Author: Momo Chan

Ever since I was a child, I could see the fate lines connecting me to others. When I started school, the line between my desk-mate and me was a vibrant red. On graduation day, that line faded to a dull gray and quietly snapped. I wasn’t sad. I knew the three lines connecting me to my dad, my mom, and my brother were always blazing red and thick. That was all the confidence I had in this world, the freedom to be myself, to be a little bit spoiled and demanding. Until I was 13. They brought home a timid, shy girl and said she was their biological daughter. Eleanor hugged me, crying. Richard and Ethan, their eyes red, swore: “Even though Chloe’s back, our love for you will never change.” I believed them. But when I looked up, the lines connecting me to them had already faded to a light pink. It was just pink at first. Then came the day Chloe showed up, covered in bruises, crying and telling them I had led the bullying against her at school. I desperately tried to explain, to prove my innocence. They listened, and like always, patted my head, smiling. “Mia, don’t cry. We believe you.” They said they believed me. But in the very next second, those three pink lines seemed to be drained of their last bit of life. Right before my eyes, they turned completely gray. Only then did I truly understand: my confidence, my foundation, was long gone.

I stared at the gray lines, my heart pounding with anxiety, and whispered: “Do you… do you really believe me?” No one answered. They were busy tending to Chloe’s injuries, their faces etched with concern, utterly focused. Seeing this, I clenched my fists and asked again, louder this time. Ethan finally turned his head, his voice laced with exasperation. “We already said we believe you, Mia. Can you please just stop making a scene?” His eyes held a frustration I didn’t recognize. I stood there, stunned, a mix of hurt and bewilderment. Watching the lines fade even more, I didn’t dare speak again. I picked up a bottle of antiseptic and, trying to be helpful, stepped forward. But I tripped over something, losing my balance, and the entire bottle splashed onto Chloe’s face. She shrieked, closing her eyes and shrinking into Eleanor’s arms. “Mia, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told on you. Please, don’t bully me anymore.” “Richard, Eleanor, maybe you should just send me back. My life there might be just as bad as it is here, but at least you won’t have to deal with me.” Eleanor’s eyes instantly welled up. Despite her usual aversion to messes, she disregarded her sleeve staining and wiped Chloe’s tears. “Don’t be silly, Chloe. We’d never send you back to those horrible people!” “Mia wouldn’t bully you. I promise you, she’s not that kind of malicious person.” As she spoke, the red line between us thinned by an inch. So, in her heart, she truly thought I was malicious. Richard gently nudged my back, pushing me forward. “What are you standing there for? Apologize to Chloe. Your mom is defending you, aren’t you going to show some remorse?” At his words, I clutched Richard’s sleeve, pinning my hopes on him. “Richard, please believe me. Someone tripped me just now. It wasn’t on purpose.” “No one said it was on purpose. But you splashed Chloe, so you should apologize.” He looked down at me, his voice still patient, but his eyes were utterly devoid of warmth. “Maybe she tripped me! Maybe she did it on purpose to frame me!” The pride cultivated in me over many years made me unwilling to apologize, so I pointed at Chloe, accusing her. “Richard, please believe me this one time!” “You always taught me not to lie, and I’ve always remembered it. If you lie, you get punished!” Richard pursed his lips, looking at me. I tried to meet his gaze with the most sincere look I could manage, hoping he would side with me. But in the next second, the line connecting me to him became even thinner. And with it came his chilling words: “Then you will be punished.” “Liars have to kneel outside. I believe in fairness, so I won’t play favorites with you.” Kneeling outside was the severest punishment in our household, and I only remembered it happening once. When Ethan was little, he didn’t watch me, and I scraped my knee. For such a small injury, Richard and Eleanor made Ethan kneel for an entire day. Back then, they punished Ethan because they couldn’t bear to see me hurt. Now, they were punishing me because they couldn’t bear to see Chloe hurt. My heart turned to ice. My face pale, I walked towards the door. With every step, I hoped someone would call out to me. No one did. Until I stood at the doorway and knelt heavily before them. Even then, the lines connecting us didn’t change at all. The outcome, it seemed, had already been decided. No matter what, they would distance themselves from me for Chloe’s sake. I don’t know how long I knelt. I was dizzy with hunger. Back then, when Ethan was punished, I secretly snuck him food. Now, the house was brightly lit. The aroma of dinner, their happy chatter, the cozy atmosphere—it all braided into a cruel rope, Lashing at my heart, reminding me that there was no one in this world who would care for me anymore. I hung my head, my spirits sinking, my mind starting to drift. Suddenly, I heard footsteps. My heart skipped a beat. I looked up hopefully, Expecting to see a glimmer of hope that I wasn’t abandoned. But when I clearly saw who it was, I froze.

