I Lost a Husband, But I Gained an Empire

Under the jeering gazes of the others, he pinned my shoulder down against the seat, trapping me in place.

One hand seized my chin, forcing my mouth open.

“It’s just a drink. Swallow it,” he said—

his tone flat, as if he were commanding an obedient beast.

“What are you afraid of? Worst case, I’ll take you to the healer afterward for a stomach cleanse.”

In that moment, I didn’t feel humiliation.

All I felt was cold.

A cold that seeped from the marrow outward.

That wasn’t love.

That was domination—

the habitual control of an Alpha accustomed to obedience.

That same night, after the banquet ended, my body began burning with fever.

Everything felt distant, blurred, as if fire had melted consciousness itself.

Two days later, I was rushed to the hospital with violent abdominal pain.

The healer’s diagnosis was icy and merciless.

There had been a one-month-old pup forming within me.

But due to the alcohol and the forcible stress,

the fetal vein had already collapsed on its own.

When James heard about my miscarriage,

he didn’t grieve.

He didn’t panic.

He didn’t feel guilt.

He stormed into the ward, furious.

Standing at my bedside, he bellowed:

“I told you not to go to that place, and you still insisted! Idiot!

This is what you get for showing off in front of those males!”

In his eyes, there wasn’t a shred of remorse.

Only irritation, anger, and blame.

Remembering that, I returned to my seat in the private room.

I didn’t look at anyone.

I picked up my bag, pushed my chair back without a word, and left.

Just as I closed the door behind me,

I heard Aria’s soft, anxious voice inside:

“James, go after her—apologize.

Blair is clearly upset.”

But James’s voice was cold—cold like iron in a winter night.

“Leave her. She’ll get over it in a few days.”

Every syllable sliced through me like a silver blade.

What had I done wrong—

to make him so certain

that my feelings would never leave him?

That no matter how deeply I hurt,

I would always return like a obedient little wolf at his heel?

James arrived at our territory residence one step after me, his entire body radiating Alpha fury so intense it tightened the air.

“Blair, are you insane?”

He roared as soon as he crossed the threshold, red light flickering in his irises.

“Leaving without a word?

You made that entire dinner awkward. Are you satisfied now?”

I said nothing.

I simply watched him quietly.

He tugged at his collar, letting out an impatient cold laugh.

“If you’re going to act this childish, then let’s just dissolve the mate contract.”

It was the second time James had suggested divorce—

or, in the wolf-clans’ terms, dissolving the Moon-Vow Bond.

The first time had been when he suspected I touched his communication stone.

Back then, I had no spine.

I had knelt at his feet, sobbing until I could hardly breathe,

swearing at the tip of his boot that I would never anger him again.

But now—

I simply lifted my gaze, met his eyes, and said quietly:

“Alright.”

The large living room fell into a frightening silence—

even the air seemed to freeze for half a minute.

James stared at me as if his hearing had betrayed him.

“Blair… what did you just say?”

“I said alright.”

My voice was calm—

calm like a windless night lake.

“We’re getting divorced.”

I rose from the sofa, ready to hand him the property division documents that the clan lawyer had drafted.

But before I could, James suddenly raised his voice, glaring at me with clenched teeth.

“You’re sure you want to dissolve our bond?

You’re really sure?”

I blinked, puzzled by his sudden agitation.

“A divorce… how could that be anything but real?”

James stared at me—

stared as if he were seeing me for the first time—

then abruptly let out a cold, ridiculing laugh.

“I didn’t think you had it in you to play hard-to-get.”

His eyebrow arched with mockery.

“But I’m not falling for that.”

With that, he slammed the door and strode out,

Alpha scent flaring with temper.

The silence he left behind was so complete

I could hear my heartbeat.

For the next half month, James never returned to our territory.

And I, in return, quietly moved my belongings out of the Alpha residence piece by piece,

as silently as the moon’s shadow moving across snow.

Until one late night,

I received a mind-link call from Elder Yuan.