No Longer Your Joke: A Luna’s Exit Chapter 03

No Longer Your Joke: A Luna’s Exit Chapter 03

Silverlake Territory was down near the southern coast, warm and humid all year round.

I needed to pack more lightweight clothes, plus protective gear for long training sessions.

So while they were out having fun, I went back home.

I thought the house would be empty.

But the second I pushed the door open, confetti cannons went off right in my face.

A bunch of Declan’s friends were standing there.

“Superise!”

I flinched.

I threw my hands up to cover my face so I wouldn’t breathe in the powder.

“Whoa, the future Luna’s getting shy?”

“Declan spent months planning this confession ceremony just for you.”

My heart stopped.

A long time ago, I’d told Declan—girls liked romantic confessions, with cannons and flowers.

He actually… remembered?

“Here, your favorite—Damascus roses.”

A huge bouquet was pushed toward me.

For a second, I almost didn’t dare reach for it.

“Really… for me?”

One of the guys nodded.

“Of course, Nessa. Declan put way more effort into this rehearsal than he did for the real confession next week.”

“Next week he’s planning to confess to Isolde with some nineteen-ninety-nine discounted fake flowers. But for you, he dropped nineteen ninety-nine on real roses.”

“He said he wouldn’t let you lose.”

“Even if you’re just helping him practice, he wouldn’t half-ass it.”

My hands slowly lowered.

Revealing a face covered in tears.

The room went dead quiet.

“…Isolde?”

That’s when the bedroom door opened from the inside.

Declan stood there in a suit, staring at me, frozen.

“You… what are you doing here?”

I walked over.

I raised my hand.

Slap—

The palm came down hard.

“Declan, we’re done. And this isn’t a joke.”

The door swung open again.

Nessa walked in humming a tune.

“See? My idea was perfect, right?”

“Just throw some AI-generated video at Isolde, she’ll never know we actually came back ear—”

Her voice cut off.

Because she saw me.

The wine glass in her hand dropped and shattered, dark red liquid spreading across the floor like blood before it dries.

“Isolde, you… how are you here?”

I wiped the wine off my face, my voice so calm it sounded foreign to me. “I came home to grab some things.”

Then I walked right past them into the bedroom, like they weren’t even there.

From outside came Nessa’s sobbing.

“Oh no, Isolde definitely knows everything.”

“It’s all my fault—I had to rehearse with you today. Now there’s no surprise. What if she says no?”

Declan’s voice dropped low, soothing her. “It’s fine. Isolde’s had a crush on me for years.”

“She won’t actually leave.”

“Honestly, I don’t even need a ceremony. One word from me and she’d come running.”

My wolf lifted her head slowly in my chest.

No anger. No growl. She just watched it all, cold and still.

Like she was telling me—this man had never truly chosen me.

I pulled out my suitcase and packed the rest of my things.

Then I walked back out.

“Enough.”

“You confess to me with nineteen-ninety-nine worth of fake flowers, but you drop nineteen ninety-nine on real roses for her rehearsal, and you still expect me to say yes?”

But he cut me off, annoyed. “Isolde, I never realized you were this materialistic.”

“Is love something you can measure in dollars?”

“And besides, today was just a joke. Why do you always have to blow everything out of proportion?”

Nessa came over and grabbed my arm, the way she used to when we were kids.

“Isolde, it was really just a joke. Declan was afraid he’d mess up the real confession because he’d be too nervous, so he asked me to help him practice.”

“If there was anything going on between us, you think you’d even be in the picture?”

That line dripped with contempt and insult. My wolf bared her fangs in an instant.

I looked up and shoved her hand off me.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t be in the picture.”

“Three people in one relationship—it’s too crowded. I’m out.”

“From now on, don’t joke about me. Because I’ll take it seriously.”

With that, I dragged my suitcase into the bathroom.

There were still a few things left that were mine—some skincare bottles, a few old clothes.

Eighteen years of my existence in this house.

After tonight.

Gone. All of it.