It was Chloe. She held a piece of bread in her hand, her face full of concern. “Mia, are you hungry? I secretly got you some bread.” I stared at her, unable to tell if she was being genuine. But my upbringing told me not to refuse someone’s kindness. So I reached out, wanting to take the bread, And cautiously began to suggest: “I appreciate your offer, but from now on, let’s just stay out of each other’s way and live in peace, okay? I don’t want the house to be a mess.” Chloe smiled at that. It wasn’t a smile of agreement, because there was no line connecting us. Anxiety bloomed in my chest. Sure enough, in the next second, she shook her head regretfully, her tone light but chilling. “No.” With that, she suddenly threw the bread away and shrieked as she fell to the side. I watched in shock, realizing how ridiculously naive I had been. Chloe only wanted to be the executioner, severing the red lines. Hearing the commotion, the three of them rushed out. Seeing Chloe lying on the ground, Ethan, who was in front, quickly helped her up, his voice filled with concern. “Chloe, what happened? Why did you fall?” Chloe’s eyes and nose were red, her face streaked with tears, portraying utter helplessness. “I saw Mia hadn’t eaten all day, and I was afraid she’d be starving, so I brought her some food.” “She’s probably still mad at me, she wouldn’t eat… and she pushed me…” Hearing this, Ethan’s eyes flared with anger. “Mia, where did you learn such cruelty?” “Chloe was thinking of you, despite everything, and you repay her with malice!” Looking up again, Richard and Eleanor’s disappointed gazes felt like daggers. I wanted to ask what kindness I had repaid with malice. I wanted to ask what they were so disappointed about, when I hadn’t done anything… But my head felt lighter and lighter. Before I could speak, I fainted. In a hazy dream, I heard Richard and Eleanor’s conversation: “She thinks faking a faint will get her off the hook? She’s 13 already, no sense of responsibility at all.” “Just let her lie there. We’ll see how long she can pretend.” Then came the sound of receding footsteps and a door closing. … When I woke, sunlight streamed directly into my eyes, making me tear up. My muscles were stiff. I turned my head and realized I was still lying by the front door. Those voices were real; they hadn’t bothered with me. After a moment to gather myself, I tried to push up, But my strength failed, and I fell back. The scabbed wound on my knee ripped open again, blood welling out. I bit my lip and dragged myself towards the house, crying out in pain and injustice. “Richard, Eleanor, it hurts so much…” Before, if I got even a small scratch, they would make a huge fuss, tending to my injury. But now, when I looked up, I saw Maria’s indifferent face. “Where are Richard and Eleanor?” “Today is family day. They went out.” That spot in my chest began to ache and throb again. Had no one remembered that I was the one who initiated “family day”? Back then, Richard and Eleanor were busy with work, and Ethan rarely came home from boarding school. Unhappy with this, I insisted that Saturdays be designated “family day” for a family outing to strengthen our bond. They naturally agreed, and Eleanor even pinched my nose, saying: “You little mischief, you just want to go out, don’t you? Our bond doesn’t need strengthening, Richard, Ethan, and I will always love you.” I believed it then, because our lines were thick and red, strong and vibrant. But now, there was nothing to support her words. I sniffled and held out my hand to Maria. “Then please help me up. I’m hurt.” Maria stepped back, her voice cold. “Mr. and Mrs. Sterling said we’re not allowed to help you.” “They said if too many people fuss over you, you’ll become even more spoiled and arrogant.” I stared blankly at the bloodstain on the ground, murmuring: “Even if I’m bleeding, they won’t let you help?” “Not under any circumstances.” At that moment, my heart felt like a piece had been torn out, and the wound hurt even more. But I gritted my teeth and dragged myself to the sofa. I thought, if I just rested for a while, once my legs recovered, I could take care of myself. With that thought, I drifted off again. When I next opened my eyes, I was jolted awake by a sharp sting. Eleanor’s face was before me. She was applying medicine to my wound.

