Chapter 2

Kylie stood outside the gates of the Miller estate with her luggage beside her, she had been thrown out by her own Alpha mate, and the cold look in Alpha Richard 's eyes was something she knew she would never forget.

Aira stirred painfully inside Kylie, and her voice was unusually soft. He really chose her over us.

Kylie lowered her head and placed a hand over her swollen belly. "I know, Aira, but our baby needs us to stay strong. We can't keep waiting for Richard to remember that we're his family."

She dragged her suitcase toward the road, trying not to look back at the mansion. Every step felt heavier than the last, but she refused to return to the gates and beg Richard to change his mind.

A taxi soon slowed beside her, and the driver lowered his window after noticing her luggage and swollen belly. "Mis... Luna?! Are you all right? It's late, and you shouldn't be walking around alone in this condition."

Kylie forced a small smile and nodded. "I'm fine. Could you take me to this address?"

The driver quickly stepped out and helped put her luggage into the trunk. "Of course, please get inside and rest. You look exhausted."

Kylie climbed into the back seat and leaned against the window as the taxi pulled away from the Miller estate. She watched the gates disappear into the darkness and felt her chest tighten when she realized she was truly leaving her former home behind.

Memories of Richard flooded her mind.

He used to carry her shopping bags even when they were almost empty. He would order her favorite meals, make sure she took her medicine, and become strangely nervous whenever she wasn't feeling well.

Now, none of that mattered.

Kylie looked down at her belly and whispered, "Your father used to be different. Is he just pretending before?"

The baby moved slightly beneath her hand.

Kylie closed her eyes and fought the tears. "But Mommy won't let you grow up thinking you have to beg someone to love you."

When they finally reached Sabrina's apartment building, Kylie reached for her phone to pay the taxi fare. She opened her banking application and tried to transfer the money.

The payment failed.

She frowned and tried again, but the same error appeared on the screen.

Kylie slowly opened another account.

That payment failed too.

Her fingers went cold.

She pulled out one of her black bank cards and handed it to the driver. "Please try this."

The driver inserted the card into the machine, but after a few seconds, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, but It was declined."

Kylie stared at him before taking another card from her purse. "Try this one."

The second card was declined too.

She swallowed hard and handed him a third.

The driver looked uncomfortable when the machine rejected it as well. "None of them are working."

Kylie froze.

Then she finally understood.

Every bank card she had was connected to Richard.

He had frozen all her accounts.

Aira growled inside her, her anger rising. He wants you to come crawling back.

Kylie stared at the screen and felt humiliation turn into anger.

She took a deep breath and called Richard.

He answered after several rings, and his voice was cold. "What do you want, Kylie?"

Kylie forced herself to remain calm as she looked out the taxi window. "You always said your money was mine to spend, so why'd you freeze my account?"

Richard was silent for a moment before answering without emotion, "Just apologize, and you can swipe it however you like."

Kylie's eyes burned.

She tightened her grip on the phone. "So that's what this is? You froze everything just to force me to apologize to Cassandra?"

Richard sighed impatiently. "I'm giving you a simple choice. Apologize to Cassandra, come home, and everything goes back to normal."

Kylie laughed bitterly. "Back to normal? You threw your pregnant mate out of your home, Richard."

His voice hardened. "You were the one who refused to apologize."

She looked down at her belly again, forcing herself not to cry. "I refused to apologize because I did nothing wrong."

"Kylie, stop making this difficult," Richard warned. "You know exactly what you need to do."

Her eyes filled with tears.

She thought about the man who used to tell her that she never needed to worry because he would always protect her.

Now he was using money to punish her.

Kylie took a shaky breath. "You know what? Keep your money!"

Richard sounded annoyed. "Then don't complain when life becomes difficult."

Kylie's lips trembled, but she refused to let him hear her breaking.

"I won't."

Before Richard could say anything else, Kylie ended the call.

She stared at her phone while tears rolled silently down her face.

He actually froze all her accounts just to force her into apologizing.

The taxi driver quietly handed her a tissue. "Luna, I don't know what happened, but please don't cry. You have to think about yourself and your baby. Your ride is free."

Kylie accepted the tissue and wiped her face. "Thank you."

She stepped out of the taxi after paying the driver with the little cash she had left. The driver noticed her struggle with the luggage and quickly helped carry it toward the apartment entrance.

"Take care of yourself," he said gently before returning to his taxi.

Kylie nodded. "Thank you for helping me."

The taxi disappeared down the street.

Kylie stood alone for a moment, staring at Sabrina's apartment building.

Then the door suddenly opened.

Sabrina rushed outside and froze when she saw Kylie standing there with luggage and tear stained cheeks.

"Kylie, what happened?" Sabrina asked as she hurried toward her. "Why are you here with all your things?"

Kylie tried to smile, but her face crumbled instead.

"Richard threw me out."

Sabrina's expression changed instantly. "He did what?!"

"He told me to apologize to Cassandra or leave," Kylie explained as she wiped her tears. "I refused, so he really sent me away."

Sabrina looked furious. "That bastard!"

Kylie lowered her eyes. "And he froze all my accounts."

Sabrina stared at her in disbelief before grabbing Kylie's luggage. "Come inside. You're staying with me."

Kylie hesitated, but Sabrina pulled her toward the entrance.

She felt a little less alone b ut deep inside, Kylie knew Richard wasn't trying to make her apologize because he wanted peace.

He wanted her to surrender.

And Kylie was no longer sure how long she could keep surviving before she had nothing left.