The Third Time My Alpha Accused Me of Cheating, I Left

Esme's POV Naomi stepped quickly to his side and lowered her voice: "Alpha, the Luna has already signed the agreement relinquishing custody." Then she squeezed out two tears. "Poor Asher. I've never seen a mother give up her child so willingly." "If Esme can cheat multiple times, I doubt she has any love for the child either. After all, a child would only get in the way of her affairs…" As she spoke, she cast a contemptuous glance my way, something heavy flickering behind her eyes. I let out a laugh. She seemed to have forgotten… Four years ago, it was she who'd drafted this absurd agreement—the one that even specified the exact number of "infidelities." Grayson's expression turned cold. "You'd better mean what you say. Don't come crawling back on your knees later." He dropped those words and turned to leave. I watched his retreating figure and tugged at the corner of my mouth. Never again, Grayson. I was never Grayson's fated mate. The pack seer had said that our union would never receive the Moon Goddess's blessing. I'd rushed to the Moon Goddess's altar and knelt in the pouring rain for three days and three nights. Finally, on the third night, the full moon appeared. This time, I wasn't going to beg anymore. Naomi looked at me, the corner of her lips curling slightly. "Well then, Esme, we won't keep you from your lover!" The moment the door closed, the room fell silent again. I looked down at the man still passed out on the bed. A wave of nausea rolled through my stomach. I'd woken before him. I could have left before they came to catch me. But I was sick of this cat-and-mouse game. Finally, I pulled on my coat and walked out without looking back. The following evening, I returned to pack my things. When I pushed open the master bedroom door, everything I normally used or wore was gone. The servants stammered, unable to meet my eyes: "Luna, your belongings have all been moved to the storage room… Beta Naomi said—said the master bedroom… would have a new mistress soon, and needed to be cleared out immediately!" I smiled. After four years as Luna, I couldn't even be afforded a dignified exit. I turned and headed for the storage room behind the house. I pushed open the door. Boxes stacked on boxes, bags piled on bags. I crouched down and sorted through them one by one. Nothing else mattered—I needed to find the moonstone necklace my mother had given me. It had been passed from my grandmother to my mother, and then to me… It was the only thing in this house that truly belonged to me. I finally found it at the very bottom of a box. I clutched it in my palm and let out a long breath. I was just gathering a few clothes to take with me when a small voice came from the doorway: "What are you doing?" I turned. Asher's tiny figure stood blocking the entrance. My beautiful son had once been the only comfort in my miserable marriage. He looked exactly like Grayson—but that imperious posture was pure Naomi. "Getting my things." I went back to sorting. Normally, whenever I saw him—even when he looked at me with disgust—I'd go up and beg for a hug. But this time, I was perfectly calm. "Those aren't your things." Seeing me ignore him, he walked in. He stepped deliberately on the clothes scattered across the floor. "Auntie Naomi said everything in this house belongs to Daddy. You're not allowed to take anything." My hands stilled. "These are my personal belongings." "You spent Daddy's money." He clasped his hands behind his back. "Daddy's money belongs to the Vale family. It has nothing to do with a bad woman like you." Bad woman? I looked up. He stood before me—four years old—watching me with the eyes of someone catching a thief. "I'm only taking one thing." I gripped the necklace and stood. "I don't want anything else." "No." He stepped forward, arms spread wide. "You can't steal from the Vale family." He raised his voice. "You're a rogue! A thief! Auntie Naomi said once you leave, you're never allowed to come back—and if you do, it's stealing!" My temples throbbed. "Move." "No! Put it down!" He lunged at me, grabbing the box in my hands. It was wrenched open. The necklace went flying—hit the ground and shattered into pieces. I froze. My mother's voice echoed in my ears: "Esme, this has been in our family for six generations. Pass it to your daughter someday—and if you don't have a daughter, give it to your daughter-in-law…" I had no daughter. I had no daughter-in-law. All I had was this necklace. It had survived hundreds of years in my family—only to be broken by my own son's hands.

Esme's POV Asher stood beside me and muttered under his breath: "It's your fault for not letting go……" I stared at him, eyes burning. "I told you—this was from my grandmother." "Do you even know whose fault it is that your grandmother is lying in that care facility?" Asher blinked, stepping back. "Grandmother? All I know is some old hag who keeps wasting the Vale family's money and Ravenmaw Pack's public resources!" The blood rushed straight to my head. "Auntie Naomi said it—said she's in that fancy hospital room burning through Daddy's money, and she can't even be cured. She called her a disgrace to the pack!" "Say that again." My wolf surged from the depths of my consciousness, her snarl nearly overlapping with my own voice. Asher flinched at the sight of me. He bit his lip—then gathered his courage and said it again: "That damn old hag, why doesn't she just—Ah!" I shoved him. His feet tangled and he landed hard on the floor. He froze for one second. Then burst into wailing sobs. "Daddy! Daddy!" I stood rooted to the spot, my palms tingling. I looked at my son kicking his legs on the ground, those words echoing over and over in my mind—"damn old hag." The jagged edge of the broken moonstone dug into my palm. The pain brought me back to myself. Grayson burst in. Seeing his son crying on the floor, he bent down and scooped him up. "Asher, what happened?" Asher threw himself into his father's arms, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe. "Daddy, she pushed me! Make her go away! I want Auntie Naomi…" Grayson held him and looked up at me. Nothing in his eyes but icy displeasure. "Esme, have you lost your mind? Hitting a child!" "I didn't hit him." My voice was quiet. "I only pushed him." "Is there a difference?" I looked down at the moonstone fragments in my hand. When Asher was born, my mother—despite being gravely ill—had dragged herself out of bed to help me care for him. She'd sewn him tiny clothes. She'd stayed up with him night after night. "Yes." I met Grayson's gaze. "He was in the wrong. I was disciplining him." Grayson paused, then looked down at the boy in his arms. Asher burrowed deeper into his chest, his sobs quieting slightly. "I didn't do anything wrong… Auntie Naomi said that old hag keeps wasting Daddy's money…" Grayson pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're arguing with a child over this?" He swept a glance at me. "Naomi handles my personal finances now. She was merely stating a fact from a financial perspective. The kid overheard. Don't blow it out of proportion." "You know how much she does for this family every day." His gaze dropped to the broken moonstone in my hand. Eventually, he softened his tone: "I brought Asher here today on purpose—for you two to talk properly. But that matter—don't let the child know for now. It might affect his development." I knew he was referring to the dissolution of our Mate Bond. I said nothing. What was left for me to say to Asher? In four years, the total time he and Asher spent talking to me didn't amount to half of what he spent talking to Naomi. When I was pregnant, someone had laced my food with herbs that could cause a miscarriage. The agony had ripped through me. To bring Asher safely into this world, I'd refused all anesthesia—my wolf burned through an enormous amount of energy to heal me. And this was how Asher treated me? Thinking of all this, I grabbed my bag and walked out of the storage room. In the living room, Naomi was crouched in front of Asher, cooing softly. I passed them without expression. Behind me, Asher burst into tears again: "Why won't that bad woman look at me!" He stomped his feet, outraged at being ignored. He was used to me running over with red eyes to comfort him after every tantrum. Used to hearing me say, "Asher, don't be upset—Mommy's sorry." So when I didn't spare him a single glance, he felt wronged. Grayson said nothing, but I could feel his cold stare boring into my back. I was about to push the door open when a furious voice erupted behind me: "Stop!"