One Touch, One Truth Chapter 08

One Touch, One Truth Chapter 08

Afterward, the Marking Ceremony became the talk of every pack for months.

That very afternoon, Luna Violet instructed the Beta to personally return every wedding gift and monetary offering.

She never tried to make excuses for Tristan.

At the next pack meeting, she simply said, “Our family failed to raise him properly. We owe everyone an apology for this disgrace.”

I later heard that when Alpha Maddox returned to the packhouse, he immediately suspended Tristan from his position as Alpha.

It wasn’t because losing his mate had shaken the pack.

It was because several allied Alphas had seen the footage from the bridal lounge and canceled their cooperation agreements with the Darkmoon Pack that very night.

Tristan had always been known as composed, dependable, and honorable.

Now, whenever people mentioned his name, the first thing anyone remembered was the video of him with the maid of honor an hour before his Marking Ceremony.

Cora didn’t fare any better.

The day her parents brought her back to their pack, her mother cried the entire way home.

Over and over, she repeated the same words.

“Felicity paid for your education. How could you repay her with such betrayal?”

Later, Cora began looking for work.

Several positions she’d already discussed suddenly stopped responding.

The interviewers were polite.

“Your qualifications are excellent. Unfortunately, we don’t think you’re the right fit at this time.”

But the moment she walked away, she overheard whispers coming from the break room.

“Isn’t she the one who stole her best friend’s groom?”

“I saw the video. It was disgusting.”

Only then did Cora realize that some mistakes couldn’t simply be washed away with tears.

Tristan came looking for me many times.

The first time, he waited outside my apartment building until late at night.

In his hand was a box of the cupcakes I used to love.

By then, the frosting had already melted.

The moment he saw me, his eyes turned red, “Felicity, I know I was wrong. I was just confused. Please don’t leave me.”

“My wolf needs you. Without you, I’ll only grow weaker. I can’t live like this.”

I looked at him.

For the first time, he felt like a complete stranger, “Your wolf needs me.”

I met his eyes, “But what about you?”

“When you slept with my best friend…”

“Did you ever stop to think about what it would do to our mate bond?”

“You only thought about yourself. Your wolf. Your life.”

“What about mine?”

Before he could answer, I said only one thing, “Don’t come back.”

The second time, he brought me another diamond necklace.

Not the one he’d given Cora. This one was even more expensive.

“This one is for you,” he said quietly, “Only for you.”

I glanced at the jewelry box and smiled faintly.

“Tristan, I’ve already outgrown the age where a necklace can make me happy.”

“And besides, when I wanted it, you didn’t give it to me.”

“Now that you finally are, it’s already too late.”

His face turned pale.

He couldn’t find a single word to say.

Not long afterward, I moved.

I changed my phone number and got rid of everything connected to the wedding.

Everything except the veil.

I took it to a restoration shop.

The seamstress examined it carefully before shaking her head.

“The lipstick stain can be faded, but it can’t be completely removed.”

I nodded, “That’s okay. I only want the pearls sewn back on.”

“Not for the wedding. For my mother.”

A month later, the restored veil was returned to me.

There was still the faintest trace of the stain along one edge.

Unless someone looked closely, it was almost impossible to notice.

I folded it neatly and placed it inside a new keepsake box.

At the very bottom, I tucked in a photograph of my mother when she was young.

She was smiling so gently.

It felt as though she were telling me…

A broken wedding didn’t mean a broken life.

Not long afterward, I left the Darkmoon Pack.

I traveled north, joined a new pack, and started a new job.

Work kept me busy. Busy enough that I rarely thought about Tristan anymore.

Once in a while, mutual friends mentioned him.

They said he’d been stripped of his Alpha title and sent to his uncle’s pack in Europe.

They also said Cora had been cast out of her pack.

Unable to find work, she’d ended up working at a nightclub.

Whenever I heard those updates, I simply nodded.

Whether they were happy or miserable no longer had anything to do with me.

One weekend, while unpacking after another move, I found the veil again.

Sunlight streamed across the white lace, and the pearls shimmered softly beneath its glow.

I reached out and gently brushed my fingertips across the fabric.

Then I closed the box.

For the first time, it no longer hurt.

Mom, I didn’t marry the wrong man.

And I didn’t remain trapped in that ruined wedding.

I carried the love you left me, and finally found the strength to walk forward again.