Chapter 4

That home had held so many of our brightest memories.

It had witnessed all the sweetness of our five years together.

It had seen every season we shared.

It had carried all our laughter and tears.

Ethan had once wanted our future to stay rooted there forever.

He had talked about petitioning Luna to hold our official mate ceremony in the Pack assembly hall, so we could finally cement our bond as one.

Back when he used to talk about it, my heart was full of hope for what was to come.

Now, my chest was as still as stagnant water.

I didn't reply to any of his texts.

Once I reached my new cottage, I cleaned the place up myself.

Then I went to the market, bought fresh groceries, and cooked a spread of all the meals I loved.

I even got the ice cream cake I never got to taste on my birthday.

Taking a bite of the cake, the cold, sweet cream melted across my tongue.

A small smile touched my lips.

So this was what it tasted like. No wonder Ethan had packed up all the fruit and frosting to take to Mia that night.

After a moment's thought, I snapped a picture and posted it to my Instagram feed.

The caption read: *Happy birthday to me. To a new chapter, to peace, and to freedom.*

Within minutes, friends, family, and coworkers began liking and commenting, filling the replies with warm birthday wishes.

I replied to them one by one to thank them.

Then, my finger froze on a painfully familiar profile picture.

It was the very first time Ethan had ever left a comment on one of my posts.

*Lily, what kind of tantrum is this? Where are you? I'm coming over so we can talk face-to-face.*

His comment stuck out like a glaring stain among all the well-wishes.

With a flick of my thumb, I deleted it.

Failing to get a response, Ethan sent a voice memo.

*Lily, could you stop being so childish? If you have an issue, say it to my face. Stop pulling these disappearing acts.*

*If you don't reply right now, I'm going to get pissed.*

Hearing his harsh voice, I nearly laughed out loud.

I had brought up our problems countless times.

I told him I wanted his unconditional devotion.

I told him I wanted to be his first choice.

I told him to draw boundaries with Mia.

Yet he never honored a single boundary I asked for.

Or rather, he had never taken my words seriously in the first place.

I still didn't respond. Instead, I systematically deleted his number, purged him from my socials, and blocked him everywhere.

Just then, a text popped up from my mom.

*Wasn't your birthday three days ago? Why are you only posting now?*

*And Ethan wasn't in any of the pictures... Did you two break up?*