Chapter 2

Cassandra woke before sunrise and reached for the folded note beside her pillow. The moment she recognized Billy’s handwriting, her tired expression softened, and she carefully unfolded the paper.

“Sis, I know things have been hard for you, but I will work harder. I want to earn enough money to help fix your eyes. Please don’t worry about me. I love you, and I will make things better.”

She read the note twice before pressing it gently against her chest. Billy had always tried to protect her, even though he had suffered his own painful injuries.

Her eyes moved toward the chair where Billy’s jacket rested. She remembered the burn scars covering his hand from the fire seven years ago, scars that had never completely faded no matter how much time passed.

“He shouldn’t have to worry about me this much,” Cassandra whispered.

He loves you. Let him help you Emery answered inside her mind.

Cassandra gave a faint smile. “I know, but I still hate seeing him sacrifice everything.”

She folded Billy’s note and placed it carefully inside her drawer. Her fingers had barely left the paper when her phone began buzzing repeatedly on the table.

A class group chat was suddenly filled with messages. Cassandra opened it casually, but her expression changed when she saw Brad’s name mentioned several times.

“Alpha Brad, was that girl who showed up with you the other day your fiancée?”

Cassandra froze.

Brad was not simply her former classmate. He was the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, the CEO of Pierson Group, and the man who had once promised her that she would become his wife.

She stared at the message, unable to look away.

Half an hour later, Alpha Brad finally appeared online.

“Yeah. Sorry, I left in a hurry that day. Didn’t get the chance to introduce her.”

Cassandra’s hand froze above the screen.

Another classmate quickly responded.

“She’s gorgeous. You two look perfect together.”

Someone else joined the conversation.

“Isn’t she the heiress of Crew Holdings? I’ve seen her photos online. She looks even more elegant in person.”

Another message appeared almost immediately.

“Wait, the Crew Holdings heiress?”

Then someone typed.

“Hilda Crew?!”

Cassandra stared at the screen as everyone confirmed the woman’s identity.

Hilda Crew.

The heiress of Crew Holdings.

Alpha Brad’s fiancée.

The Future Luna.

Her heart began pounding as another message appeared.

“So are you two getting married?”

The entire conversation seemed to stop while everyone waited for Brad’s answer.

Minutes later, his name appeared again.

“Soon will.”

Cassandra felt the words hit her chest.

The group chat immediately exploded.

“Congratulations, Alpha Brad!”

“Finally! We knew you two were serious!”

“The Black Moon Pack is getting its Luna!”

“Hilda is perfect for you!”

Cassandra slowly lowered her phone and stared through the window. She could still remember when Brad had looked at her with the same certainty he now seemed to have about another woman.

Seven years ago, everything had been different.

Brad had already been the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, but his title had meant nothing when they were alone. Around Cassandra, he had simply been the man who wanted to stay beside her no matter what his family said.

At the time, his parents had arranged for Alpha Brad to study abroad. Instead of accepting their decision, he fought them because he wanted Cassandra to go with him.

He wanted to prove that he could build his own future but the Pierson family refused to accept Cassandra.

When Brad chose her, they turned against him. They cut him off from business opportunities, financial support, and the connections that had always protected the future of their heir.

Cassandra’s family had little money, and Brad kept helping them despite having almost nothing left for himself.

Being with Cassandra made his life harder, but he never blamed her.

Without his family’s support, Alpha Brad struggled to survive on his own. Eventually, he began racing for prize money because he needed money and refused to give up.

Then came the accident.

His racing car crashed violently, nearly costing him his leg.

Afterward, the doctors told him that he could never race again.

Cassandra remembered visiting him in the hospital and seeing the pain in his eyes. For the first time, the powerful Alpha looked completely helpless.

“I can’t race anymore,” Brad had whispered.

“You don’t need racing to prove anything,” Cassandra had replied while holding his hand.

Brad looked at her sadly. “I wanted to give you a better life.”

Cassandra had squeezed his hand tighter. “I only need you to stay beside me.”

Eventually, his family gave in, but only slightly.

One afternoon, Former Luna Olivia Pierson arrived carrying two recommendation lists for top overseas universities. She placed them on the table before looking directly at Cassandra.

“Go abroad for two years. Take Cassandra with you. If we can’t separate you two, then let’s make her worthy of you.”

Olivia left immediately after saying those words.

The moment the door closed, Alpha Brad’s entire expression changed. His eyes lit up with excitement as he grabbed Cassandra’s hand.

“Cas, my family finally agreed. We’ll go abroad together, study for two years then married.”

Cassandra stared at him, almost afraid to believe what she had just heard.

“T-They really agreed? But…” she asked.

Brad nodded excitedly, tightening his fingers around hers. “Don’t say no. I’m going to marry you. I love you so much, and I swear I’ll make you my wife in this lifetime.”

Cassandra’s eyes filled with tears.

She believed him completely.

She believed that their years of fighting against his family were finally over. She believed the Black Moon Pack’s Alpha would marry her after their studies, and she believed she would become the woman standing beside him for the rest of their lives.

Brad had smiled at her that day with so much happiness that she could not imagine their future falling apart.

Cassandra looked down at Billy’s note again, then at the phone lying beside her.

The group chat was still moving rapidly, everyone celebrating Alpha Brad’s upcoming marriage to Hilda.

Cassandra quietly turned off her screen.

She had once held the hand of the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack while believing he would make her his Luna.

She had believed him when he promised that they would leave together.

That day, she had held his hand back tightly and answered, “Okay. We’ll go abroad together.”