Chapter 1: The Rejection That Destroyed Everything

"You have until midnight to sign it, or you're out of this family."

Maya could hear her heartbeat thrumming in her ears as she stared at the document in front of her. The words blurred, but she didn't need to read them again. MATE REJECTION AGREEMENT.

Her mother's voice rang in the quiet study. Eleanor sat across the desk, her manicured nails drumming impatiently against the wood. Brielle, her perfect older sister, leaned back in the leather chair, smirking.

Maya's throat went dry. "You're joking, right?"

Brielle rolled her eyes. "Do I look like I'm joking?"

Maya's fingers curled into fists. "You want me to reject Luca?"

Her mate. The man she was bound to.

Eleanor exhaled, tired already. "Maya, don't act like a child. You knew this was coming."

"No," Maya snapped. "I didn't."

Brielle snickered. "Well, that's your fault for being so damn naïve."

Maya's jaw tightened. "He's mine."

"He was never supposed to be," Eleanor cut in. "Brielle is his true match. You? You were just supposed to fill up space for a short while so that when Brielle was ready to have him, you would leave."

Maya's chest rose and fell sharply, a lump forming in her throat. She could feel it, the bond. The pull that told her she belonged to him. 

The fire that burned through her veins whenever Luca was near.

She slammed a hand on the desk. "You don't get to decide that."

Brielle's smirk widened.

"Oh, but we already did."

Eleanor sighed as if this conversation bored her. 

"Stop being dramatic, Maya. Love has nothing to do with this. It's about status. Power. Brielle is the rightful Luna. You were a mistake."

Maya flinched like she had been slapped.

A fill-in. Couldn't they be any more creative?

Brielle sighed dramatically. 

"Look, just sign the damn thing and be done with it. Dragging this out is embarrassing."

Maya's nails dug into her palms. "And if I don't?"

Her mother smiled, crossing her arms as if any of this was fascinating.

"Then you lose everything."

Brielle tossed a folder onto the desk. "Go ahead. Take a look."

Maya paused before flipping it open. What the hell could they possibly—

Maya's breath hitched. Lose everything?

She swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she reached for the folder.

Her fingers hesitated over the cover, dreading what she would find inside. But when she finally flipped it open, the breath was punched from her lungs.

Her bank accounts—frozen.

Her apartment—lease terminated.

Her job—gone.

Her heart pounded violently, her vision blurring at the edges. This wasn't just pressure. This was erasure. They were wiping her out of existence, cutting her off from everything she had built.

A chill swept down her spine. "You can't do this," she whispered, but even as she spoke, she knew they already had.

Brielle let out a fake pout. "Oh, sweetie. We already did."

Maya clutched the folder so tightly her knuckles turned white. She was cornered.

Maya's hands shook. "You fucking destroyed my life."

"Oh, please," Brielle said. "You were never going to be more than a temporary inconvenience. We're just… setting things right."

Maya clenched her jaw. "Does Luca know?"

Eleanor's smile widened. "Of course not."

Maya's stomach twisted into knots. Luca. Her Luca. The man who had once promised to stand by her, to protect her from anything.

And now… he was slipping through her fingers.

Her lips parted, but her voice came out hoarse. "He'd never believe this."

Brielle leaned forward, her blue eyes gleaming with something cruel. "Are you sure about that?"

Maya's hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Luca knows me."

Brielle tilted her head. "Then why hasn't he come for you?"

A sharp pain lanced through Maya's chest. Luca hadn't reached out. No messages. No calls. Had they already poisoned him against her?

Eleanor's voice was silky smooth. "He believes what he's been told. That you are a liar. That you are the betrayer."

Brielle leaned forward, voice dripping with satisfaction. "He thinks I'm the one meant for him. He thinks you were just a fluke." She tilted her head. "And you know what's funny? He actually believes it."

Maya's breath hitched. "That's not possible."

Brielle's grin was pure venom. "And yet, here we are."

Maya's heart pounded against her chest. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

Eleanor tapped a finger against the contract. "Sign it."

Maya's vision blurred. Her mother and sister were tearing her life apart—ripping Luca away from her like she was nothing.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "And if I tell him the truth?"

Eleanor let out a soft laugh. "Oh, sweetheart!"

Brielle slid another set of papers toward her. "Read the fine print."

Maya hesitated before picking them up. The legal jargon swam in front of her, but then—

Her heart stopped.

No.

This wasn't just a rejection. They had forged the documents.

They made it look like she was leaving Luca for his enemy.

Her head snapped up. "You fucking—"

Brielle cut her off with a smirk. "Now you get it."

Maya's chest tightened, panic curling through her like smoke. If Luca saw this, he wouldn't just be heartbroken—he'd fucking hate her.

He'd never forgive her.

"He'd never forgive me."

"Well, that's all for the better, right?" Brielle giggled.

Maya's fingers trembled around the pen. "You don't have to do this."

Eleanor's expression didn't change. "Sign it, Maya."

"I love him," she whispered, voice cracking.

Brielle's smirk didn't waver. "Too bad."

Her name bled onto the paper.

MAYA CARTER.

Once she was done signing, the mate bond snapped violently.

She gasped, a strangled sound escaping her lips as she pressed a hand to her heart. No, no, no.

Luca.

A hollow, crushing emptiness swallowed her whole.

Brielle sighed dreamily. "Finally."

Eleanor snatched the documents off the desk, scanning them with a pleased expression. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Maya's stomach twisted. I can't stay here. I can't fucking stay here.

She shoved the chair back, rising to her feet.

She turned to leave—

CRACK.

A sharp, burning pain exploded across her cheek.

Maya staggered, her hand flying to her face.

Her mother stood before her, gaze cold.

Eleanor smoothed her dress. "You were never a real Carter."

Maya's breath caught in her throat.

The room spun, but she forced herself to stay upright.

Brielle laughed softly behind her. "Get out, sis."

Maya didn't move.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to rip those fucking papers apart and burn the whole house down. But she didn't.

Instead, she turned.

And walked away.

She didn't look back.

Because if she did—

She might not be able to stop

herself from breaking.

But Luca…

Luca would find out.

And when he did?

He would never let this go.