Chapter 100

[ 756 words ]

Sebastian’s POV

I stood in front of the tattoo parlor, staring at the faded neon sign, and for a moment I couldn’t move.

Five years ago, I’d walked through that door with Abigail by my side, young and stupid and so damn sure that we’d last forever. Now I was back, alone, about to erase the last physical reminder of what we used to be.

The decision wasn’t made on impulse.

Last night, standing in the ocean with Emilia’s arms wrapped around my waist, her voice breaking as she begged me not to give up, something inside me had shifted. She was willing to die with me. A woman who barely knew the worst parts of me was ready to drown just so I wouldn’t be alone.

Emilia deserved better than that. She deserved a man who could look forward instead of back. And maybe, I could try to be that man.

For her. For my fated mate.

I pushed the door open. The bell chimed, and the smell of antiseptic and ink hit me immediately.

“Alpha Sebastian?” The tattoo artist looked up from his station. “I didn’t expect to see you here. What brings you in today?”

Everyone in Silverlake City knew who I was. Perks of being the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack and a billionaire, I suppose.

“If you’ve got time,” I said, “I need you to remove this.”

I pulled open my shirt and pointed to the name etched over my heart.

The artist’s face went blank for a second, then he nodded slowly. “Of course, Alpha. I have time. But… may I ask why?”

“It doesn’t mean anything to me anymore.”

My answer was blunt, final.

“I see.” He gestured for me to sit down, and I did, leaning back in the chair as he prepped his equipment. “I have to say, Alpha Sebastian, I still remember the day you came in here with your girlfriend to get that tattoo done. You looked like the happiest man alive. Did you two break up?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a shame.” He started working, the laser burning into my skin with a sharp, stinging heat. “I’ve been doing this for over twenty years, and I’ve tattooed hundreds of couples. But I’ve never seen two people as committed as you and that girl. Both of you tattooing each other’s names over your hearts like that, it was something special.”

I froze.

“What did you just say?”

He glanced up at me, confused. “I said it was special, the way you both—”

“No.” I sat up so fast he had to pull the laser back. “What do you mean, both of us?”

The artist blinked. “Your girlfriend got your name tattooed too. On her chest, same spot as yours. Don’t tell me you didn’t know?”

The air left my lungs in a rush, and I had to grip the armrest to keep myself steady. “When? When did she do that?”

He thought for a moment, his brow furrowing. “About three years ago, I think. September 9th. I remember because the next day was my wife’s death anniversary, and I almost didn’t take the appointment, but your girlfriend seemed really determined.”

September 9th.

The day before our wedding.

I grabbed his shoulder. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Yes, Alpha!” He looked startled, maybe even a little scared. “I’m sure. I wouldn’t forget something like that.”

I let go, my hands falling to my sides as a wave of something I couldn’t name crashed over me. Pain. Confusion. Rage. Grief. All of it tangled together until I couldn’t tell one from the other.

I pulled a few hundred-dollar bills from my wallet and shoved them at him, then stood and headed for the door.

“Alpha Sebastian, wait!” he called after me. “Don’t you want to finish the removal?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I just pushed through the door and out into the street, my chest burning where the half-removed tattoo sat like an open wound.

I got in my car and started driving. I had no destination in mind, I just needed to move, needed to do something other than sit still and think about what I’d just learned. But no matter how fast I drove, I couldn’t outrun the question that was tearing me apart from the inside.

If Abigail wanted to leave me, if she’d been planning it all along, then why the hell did she tattoo my name on her chest the day before our wedding?

It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense.

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