CHAPTER 2 Who is This Guy?

Rhea's POV

"What a heartless creature you are," his words tore my heart.

"You knew too well that she wasn't feeling that strong, and you dragged her into the water, for what exactly... to drown her to death or what?"

"I didn't do it!" I pleaded desperately.

"What didn't you do?" I could hear the anger in his voice.

Through the haze of my tears, I could see a deadly smirk playing at the corners of Fiona's lips as our eyes met.

"I feel so cold," Fiona said, rubbing her hands together and pretending to shiver. "Please, Kian, can you warm me up?"

Glaring at me, Kian wrapped his coat around Fiona's shoulders and pulled her close in a warm embrace.

With a nasty look in my direction, he turned and walked away with Fiona by his side, leaving me all alone by the fountain.

It hurt but it was so bad because I couldn't do anything.

I dragged myself out of the water, my clothes drenched and my spirit broken.

Sitting on the edge of the fountain, I thought back to the early days of my relationship with Kian, from our first meeting to our eventual marriage.

I could vividly recall how everything happened. It was a very disheartening thing after the tragedy that befalls our pack, ending my beloved parents and having our packs at the edge of collapsing.

Though things weren't pleasant for me after the pain that faced my pack, still, things got a lot messier after Kian came out of the shadows and claimed me as his mate.

It is strange, right, just like it was for me but I couldn't detect him due to the absence of my wolf. I just believed that he was my mate due to the attraction that I felt toward him. Sighing I rubbed my forehead in frustration, it has been one hell of a thing between Kian and me after the marriage.

As I recall my journey so far in this marriage, a tear slips from my eye. He has tortured me both physically and mentally, seeking revenge for his parent's deaths.

I did nothing wrong, but my parents were accused of killing his parents.

Punishing me for the sins that I didn't perpetrate by making sure that I suffer in the marriage, refusing to get intimate with me as his wife.

I can vividly remember on the night of our wedding day, how he betrayed me and disrespected me as his wife by having an affair with his mistress on our matrimonial bed.

After sending me away and arranging for my own room, we appeared to be a couple to others, but in reality, we were just strangers living under the same roof. I bit my bottom lip, trying to stifle the sob that threatened to escape. Though I hoped that he would change one day and treat me nicely, the matter kept getting worse with each passing day.

It is damn obvious that day would never come.

Is how he humiliated me knowing how special today was to me, not only our coronation ceremony but also my birthday!

My heart breaks at each word that he hurls my way, it is painful but it is not like it is a new thing to me.

The fact remains that he doesn't care. Even if he felt the need to seek revenge for what my parents did to him, a year of torment and torture has been more than enough. He has bruised my heart to the point where I feel like I'm dying.

Someone my age shouldn't have to endure such humiliation and suffering for so long.

Sometimes I wish that our paths had never crossed, that we had never met. Maybe if I had died in the same attack that took my parents, I wouldn't be here, overwhelmed with sorrow and a broken heart. But Kian never sees things from that perspective.

It seems like his plan is to torture and torment me for eternity, to make me a spectacle of mockery in front of his mistresses, and to drag my reputation through the mud by labeling me a barren wife. What is the secret behind his reluctance to be intimate with his own mate? Only Kian knows.

If it weren't for the fact that I'm Kian's wife by law and his Luna by title, I would be a laughing stock in the pack. We're only together because of the loveless marriage and the legal obligation that comes with the mate bond.

I knew from the start that if Kian had to choose a Luna, he wouldn't even consider me. He has plenty of women to choose from, and the crown would likely be on the head of his lover, Fiona, by now.

That's probably where her jealousy and hatred toward me began – when Kian married me instead of her.

Despite being legally bound and having the mate bond, I'm nothing compared to Fiona in Kian's eyes. She's more valued than me, and yet she hates me while reaping all the benefits. It's unfair, but it's how things are.

As I sat by the fountain lost in thought, drenched, and unaware of my surroundings, I didn't notice a man silently watching me.

When he approached and handed me a handkerchief, I realized that I had been crying my eyes out. Embarrassed, I snatched the handkerchief from him and quickly wiped away the tears and drool that covered my face.

After a few seconds of sniffing and crying, I turned around to see who the person was.

I lifted my head to look at the individual who had offered me the handkerchief, as no one had shown me any affection since the passing of my parents.

But sadly, all I caught was a glimpse of his back.

For some strange reason, I kept staring at his back, he stood there not wanting to make a move or to even say a word to me.

The only question racing through my head is who is this guy? But before I would say a word I noticed him make a move stepping away from me.

"Hey, your handkerchief," I wanted to shout for him to hear but rather those words slipped out from my lips in the form of a whisper.

My whole attention was focused on the way that he keeps walking, the way that he walks as if he owns the damn place.

Sighing I decide to pull my gaze away from him, I have a husband and a mate, so admiring another man is damn fucking wrong I mumbled in my head but my eyes kept betraying me.

Forcefully pulling my gaze away from him, I stared down at the soft fabric in my hands. Bringing the soft handkerchief closer to my nose and that's when the scent hits my nostril.

It was a mixture of peppermint and a vanilla-like scent. Squeezing the fabric in my hands, I noticed how excited my body instantly reacted to his scent. My excitement was hard to go unnoticed and this had me confused.

Who is this guy?