Marcus’s mother panicked as she realized she was being recorded from every angle. She covered her face with her hands and scrambled to her feet, fleeing through the crowd as people laughed and jeered.
“Run! Run back to your cheating son!”
“Tell Marcus he can rot in prison for all we care!”
And I was immersed in the happiness of announcing our good news, completely ignoring this minor interruption. If anything, seeing her desperation only made me more grateful for how far I’d come.
Dominic wrapped his arm around me protectively. “Are you alright, my love?”
I smiled up at him. “Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
Five years later, on the fifth anniversary of my bonding with Dominic, he successfully won the election to become Alpha King of all territories. The victory had been unanimous–every major pack supported him.
We held a grand banquet for this historic occasion, attended by all the important figures from across the territories. The venue was the most exclusive event hall in the capital, decorated with flowers that cost more than most people’s annual salaries.
Dignitaries from neighboring countries had flown in to pay their respects. The celebration was being broadcast live across multiple networks.
I wore a custom gown that sparkled with real diamonds, and the family jewelry that had been passed down through generations of my bloodline. I felt like a queen.
Perhaps because we were too happy and let our guard down, suddenly the massive oak doors burst open with a tremendous crash.
Security immediately went on high alert, but the intruder was already pushing through the startled guests.
All the guests curiously turned to look at the intruder, many reaching for their phones to record whatever drama was about to
unfold.
It was Marcus.
He looked terrible. His clothes were cheap and ill–fitting, his hair was unkempt, and he moved with the distinctive limp of someone whose leg had never healed properly.
He seemed to have just been released from prison based on his pale complexion and the way he squinted in the bright lights. He held a large bouquet of wilted flowers that looked like he’d picked them from a roadside ditch.
He stumbled toward me desperately, pushing past senators and business leaders like they were obstacles in his path.
The guard squad rushed over and surrounded him before he could get within ten feet of the head table,
Marcus fell directly to his knees, still clutching the pathetic bouquet, his eyes wild with desperation: “Aria! Aria, I just got out and heard you were here!”
The entire banquet hall fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.
“Can you give me one more chance? Let me pursue you again? I’ve changed, I swear I’ve changed!”
I looked at him with complete bewilderment, as if I were seeing a stranger. This broken, pathetic man was someone I had once thought I loved?
Dominic leaned over and whispered in my ear with dark amusement: “This was your taste in men before?”
I blushed and whispered back: “Everyone has blind moments. Thank goddess I came to my senses.”
1/2
Dominic and I exchanged knowing looks, and I couldn’t help but smile. We were watching this spectacle like it was dinner
theater.
A flash of anger crossed Marcus’s face when he realized we were mocking him.
But this anger quickly disappeared, replaced by even more desperate pleading. He threw the flowers on the ground and started slapping himself hard across the face while shouting loudly: “Aria, I’m sorry! I hurt your heart in the past!”
*SLAP* “I’m sorry!” *SLAP* “I didn’t consider your feelings enough back then!”
The sound echoed through the silent hall. Several guests gasped in shock.
“I’ve already separated from Serena permanently! She means nothing to me! From now on, you’re the only one for me!”
“Please give me another chance! Forgive me, okay? I’ll do anything!”
I didn’t answer him directly. Instead, I stood gracefully and addressed the room full of powerful alphas, business leaders, and dignitaries: “Ladies and gentlemen, you should all take this as a valuable warning.”
“The pathetic creature kneeling down there is a standard scumbag template–a cautionary tale. Don’t be as unlucky as I was to waste years on someone so worthless.”
Everyone at the venue erupted in laughter. The sound was like thunder.
“Did he really think crashing a royal banquet would be romantic?”
“The delusion is incredible!”
“Look at him! He looks like a homeless vagrant!”
Everyone looked at Marcus with pure contempt. He had become a complete clown, a source of entertainment for the most powerful people in the territories.
Marcus had crashed such a grand banquet, but not a single person found it romantic or brave. They only found him bizarre, shameless, and pitifully delusional.
He looked around desperately, still unwilling to give up, still trying to win my forgiveness with increasingly frantic gestures.
“Aria, please! Don’t you remember how happy we were? Don’t you remember how much we meant to each other?”
Dominic had heard enough. He waved his hand dismissively, and the guard squad immediately moved in.
“Remove this trash from my banquet,” he commanded with the authority of an Alpha King. “And make sure he understands that if he ever approaches my Luna again, it will be the last thing he does.”
The guards grabbed Marcus under his arms and dragged him toward the exit as he continued screaming desperately: “Aria! Aria, don’t do this to me! I love you! You’re making a mistake!”
