Chapter 3

• "Oh Lord have mercy!" Althea exclaimed, her face contorting with shock as she turned her head to the side.
• In the dimly lit room, a woman with flowing blonde hair knelt on the bed, her hands clutching the sheets tightly. Beads of perspiration glistened on her forehead, her blonde locks falling like a veil around her face. The soft glow of a solitary lantern on the dressing table cast an ethereal light, intensifying the aura of the moment.
• Althea's eyes widened as she tried to avert her gaze, but the scene before her seemed to burn into her mind's eye. The air felt heavy, charged with a palpable tension as the man behind the woman moved with rhythmic precision. Every thrust and movement seemed to ripple through the room, the quiet sounds of their union mingling with the hushed whispers of passion.
• The subtleties of desire and vulnerability danced in the shadows, leaving an indelible impression upon her consciousness.
• "Oh... Caleb," she heard the woman whisper through trembling lips, and Althea's gaze followed her line of sight to the face of the man who stood behind her.
• It was him, Caleb, her Mr. Perfect, the man she had envisioned spending the rest of her life with. The weight of the realization bore down on Althea, causing her to take an instinctive step back. Her lips pressed together tightly, her eyes momentarily devoid of emotion as her heart shattered into countless fragments.
• "Oh... Caleb," the woman moaned once more, her voice filled with desire. As she opened her eyes, they locked onto Althea standing by the door. A mixture of surprise, guilt, and uncertainty flashed across her face, rendering her momentarily speechless.
• Althea stood frozen in the doorway, her mind racing to make sense of the scene unfolding before her. Conflicting emotions battled within her as she grappled with the profound sense of betrayal. The room seemed to grow colder, the air heavier, as silence enveloped them all.
• Caught in a web of raw emotions, Althea finally found her voice. "Caleb... how...how could you?" she managed to stammer, her voice trembling with a mixture of hurt and confusion. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over.
• The room held an intense stillness as Althea and the woman exchanged a wordless gaze, both grappling with the weight of the situation. Time stood suspended, their worlds colliding and unraveling in that single moment of shattered trust.
• Her big dark eyes widened with shock and their eyes locked as they shared an intense gaze.
• One was of fear, shock and shame and the other, just blank.
• But this moment was fleeting.
• In the midst of the initial shock, the woman succumbed to pleasure. Her body arched, and her eyes closed tightly. Tears streamed down her delicate cheeks as a loud moan escaped her lips, filling the room. Meanwhile, Caleb continued, consumed by his own pleasure, oblivious to her and her words.
• Althea swallowed hard, making her way out of the room at a slow pace. With a gentle click, she closed the door behind her.
• She had witnessed enough.
• Navigating through the darkness in her flowing gown, she inadvertently bumped into a small table in the sitting room, causing a bottle to crash onto the floor.
• The smell of perfume filled the air. She looked back at her door, knowing that the noise would have now alerted Caleb that someone was in his house.
• And she wasn't wrong as Caleb rushed out a few moments later, grabbing her arm.
• "Wait, love"
• "Get your disgusting hands off me" Althea said, pushing his sweaty body away from her.
• "Listen Althea, I am so sorry. I did not know what came over me. It was the woman who seduced me"
• Althea scoffed, violently removing her arms from his. "Of course she was. And you were a perfect saint"
• "My love…"
• "Your love?" Althea laughed. "Your love? Did you think about this love when you found a hole to put your shovel in?"
• Caleb was speechless.
• "That's what I thought. Stay away from me Caleb. Stay away"
• Althea left the house with tears streaming down her face. She could see it. Her life crashing down before her eyes. Everything all planned was gone. Her life was completely and utterly destroyed within just a single moment.
• She had spent two years of her life with Caleb, being with him ever since she was 18 and she had been sure that he loved her and only her.
• All her life, she had thought they would have the perfect marriage. The perfect children. The perfect life.
• How could he do this to her?
• In that fleeting moment, as she hurried through the shadowed surroundings, her elegant gown became ensnared in the clutches of a merciless adversary. Time seemed to slow as she lost her footing, her body crashing backwards with a bone-jarring impact into a treacherous abyss of mud and filth. The shockwaves of pain surged through her, stealing the breath from her lungs, while her delicate form lay sprawled in a puddle that mirrored her shattered spirit.
• She fought against the overwhelming urge to rise, the agony etching itself into every fiber of her being. Raindrops began to fall relentlessly, merging with her tears as they cascaded down her dirt-streaked face, mingling with the anguish etched in her eyes.
• How could he, the one she trusted with her heart, plunge her into this abyss of betrayal?