In that instant, my tears started flowing before I even fully registered what was happening, and I spoke, my voice full of hurt. “Eleanor, you didn’t really abandon me, did you?” But Eleanor’s face was expressionless. After she finished applying the medicine, she sighed. “Don’t pull these self-pitying acts again. This is the last time.” “Next time you do this, you’ll suffer by yourself.” Only then did I see the line between us, so thin it was barely visible. My eyes widened in panic, my tears stopped. “Eleanor, I didn’t! I fainted, that’s all…” Eleanor stood up, cutting me off. “Don’t try to justify yourself.” Not far away, Chloe, wearing a trendy dress, shyly asked Richard and Ethan: “Does it look good?” Their eyes were full of tenderness. Richard said: “My daughter looks good in anything.” Ethan also said: “My sister looks good in anything.” Eleanor took a Tiffany necklace from a bag and put it around Chloe’s neck. “They’re right. It looks even better with this.” As I watched, my eyes started to sting. Not long ago, Chloe had secretly worn one of my dresses. When I found out, before I could even say anything, she quickly took it off, pleading: “Please don’t be angry. I’ve never worn such a beautiful dress, I just couldn’t help but try it on.” Richard and Eleanor saw this and immediately intervened, saying right in front of me: “You look better in this than Mia. Keep it. Mia has plenty of clothes anyway.” I used to think those compliments belonged to me. Now I understood, they belonged to Richard and Eleanor’s biological daughter, Ethan’s biological sister. The current me, was no longer that. I looked away, down at the bandage on my knee. A little red had seeped through, like a small, unnoticed period at the end of a sentence. After two days of rest, I could finally walk again. The first thing I did once I could walk was to go see Chloe’s adoptive parents, Who were also my biological parents. As soon as I met them, I saw the thick, red lines connecting us. And their humble, honest appearance was a stark contrast to Chloe’s descriptions. My heart settled completely, and I told them the purpose of my visit.

After returning that day, I stopped being the pampered young lady of the Sterling family. This time, I wasn’t throwing a tantrum; I just didn’t want to fight anymore, or rather, I couldn’t win. I locked myself in my room, from morning till night. I only came downstairs for meals, sitting quietly in a corner, and returning to my room when I finished. Richard, Eleanor, and Ethan were surprised by my quietness, and their attitudes softened somewhat. They would serve me food during dinner, but only after serving Chloe. They would talk to me, but our conversations would barely last a few sentences. With Chloe, however, they had endless things to say. I listened quietly, and after eating, I’d put away my dishes, say, “I’m done eating, please enjoy the rest of your meal,” then head back to my room. I didn’t expect to be asked to stay, didn’t expect any concern. After living like this for a while, the hurt and sadness in my heart began to heal, like gradually closing wounds. The pain slowly subsided until it disappeared completely. One day, Eleanor said the venue for my high school acceptance celebration was set up and wanted to show me the design plans. Chloe also leaned over to look, her eyes full of envy. “It’s so beautiful! I’ve never had a party like this.” Ethan, sipping coffee nearby, suggested: “Why don’t we combine your welcome-home party with Mia’s celebration?” I instinctively refused, a hint of displeasure in my voice. “Why? This is clearly for me.” Before, to avoid being called the spoiled Sterling girl, I studied relentlessly, participated in various competitions, and earned an early admission slot to the best high school. When they heard the news, they were overjoyed, their eyes red, as if they wanted to proclaim their pride in me to the world. Now, hearing my refusal, Ethan frowned. “You’re sisters. Why the division?” Chloe clutched the hem of her dress, her voice full of grievance. “Maybe it’s because my grades aren’t good, Mia thinks I don’t deserve a party like this.” Eleanor lovingly put her arm around Chloe, comforting her softly: “You’re my daughter, of course you deserve it. We’ll hold them