Chapter 4

• Aurora’s POV
• The staff froze for a moment when they saw the name on the resignation form.
• “Miss Aurora? Are you… sure about this? Does Mr. John know?”
• “Do I need him to know?” I replied, my voice so calm it surprised even me. “Just follow the procedure.”
• No surprise there. Less than ten minutes later, she returned looking uneasy.
• “Sorry, Mr. Brown said… he wants to talk to you in person.”
• I wasn’t shocked. Brown was John’s most loyal Beta, one of the few at the company who knew about my relationship with John. He always behaved polite and proper, but he placed John’s interests above everything else.
• I knocked on Brown’s office door. He was holding my resignation form, his brows pulled tight behind his gold-rimmed glasses.
• “Aurora, this is really sudden.” He stood up, trying to fake concern. “You know this needs John’s approval.”
• “Mr. Brown,” I answered coldly, deliberately using a formal tone, “I don’t need anyone’s approval to leave.”
• He walked around his desk and leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. “Don’t do this, Aurora. I know you’re hurt. John has been under a lot of pressure because of Grace’s illness…”
• “What kind of terminal disease does she have? Isn’t there a witch who can treat her?” I cut him off. I couldn’t stomach another excuse.
• “Grace’s wolf is asleep. No one knows when it will wake up.” Brown watched me carefully, as if deciding how much of the truth to reveal.
• “What?!” My eyes widened in disbelief.
• Brown took a breath and spoke flatly. “Grace Quain was John’s first love. They’ve been together since high school. Back then, John was framed by his brother, and we all thought he was dead. The Quain Pack sent Grace abroad to protect her. She fell into wolf-sleep from grief. A year ago, when she learned John was still alive, she fought to return to see him. But by then, John already had you. She knows you can’t be Luna without a wolf, but her illness started because of John. John is only trying to help her heal. Maybe with him by her side, Grace’s wolf will wake up. You are the Luna John chose. Didn’t you two already agree to find a witch and complete the bond? He would never approve your resignation.”
• “Care?” I laughed bitterly. “He cares so much that he took my wedding dress and gave it to another she-wolf, using my most precious things to sweet-talk someone else? Brown, that kind of ‘care’ is something I don’t want.”
• “You need to get his signature. I’m leaving.” I turned and walked out of his office, Brown hurrying after me.
• We ended up standing in the hallway, stuck in a silent standoff. He kept trying to “reason” with me, his words filled with loyalty toward John and fake sympathy for Grace’s so-called terminal illness.
• I listened, but all I felt was bitter irony. It seemed like the whole world was bending over backward for the sake of their “friendship.” And what about me? Four years of my life and feelings were just meant to be trampled on?
• Then, from the next door—the CEO’s office—came a soft gasp.
• The door wasn’t fully closed, only cracked open.
• I caught John’s scent. Without thinking, I leaned slightly and looked through that narrow opening.
• Time froze.
• Blood rushed to my head and then drained, leaving a chilling cold behind.
• Grace—the supposedly weak she-wolf who claimed she had lost her wolf form—was collapsed on John’s lap. Her arms wrapped around his neck like serpents, kissing him with reckless passion.
• John’s hand rested on her waist. He didn’t push her away. If anything, it looked like he was holding her.
• My breath caught. My heart felt as if an invisible fist crushed it.
• Nana’s furious roar echoed through my mind: “Aurora, those shameless bastards! Let me tear them apart! What wolf asleep? That’s all lies! Let me bite her and see if she still can’t shift!”
• Brown saw it too. He awkwardly cleared his throat and tried to block my view. “Aurora, this… this might be a misunderstanding. Let me explain…”
• “A misunderstanding?” My voice felt hollow, like it wasn’t even mine. “Yeah, I really did show up at the wrong time.”
• A wave of nausea hit me.
• Looking at that man—the one I stood by when he nearly died, the one I protected for four years, the man who once held my hand and promised me a future—who just last night insisted Grace was “just a friend”—all I felt now was disgust.
• I forced myself to stop trembling.
• A cold, burning rage rose from deep inside me, but strangely, it made me calmer.
• “Nana, John isn’t the man who can save us from this curse anymore. Maybe it’s better to let him stay with Grace. We have to focus on marrying into the Green Pack.”
• I soothed Nana as best I could and forced a smile, even though my face felt stiff.
• “Mr. Brown,” I said quietly, almost casually, “it seems we interrupted something… important between Mr. John and Miss Grace.”
• Brown opened his mouth but only managed to adjust his glasses awkwardly.
• I didn’t bother looking at the couple again. Instead, I turned and picked up the cardboard box sitting in the hallway. It was light—just a water bottle, a few work notebooks, and a stubborn little succulent plant. After more than two years here, that was all I had to take.
• “Mr. Brown, as you can see, I’m no longer needed here. Please process my resignation as soon as possible.”
• I lifted my gaze to his. His expression confirmed just how pathetic I must have looked.
• “I’m John’s assistant, but you know his business better than I do. I suppose there’s no need for a handover. Goodbye, Mr. Brown.”
• I headed toward the elevator with the box in my arms. My mind kept replaying that scene: Grace’s arms locked around John’s neck and her eyes—those eyes that always looked teary in front of him—now burning with smug triumph as she stared right at me through the crack in the door.
• And on her pale neck was a glaring flash of red—the ruby pendant my mother left me. It didn’t belong there. It belonged to me, the last connection I had to my real family.
• I had to get it back. That thought burned through me like wildfire. No matter how ugly my exit had to be, I needed to reclaim what was mine.
• Just as I reached the elevator, the doors slid open.