“No, it’s not!” I said, frustration bubbling up inside me. I took another step forward, my heart pounding. “It’s simple. You love her, not me. You’ve been stringing me along because you don’t want to let go of the past. But I can’t live like this anymore, Luke. I won’t.”
His eyes snapped back to mine, and for a moment, I saw the Alpha I fell in love with—a flicker of vulnerability before it hardened into something defensive. “I never asked you to stay. You chose to. You knew what this was.”
The words stung, but they didn’t surprise me. I had always known deep down. I opened my mouth to argue, to plead for some recognition of the pain I felt, but I was struck by the truth of his words. I had chosen this life, but that didn’t mean it was right.
“Maybe I did,” I said quietly, forcing the words through a tight throat. “But that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to treat me like I’m second choice.”
He stood there, frozen, as if my words had paralyzed him.
“You have to decide, Luke. Is it me or her?”
