Your ‘Bro’ in Our Ritual? I Reject You. Chapter 04

Your ‘Bro’ in Our Ritual? I Reject You. Chapter 04

Caroline posted updates in rapid succession.

The elder’s speech, the first dance, the Luna induction…

Without realizing it, it had far exceeded what Archie promised—letting her experience just the parade.

It wasn’t until after the bouquet was tossed in the final segment that Archie’s message finally arrived.

Archie: [Aren’t you at the venue yet? Wait in the lounge. Caroline is having a great time—let her experience the rest of it, too.]

Archie: [Don’t be upset. Consider it payback for upsetting her earlier.]

The lounge was right at the end of the hall by the sanctuary, yet he wouldn’t even come look for me.

Even so, he couldn’t be bothered to drop by.

I didn’t answer him.

Instead, I took a screenshot of a ruined mating cake from the corner of one of Caroline’s videos and sent it to him.

Olivia: [Why did you let her touch my cake?]

Archie: [It’s just a cake, what’s the big deal? I’ll have the Gamma buy another one.]

I bit my lip until it turned pale.

Olivia: [Did you forget everything you promised me?]

Why did my heart still hurt so badly when I was already beyond disappointed?

When Caroline secretly tried on my custom Luna gown and stretched it out after six months of tailored work, Archie said it wasn’t a big deal and to just swap for another one.

When she secretly changed our dream ocean-themed ballroom to the Moon Shrine, Archie said to go with her choice because she had good taste and respected pack tradition.

In the end, my only request was to make the cake myself.

I had told Archie it was my biggest dream as a pastry chef.

Caroline hadn’t returned to the country back then.

Standing in front of my soon-to-open bakery, Archie had gently pinched my nose.

“You’re so easy to please, sweetie.”

“Deal. When the time comes, I’ll personally watch every single guest finish their slice and write a long review for our Dessert Queen.”

I had laughed and thrown myself into his arms. “Don’t be ridiculous!”

I dragged the video scrubber back and forth, rewatching that short clip.

The cake I had spent days making in advance at the hotel was hacked to pieces.

Before anyone even took a bite, Caroline smeared it across the face of one of Archie’s friends.

The crowd instantly burst into laughter, shoving frosting at each other.

My dream was trampled into the ground, smeared across the walls, and tossed into the trash.

The message on screen paused for a few seconds.

The next line stabbed straight into my heart.

Archie: [Olivia, don’t be so ungrateful.]

Archie: [Why fuss over a cake? Not a single person from your family cared to show up today. Caroline even had to call her friends to fill in as your bridesmaids.]

The old scar was ripped open all over again.

I pounded on my screen furiously.

Olivia: [You know better than anyone why my parents refused to come!]

The other end went silent.

The buried pain returned to my lower abdomen as memories resurfaced.

That day, pools of deep red, searing pain like being torn apart.

Instinctively, I dialed the one number I trusted most.

The moment the line connected, a spoiled female voice blared through the speaker.

“Hey, Mr. Busy! You promised to hang out with us all day today. Turn off your phone, no calls!”

Accompanied by the noisy music of a parade float, the line went dead with a beep.

I lost my pup.

When I woke up, I was in the pack hospital.

The first face I saw wasn’t Archie’s, but my roommate’s.

She was the one who found me passed out at home after her shift, rushed me to the hospital, and signed the consent form for surgery.

At that time, we had known each other for less than a month, yet she took the risk to sign for me.