Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow - Chapter 389

Chapter 389: The Bitter Truth 1
**************

CHAPTER 389

~Zara’s POV~

The night stretched on, the burning sensation dulling into an unbearable ache. My body was exhausted, but my mind refused to stop replaying every moment, every touch, every whisper I had once shared with Snow.

And now, he was giving those moments to her.

When the first rays of sunlight peeked through my window, I felt hollow—empty.

I couldn’t keep running from this. I needed answers.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I reached for my phone and opened our message thread. I stared at his name for a long moment before finally typing out a short message.

“We need to talk.”

I hesitated, then added an address—a quiet, private place where we could speak freely.

Somewhere, neither of us could hide.

And then, with a deep breath, I hit send.

*************

~Snow’s POV~

I woke up expecting to feel the warmth of Zara’s body beside me.

But when I reached out, all I felt was cold sheets.

My brows furrowed as I turned, eyes scanning the room. The space where she had been was empty. No lingering scent of her freshly showered skin, no soft sounds of her breathing.

She was gone just like that.

I sat up slowly, running a hand through my hair. “She came back.” She had let me hold her, love her, claim her again. I had thought… I had thought she was staying.

I sighed, pushing the covers off me. Immediately, Glacier, stirred uneasily.

“She left.” His growl was low and irritated.

“Yeah,” I muttered under my breath, rubbing my face.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Disappointed? Maybe. But mostly, I just wanted to know what was going on in that beautiful, stubborn mind of hers.

I glanced at my phone on the nightstand, the screen lighting up with a notification.

It was a message from Zara. “We need to talk.”

She followed it with an address. I stared at the message, my lips twitching slightly.

She could’ve just woken me up. She could’ve stayed, and we could’ve talked here. But no—this was so like her.

I shook my head with an amused sigh. “Always making things complicated.”

Still, I couldn’t deny the relief that settled in my chest. She wanted to talk. That meant I had a chance.

Grabbing my phone and getting out of bed, I quickly entered the bathroom for a quick shower and got dressed, throwing on a fitted black button-down sleeve and jeans before heading out.

I wasn’t going to keep my wife waiting. Not this time.

***************

~Zara’s POV~

I chose this place for a reason—it was a luxurious hotel rooftop lounge, private and open-air, bathed in soft morning light and the gentle hum of the city below.

The view stretched far, but my focus was locked on the man walking toward me.

Snow.

Even now, with the cool morning air pressing against my skin, my heart ached at the sight of him.

Dressed in a fitted black button-down and jeans, his every movement radiated confidence, but I saw the slight hesitation in his steps as he approached. He didn’t know what was coming.

Good.

I wasn’t here to make things easy for him.

Snow stopped a few feet away, his sharp blue eyes scanning my face, searching for something—maybe an answer, maybe a hint that everything was fine.

It wasn’t.

Before he could speak, I did.

“I never realized until now that my leaving would give you the chance to indulge yourself rather than consider who or what is most important in your life.”

Snow’s brows furrowed. “What?”

“I already told you who is most important to me, Zara,” he said, his voice steady but confused.

“Yes,” I murmured, my gaze unwavering. “And your actions showed so yesterday.”

Snow’s lips parted slightly as he took a step closer, but I immediately stepped back.

That small action made something shift in his expression. A flicker of doubt.

“Exactly,” he whispered, hope flickering inhis eyes.

“Exactly?” The silence between us stretched, the city lights below doing nothing to soften the weight of my words.

“You still don’t see it, Snow,” I continued, my voice sharper now. “Or is that how shallow your love for me has always been?”

Snow flinched, shock flickering across his face. “Zara. No. How can you say that?”

“How?” I scoffed, shaking my head. “Because everything you have done until now revolves around what you want and not once about how I felt.”

“That’s not fair, babe. Please,” he pleaded, his hands balling into fists at his sides.

“Not fair?” My voice rose, anger finally breaking through the controlled façade I had tried to maintain. “Then tell me, is this fair to me?”

Before he could speak, I reached up and pulled my hair back, revealing the mark on my neck.

Snow’s entire body stiffened.

His face paled as he took a slow step forward, his gaze locking onto the mark. It was red, still burning faintly despite the night that had passed.

The pain had dulled, but the betrayal lingered, cutting deeper than any physical wound ever could.

“You—” His voice was barely a whisper, horror creeping into his expression. “Zara, I—”

“You cheated on me,” I said, my voice breaking.

His head snapped up, eyes wild with denial. “No. No, I never did such a thing! I love you, Zara! I would never—”

I let out a bitter laugh, stepping back again. “You’re really going to stand there and lie to my face?”

“I’m not lying!” he shouted, desperation lacing his words. “You were with me last night! We—Zara, we made love. You came back to me!”

Tears spilled down my cheeks, my chest tightening so much it hurt to breathe. “How can you still lie to me? How can you stand there and say that after what you did? Do I look demented to you, Snow?”

He looked completely lost now, shaking his head. “I—what are you talking about? You were there, Zara! You came back to me! You were in my arms!”

I clenched my jaw, my hands trembling at my sides. “I never left my father’s pack yesterday, Snow.”

His breath hitched. “What?”

I grabbed my phone and quickly dialed a number. Zade picked up after the second ring.

“What’s up, kiddo?”

“Zade,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “Where was I last night?”

There was a pause. Then, “With us. At home. You never left. Not like Mom would allow you. Anyways, why? Has anything happened to you?”

My grip tightened around the phone. I ignored his question and asked mine, all the while leaving my phone on speaker mode. “You’re sure?”

“Of course, I’m sure. You barely even spoke to anyone before locking yourself in your room. Is everything okay?”

I swallowed hard, my gaze never leaving Snow’s face. “Yeah. Thanks, Zade.”

I ended the call and let the silence settle between us.

Snow didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

Then, slowly, something shifted in his expression—a realization—a horror that clawed its way into his chest as the truth finally sank in.

His lips parted. “No. If you weren’t home with me… then who did I… Ffuck!”