I Left Before He Learned My Worth novel Chapter 49

**TITLE: I Left Before He Learned My Worth**

**Chapter 49**

**ARIA**

“Bring them in,” Nina instructed, stepping aside to create a space for the incoming healers.

The healers moved with an air of professionalism, their hands deftly arranging supplies on the nearby table while they checked Ivory’s vital signs with a practiced efficiency that spoke of countless similar situations. Yet, amidst their focused work, I caught the fleeting glances they exchanged, their eyes darting to Ivory’s battered face, the visible marks of Damon’s brutality. A flicker of something akin to anger crossed their features, a silent acknowledgment of the injustice they were witnessing.

“She has a heart of gold,” I overheard Sarah whisper to her companion, a boy named David, as they busied themselves. “To let herself be used as a decoy like that. To lead that violent Alpha away from the ceremony, knowing full well he would be furious once he realized what she had done.”

David nodded, his voice low but not quite low enough to escape my ears. “And to do it for them,” he gestured vaguely in my direction, “to protect a bonding when she—”

Before he could finish his thought, Sarah elbowed him sharply, cutting off whatever revelation he was about to voice. But the damage was done. The unspoken implication hung in the air, heavy and impossible to ignore.

When she loves him romantically. When she’s in love with the Alpha she helped mate to someone else.

My stomach twisted painfully at the realization. That was precisely what David had been about to say. The whispers I had dismissed in the corridors as mere jealousy or misunderstanding now took on a sharper clarity.

But as I glanced at Kael, standing vigil beside Ivory’s bed, the devastation etched on his face, and the way he cradled her limp hand as if it were the most precious thing in the world, I began to wonder if the rumors had held a kernel of truth all along.

Did Ivory love Kael? Had her relentless search for a cure over the past three years been driven not just by friendship, but by deeper, unconfessed feelings? Had she deliberately led Damon away, sacrificing her own safety to ensure the bonding occurred, all because she loved Kael enough to let him go?

The thought churned in my stomach, making the mating mark on my throat feel less like a cherished symbol of our bond and more like a brand of shame.

“That’s enough,” Nina interjected sharply, her keen eyes catching the direction of the junior healers’ conversation. “If you have nothing constructive to contribute, you can leave.”

Both Sarah and David flushed a deep crimson, realizing they had been overheard. They bowed hastily—first to Nina, then to Kael, and finally to me, their reluctance palpable.

“Apologies, Luna Aria,” Sarah managed to say, though her tone suggested the title was difficult for her to swallow. “We didn’t mean any disrespect.”

“Didn’t you?” I heard my voice emerge, edged with an unexpected sharpness that surprised even me. “Because it sounded like you were implying Ivory should have been the one bonding with Kael tonight instead of me.”

Sarah’s face reddened further. “I just meant—she’s done so much for him. Sacrificed so much. Some of us believe she deserves more recognition than she receives.”

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