Chapter 126

OLIVIA’S POV The early evening light bled gold across my room, and for once, the stillness inside didn’t feel suffocating. It felt... sacred. Like something was about to shift. I stood in front of the open wardrobe, lips pursed, fingers tracing the fabrics one by one. Silks, velvets, lace—all draped over hangers like forgotten memories. But none of them seemed right. Not yet. Tonight was the banquet. The start of something new. A public step back into the life I once belonged to… or at least, a test to see if I could reclaim it. I had told Derek yes. I would go with him. And I would smile, and laugh, and maybe even dance. But deep down, I knew… this wasn’t about Derek. This was about me. For once, I wanted to look beautiful—not for a man, not for a title, not even for the pack—but because I deserved to feel like I mattered. That I could still glow even after everything I’d been through. Still, no matter how hard I tried to tell myself this night wasn’t about him… my mind betrayed me. D