him Mason. What was their actual relationship?

Mason nodded, gesturing toward her. "Emily, this is Iris, the princess of the Sunward Pack."

"Emily, I—"

Before Mason could finish, Iris rushed over and grabbed my arm enthusiastically. "I know! You're Mason's girlfriend!"

I froze.

Mason had actually told people I was his girlfriend?

When James and I were together, he had no pack status and no job. I paid for everything. When he heard his stepmother was trying to kill him, he started pretending his wolf was about to awaken to protect himself.

I didn't know it was a act. I spent thousands of dollars buying him expensive supplements. I believed that since I was his girlfriend, I had to support him, wolf or no wolf.

But he had been playing me the entire time, viewing me as nothing but a servant.

I looked at Mason, my heart hammering. I needed to know if I had misunderstood everything back then.

But then, Iris leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper near my ear.

"Mason might like you, but I'm the one the Gray family chose for him. Look at yourself. You're just a pathetic, broke human nanny. He’s not a broken wolf anymore, Emily. You don't belong here."

My chest tightened. I instinctively pulled my arm back from her grip.

But the moment I did, Iris let out a soft cry and tumbled onto the marble floor.

She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, playing the victim perfectly. "Emily... why did you push me?"

I immediately looked at Mason, bracing myself for his anger.

But Mason just stared down at Iris, his expression filled with sheer disgust.

"Do you think I'm blind? Emily didn't even touch you. I warned you never to come to my house again."

Without another word, Mason grabbed my hand, leaving a stunned Iris on the floor, and pulled me deeper into the mansion.

He poured me a glass of water and made me sit on the plush sofa.

"Emily, tell me the truth. That text you sent me years ago... it was a lie, wasn't it? You didn't love someone else."

Yes, and no.

The text was a lie.

But I did end up falling for someone else later. James pursued me relentlessly, and after taking care of him for five years, I had genuine feelings for him. I wasn't going to deny my past, even if it turned out to be a massive mistake.

Iris was James's half-sister.

And Mason had never been engaged to her. It was all just a delusion pushed by their parents.

I ended up staying at the Gray mansion as a private nanny for Mason's younger sister.

Mason assigned me a room right next to his.

That night, when I walked into my room, I realized there wasn't a single blanket on the massive bed.

I went to find the house manager.

The manager kept a straight face. "Everything regarding your stay is personally handled by the Alpha. You'll have to ask him, ma'am."

I swallowed my pride and knocked on Mason's door.

"Come in," a deep voice rumbled.

I pushed the door open. Mason was nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, but the sound of running water came from the adjoining bathroom.

He was showering and told me to come in?

Just as I turned to leave, the bathroom door swung open.

Mason stepped out, steam swirling around him. He was completely shirtless, a single gray towel slung low on his hips, water droplets glistening on his toned chest.