Chapter 42

OLIVIA’S POV The moment I stepped into the banquet hall with James on my arm, I felt it. The whispers. The hush that rippled through the crowd. Dozens of eyes slid in our direction, and then the murmuring began like a poisonous wind snaking its way through a garden of wolves. “Isn’t that Olivia? I thought she was hiding in shame somewhere…” “Doesn’t she know she is losing her Luna title?” “She still has the audacity to show her face here? Shameless…” “She’s just clinging to the Beta’s family now. Pathetic.” “What else can she do now? She has no leg to stand on, so she is using her family.” Each word pricked at the fragile parts of my heart like tiny needles. In the past, I would’ve flinched. I would’ve lowered my gaze and pretended I didn’t hear a thing. But not anymore. Not after everything I had endured. Not after deciding I would leave this place behind one day—with my child, my dignity, and nothing else. I didn’t care about their words or their judgements, so I tuned them out. I ra