From Substitute To Queen. Chapter 148

The clinical phrasing made it somehow worse. As if our entire relationship could be reduced to a corporate press release.

I tried calling him. The phone rang once, twice, three times. Then it went to voicemail.

His recorded voice, warm and familiar, asking me to leave a message.

I hung up and immediately called again. Voicemail.

Again. Voicemail.

On the fourth try, my call was declined immediately.

I collapsed onto the bed, pulled a pillow to my chest, and cried until I fell into an exhausted sleep.

***

The ringing of my phone jolted me awake. The afternoon sun was slanting through the bedroom windows. I grabbed the device without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Sable? Thank God you answered. I've been trying to reach you for hours."

Scarlett's voice was tight with concern.

"Sorry, I was sleeping."

"Are you okay? I saw the announcement about the engagement. What the hell happened?"

I closed my eyes, not wanting to relive it all again. "We broke up. It's over."

"Wait, what? You broke up?" Scarlett's voice was filled with shock. "But you two were so happy! What happened? Did something go wrong?"

I rubbed my temples, not wanting to explain everything again. "I'll explain later."

"Sable, you don't just end an engagement overnight without a reason. Did he..." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Did that bastard cheat on you?"

The word made my stomach lurch. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because there's something all over social media. That's why I've been calling you nonstop."

My heart started pounding. "What scandal?"

"You haven't seen it?" Scarlett's voice was incredulous. "Sable, you need to check the trending topics right now. There are photos everywhere."

"Photos of what?"

"Of Caelan. With another woman. That's why he ended the engagement, isn't it? Because he was cheating?"

The word 'cheating' made my heart sink like a stone. "What are you talking about?"

"Check your phone. Look at the trending topics. I'll wait."

With shaking hands, I opened social media. The top trending topic made my blood freeze:

**#LycanKingScandal - "Caelan Spotted with Elena Rosewood at Luxury Hotel"**

My heart started hammering against my ribs. I clicked on the hashtag with trembling fingers.

The photos loaded one by one. Caelan's unmistakable profile as he walked into an upscale hotel. Beside him, a stunning brunette with her arm linked through his. Elena Rosewood, according to the caption. The daughter of the Rosewood pack's Alpha.

In one photo, she was laughing at something he'd said, her hand resting on his arm. In another, he was holding the hotel door open for her, his expression relaxed and intimate.

"Elena Rosewood," I whispered into the phone.

"You know her?"

"Caelan never mentioned knowing her." My voice sounded strange, disconnected.

My eyes kept returning to the photos.

"The hotel..." I couldn't finish the sentence. The implications were too painful.

"Sable, I'm so sorry. What a bastard."

My whole body started shaking. The phone slipped in my sweaty palm.

"I have to go."

"Sable, wait—"

I hung up and immediately dialed Caelan's number.

This time, it rang. Once, twice, three times.

"Please pick up," I whispered. "Please."

On the fourth ring, someone answered.

"Caelan?" I said quickly. "The photos—they're not real, are they? Tell me it's not what it looks like."

"Please," I begged, tears already starting again. "Just tell me the truth. I'll believe whatever you say. I only trust you."

"Sorry? Who is this?"

A woman's voice. Sweet, melodious, unfamiliar.

My heart stopped.

"Caely is in the shower right now and can't come to the phone. Can I take a message?"

*Caely.* Just like Camila called Darrell "Relly." An intimate, private name that only someone very close would use.

The parallel was devastating. History repeating itself in the cruelest possible way. Another man I loved, another woman answering his phone, another betrayal that cut to the bone.

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. Couldn't process what I was hearing.

The woman on the other end was still talking, but her words sounded like they were coming from underwater.

I hung up.

The phone lay on the floor where I'd dropped it, that woman's sweet voice still echoing in my head. "Caely is in the shower..."

I tried to convince myself but my treacherous mind wouldn't listen. It painted picture after picture of their intimacy.

Caelan stepping out of the shower, water droplets on his skin. Elena waiting for him, her arms open. The two of them together in that hotel room, doing things we used to do...

I shook my head violently, trying to dislodge the images.

This had to be a mistake. Some kind of setup or misunderstanding.

There had to be an explanation. Maybe Elena was in trouble and he was helping her. Maybe the photos were taken out of context. Maybe—

My phone rang.

Caelan's name flashed on the screen.

My heart leaped into my throat. I lunged for the device, snatching it up within one second.

"Caelan!" I smiled. "I knew you still cared about me. Where are you? Can you come see me? I'm at my apartment. I discharged myself today. I miss you so much."

The words poured out in a rush, everything I'd been dying to say.

Silence stretched on the other end. When he finally spoke, his voice was ice.

"What gives you the right to ask me that? We broke up."

The coldness in his tone hit me like a slap. But I pressed on, certain I could reach him.

"Caelan, you don't have to lie to me anymore. I know what this is really about." Tears started flowing again, making my voice thick and unsteady. "It's my dad, isn't it? He's putting pressure on you, forcing you to leave me?"

"Sable—"

"You're worried about Lucian's people coming after me again, so you think breaking up will keep me safe, right?" I was sobbing now, the words coming out in broken gasps. "That woman—Elena—you don't really have anything with her. It's all just for show, isn't it?"

"You're putting on an act to make me believe you don't love me anymore, right?" My voice cracked completely. "Because you think it's the only way to protect me?"

Each word I spoke seemed to make me cry harder, until I could barely breathe between the sobs.

"Sable Crawford. Listen carefully. The photos online are real. Elena is the woman I've always truly loved. Like I told you before, you were just a game to me. Now that the woman I actually care about has returned, the choice is obvious, isn't it?"

*No. You're lying to me. That's not true.*

"I don't care," I choked out. "I'll let you play with my feelings. I'll let you use me. Just please don't leave me."

A pause. When he spoke again, his voice carried a cruel satisfaction.

"You think rather highly of yourself, don't you, Sable?"

Another pause.

"Oh, by the way, I haven't formally rejected you yet. I, Caelan Blackwood, officially reject you as my mate."

The mate bond snapped.

Pain beyond description tore through my body. It felt like every cell was being ripped apart, like my soul was being carved out with a rusty knife. I screamed and collapsed to the floor.

"Please don't disturb us again."

The line went dead.

I lay curled on the floor, shaking violently as the rejected mate bond sent aftershocks of pain through my system.

*Us.* He'd said *us.*

Even in my agony, that word cut deepest of all.