together. You come look at the plans too.” Hearing this, I swallowed all my arguments. What good would it do to speak? I was no longer their pride. Now, the one they wanted to proclaim to the world was the recovered Chloe, Not me. I stood up, my voice low. “Let her look at the plans. I’m going to rest.” Chloe still feigned reluctance. “Never mind. Mia’s already angry. I shouldn’t steal her thunder.” Ethan snorted coldly. “Don’t worry about her. She’ll cheer up when she sees the custom designer dress we picked out for her.” I walked into my bedroom without stopping. Closing the door, I leaned against it and slowly slid to the floor. I didn’t cry. I just felt empty. As if the last bit of expectation had been removed. This celebration truly felt like my farewell party from them. Time quickly passed to the day of the party. Chloe and I were changing in the hotel. Halfway through, Chloe’s dress ripped. Eleanor, without a second thought, turned to me. “Give your dress to Chloe. It’s her first time at an event like this; she needs to look presentable.” This was a dress I had waited for for a long time. I had been looking forward to it since the day I got my early admission, repeatedly discussing the design with the designer, every detail personally confirmed by me. But I still took off my dress, folded it, and handed it over. Eleanor paused, surprised I was so obedient. As she took the dress, she couldn’t help but say with satisfaction: “Mia has finally grown up.” With her words, the lines connecting us suddenly thickened by a few inches and gained a faint hint of color. I stood there, frozen, an infinite sadness rising in my heart. Fate, it seemed, was truly mocking me. The thing I had strived for so long, finally found hope the moment I decided to give up. But this hope, I no longer wanted. Chloe changed into the dress and entered the ballroom before me. It was as if she was the star of the show. I wasn’t in a hurry. I checked the time. Almost an hour late, I finally walked into the hall. But as soon as I appeared, Eleanor slapped me hard across the face, raging: “Mia Sterling, I thought you’d matured, but it turns out you were just plotting to frame Chloe.” “Tell me, did you intentionally ruin both dresses to make Chloe look bad?” My cheek tingled from the slap, and my head spinning, I looked over. Chloe was truly wrapped in Ethan’s jacket, sobbing in his arms. Everyone looked at me with complex expressions, whispering amongst themselves: “Mia Sterling is as bossy as the rumors say, she just can’t stand the real heiress.” “At only 13, she’s so cunning. How did the Sterling family raise such a malicious person?” Richard, hearing the whispers, his face darkened, and he warned me in a low voice: “If you still want to be a Sterling, quickly admit your mistake and apologize to Chloe.” “As long as your attitude is sincere, your reputation in our circle can still be salvaged.” I scoffed, refusing directly. “Don’t worry. From today on, I am no longer a Sterling.” Richard stared at me, his expression icy, and demanded sharply: “If you’re not a Sterling, where else can you go?” Just then, two people walked in from outside. They were wearing perhaps the best clothes they owned in their wardrobes. Even so, there was still a considerable difference between them and the people gathered here. But I felt they were radiating light. Chloe saw them and shrank into Ethan’s arms in terror. “Are they… are they Mia’s doing?” “I’m sorry! I truly know I was wrong. I won’t ever take anything from her again. Please, don’t let them take me away!” Ethan glared at me, scolding: “Mia Sterling, what has Chloe done that you want to destroy her like this?” I looked at him, my cheek stinging from the slap mark, feeling only despair. Richard glanced at me, then scolded the two newcomers: “You’re not welcome here. Get out! Don’t scare my daughter!” But the couple just nervously rubbed the hems of their clothes, raising their voices to respond: “We’re here to take our daughter home.” Eleanor frowned in disgust. “Can’t you understand? Your daughter isn’t here!” “Someone, get them out!” As her words fell, my voice rang out: “Wait!” “They’re here for me.” The atmosphere froze. Just three seconds later, those dim, thin lines suddenly grew thick and vibrantly red.