• Her emotions surged, a tumultuous maelstrom threatening to drown her in its depths. Yet, there was no cathartic release—only a soul-crushing numbness that gnawed at her core. She longed for the searing flames of anger or the wrenching embrace of sorrow—anything that would validate the shards of her broken heart.
• But all that remained was a desolate void, an agonizing emptiness that echoed through her every breath, a poignant reminder of the depths of her pain.
• The audacity! How could he dare inflict such wounds upon her fragile heart? His sweet whispers of promise, laced with deceit, once caressed her ears with false sincerity. He showered her with compliments, making her believe she was a rare gem, a person of unmatched beauty and worth. He shielded her from the tormenting taunts of ignorant villagers who deemed her different, labeling her as weird.
• Were all those words mere illusions? Twisted fragments of truth skillfully woven into a web of deception?
• A surge of anguish coursed through her veins, awakening the dormant beast within. The primal nature of her inner wolf stirred, urging her to unleash her pain, to shift and unleash a mournful howl to the indifferent moon. She had held onto the belief that Caleb was her destined mate, the one who would complete her in every way. But now, that cherished dream seemed like a distant illusion, cruelly snatched away.
• Betrayal clawed at her core, mingling with the raw ache of abandonment. The bond she thought was unbreakable had shattered, leaving behind shards of shattered trust. The pain echoed through her every fiber, tearing at her soul like a relentless tempest.
• Minutes later, she eventually got up from the ground. She didn't listen to the heatings of her wolf telling her to shift and run through the woods, she just walked home with a downcasted gaze.
• People stared at her but none said anything. Some just scrunch their nose up in disgust as she walked by. Thinking that maybe she had gone to do her weird doings again.
• She got home not long after, her parents were seated at the dining table. Her mother knitted and her father ate.
• They were discussing but immediately they noticed her presence, they all became quiet.
• Her mother, Margaret - a plump, short woman, with big blue eyes and black low cut hair- eyed her with disgust.
• She pinched her upturned nose together and shook her head. "You look hideous, child. What happened to you?" She asked, not a bit of worry in her eyes.
• Althea's voice quivered as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "I... I just caught Caleb cheating on me."
• Her mother halted her knitting, her gaze piercing Althea with a mix of concern and disdain. "Cheating? Well, what did you expect? You've always been naïve, thinking you're worthy of someone's loyalty."
• Althea's heart sank, the weight of her mother's harsh words crushing her spirit. The brief glimmer of hope for understanding was shattered, replaced by a cruel reminder of her mother's lack of support and belittlement.
• " Well, you were never worth him anyways."
• Althea nodded. "Yeah I know," She wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
• "Do you have anything to say to me, Father?" Althea's gaze shifted towards Kingsley, her father, a middle-aged man seated beside her mother. His fading brown buttoned shirt concealed a protruding pot belly, and a few gray strands peeked through his cropped hair. He was slightly overweight but towered over Margaret by a few inches.
• The man shrugged indifferently and met Althea's gaze with a mix of disappointment and resentment. "The boy always complained about you not giving in to his wills. If you had just complied, maybe I would have a good son-in-law by now. But, as usual, you messed up, like you always do."
• Althea's heart sank at her father's callous words, a knife slicing through any remnants of hope. The weight of his blame bore down on her, reinforcing her feelings of inadequacy. Her parents, true to form, offered no support, no love—only a relentless barrage of criticism and misplaced expectations. It was evident that they would never validate her choices or prioritize her happiness.
• Althea wasn't surprised by that either. Classic parents. No support. No love. Just basically them being a bunch of dummies. They didn't care if she even jumped into a well. Father would probably have supported Caleb anyways, he loved the boy. Thinking Caleb is a good boy. Even if he does bad things, it's good.
• "Goodnight then."
• With that, she left for her room. As she moved away from them, she heard them starting to talk again in hush whispers.
• When she got into her room, she didn't take a bath though, she just laid down on her bed. The moment she closed her eyes, she could still see him. Him pounding into the body of that lady.
• It made her question herself.
• How long had they been meeting each other?
• How long had they been doing this behind her back?
• How long have they seen her as a foolish person?
• With those thoughts in mind she slowly drifted off to wonderland.
• As Althea woke up the next morning, she found herself still covered in the remnants of the previous night's grime. Her body felt sticky, the stench of wet mud filling the air around her. When she sat up, the sheets clung stubbornly to her back, an unwelcome reminder of the mess she had endured.
• Struggling to clear her groggy mind, she blinked, and her eyes widened in disbelief. There, before her, was Caleb slowly approaching her. It felt like a distorted dream, a hallucination born from the chaos of the previous night.