"I want a divorce."
Charlotte threw a divorce paper to her husband's face, Julian Warren. Her eyes were cold and emotionless as if she didn't care about anything else anymore.
People in the cafe turned their heads toward the couple, waiting for the tea to spill.
Julian leaned closer. A tight-lipped smile appeared on his face. He asked in a low voice, "What did you say?"
Charlotte shouted, "I said I want a divorce, you motherfucker dog!"
His expression darkened, anger flashing in his eyes. "You can't be serious, Charlotte. After everything I've done for you? You want to leave me?"
"Done for me?" she scoffed. "All you've done is lie, cheat, and treat me like I'm a fucking trash! I'm done, Julian!"
Julian didn't take her words seriously, then stood up from the chair and pulled her hand roughly. "Enough. We are going home now!" He gave her a sharp glare. "You are embarrassing me."
"Oh, you are embarrassed?" Charlotte let go of his hands, then slammed a stack of pictures down on the table. "But you didn't look embarrassed when you were fucking a bunch of whores behind my back!"
He said they were mates for life, but his attitude was quite the opposite. He spread his pheromone all over town and then fucked every woman he saw.
He was only a beta, but he acted like a dominant alpha.
"Charlotte, what the fuck? Are you stalking me?" Julian grunted when he saw the pictures of him with many different women.
However, instead of feeling guilty, Julian looked annoyed because Charlotte had humiliated him further.
Charlotte was fed up with his disgusting behavior so she took a glass of iced coffee and threw it in Julian's direction.
Splash!
"Charlotte! Fuck!" Julian clenched his fist as the iced coffee stained his face and clothes.
A few people immediately turned their cameras on, while the Barista got ready to call the emergency number if the situation got out of hand.
On the other side, Charlotte stood up and sneered at her husband or soon-to-be ex-husband. "You should be grateful I didn't order a hot coffee!"
Crash!
She threw the glass to his head. Blood dripped from his forehead, but a werewolf like him wouldn't be dead just because of that.
If Charlotte hadn't remembered that they were in a cafe, she would have thrown all the plates and tables at Julian.
Was she feeling guilty? Absolutely, not.
She looked at him in disdain. "For five years, I've seen you cheat, lie, and act like an asshole to me. I used to have a foolish thought in my mind that maybe … not maybe, but I was sure you would change and treat me better someday."
"But it never happens and for the first time in my life, I am able to realize you will always be a jerk until the day you die." she pushed his chest. "I'm done, Julian. I can't live with you anymore."
Julian stepped closer. His voice raised, "You think you can just walk away? After I marked you? You're mine forever, Charlotte!"
Charlotte touched the back of her neck, feeling disgusted by the mark on it. She lowered her voice so humans couldn't hear her. "You are just my fake mate, Julian."
"You can have me because my mate rejected me." Charlotte deepened her voice. "Besides, you are just a Beta, so your mark is not admirable."
Julian had no idea that his wife was someone else's rejected mate. His pride was trampled over and he didn't want his remaining pride lost by letting his wife humiliate him further.
"You ungrateful bitch! Do you think you can live without me?!" Julian's face twisted with anger. "You don't have anywhere to go, Charlotte. I'm the only one that you have and do you even have money to live on your own?"
He softened his voice, but his eyes seemed like a predator that wanted to eat his prey alive. "Let's just forget about today, alright? I will forgive you if you say you're sorry."
Laughter burst out of Charlotte's chest. She didn't know how a man could be so shameless. And worst of all, how could she marry that jerk in the first place?
"Sorry for what? For divorcing a jerk like you? For exposing your disgusting pictures? For what, Julian?!" She snapped. "And as you know, my life was better before I met you, motherfucker."
Before marrying Julian, Charlotte had been an infamous actress, adored by humans and supernatural beings.
She was Charlotte Dawson, a woman who had everything in her life.
But all of that changed when she married Julian.
When she was at the top of her peak career, Julian asked her to stop working and become a full-time wife at home.
She was 22 years old back then, so young and stupid, thinking that she had found a prince that would make her happy forever. Yes, he certainly made her happy back then, but it wasn't for long.
Julian began controlling her finances, convincing her to invest in his failed business, draining all of her money bit by bit.
Within a few short years, everything Charlotte had built for herself was gone.
Eventually, when Julian's business was successful, he forced Charlotte to depend on him so she wouldn't dare run away even though he made her life miserable every day.
He forbade her from meeting with her former pack, even limiting her relationship with her own parents.
He was a lunatic and Charlotte couldn't take his torment any longer.
She was tired of getting constant abuse and being isolated from the outside world.
"I'm done here. My lawyer from the Nocturnal Order will pick up the divorce paper tomorrow, so make sure you sign it."
Charlotte said, "And as you know, the higher up also want to discipline you for fucking too much humans."
Charlotte took her bag and wanted to leave him, but before she could walk away, Julian pulled her hand and raised his hand.
Slap!
Her cheek throbbed in pain as she stumbled. She could feel the sting sensation in the corner of her mouth and tasted blood on her lips.
It was just a slap, but Julian's strength was stronger than her after all.
For a moment, the room seemed to freeze. It wasn't the first time Julian had hit her, but at that exact moment, Charlotte wondered to herself, how could she endure the pain for years?
It was hurt, so fucking hurt.
However, she couldn't say it out loud all this time because Julian would hit her harder if she cried and he would kick her harder if she ran.
She had suffered in silence for four years and she finally decided to run away from him.
She would fight back as hard as she could.
She punched Julian right on his face, breaking his damn nose. She smiled with satisfaction as blood dripped from his nose.
"Fuck! You bitch!"
Julian wanted to throw his hand at Charlotte, but a few men in the cafe finally stepped up for her. They pushed him and shouted, "Back off, man!"
"You have no shame at all! Slapping your own wife and then getting angry after she fights back!" a woman in the back defended Charlotte. "Don't feel guilty, girl! You have made the best decision today!"
That was the main reason why Charlotte divorced him in public. If she did it in their house, Julian would lock her and hide her forever from the outside world.
"Ma'am, do you want me to take you to the hospital?" asked the barista.
Charlotte rubbed the wound on her lips and realized she had broken her hands because she punched Julian's hard bones. However, she refused her offer politely. "It's okay, you can go back to work."
The wound would heal on its own. That was why Julian had always beaten her without feeling guilty.
"Ma'am, do you have somewhere to go?" a middle-aged woman asked her. "I can offer you a safe place if you don't have anywhere to go."
Charlotte looked at that kind lady with a smile. All of this time, she had constant fears that she would be alone if she chose to leave Julian and she would fall into her demise.
However, those fears eventually were just her anxiety talking and the reality was far from that.
Charlotte said, "Don't worry. I have a place to go."
She immediately left the cafe before Julian chased her. Fortunately, the supernatural organization had strictly forbidden them to attack humans, except in emergency situations.
She ran as fast as she could without knowing her direction. Charlotte wanted to avoid Julian, but she knew better than anyone else that he could track her from his mark on her neck.
The only way to erase that mark was to be marked by another werewolf and he had to be stronger than her ex.
But she didn't want to let a stranger mark her because it could worsen her life.
She let out a deep breath, then took out a piece of creased paper. The ink on the paper was faded, but Charlotte could still read the numbers on it, or rather, she had memorized those numbers.
She dialed the numbers in hesitation and thought maybe that person wouldn't pick up her call. However, in just one beep, someone on the other side had picked up.
Charlotte gulped before she spoke, "Let's renew our bond."