But unlike that unwelcoming mansion, this place would be entirely mine. It would never reject me. The furniture was old but spotlessly clean. The décor was simple yet cozy. The couch even had a cream-colored knitted throw on it. It felt like home.
"I'll take it." I nodded at the landlord and pulled out my card. "You can swipe this."
The landlord's smile widened. He took my card and ran it through the machine. A few seconds later, it beeped sharply.
He shook his head and handed the card back. "Sorry, ma'am. This card is frozen. Transaction declined. Do you have another card?"
Frozen?
I froze for a few seconds, unable to process it. Not that I was slow—that card had been issued specifically by the Vernal pack. For over a year of marriage, all my expenses and living costs had come from it. There was no way it could be frozen. Unless…
One name surfaced instantly—Elias.
I hadn't expected him to freeze even my bank card. He was taking action to sever every connection between us, including my income.
"Ma'am?" The landlord's voice snapped me out of my daze. "Are you listening?"
I bit my lip, caught in an awkward situation. The landlord gradually noticed my predicament. His expression soured.
"Ma'am, if you can't afford it, just say so. Don't waste both our time with this kind of joke." His tone was cold. He lookedready to throw me out any second. In desperation, I suddenly remembered something.
"Wait—I have another card!" I frantically dug through my suitcase and finally found it in a rarely used wallet. It was a credit card I'd almost forgotten about. Before I got married, a bank teller had talked me into opening it during some promotional event. At the time, I'd been annoyed at myself for not refusing. Now it was my lifeline.
"Try this one."
I handed it over nervously. The landlord swiped it skeptically. This time, the machine printed a receipt.
Warmth and enthusiasm returned to his face. "Excellent! Lease signed. I'll come by next month. Enjoy your new place."
I nodded and saw him out.
The moment he left, I grabbed my phone and logged into my bank account. Just as I'd feared, every card the Vernals had given me was frozen. All the savings I'd accumulated over the past year were gone in a moment.
My personal account now held less than two thousand dollars. That was everything I'd scraped together from odd jobs since childhood.
At my current rent and living expenses, this money would last one or two months at most.
I turned off my phone. It seemed the first challenge of escaping Elias's control and becoming Serenity Keller again was finding a job.
The next morning, I started sending out résumés online.
I'd met Elias right after coming of age and had lived as his fated mate and fiancée ever since. I'd barely stepped into human society like other wolves had, and I'd never learned any professional skills. Meeting my fated mate so young was supposed to be lucky. Now it was my misfortune.
The only jobs I could apply for were ones that required no special skills—server, cashier, that sort of thing. Even then, most applications got no response. Only a handful invited me to interview.
The first interview was at a mall. The manager took one look at me and frowned. "You don't look like someone who needs to work."
She looked me up and down. "Your clothes, your bag, your shoes—none of that's cheap. Why would someone like you want to work here?"
I looked down at myself. She was right. Everything I wore was designer. Not top-of-the-line, but still expensive by normal standards.
"I'm going through some financial difficulties," I tried to explain.
The manager shook her head. "We only need employees who can commit long-term. You don't have any relevant work experience… I'm sorry, but I don't think you're a good fit."
The first interview failed.
The next few went about the same way.
