Garrett picked up the ring with trembling fingers.
It was cold. So cold.
Garrett’s heart gradually sank
the way to rock bottom.
He looked around at the familiar surroundings with confusion, yet everything felt so strange.
The photos on the walls
ked different now.
In every picture, I
smiling. But looking closer, he could see the sadness in my eyes.
When had I stopped looking happy?
When had the light died?
Sadness and fear surrounded him from all directions.
The old Alpha showed no signs of awakening.
All the pack’s affairs, big and small, could only be handled by Garrett.
Business meetings. Territory disputes. Alliance negotiations.
But Garrett’s entire heart was focused on me.
He couldn’t concentrate on anything.
Before, the old Alpha had managed pack affairs.
I had taken care of home matters.
I’d organized his schedule. Managed the household staff. Hosted pack dinners.
Garrett didn’t have to worry about anything. He spent every day partying carelessly.
Now he realized how much I’d been doing behind the scenes.
How much I’d been holding together while he tore it apart.
But overnight, the two most important people in his life–his entire foundation—had both left him.
Garrett couldn’t support the massive burden of the pack.
Documents piled up on his desk. Calls went unanswered.
Even less could he support a home that was already in ruins.
The servants whispered about leaving. Bills went unpaid.
In desperation, Garrett chose to escape.
Every day he drank himself into oblivion.
Whiskey for breakfast. Vodka for lunch. Whatever he could find for dinner.
Holding my photos, he would cry his heart out.
“Come back,” he whispered to the pictures. “Please come back.”
But photos couldn’t answer.
One night, after a particularly bad day of failed pack meetings and unanswered calls to my phone, Garrett was drinking heavily at home again.
He’d called my number fifty times. Each time, straight to voicemail.
The room door was pushed open.
He didn’t look up, assuming it was another servant coming to clean.
A graceful figure walked in and gently embraced Garrett.
Soft arms wrapped around his shoulders. A familiar perfume filled his senses.
Smelling that familiar scent, Garrett’s long–dormant heart began beating wildly.
For a moment, in his drunken haze, he forgot everything.
He held the person tightly in his arms, constantly expressing his longing and love.
“Aria, you finally came back. You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”
His words were slurred, desperate.
“Grandfather is very sick, pack affairs are crushing me, anymore.”
and when I come home, I can’t see you anywhere. I really don’t know what to do
“Please don’t leave me again, okay? I’ll change everything. I won’t
Tears streamed down his face.
es around anymore.”
“I’ll stay by your side properly. We’ll have another adorable child and live happily as a family of three.”
