Moonlight After Goodbye Chapter 04

Moonlight After Goodbye Chapter 04

I closed my eyes, worn out to my bones.

The old Declan would never have left me alone to stew in my anger.

He’d always said silent fights drained every bit of affection between mates.

But this time, I had no desire to reach out to him first.

When push came to shove, I was no longer his first thought.

It was not long before Laura pushed the door open softly.

“Celeste, are you feeling any better?”

I nodded.

She took hold of my hand.

“Then you should apologize to Declan. As a friend to you both, it breaks my heart watching you two hurt each other like this.”

“Why?” I asked, staring at her in confusion.

She had been my closest friend from the very start.

But little by little, she kept taking his side to blame me.

“Celeste, you’re far too stubborn,” Laura said. “You have to yield to an Alpha. Is it worth letting pride get you this upset?”

I could not wrap my head around it.

Declan had lashed out at me unprovoked, yet somehow I was the one being labeled stubborn and quarrelsome.

“Laura, I don’t believe I did anything wrong.”

Laura fell silent.

After a long pause, she sighed and shook her head helplessly.

“If you’re going to think that way, there’s nothing more I can do.”

The room fell quiet once more.

I opened my phone and rescheduled the earliest flight back home., then began packing my suitcase.

At the very bottom of my suitcase sat a small ring box I’d gotten ready.

I’d planned to hand it to Declan beneath the aurora.

It was not a proposal ring.

I’d only wanted to tell him I was ready to accept his Luna mark, ready to officially stand beside him as his mate.

I stared down at the box, then placed it back with a bitter smile.

By the time I dragged my suitcase out of the room, they were already gone.

That scarf still hung alone on the coat rack by the door.

It turned out the scarf had never been all that precious after all.

Midway to the airport, a message popped up from Laura.

[Celeste, I’m taking Declan to Diamond Beach to cheer him up. Rest well, okay?]

I did not reply.

Instead, I opened Declan’s chat profile and typed a message.

[Declan, do you even remember why we came to Iceland in the first place?]

He replied almost immediately.

[Quit overthinking things. I’m taking Laura to shoot photos at Diamond Beach right now.]

I knew him too well.

When he said I was overthinking, it only meant he wanted to drop the subject entirely.

I sent one final message.

[We’re breaking up.]

For the sixteen-hour flight back to Moonridge, I did nothing but stare numbly out the plane window, flooded with every memory I shared with Declan.

At long last, the plane touched down.

I hesitated for ages before unlocking my phone.

No missed calls.

No incoming texts.

Declan’s chat window sat completely empty.

He had not even bothered replying to my breakup message.

Yet my PackGram feed kept refreshing with new photos and reels posted by him.

The latest post showed Declan on one knee in a tailored suit, holding out a ring toward Laura, who wore a white bridal-style dress and veil.

During those sixteen hours I’d been upset and out of contact, he hadn’t thought about me once.

He had been busy shooting bridal-themed photos with Laura instead.

Tears spilled unchecked onto my screen.

I tapped to like the photograph.

A notification pinged, bringing a new reply from Declan at last.

[Don’t get the wrong idea. We only decided to take these photos for a keepsake since we traveled all this way.]

I wiped my tears away and typed a short response.

[We already broke up. I won’t misunderstand anything ever again.]

Right after I sent it, I blocked Declan and Laura.

I turned down the job offer from that prestigious top-tier design firm in New York.

Then I opened my mother’s contact and messaged her.

[Mom, I’ve decided not to stay in New York anymore. I’m heading back to Moonridge for good.]