Wrong Bride, Real Goodbye Chapter 07

Wrong Bride, Real Goodbye Chapter 07

Ivy’s POV

I shook my head.

“I’ll never forget it. Not for the rest of my life.”

“Honestly, I should be thanking you for pulling that stunt at the Mate Ceremony.”

“If you hadn’t done that, my chance at real happiness would’ve been gone.”

Even thinking about it sent a cold chill through me.

“Every time I think about how close I came to registering a mate bond with someone who stood by

and watched me get bullied. I’d have nightmares for weeks.”

“You saw what they did to me.”

“You just decided Bella’s tears mattered more than my pain.”

Now he understood.

This was what it meant to be cut to the bone.

Adrian went somewhere else entirely.

He could still see my lips moving.

Every word landed like a blade straight into his chest.

“Why?”

I paused, genuinely confused.

“Why what?”

I almost wanted to laugh.

“Because I don’t like you.”

“How could you do this to me…”

Tears ran down his face.

His shoulders trembled slightly.

I tried to pull my hand back and looked at him, caught off guard.

Adrian had never cried. Not even when things ended with Bella back then.

Something strange moved through me.

So even someone like him could break down over heartbreak.

Interesting.

“If you feel cheated, I can’t help that.”

“But you’ve done plenty of things too, haven’t you?”

“Bringing your ex around to mess with your fiancée

“Letting your friends humiliate me.

“I never blamed you for any of it.”

I smiled patiently.

“So let’s call it even.”

“Not even!”

“I don’t want even!”

“You owe me!”

He snapped, both hands gripping my shoulders, fingers digging in.

Something frantic overtook him completely.

His wolf scent spiked out of control and the pressure of it nearly choked the air out of my lungs.

A jolt of real fear shot through me. I’d said too much.

I opened my mouth to call for help

Liam came out of nowhere and dropped him with che punch.

Adrian recovered fast.

He was back on his feet in a second, throwing himself at Liam.

They collided hard. No holding back, no space between them.

Fist into flesh, over and over.

I barely managed to pull them apart when they were both finally winded.

“You’re an animal!”

Adrian snarled between breaths.

“Taking what isn’t yours!”

Liam’s eyes were full of contempt.

“You’re just dumb.”

“Every single thing that happened to you, you did it to yourself.”

“Had it and didn’t take care of it. Who else is there to blame?”

“If anything, I should be thanking you.”

If you weren’t the same selfish person you’ve always been, I wouldn’t have gotten her back this

fast.”

Adrian’s eyes snapped red.

His teeth were shaking, a blaze building in his chest

“You son of a”

“That’s enough!”

My hand cracked across his cheek.

Adrian went completely still.

I held his gaze and said it slowly, one word at a time.

“Don’t come looking for me again.”

“I’ve been clear.”

“And stay away from Liam.”

“Next time, I’m calling the police. And I’ll file for a restraining order with the Pack Council.”

I grabbed Liam’s hand and got in the car.

In the rearview mirror, Adrian stood there like something had left his body.

Staring at the space we’d just driven out of.

Long after we were out of sight.

A hand closed around my jaw and turned me gently away from the mirror.

“You keep looking at him and I’m going to get jealous.”

I looked at Liam.

Then I reached up and carefully wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“You’re a grown man. Getting into fistfights.”

“Hmph.”

“I wanted to beat him until he couldn’t get up.”

“After everything he put you through, he has the nerve to come here and demand answers.”

“His brain must be broken.”

I sat there and listened to him grumble.

The corner of my mouth pulled up.

“I know you were doing that for me.”

“Thanks, husband.”

Liam’s face went red, slowly, like he hadn’t expected it.

He stopped complaining.

Just held my hand and ran his thumb over it, back and forth.

“I was worried about you.”

“I know.”

I rested my head against his shoulder and listened to his heartbeat.

His scent was warm and clean, slowly unwinding all the tension my wolf had been holding all day.

After that day, Adrian never came back.

Friends told me things between him and Bella got ugly.

Bella tried to get Adrian to forgive her by running into the middle of the road to stop his car, got hit,

and ended up in the Pack hospital with a broken leg

The stunt didn’t work.

Adrian never once went to see her.

Eventually, Bella called me.

She was crying so hard she could barely get the words out, begging me to reach out to Adrian on

her behalf.

“What I did back then was wrong. I know that.”

“Help me just this once and I’ll apologize. I mean it.

I almost laughed out loud.

“Bella, your apology means nothing to me.”

I blocked her.

And just like that, both of them faded out of my life completely.

I put everything I had into planning the Mate Ceremony that was actually meant for me.

Three months later, I was going to start a life I actually wanted.