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My husband, Julian Croft… the man who makes Wall Street tremble. He has an adopted sister, Chloe. An angel-faced code wizard who’s nothing but trouble. For eight years, their dynamic has never changed. Chloe uses her keyboard to cause chaos, and Julian uses his money and power to wipe it all clean. Their toxic bond slowly choked out our marriage. Until today… when she finally targeted me. I was cruising the coast when her malware hijacked my Tesla’s autopilot. The steering wheel jerked on its own. The car spun out of control, tore through the guardrail, and left me dangling over a 300-foot drop. I woke up in the hospital, hooked up to a dozen tubes. Julian stood by my bed, signing a surgical consent form. His Armani suit was perfectly tailored. He just looked a little tired. He sighed. “Eleanor, don’t be mad at Chloe. She was just playing a prank.” “She did her research. The car has world-class airbags and safety features. She just wanted to give you a… surprise.” The second he finished signing, his assistant called. Chloe was being harassed by some punks at an exclusive Manhattan club. Julian bolted out the door instantly. He was in such a rush, he didn’t even notice the fatal mistake he made on my medical chart. Under my blood type, he checked “Type A”. A cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind. It was the System, back after all these years. [Trigger Activated: Fatal hemolytic reaction from incorrect blood transfusion. Outcome: Manslaughter by Male Lead. Do you accept this route?] I looked at the blood bag the nurse rolled in. The tag clearly said “A”. But I am Type O. I smiled, and said softly, “Do it.” …… “Mrs. Croft, this bag is Type A. Are you absolutely sure?” The young nurse looked a bit uneasy, holding the bag of blood. “I’m sure.” My voice was as calm as if I were discussing the weather. “My husband confirmed it himself. There’s no mistake.” The nurse hesitated, but ultimately trusted the paperwork. The cold needle pierced my skin. That dark red liquid dripped, drop by drop, crawling down the clear IV tube and seeping into my bloodstream. [Route Confirmed. Fatal hemolytic reaction countdown initiated.] [Estimated survival time: 72 hours.] I closed my eyes, feeling an alien, chaotic burn surging through my veins. In less than half an hour, an agonizing pain ripped through my back, like a thousand ants gnawing away at my kidneys. Violent chills racked my body until my teeth rattled in my skull. The hospital door burst open, and Julian strode in. He smelled like an expensive mix of whiskey and cigars from the club, laced with a faint trace of women’s perfume. Some cheap body glitter was stuck to his handcrafted white dress shirt. Behind him stood Chloe, completely unharmed. Trembling in a sexy slip dress, she clung to the hem of Julian’s jacket, her face still streaked with crocodile tears. “What kind of stunt are you pulling now?” Julian stood by the bed, staring down at me, his brows tightly furrowed. “The doctor said you only had a mild concussion and a few scrapes. What’s with the dramatic shaking? Who are you putting on a show for?!”

I clenched my jaw against a piercing spike of pain, cold sweat beading on my forehead. “I’m cold,” I choked out. “Cold?” Julian scoffed, irritably tugging at his collar. “The room is set to 78 degrees, and you’re telling me you’re cold?” He turned to Chloe, his tone instantly softening. “Baby, go turn off the AC before she finds another excuse to throw a tantrum.” Chloe nodded obediently. She flicked off the AC switch, then turned to me with a kicked-puppy look. “Eleanor, I’m so sorry… I really didn’t mean it. I just wanted to run a test on a new backdoor program I wrote…” Tears began to roll down her cheeks again. “Julian already yelled at me. Please don’t be mad, okay?” Julian instantly shielded her behind him. “Enough. Why are you apologizing? She’s lying right here, perfectly fine, isn’t she?” He turned back to me, his eyes hardening into ice. “Eleanor, Chloe almost got assaulted at the club. She’s completely traumatized, but she still came all the way here to see you. And you can’t even crack a smile? You’re seriously out of line.” Looking at his self-righteous face, I suddenly found the whole thing utterly absurd. My car almost plunged into the Pacific Ocean. I was teetering on the edge of death. And him? He only gave a damn that his precious sister got catcalled. “She’s traumatized?” I forced a weak smirk, my voice hoarse. “Going to a club, drinking, dancing, and getting hit on by guys— that’s what you call traumatized?” “Then what about me? Trapped in the driver’s seat, forced to watch myself hurtle toward a cliff— what was that? A fun VR experience?” Julian’s scowl deepened, sheer disgust radiating from him. “Can you stop being so bitter? Is throwing the word ‘death’ around really that fun for you? Didn’t I just hire the best medical team for you?” “Besides, Chloe ran the calculations. With that speed and angle, your life was never actually in danger.” She ran the calculations? I stared down at the IV bag, watching it drip its so-called “life-saving” fluid into my veins. Yeah. Her calculations were spot on. She even perfectly calculated that I was going to die today. “Julian,” I called his name, my voice barely a whisper. “What if I actually die?”

