Chapter 50
Elodie’s POV
“Sorry p>
“My bad p>
We both stepped back at the same time, the words tumbling out in that awkward way they do when you’re not really paying attention.
I looked up.
My stomach dropped.
Harrison.
One of Dante’s closest friends. Part of that inner circle I’d never been allowed into, no matter how many years I’d known them.
He recognized me instantly. Of course he did.
And I watched his expression shift from mild surprise to something cold. Dismissive. Like I was something unpleasant he’d accidentally stepped in.
I felt it like a physical thing, that look. It settled over me like ice water.
I’d known Harrison for years. Known all of them, Harrison, Levi, and others. They’d grown up with Dante, inseparable since childhood. School together, playing together, building the Bellini Pack’s business empire together as adults.
And in all that time, through all those years, Dante had never once let me in.
Even after we got married, after I became Luna, I was still just… there. Existing on the periphery of his life while he kept his real world, his friends, his interests, the things that actually mattered to him locked away from me.
But Sienna?
Sienna got an invitation within weeks.
Dante introduced her to Harrison and the others like she was something precious. Brought her to their gatherings, their private dinners, included her in their inside jokes. And they’d welcomed her. Accepted her as one of them in a way they never had with me.
I’d heard from Amber that they even invited Sienna to things now when Dante wasn’t around. That’s how close they’d become.
And me? The longer Sienna was in the picture, the colder they got. Like her presence somehow made my existence even more offensive to them.
Harrison’s ice-blue eyes were flat as he looked at me. No warmth. No basic courtesy. Nothing.
I’d tried, in the beginning. Tried to build some kind of relationship with them, to be friendly, to fit in. But they never gave me a chance. Never even pretended to care.
So I’d stopped trying. Stopped forcing myself into spaces where I clearly wasn’t wanted.
I still greeted them when I had to. Basic politeness, because I had some dignity left.
Most of the time they ignored me. Sometimes they looked at me like I was dirt.
I wasn’t going to say anything now. Wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
I moved to step around him.
“Elodie p>
His voice stopped me cold. Not because it was warm…it wasn’t. It was sharp. Suspicious.
I turned back slowly. “What p>
“Didn’t know you were into racing.” His tone made it clear he didn’t believe it. Made it clear what he was really asking.
He was trying to ask if I had followed him here?
My jaw tightened. “What are you trying to say, Harrison p>
He didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. “Just surprised, that’s all. Didn’t think this was your scene. Seems a little… convenient p>
The implication hung in the air between us.
He thought I was stalking Dante. Thought I’d shown up here to spy on him, to ruin his night, to be the pathetic, clingy wife who couldn’t take a hint.
Something hot and bitter rose in my throat.
“Someone like me?” I repeated, my voice dangerously quiet. “What’s that supposed to mean p>
Harrison’s expression didn’t change. “Come on, Elodie. We both know you don’t care about racing. You don’t care about any of this. So why are you really here p>
Each word felt like a slap.
I wanted to scream at him. Wanted to tell him that I was here because Stella had ordered me to come find York, because apparently I was still useful when they needed someone to clean up their messes. Wanted to tell him that I hadn’t known Dante would be here, that I hadn’t wanted to see him with her, that watching my husband decline my call without a second thought had already gutted me enough for one night.
But what was the point?
“Harrison.” My voice came out colder than I expected. Sharper. “Are we really that close? Do you actually know me at all? Because if you think you’ve got me all figured out, why don’t you tell me exactly what kind of person you think I am p>
I watched something flicker across his face. Surprise, maybe. Like he hadn’t expected me to bite back.
I’d always been quiet around them. Kept my head down, smiled politely, tried not to make waves. The perfect, passive Luna who knew her place.
That’s probably what he thought I was, some meek little thing playing at being innocent while scheming behind everyone’s backs.
I knew what they all thought about me. Knew the story they’d all convinced themselves was true, that I’d done something terrible to trap Dante into this bond. That I’d manipulated everything just to get his attention, and then had the audacity to act like I didn’t know what I’d done.
They’d never asked me. Never gave me a chance to explain.
They just decided who I was and hated me for it.
Harrison didn’t answer. He just stared at me with those cold eyes, like I wasn’t even worth the effort of a response.
Of course he wouldn’t answer. Why would he? He’d already made up his mind about me years ago.
But something felt different tonight. Maybe it was watching Dante decline my call. Maybe it was seeing him look at Sienna like she hung the moon. Maybe it was just that I’d finally hit the bottom and realized there was nothing left to lose.
I wasn’t going to smile and take it anymore.
I held Harrison’s gaze, and I saw the moment he noticed something had changed. The way his eyes narrowed slightly, studying me like I was someone he didn’t quite recognize.
Good.
Let him be confused. Let him wonder.
I was tired of pretending to be smaller than I was just so they’d feel comfortable around me.
“That’s what I thought,” I said quietly when he still didn’t speak. “You don’t actually know me at all. You just know the version of me you all decided on p>
I didn’t wait for a response. Didn’t give him the chance to say something else that would cut me open.
I turned and walked away, and this time my legs didn’t shake.
By the time I got York back to his place near the academy, it was past eleven. The drive had been quiet. York had fallen asleep in the passenger seat almost immediately, probably exhausted from all that screaming and jumping.
I’d been grateful for the silence. It gave me time to shove everything back down, to lock it all away where it couldn’t touch me.
When we pulled up outside the house Stella had rented for him, York stirred awake, blinking groggily.
“We’re here,” I said softly.
He yawned, stretching. Then his stomach growled. Loudly.
I almost smiled despite everything.
“Sister-in-law,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “There’s this amazing late-night food spot just down the street. Best dumplings you’ll ever have. Let me buy you something? As a thank you for coming all the way out here to get me p>
My first instinct was to say no. To tell him I was tired, that I just wanted to go home.
But home meant that empty house.