Marked in Shadows

The day I was discharged, I returned to the company to complete my final resignation procedure.

Just as I was about to leave, I ran into Sabrina in the hallway. She deliberately bumped into me while holding a cup of coffee.

She snapped, "Ah! Are you doing this on purpose? You're always causing trouble."

I spat, "You're the one who bumped into me. I haven't even asked you to reimburse me for my clothes, yet here you are, pointing your finger at me."

Sabrina was stunned by my retort.

Furious, she poured the scalding coffee over my head, exclaiming arrogantly, "Do you know who you're talking to?! Don't blame me when I tell Matteo to fire you!"

After saying that, she swaggered away. My clothes were completely soaked, so I had no choice but to go to the restroom to deal with the mess.

"Alyssa!"

Through the mirror, I saw Penelope as she exclaimed in shock, "Why are your clothes wet? Who did this?"

I did not say anything, but the sharp Penelope immediately guessed it. "It was Sabrina, wasn't it? I'm not letting her get away with this."

She stormed into Matteo's office.

"Penelope, have I spoiled you so much that you don't even bother to knock before entering my office?" Matteo asked.

Penelope ignored him and walked straight up to Sabrina.

"Sabrina, don't think you can do whatever you want just because Matteo likes you. Why did you pick on Alyssa? You and Matteo haven't even held the marking ceremony yet, and you're already acting like you're the Luna."

Matteo also saw my disheveled appearance, and his brows furrowed slightly. Just as he was about to ask what happened, Sabrina threw herself into his arms.

"Matteo, I didn't do anything. It's clearly Alyssa holding a grudge from before and trying to frame me. I swear I'm innocent!"

"You..."

Seeing Sabrina twist the truth, Penelope was so angry that she was left speechless.

Without another word, she swung her hand and slapped Sabrina squarely across the face.

She hissed, "Sabrina, stop lying!"

Sabrina covered her face and burst into tears. "Matteo, your Beta and your sister are ganging up on me. I can't stay here anymore. I'm leaving and never coming back!"

Matteo panicked, and a slap landed across Penelope's face. It was the first time in his life that he had ever struck his beloved sister.

"Penelope, if you keep acting out like this, you're going to spend the night kneeling before the pack altar."

Then, he turned to me, his voice cold as ice. "I've already compensated you for what happened before. Why can't you let Sabrina go? Maybe you just don't want to be my Beta anymore."

Penelope covered her face, looking at the man before her in disbelief. She barely recognized her own brother anymore.

I regretted dragging Penelope into that and quickly pulled her away.

However, she was unwilling to let it go and made a big fuss about telling their parents, so I sighed and told her I had already resigned and was leaving.

Penelope froze at first, then tears spilled down her cheeks.

...

On my last night before leaving, Penelope and I had dinner together and even went shopping. She did not go home that evening, squeezing into my tiny apartment and talking through the night.

Finally, as dawn approached, Penelope took me to the airport. Just before we parted, Matteo sent a message asking where she was.

Penelope got angry upon seeing his name and was about to call him to give him a piece of her mind, but I stopped her.

"Don't get angry with Matteo because of me. After all, he's still the Alpha. Just wish me happiness, that's all."

The plane was about to take off, and we hugged goodbye.

Right before boarding, I sent Matteo one last message.

[Matteo, we'll never see each other again.]

After hitting send, I blocked all his contact information. Then, I boarded the plane without looking back.