He froze for a second. Then, sheer irritation took over. “Here we go again. Every time Chloe messes up even a little bit, you start playing these mind games to get at me. Jesus, Eleanor, do you have any idea how pathetic this is?” He pulled up a chair and crossed his legs, oozing arrogance. “Enough. Drop the act. If you’re really that uncomfortable, I’ll have the doctor prescribe you some painkillers. Chloe was terrified tonight, so I need to go stay with her. You just stay here and think about how you’ve been acting.” I didn’t say another word. A sudden, searing heat washed over me. The world blurred at the edges, and a roaring fire tore through my chest. Textbook early symptoms of a hemolytic reaction. “Eleanor… your face is so red,” Chloe mumbled, peeking out from behind him. “Are you running a fever?” Julian barely gave me a passing glance. “A fever? No, that’s just anger. She’s mad I’m not staying here to hold her hand.” He stood up, stepping closer to the bed. His gaze was pure ice. “Eleanor, I am warning you one last time. Stop begging for attention with this cheap act. Chloe is the only real family I have, and it’s my job to protect her. You ever come after her again, I won’t give a damn that you’re my wife.” I looked up at him, forcing a hollow smile. “Fine.” “Then you better… watch her closely.” Julian let out a cold scoff, taking Chloe’s hand. “Let’s go. Just ignore her, she’s out of her mind.” The door slammed shut. I looked at the nearly empty bag of blood, and closed my eyes. “System,” I spoke inside my mind. “Activate pain nullification. Maximum setting.” The cold, mechanical voice echoed. [Command received. Enjoy your journey.]

The sharp click of heels echoed down the hallway, drawing closer. Chloe had returned. Without Julian around, her innocent little-girl act dropped instantly. I ignored her. The fever had drained every ounce of strength from my body. Chloe walked up to the bed. She flicked my IV tube with a neon-pink manicured nail. “Tsk, tsk… how pathetic.” She leaned in close, dropping her voice to a whisper. “Did you know? Even out in the hallway, Jules was just complaining about how dramatic and manipulative you are. He said compared to me, you’re basically nothing.” I forced my eyes open and gave her a dead stare. “Are you done? Then get out.” Instead of being angry, her smile only grew wider. “Aww, don’t be so mad, Eleanor. Enjoy acting tough while you can. It won’t be for much longer anyway.” She pulled out a tablet from her Birkin bag. Her fingers flew across the screen, a stream of glowing blue code flashing past. “Jules thinks you’re faking, but honestly? You look half-dead. How about I do you a favor… and make your vitals look a little more realistic?” The second the words left her mouth, the vital sign monitor beside my bed suddenly erupted in a piercing alarm. “Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!” Red warning lights flashed wildly. The heart rate on the screen spiked to 180 as my blood pressure completely tanked. The deafening alarm instantly blared through the entire floor. The sound of chaotic footsteps rushed down the hallway. Julian was the first one to burst through the door, his face livid. “What the hell is going on?!” Right before he crossed the threshold, Chloe had slipped the tablet back into her bag. Instantly, she clamped her hands over her ears, screaming in terror. “Jules! I don’t know! The machine just went crazy! It’s so scary!”

