How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 21: Denial...

JASMINE’S POV

"Jasmine... I’m a werewolf. And you’re not just my wife... you’re my fated mate."

At first, the words felt strange and confusing, like they were coming from underwater, foreign and hard to grasp.

Werewolf.

Mate.

Fated.

I stared at him, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.

He stayed crouched there, completely still, letting me process the brutal reality he had just dropped on my head.

"Jas?" Aiden said carefully, his hand moving toward me slowly.

I flinched hard, pressing myself back into the wall like I could disappear into it.

He froze, hand dropping immediately.

"I’m sorry," he said in a raw voice. "I couldn’t tell you because—"

"Don’t," I whispered.

His brows furrowed. "Jas, please—"

"I said don’t!" My voice cracked, higher this time, trembling under the weight of panic I couldn’t control. "Don’t say anything to me. Just—leave."

The betrayal churned in my stomach, sick and hot.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I pushed myself up, backing toward the dresser, needing space, needing distance. "You lied," I said in a shaky voice. "You stood there—you kissed me—you married me—and you lied!"

"I didn’t choose this," he said desperately. "I tried to protect you. I was going to tell you—"

"Protect me?!" My voice pitched higher as anger finally broke through the numbness. "You think hiding this protects me?!"

I flung my hand toward the window, toward whatever nightmare was still happening outside. "What else haven’t you told me, huh?! How many more monsters are there waiting for me out there?!"

He stayed silent, jaw locked, guilt flashing in his eyes.

Wrong answer.

My hand found a heavy book on the side table.

Before I could second-guess myself, I hurled it against the wall, just inches from his head. It hit with a loud, cracking thud.

Not at him.

Close enough to make my point.

Aiden didn’t flinch. He didn’t move. He just stood there, breathing hard, taking it.

And somehow that only made the hurricane inside me worse.

"I can’t do this," I said, voice splintering. "I can’t even look at you right now."

His chest rose and fell unevenly. "Jasmine, please—"

"Get out," I snapped, cutting him off. "Just get out!"

He took a step forward, hesitation flickering across his face.

"Get out, Aiden," I repeated, voice cracking on his name. I pressed a trembling hand against my chest, trying to keep it from breaking open. "Please."

For the first time since I’d met him, he obeyed.

He stepped back, his dark eyes lingering on me with something that looked too much like pain.

The door closed behind him with a soft click that sounded louder than any slam. I locked it immediately, shoving the heavy dresser against it for good measure.

It was stupid.

It wouldn’t stop him if he really wanted to get in.

Nothing could stop a werewolf.

But it made me feel... marginally better... safer, like I had at least a shred of control left in a world that had just been turned inside out.

On the other side of the door, I heard Aiden’s voice—low, strained, desperate.

"Jasmine," he called softly. "Please... let me explain."

I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my palms flat against the wood, as if I could block out the sound of him. Block out everything.

"No!" I snapped, my voice hoarse from the emotional whiplash. "I’m not talking to you! I’m not listening! Just—just leave me alone!"

Silence fell heavy and sharp between us.

I could almost feel him struggling with the choice.

Finally, after a moment that stretched painfully long, I heard his voice again, barely a whisper, but it sounded rough. "As you wish," he said. "I’ll go see if it’s safe outside."

His footsteps faded down the hall.

Leaving me alone.

With the pieces of a life I thought I understood... now shattered beyond recognition.

I sagged against the dresser, breathing hard, every inch of me trembling.

My chest hurt. My head pounded. My heart—God, my heart felt like it had been clawed out and stomped on.

Werewolves exist. Aiden is one. And I’m supposedly his fated mate.

The words spun in my head, clashing against everything I knew—everything I thought was real.

How long had he known? Had this all been a game to him? Was our marriage even real? Or just... fate? Supernatural destiny tying me to a man I didn’t really know?

I unknowingly asked him about all of these, and he made a joke out of it... and lied.

The betrayal hit me like a punch to the gut. I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, squeezing tightly as if I could somehow keep myself from falling apart.

And even in my broken state, I still felt that pull toward him, which scared me more than anything else about him—the teeth, the claws, everything.

Sensing a full-blown panic attack brewing, I stumbled toward the bed, grabbing my phone off the nightstand with shaking hands.

Sophia.

I needed Sophia.

She’d make a joke. She’d tell me I was crazy. She’d remind me that reality still existed somewhere outside this nightmare.

I just needed to hear her.

I hit Call.

It rang once. Twice.

Then—

Pah. Pah. Pah.

Moaning.

Definitely moaning.

"—Oh God, don’t stop—oh, right there—"

I recoiled, face burning.

"Sophia!" I hissed into the phone.

More pah, pah, pah sounds. More moaning. Definitely things I could never unhear.

Finally, a breathless voice answered, "Babe, can’t... fuck... can’t talk—will call back later—oh God, yes—"

Click. The line went dead.

I stared at the phone in horror. And betrayal.

Sophia was supposed to be my emergency lifeline. Not... whatever the hell that was.

I dropped the phone onto the bed like it had personally insulted me and dragged my hands down my face.

So much for moral support.

The room felt suffocating—too small and too heavy, like the walls were closing in on me. The fire in the hearth crackled weakly, barely providing any warmth.

I noticed a draft making the curtains move, something I hadn’t really paid attention to until now.

Everything just seemed off, unfamiliar.

It was like my own skin didn’t quite feel right anymore.

I tried to breathe. Tried not to think about the way Aiden’s eyes had burned gold under the moonlight. Tried not to hear his voice—’You’re my fated mate.’

I shook my head violently, pacing the room, heart hammering.

No.

I had to get out.

I couldn’t stay here. Not in his house. Not in his world. Not wrapped up in lies, and fate and things that weren’t supposed to be real.

I crept toward the door, pressing my ear against the wood.

Silence.

No footsteps. No breathing.

Carefully, I shoved the heavy dresser aside, wincing at the soft scrape against the floor.

Cracking the door open just an inch, I peered down the hall.

Empty.

No sign of Aiden.

My pulse thundered in my ears.

Good. Good.

I grabbed a hoodie off the chair, yanked it over my head, shoved my feet into sneakers—no socks, no time—and slipped out into the hallway, every muscle tense.

I didn’t know where I was going.

I didn’t care.

All I knew was that I had to run.

Far away from Aiden Frost.

Far away from this truth.

Far away from the bond that tied me to something I hadn’t signed up for.

And this time?

I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything hold me back this time. Not fate, not destiny, and definitely not him.

I quietly made my way to the kitchen and used the side exit, feeling my heart race and my breath quicken.

I was running, escaping, and just trying to survive.

That’s what you do when a fairy tale becomes a nightmare—you run before it consumes you.