Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 193

Chapter 193

Third Person’s POV

The intense resentment and the crushing reality of the social gap completely broke Vivian’s sanity.

Consumed by blind jealousy, her omega instincts actually slipped out of control. A wave of pheromones, thick with intense negative emotions, drifted toward the front rows.

Several high-ranking werewolves in the second row and the surrounding area immediately picked up the scent. They frowned in displeasure, and a few even raised a hand to cover their noses in sheer disgust.

“Whose omega is that? Where are her manners? Releasing her pheromones right in front of the Chief Elders… have they no shame?”

“Who else? The Davis girl. She just got out of holding a few days ago, and now she’s already trying to seduce an Alpha at a formal event like this. She has absolutely zero dignity.”

“Look at the way she’s glaring at Luna Seraphina. Tsk. What an ungrateful leech…”

The hushed gossip and disgusted glares pricked Vivian like needles, making her pale face turn a sickly shade of green.

“And now, please welcome the CEO of the Craig Corporation, the Alpha of the Blades, Mortimer Craig, to the stage.”

As the host’s voice boomed through the hall, Mortimer leaned in and whispered something in Seraphina’s ear.

Then, he stood up, casually buttoning his custom-tailored suit as he strode toward the stage.

You had to admit, Mortimer’s flawlessly handsome face and raw, wild physique made him an absolute magnet for every camera

in the room.

He oozed the natural, untouchable dominance of an apex predator. He didn’t even need a good angle-a random snapshot of him right now could easily grace the cover of any top fashion magazine.

Seraphina watched the man walk up to the podium under the spotlight, her mind drifting for a moment.

Suddenly, she was brought back to the very first day she ever saw Mortimer-at the freshman orientation for the Shadowfang Academy’s high school division.

He was a senior, and she was just a freshman.

As the top student representative, he had gone up on stage to give the welcome speech.

That day, Mortimer had been wearing a crisp white shirt and black slacks. When the auditorium spotlight hit him, he looked exactly like he did right now-radiating an effortless, natural majesty.

In that exact split second, the young girl’s heart had skipped a beat without any warning.

Her blood rushed, and a jolt of electricity surged through her entire body. For the first time in her life, she truly understood what love at first sight felt like.

It had nothing to do with the fated mating bond of their werewolf biology. It was simply her, as her own person, having her breath completely stolen by that boy.

Honestly, she used to be a very laid-back, go-with-the-flow kind of person.

But the moment she fell for Mortimer, her dormant competitive side snapped awake. She wanted to be good enough to stand right by his side.

So, the year he started college, she studied like crazy and skipped a grade to become a high school senior.

Knowing he had gotten into the Shadowfang Werewolf Academy for university, she followed right in his footsteps.

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Chapter 193

+15 Bonus

The second she started her freshman year, she worked day and night to clear all her required courses and skipped a grade yet again.

But fate felt like a cruel, scripted joke. By the time she poured her heart and soul into skipping ahead to her junior year, she found out that Mortimer had also graduated early and gone straight to work at the family corporation.

She chased after him over and over again, but she was always just one step behind. She never got the chance to smell his pheromones, hoping to find her own scent marking them.

Eventually, she thought, “forget it.” Maybe she and Mortimer simply weren’t meant to be.

But ironically, right when she had finally decided to give up and lock those feelings away forever, an arranged business mating forcefully tied them together.

Who knew if the Moon Goddess had seen her efforts and wanted to give her a real chance, or if she was just playing a sick joke

on her.

Now, looking up at the stoic, untouchable Alpha on stage, Seraphina’s heart was more peaceful than it had ever been.

She realized it all over again: she and Mortimer were never destined for each other.

But she had tried her absolute best. It was finally time to put an end to this fruitless crush and all its regrets.

“Finally, I want to give a special thanks to my wife, Seraphina.”

Mortimer’s deep, magnetic voice echoed through the banquet hall over the speakers. His tone carried a trace of profound, almost dizzying affection.

The sound instantly snapped Seraphina out of her thoughts.

The second he finished speaking, a spotlight swung over and landed perfectly on her.

The massive LED screen at the front of the room instantly projected her breathtakingly beautiful, slightly bewildered face.

She tilted her head up and locked eyes with the man on stage across the sea of lights and shadows.

“Thank you for your endless patience and companionship over the last three years. Thank you for your constant understanding and support. I hope that when the next decade comes around, we’ll still be standing here side by side, turning our visions into reality.”

The guests in the audience assumed it was just a picture-perfect, formal speech, murmuring praises about how deeply in love the couple was.

But only Mortimer knew the desperate, almost pathetic hope and crushing guilt hidden beneath those words. Only he knew just how desperately he wanted that “next decade” with her.

He stood on the stage, looking down at Seraphina.

A flawless smile graced her lips as she gracefully clapped along with the rest of the crowd, playing her part to perfection.

But Mortimer saw it loud and clear-there wasn’t a single trace of joy in her beautiful eyes.

Just as she had promised when she drew that cold, hard line between them: she would fulfill every single duty required of the Luna under their contract, but she wouldn’t spare him a single drop of love beyond it.

Chapter 104