Chapter 1

(Olivia's POV)

The beeping of the hospital monitors had become the soundtrack to our lives. My daughter Lily lay in the sterile bed, her small frame dwarfed by the medical equipment surrounding her. Kidney failure. Those two words had shattered our world.

"Mommy," Lily whispered, her voice barely audible over the machines. "Do you think Daddy will come tomorrow?"

I brushed her thin hair back from her forehead. "Of course, sweetheart. It's your birthday."

"And we'll go to the Moonlight Fair? All three of us?" Hope flickered in her emerald eyes-eyes just like mine.

"Yes, Lily. I already asked him, and he promised." I forced a smile, ignoring the doubt gnawing at my heart.

Lily's face lit up with a joy I hadn't seen in months. "Really? Daddy promised?"

I nodded, squeezing her fragile hand. The doctors had given her days, maybe hours. This birthday might be her last, and her only wish was to spend it with her father.

The next morning, I dressed Lily in her warmest clothes. The weather had turned unexpectedly cold, but nothing would stop us. We waited at the Moonlight Fair entrance, the colorful lights and cheerful music a stark contrast to the heaviness in my chest.

One hour passed. Then two.

"He's just running late from work, right Mommy?" Lily asked, her lips turning slightly blue despite the heavy coat.

"I'm sure he is, sweetheart." I dialed Ethan's number for the twentieth time. Straight to voicemail.

Three hours. Lily refused to sit in the wheelchair I'd brought, insisting on standing so her father would see her right away.

"Maybe he forgot," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Maybe he's with Emma again."

My heart cracked at her words. "Let me try once more."

This time, someone answered. Not Ethan, but his assistant.

Disney with Ms. Frost and

tilted beneath my feet. "But today is his daughter's birthday. Lily is

left strict

small body convulsed on the cold ground, her

screamed, gathering her in

I could see in their eyes what I refused to accept. Lily's organs were shutting

"Why does Daddy love Emma more than me? Is it because I'm

Ethan, Victoria, and Emma at Disney. Ethan was carrying Emma on his shoulders, all of them laughing. A giant

to love

final breath a

daughter was dead. And her father wasn't even there to say goodbye. The funeral home was quiet except for my muffled sobs. I stood alone beside Lily's small body, arranged peacefully on the

"He doesn't know," I said, my voice hollow. "He doesn't even know

Clip I'd designed for her birthday-tiny healing crystals embedded in a delicate silver setting. I'd spent months

better," I whispered, carefully placing it in her hair.

"The Alpha

I said, bitterness seeping into my voice. "Celebrating Emma Frost's birthday with the same party he promised Lily. With the woman he always loved more than

man's eyes widened in shock, but he nodded respectfully. "I understand,

I stood alone, watching flames consume

Urn to my chest, Lily's ashes still warm inside. We were

flashed with images-breaking news

Frost's birthday celebration today," the announcer's cheerful voice boomed. "Sources

Victoria stood beside them, her hand possessively on Ethan's arm. Victoria is Ethan's childhood sweetheart.

she returned to the pack with Emma. My life

was hard and pitiful for Victoria to raise a child alone, so he always went to take care of them.

the one Ethan had refused to

away from the screen, shielding it as if Lily could still see. "Lily, don't look!" I whispered, tears streaming down my

was silent when I returned. Our wing of the massive estate felt empty without Lily's presence. I carried the urn to her room, still filled with

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