She buried her face deep in Julian’s chest, crying perfect, delicate tears. Doctors and nurses swarmed the bed, frantically checking every machine. “This is strange… the patient’s vitals are perfectly stable. Why did the alarm go off?” A flustered doctor hit the restart switch on the monitor, and the numbers instantly reset to normal. Julian’s face morphed into rage. After soothing Chloe in his arms, he turned back to me, his gaze digging in like daggers. “Eleanor! When is enough finally enough for you?! Hacking the hospital equipment just to force me to come back? Have you completely lost your mind?!” I lay still, looking up at his enraged face. “You really think I did this?” “Who else could it be?!” he sneered. “You’re so jealous of Chloe you’d actually frame her!” He marched forward and ripped the blanket off my body. “Get up! Apologize to Chloe. Right now!” The frigid air hit my burning skin. I couldn’t hold back a violent fit of coughing, the heavy metallic stench of blood rising thick in my throat. Swallowing it down, I looked up at him, fixing him with the gaze you’d give a dead man. “Julian,” I said calmly. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” He froze. In three years of marriage, I had never spoken to him with a tone like that. “What did you just say?” “I called you a complete idiot.” I reached over and pulled the plug on the monitor. The piercing alarm died instantly. “The next time you two want to play mind games, don’t bother me.” I turned away, giving him my back. “It’s disgusting.” “Fine. Perfect.” Julian was shaking with fury. “Since you’re so tough now, Eleanor, you can stay here by yourself. Let’s see how long you can keep this up!” He grabbed Chloe’s hand and stormed out, not even looking back. His footsteps faded. I closed my eyes, forcing down another mouthful of blood. “System, how much time do I have?” [Remaining survival time: 60 hours.] I smiled. “Finally, it’s almost over. ”

On the wall-mounted TV in my private suite, a CNN anchor was delivering a breaking news report. “The ‘Odyssey’ autonomous driving system, developed by Croft Industries, was exposed today for harboring a fatal security backdoor.” “During this morning’s rush hour on the Bay Bridge in San Francisco, dozens of vehicles utilizing the system suffered critical logic failures, resulting in a multi-car pileup and several devastating collisions. The current casualty count remains unknown. The NTSB has reportedly launched a federal investigation…” I leaned heavily against the soft pillows, struggling to wipe the blood from my mouth. The hemolysis was tearing me apart from the inside. My retinas were detaching, fracturing the world into a doubling blur. My husband, Julian Croft, stood by the massive floor-to-ceiling window across the room. With his back turned to me, he barked into his cell phone. “Is the entire PR department run by absolute morons?!” “I don’t care how much it costs! Scrub this off Google and Twitter! I want it gone in thirty minutes!” “Find a scapegoat! Blame the outsourced dev team for a structural bug, fire them all!” He furiously ripped off his four-figure Hermes tie, slamming it down onto the sofa like trash. His precious sister, Chloe, was curled up in the corner of the couch like a frightened little kitten. “Julian… I’m so sorry…” “I just thought the underlying firewall for Odyssey was way too boring… so I just… added a tiny little backdoor to test its AI limits.” “I thought it would be a fun surprise! How was I supposed to know they couldn’t even drive…” She pouted, her voice entirely devoid of a single shred of remorse. Julian’s rigid jawline softened. He walked over and ruffled her perfect flaxen curls. “It’s okay. Shhh. I’m right here.” “Next time, no more reckless little games, alright?” “The media always blows things wildly out of proportion. It’s just a few fender benders. The insurance companies will handle everything.” Listening to his casual dismissal, a violently sick feeling turned my stomach over. That so-called “little game” probably just destroyed dozens of families. To him, deadly prank was just another mess to buy off.

