Chapter 124
124
~Lira’s POV
The hotel room I finally got smelled like old damp carpet and something rotten, maybe food left too long in the corner or a broken pipe in the walls. It made my stomach twist, but I stayed anyway because I didn’t have a choice. I had been running for days, hiding like I was the criminal, hiding like I was the one who destroyed something instead of the one who was destroyed. The window was cracked, and the curtains were full of dust. The fan on the ceiling clicked every time it turned. It felt like it was counting down to something.
I sat on the edge of the bed and pressed Linda’s contact again. My thumb was shaking from anger, from fear, from exhaustion. The first time, her phone didn’t ring. The second time, it didn’t connect. The third time, the call went straight to voicemail. My breathing grew uneven.
I tried again. One more time. This time, it rang.
She answered, sounding bored. “Yes p>
I snapped before I could think. “Linda! Why have you not been picking my calls? Do you want me to send the video to your husband right now? Do you want your perfect little marriage to explode p>
She didn’t even flinch. I could hear the smirk in her voice. “Lira, you cannot threaten me again. Luna Elara already found out it was me behind the leak. She knows. Everyone knows. So your little threat is useless now p>
My hand tightened around the phone. “What are you talking about p>
“She confronted me,” Linda said, voice turning cold. “And I do not care anymore. I am done being scared. Do whatever you want p>
“You think I won’t send it?” I hissed.
“I think you are out of power,” she replied, and before I could speak again, she hung up.
The screen went black, and for a second, I just stared at it, breathing hard, like the phone itself had slapped me. Then the anger exploded.
“Stupid woman!” I yelled and threw the pillow across the room. It hit the wall and fell, picking up dust from the floor. “You think you can talk to me like that? You think I am finished? I am not finished p>
My voice echoed in the tiny room, bouncing off the peeling wallpaper. I sat there with my chest rising and falling, my hands shaking until the anger drained out and left something else behind. Something heavier. Something like fear.
I picked up the phone again, slower this time, and opened the browser. I needed to see what had happened. I needed to see how bad things were.
The first headline made my heart stop:
“Luna Elara Is Pregnant. The Palace Confirms It p>
I scrolled.
“Alpha Darlon Gifts Luna Elara A Customized Cybertruck Covered In Flowers To Celebrate Their Child p>
There were pictures everywhere. Elara standing beside the truck, her hand on her stomach.
Another article showed Darlon’s face as he looked at her, eyes bright, soft, like he had poured his whole heart into one person. The fan creaked above me, and I blinked hard as the screen blurred.
I whispered without meaning to. “Pregnant. She is pregnant p>
My breath trembled. There was a picture of him kissing her gently, another of him helping her into the car. There were comments underneath, thousands of them.
Our Luna deserves the best.
Alpha finally looks happy.
They are beautiful together.
Lira must be choking in shame right now.
That one hit like a slap.
I scrolled again, faster, trying to find something, anything, that wasn’t perfect. Something that showed a crack. Something that showed Elara wasn’t winning. But there was nothing. It was all her. Her happiness. Her new life. Her child. Her future.
Everything I wanted.
Everything that should have been mine.
I put the phone down and covered my face. I didn’t cry. I refused to cry. Crying felt like losing, and I had lost enough. Instead, I breathed slowly until my heartbeat stopped hurting so badly in my chest.
“It’s not over,” I whispered to the silence. “It will never be over p>
Someone outside my door laughed loudly, like drunken laughter. A bottle clinked on the floor, rolling. A dog barked somewhere under the building. The sink in the bathroom dripped. This place made my skin crawl, but it was the only place I could hide where Darlon’s men wouldn’t think to look.
I picked up the phone again and stared at Elara’s picture. Her smile. The way Darlon held her. The way the world already loved her more than they ever loved me.
I touched the screen like I was touching a bruise. “You think this is the end? You think you have won p>
The lights flickered, and I could see my reflection in the window. My eyes looked tired, but there was still fire in them.
“I will not disappear,” I whispered. “I will not fade and die quietly p>
I walked out of the room, the smell of damp carpet and cheap detergent following me like a curse, and by the time I got to the reception desk, anger was already boiling under my skin. The receptionist was sitting there like she had all the time in the world, tapping on her phone, chewing something loudly, and acting like customers didn’t matter in this place. I slammed my hand lightly on the counter and she jumped.
“Can you at least take care of this hotel properly?” I snapped, my voice shaking with irritation and something else I didn’t want to admit felt like desperation. “You people are collecting money yet the rooms smell like something died there, the beds are dusty, and the bathroom looks like a nightmare. How is this a hotel p>
The receptionist blinked at me, embarrassed, and tried to calm me down. “I’m so sorry, ma’am, we are working on it, really. We just lack staff this period and p>
“I don’t care about your excuses,” I cut in, because honestly, I didn’t. “If you’re collecting money, then at least act like this place is legal. Or should I just make a call and report the hotel? Maybe you want me to do that, maybe that’s what will make you take this place seriously p>
Her expression changed quickly, from irritated to nervous, and she shook her head. “No, no, please, don’t report us. I promise we will clean your room again and change the sheets. Just give us a little time p>
I leaned back a little, still annoyed. “Fine. But do it fast. And get me something. I need drugs, the strong ones. And I need a drink, something that burns. And cigarettes. I don’t care what kind, just get them p>
The woman swallowed, looking even more uncomfortable. “We… we don’t deal with hard drugs here. We only sell painkillers and some basic over-the-counter medicines. We can get you cigarettes, but nothing illegal. We could lose the hotel license for that p>
I scoffed because of course, the one time I needed something to numb my head, the world suddenly wanted to be responsible. “So what exactly are you running here? If you’re scared to sell anything, then what kind of hotel is this? You can’t offer proper service and you can’t give me what I need. Should I just report you now so we can all rest p>
The receptionist looked like she wanted to cry. “Ma’am, please. Don’t report us. We’re trying. I can get you cigarettes, and we have some wine. But not drugs. Please p>
I looked at her for a moment, then sighed because I realized shouting wouldn’t magically give me what I wanted. “Fine. Just get the wine and cigarettes, and send someone to clean my room before I come back p>
She nodded quickly. “Yes, ma’am p>