Your ‘Bro’ in Our Ritual? I Reject You. Chapter 02

Your ‘Bro’ in Our Ritual? I Reject You. Chapter 02

Archie’s friends’ group chat—dead silent ever since they’d added me—suddenly exploded.

Caroline: [Just trying out a mating ceremony.]

A dozen photos flooded the screen instantly.

Set on the parade float, the pictures showed Caroline leaning into Archie for intimate couple shots—making hand hearts, pressing their cheeks together…

My eyes lingered on the last photo for a long time.

In it, Archie rested his head in Caroline’s palm, smiling with tender devotion.

When we took our mating photos, I had shown him a reference picture of that exact pose. He called it cringe and childish back then.

The replies poured in immediately.

One of Archie’s childhood friends sent: [You two really are the perfect match. The ship I’ve pushed since childhood finally sailed.]

The friend once told me how grateful he was that I healed Archie’s heartbreak after Caroline left the pack, thanking the Moon Goddess for giving Archie his destined mate.

Archie’s cousin: [If I’d known this was your mating ceremony, I wouldn’t have missed it! I hate that old hag popping up while Caroline was gone. Can I still make it if I book a flight now?]

Archie had once asked me to deliver a forgotten document to this cousin.

It was raining heavily that day, and my tires skidded into a lamppost.

When I limped in to hand it over, he nearly cried, telling me the file was worth tens of millions to the pack and calling me his savior.

Archie’s other cousin, along with several high-ranking pack members he was close with—I’d met every single one of them at the pack’s monthly gatherings.

To my face, everyone acted polite and kind.

Now, behind my back, they dragged me through the dirt without hesitation.

Low-class Omega, desperate clout-chaser, homewrecker taking advantage…

Archie dropped a cool reply: [Don’t bring her up. Just tell Caroline she looks beautiful.]

Grit teeth, I typed out a few lines with trembling fingers.

Olivia: [Wow, talk about a 180.]

Olivia: [Don’t you guys disgust yourselves?]

The second my messages popped up, the chat went dead silent.

Then came the final message: [Shit, guys, wrong group.]

Archie’s incoming call screen flashed rapidly before I could type anything else.

I tapped answer.

No apology, no explanation—just one cold word. “Apologize.”

An overwhelming sense of absurdity washed over me.

“Me? Apologize?”

I almost laughed out of sheer anger.

“Apologize for what? For you guys trash-talking me behind my back? Or for pulling me into this chat while making another one behind my back?”

Silence hung on the line for a few seconds.

I heard Archie sigh with heavy exhaustion.

“Olivia, you’re not the Moon Goddess. You can’t make everyone like you.”

“The guys in the chat grew up with Caroline and me. It’s normal for some of them not to accept you out of nowhere. Caroline adding you in the first place was already her showing you respect.”

I tilted my head back, forcing the tears back into my eyes. “So?”

Archie paused for a second, his voice dropping a notch.

“Apologize in the group. Just say you don’t mind.”

“Caroline… she’s crying really hard right now. She feels terrible, thinking it’s her fault for bringing you into the chat.”

It felt as though a massive hole had been ripped into my chest, letting the freezing wind howl right through me.

Just because Caroline cried, I had to bow my head to the very people who humiliated me.

He kept talking, but I couldn’t hear a word after that.

Tears blurred everything. I choked out a sob.

“Archie, let’s break up.”

“I’m not going to the mating ceremony, and I won’t accept your mark.”

Archie didn’t answer.

The mouthpiece was muffled. Through it came the faint crinkle of plastic and paper, Caroline’s sobs, and Archie’s patient, soothing murmurs.

“There, there. Olivia said she doesn’t blame you. She’s just being overly sensitive.”