When Love Steps Aside

Drew drove back to the place where he’d left me the day before. Morning sunlight now filtered through the trees by the road. The mist had not yet fully lifted.

There was no one in sight on the empty road.

At that moment, a wave of panic filled him.

It felt like he had lost something incredibly important.

That feeling only intensified when he read the message I’d sent.

Back at the villa, I was packing my things. I was aching inside and on the verge of tears.

I had already decided to let go of this relationship, yet my heart still hurt so much.

Drew called, but I didn’t answer. I just stared at the screen as it lit up and dimmed again.

The man who once promised to protect me for life had chosen Laura over me.

When I was a child, I went missing and wandered for years. I wasn’t found by my family until I was ten.

By then, there was already another girl at home about the same age as me.

I stood in the living room, filthy from years on the street, and looked up at Laura, who stood on the second floor in a nice dress.

In her eyes, I saw disdain and disgust like I was some dirty stray scavenging in the trash.

She offered to teach me etiquette, only to humiliate me in front of the maids over and over again.

She wouldn’t let me eat at the table and ripped up the beautiful dresses and delicate dolls my parents had given me.

Afterward, she would tell my parents that I’d been wandering for too long and that I was withdrawn, selfish, and a compulsive liar.

To fit into this family, I tried to be obedient and kind. Even when Laura bullied me, I remained silent.

All I got in return was more bullying.

My family grew colder toward me with each passing day. They said Laura was a refined young lady, and I was an uncultured brat.

They said I’d picked up the lowly habits of stray werewolves, and that I was vulgar and unworthy. They even said I was worse than the cook’s daughter.

It was only then that I realized that the girl my parents treated like their own daughter was the cook’s child.

Back then, during those dark days when my family despised me, Drew was the only one who wanted to be my friend.

Now, even he was leaving me behind.

When I didn’t answer his call, Drew drove straight to my house with Laura and her daughter in tow.

Ever since Laura severed her mate bond with her partner, she’d been coming back more and more often.

This villa felt more like Laura’s home than mine.

Whether she was there or not, her room was always kept ready.

It had the best lighting in the entire house.

Even if she hardly came back, it was cleaned daily. No one was allowed to enter.

As I came downstairs, Drew rushed toward me and pulled me into his arms.

“Sienna, I know you’re upset. You wouldn't answer my calls. I came to apologize. Can you forgive me?”

The moment I saw Drew, tears streamed down my face.

Seeing me cry threw him into a panic. He clumsily tried to wipe the tears from my cheeks while murmuring comforting words.

Laura stood up from the couch and angrily slapped the half-eaten fruit out of Anne’s hand.

The next moment, she turned to me, her expression flustered and uneasy. Her voice trembled with emotion.

“Sienna, I’m sorry. I really thought you had invited me. That’s the only reason I brought Anne to the amusement park. This is all my fault. Please don’t be mad at Drew, okay?

“He was already exhausted yesterday and still drove all the way back for you. I was so worried something might happen to him on the road.”

She was about to say more when Drew cut her off. He looked at me with deep remorse in his eyes.

“Sienna, this has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have forgotten to come back for you. Laura didn’t know anything. She’s innocent.”

I stared at him blankly. It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over me. My entire body felt cold.

I had been grieving over what Drew had done since the day before. The moment I saw him, I wanted so badly to ask why he suddenly stopped loving me, but I never got a chance.

All I got was him defending someone else.

He was afraid I’d take it out on Laura and afraid I’d blame her. So he took all the blame onto himself.