Chapter 181
"I didn't promise you anything."
The words land harder than I intend.
"But you didn't stop it," Vivian says immediately, her voice trembling with urgency. "You let them believe it. You let me believe it."
Her fingers tighten around my sleeve like she is afraid that if she lets go, everything will disappear.
"Do you know what that does to someone?" she whispers. "To be looked at like they already belong somewhere?"
I pull my arm back, my expression hardening.
"Ellie is your sister," I say firmly. "Show some respect and step back."
Her eyes widen.
"What?"
The word breaks out of her before she can control it. Her eyes fill with tears, and for a moment, the carefully composed woman everyone knows disappears.
"Respect?" she repeats, almost laughing. "For what? For losing?"
Her voice cracks.
"For losing you? My father? Everything I was promised?"
Her breathing turns uneven, her emotions spilling through every word.
"It's not fair," she says quietly. "You don't get to just choose her and then watch her walk down the aisle as if none of this mattered. Like I didn't matter."
She searches my face desperately, looking for something.
Regret.
Doubt.
Anything.
"I deserve to know why," she whispers. "I deserve that much."
I stare at her.
She isn't leaving.
She is still standing here in that dress, still holding on to a future that was never hers, acting like this conversation is something unfinished between us.
I release a slow breath.
"If you think you deserve an explanation," I say at last, my voice steady, "and if hearing it will finally make you take off that dress and walk away, then I'll give you one."
Hope flashes across her face.
A dangerous, fragile thing.
I see it before she manages to hide it.
"Ellie never tried to impress me."
Vivian blinks.
"She never performed. Never carefully chose her words just to make herself look better. She never tried to become someone she thought I wanted."
I pause.
"She was simply herself."
My gaze stays on hers.
"She did what she wanted, even when it made her difficult. Even when it made her inconvenient. Even when people misunderstood her."
I lower my voice.
"But when it comes to the people she loves..."
The words come easier now.
"She gives everything."
Vivian's expression tightens.
"She doesn't hesitate. She doesn't calculate what she can gain. Half the time, she doesn't even realize how much she sacrifices."
I think of Ellie.
Her stubbornness.
Her fire.
The way she fights me and still stands beside me when it matters.
"She fought with me. She challenged me. She still does."
A faint, almost impossible smile touches my thoughts.
"But when I needed someone beside me, she was there. Not because she wanted a title. Not because she wanted praise. Not because she wanted people watching her."
I meet Vivian's eyes.
"She did it because that's who she is."
The silence between us grows heavier.
"That's how I know she cares."
My voice lowers.
"And I know that if I ever truly needed her, she wouldn't turn her back on me."
I pause.
"Not on me. Not on this pack. Not on herself."
Vivian stares at me like every word has cut deeper than she expected.
"And I am not all of that?"
Her question is barely a whisper.
I don't answer.
Because I don't need to.
Her laugh is quiet, but there is no amusement in it.
"I was raised for this," she says, her voice sharpening. "The Management Academy. The training. The expectations."
She gestures toward the grand hall behind us.
"I organized this entire wedding. Every single detail. The council praised it. The guests loved it."
Her hands fall slightly.
"They love everything..."
Her voice trembles.
"Except the one thing she chose."
A bitter expression crosses her face.
"The chocolate cake."
She lets out a breath that almost sounds like a scoff.
"The one thing she picked, and nobody even likes it."
She steps closer.
"You are an Alpha, Dominic. You deserve—"
"I liked it."
My words cut through hers.
She freezes.
I hold her gaze.
"I liked the chocolate cake."
Confusion crosses her face.
"Not everything is a performance, Vivian."
My voice remains calm.
"Yes, my life is. My position is. The expectations are."
I look toward the hall for a moment before returning my eyes to hers.
"But not every choice has to be."
A pause.
"Otherwise, I'm not living."
My jaw tightens.
"I'm just performing."
She looks at me like she is seeing me for the first time.
Her voice is softer when she speaks.
"You're true to yourself."
Her eyes soften.
Then she steps closer.
Too close.
Our chests nearly touch.
My instincts react instantly.
A feeling of discomfort crawls through me, and I almost step away.
"Then I need to be true to myself too," she whispers.
I shift back.
But she moves faster.
Her hand catches my sleeve.
Before I can react, she leans forward.
Her body presses against mine.
Her lips move toward mine.
And then—
A sharp sound cuts through the hallway.
The rustle of fabric.
The scrape of something falling against stone.
Flowers slipping from nervous fingers.
We both turn.
And everything stops.
Ellie stands at the end of the hallway.
White lace.
Silver pins catching the light.
Her veil cascaded behind her like falling moonlight.
Her bouquet lies forgotten at her feet.
She is breathtaking.
Beautiful.
But her face...
Horrified.
Frozen.
Like she has just witnessed something she never thought she would see.
And in that moment, the entire world goes silent.