Begging for rejection

I Slapped My Fiancé-Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis

Jessica C. Dolan

Being second best is practically in my DNA. My sister got the love, the attention, the spotlight. And now, even her damn fiancé. Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now-billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn't mind. I'd crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one? Wrong. One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That's when it hit me-he didn't love me. He didn't even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn't even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup. So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster-my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise. Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol. Enter him. Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I'd met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes. It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised. But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life. And, as it turned out, the best decision I'd ever made. Because my one-night stand isn't just some random guy. He's richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with. And now, he's not letting me go.

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ELORA'S POV

"Are you really going to do it?"

Selene asked me for the tenth time today. The ink of my pen hovered above the signature line as I looked down on the divorce papers, trembling ever so slightly as I was about to make the biggest decision of my life.

I'm Elora Weston----Luna of Erelis pack, daughter of Alpha Edric Parker of the Moonhaven pack, wife of Alpha Lucian Weston and his mate by choice, and mother to my only daughter, Nora. I used to be proud of those titles...and now, I'm just trying to remember who I was before it.

"I have to," I replied her with those three words I've been telling myself all day.

Selene, my best friend and the only human still brave enough to stay by my side, folded her arms and leaned against the window frame. "No, you don't. Not like this at least. You've been on that same spot, holding that same pen for hours now."

I sighed and finally dropped the pen with a soft click. "It's over, Selene. He will choose her over me. He doesn't love me anyway. So what's left for me to fight for?"

"Your daughter," Selene said without missing a beat. "Think about Nora."

The name pierced through me like a knife. I haven't seen my daughter for two months. Not since I was told my presence was confusing and unsettling for the child. That my mate-now my ex-mate-needed to move on, and so did she.

"Selene, she stopped asking for me."

"She's seven," Selene snapped, suddenly walking across the room. "They probably told her not to. Don't act like she just forgot you."

My jaw clenched. "Even if I decide to stay, Lucian has someone else now. Maya's everything I'm not-loved, accepted, born with a true blood, and she's my half-sister, how am i suppose to cope with that? And she's not carrying the mistakes I made."

Mistakes of being in love with a man who barely looks me in the eye.

Lucian Weston-my chosen mate and Alpha of the Erelis pack. Lucian has been the man of my dreams since I was a teenager, that dream remained a dream until my family ambition and a reckless night changed everything. I got pregnant with Nora and ever since we've been bound as chosen mates. One without love and affection.

But the way I see it, it's still a dream. Because now, my half-sister, Maya, turned out to be his fated mate.

"Elora," Selene crouched down beside me. "You don't have to go begging him to take you back. But don't let your daughter grow up thinking you stopped showing up because you didn't care. That's not you."

I remained quiet again as my hands found the edge of the papers again with my fingers curling around the corner.

"Just.go see her," She whispered. "Not him, not the pack members. Just her. It's your birthday, spend some time with her, El."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later in the day, I stood at the private terminal of the Cadenhart airport with my passport and travelling ticket in hand. It had been two months since I left Ashridge, a place I call home.

The flight was short, painfully short. It gave me little to no time to think. About Nora's laugh, about the way her curls would bounce when she ran to me. About how different she'd look now.

Ashridge had once been my home. Now it felt like foreign soil. But the moment my feet hit the cobblestones of the Erelis Pack's central ground, the scent hit me- the floral earthiness of home, of Nora, and even of him.

But what I didn't expect was the decorations. Gold streamers twisted between the trees. Tables were lined with desserts, lanterns strung through the courtyard. My face lit up with excitement. Maybe they hadn't forgotten. Maybe.they remembered my birthday. Selene was right, I could have foolishly signed those papers.

Then I turned to see Nora at the edge of the stairs, her once golden curls now straightened out. She wore a confused frown on her little face as she took a step forward.

"Nora," I ignored the pain in my chest and ran towards her. "I.I missed you so much."

Nora stood still, her arms by her side.

"Why now?" she asked quietly.

I froze, my hands trembling at my sides. "What?"

"Why did you choose to come now?" she asked again. "After all this time."

I blinked through the sting behind my eyes. "I.I thought today was special. I thought I should be here with you."

Nora's face twisted. "You shouldn't have come. At least not now."

I forced a smile. "Did I ruin the surprise you had for me?" I asked with a voice full of hope.

She simply walked away from me.

Then I heard It-whispers among pack members.

"DId you hear? I think Alpha Lucian's finally making it official."

I paused. Then another said;