Chapter 28
I stood quietly at the top of the staircase, my back pressed against the wall. I was listening to my parents argue downstairs. My heart hammered in my chest, and for a moment, I felt a mix of relief and something darker, something more satisfying. I had done what needed to be done, and now, the consequences were unfolding, bit by bit. I could hear the sharpness in my mother’s voice and the cold edge of disappointment. It made me feel almost… victorious.
I leaned in slightly, just enough to catch the sound of their heated words.
“You need to understand, Grace,” my father’s voice carried through the silence of the house. His tone was low but insistent. “Roxanne is going to be your future daughter-in-law. You can’t just speak like that about her in public. You need to be careful with your words. Think of what it would mean for Kael, for the pack….”
My mother’s voice cut through his. “I don’t care, Alexis!” she snapped, and I could practically feel the bite in her words. “She is a thief. A liar. She stole from me, Alexis. I trusted her. And now, she has shown us
who she really is.”
I clenched my fists. I was unable to keep the satisfaction from curling in my chest. My mother wasn’t wrong. Roxanne had betrayed all of us. She had crossed a line that couldn’t easily be overlooked.
My father’s voice softened, as if trying to soothe her, but I could hear the tension in his tone. “But Grace, we cannot just ruin her future over this. I know you’re hurt, but think about the bigger picture. She’s going to marry our son. One day, she’ll be Luna of the pack. What are we going to do now, huh? Cancel the wedding? That will bring so many questions from the pack, questions we don’t need right now.”
I exhaled quietly, the thoughts swirling through my head. They were both right, in their own way. But I couldn’t shake the feeling of satisfaction at the idea of Roxanne being punished, being forced to face the consequences of her actions. The way she had looked at me earlier, begging for my belief. The desperation on her face. It had almost been too easy to twist the knife. To see her fall apart was… satisfying. And I wasn’t about to let her off easy, no matter what my father said.
My mother’s voice was cold and laced with venom. “I don’t care about the pack, Alexis. If she’s going to be my daughter-in-law, I need to know that she has integrity. That she can be trusted. And right now, I don’t trust her.” She paused, the sound of her sharp intake of breath making it clear how deeply this hurt her. “No, Kael will not marry her. I will not let him.”
My heart thudded in my chest. The thought of Roxanne no longer being in my life… It felt freeing. It was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I knew I should have felt some guilt, some kind of obligation to her, but all I could feel was relief. And a strange kind of thrill. I had finally seen her for what she truly was.
My father’s response was less certain, and I could hear him trying to calm my mother down. “Grace, don’t be hasty. We’ve already announced the engagement to the whole pack. If we break that promise, what will
people think of us? We’ll look weak. We’ll have to explain ourselves to everyone, and there will be too
many questions.”
My mother didn’t back down, though. Her words were steady, but there was a fierce edge to them. “I don’t care, Alexis. I will not allow someone like her to become my daughter-in-law. She is a thief, and who knows what else she is capable of? What if this is just the beginning?”
My father sighed, the sound heavy with the weight of his thoughts. “But Grace, even if she did take it, if she’s guilty, does it matter now? The most important thing is that we got the necklace back. We’ve got it now, right? It’s over.”
I gritted my teeth at his words. It was easy for him to say that. He was the one who wanted to brush everything under the rug. But I wasn’t willing to let Roxanne get away with this. He did not understand. Roxanne was not a sweet and innocent girl but a big liar who had betrayed me. She had shown her true
colors, and I wasn’t about to let her walk away unscathed.
My mother also wasn’t ready to let go just yet. “I don’t care if we have the necklace back, Alexis. The damage is done. She took it. She betrayed my trust.” There was a pause, and I could practically feel her steely resolve. “I won’t let Kael marry someone who lacks character like that. And I will not stand by while
she continues to lie about it.”
My father tried again. “Grace, I’m not saying that what Roxanne did is okay. But think about this carefully. She is going to be the Luna one day. Do you really want to destroy her reputation like this? We can handle
this quietly, just between us and her parents. No one else has to know. We can decide on a punishment
ourselves.”
I could feel the heat in my chest rise, and my grip on the railing tightened. That was all I needed. The idea
of a punishment…a chance for Roxanne to be brought low, for her to feel the weight of what she had
done…was all I wanted now. She needed to pay for what she had done to me. She needed to face the consequences, and I wanted to be there to see it. To know that she wouldn’t escape this unscathed.
My mother, after a long silence, let out a sharp breath. “Fine,” she muttered. “But this stays between us. Her parents need to be told what happened. They’ll need to deal with it in their own way. And as for
Roxanne… she will be punished. But I won’t forget what she did.”
A satisfied smirk tugged at my lips as I heard the finality in her tone. She was agreeing with my father, but
she was also making it clear that there would be consequences. Roxanne wouldn’t escape.
My father’s voice softened, and he finally relented. “Alright. We’ll handle it privately. No one else needs to
know. But for the sake of the pack… we can’t let this become a bigger issue.”
I felt so satisfied. They were going to punish her. They were going to make sure she paid for what she had done. And honestly, I couldn’t wait to see it. To see her squirm. She had ruined everything, and now she was going to pay the price.
I leaned back against the wall, letting out a breath. I felt… lighter. Like the storm had passed, and now I could see things more clearly. Roxanne had crossed a line. And it didn’t matter what my parents decided
to do next. She had already lost their trust. The punishment? It would be just the beginning of her fall from
grace.
I let the silence in the house envelop me. I was savoring the sweet feeling of knowing that everything was falling into place just as it should.