Fighting back the tearing pain of multiple organ failure, I reached under my pillow and pulled out my highly encrypted MacBook Air. The bite of the cold metal snapped me out of my daze. My fingers flew across the keyboard. Julian would use every connection to scrub Chloe’s digital footprint clean. I had to lock down every shred of her crimes— from the server hacks to the market manipulation—before he could. The progress bar on the screen inched forward, slow but steady. My vision was getting darker by the second. I was practically blind-typing, relying entirely on raw muscle memory. “What the hell are you doing now?” Julian hung up, His freezing gaze instantly locked onto my laptop. He lunged across the room, slamming the laptop shut with a deafening crack. “The company is burning to the ground over a ‘little mistake,’ and you’re just sitting there scrolling?!” “Eleanor, do you have any humanity left in you at all?!” I slowly raised my head, meeting his furious gaze. “Humanity?” I let out a cold laugh, coughing up a mouthful of blood. “Julian Croft… you’re covering for a criminal who qualifies as a domestic terrorist… and you’re questioning my humanity?” His expression turned lethal. The air between us turned to ice. “What the fuck are you talking about?!” “Chloe is just a spoiled kid! What could she possibly understand?!” “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re a housewife. You have no idea how a hundred-billion-dollar company actually works.”

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At the Spirit Bonding Rite, my sister Seraphina Whitlock saw the griffin choose me and burst into tears. “Please, Ava, you’re the Alpha’s eldest daughter. You’ve had everything your whole life. Can’t you let me have this one thing?” And just like that, the whole pack turned on me. They told me to be generous. I didn’t argue. I walked past the griffin, crouched beside the creature nobody wanted. A scrawny little black pup — nobody could even tell what species he was. I picked him up and held him against my chest. Behind me, I heard the whispers. She lost her mind. She gave up a griffin out of spite. But they didn’t know that pup was no mutt. He was an ancient Thunder Wolf . A beast born to command storms and lightning. … “Ava, please. You grew up spoiled by this pack. The best things have always belonged to you. I had to fight for every scrap just to catch up to you. Can’t you pity me for once?” Seraphina clutched the griffin she’d just taken — ripped straight out of my hands. Eyes wide. Glassy. Working the crowd without saying a word. If you didn’t know the truth, you’d think I was the villain. And pretty girls crying? That works on people. Every time. Around us, pack members started glaring at me. “Seraphina’s right. It’s just a spirit beast. With your bloodline, Ava, you’ll attract something even stronger. Seraphina’s not like you. She’s weak. She’s suffered. Grow up, Ava.” “Exactly, you’ve always been selfish. You never let your sister have anything.” I looked at all of them taking her side, and something complicated churned in my chest. I was the Alpha’s daughter. Born to lead. Raised at the center of everything this pack had to offer. I was stronger than the others. The whole younger generation grew up revolving around me. I thought that would never change. Until Liam — our pack’s Beta — brought a stranger back from patrol. He found her in a human village. Rogues had slaughtered almost everyone there. She was the only one left alive. Later, my parents revealed the truth. She was the daughter they had lost years ago. My little sister.

But the moment she came back, my fate started changing too. Seraphina had a gift for making people like her. She knew exactly what to say. And that fragile, innocent act of hers? It worked every time. She won the whole pack’s sympathy in just a few days. The elders saw how weak she was and ordered me to take care of her. But over time, she started treating everything I did for her like it was only natural. As if I owed it to her. She grew more disrespectful by the day. Whatever was left between us had turned to ice. Now, watching her hide behind Liam with that innocent look on her face — I just shrugged. She thought I was going to snatch the griffin back. So she instinctively took a few steps away. “Ava, I’ve never asked you for anything. Not once. Can’t you let me have this one thing? You already have everything, so why do you keep coming after me? Do you really have to push me this far? Will you only stop when I’m dead?” She liked to act helpless. But she was sharper than she let on. She knew exactly what that griffin was—a powerful fire-aligned spirit beast. If she bonded with it, her strength would rise fast. That was why she was willing to drop all pretense and fight me for it openly. She braced herself, ready for me to make a move. Too bad for her, because I couldn’t even be bothered to look at her. I walked straight past her, picked up the black cub everyone else had rejected. I held it close and stroked its fur. “It’s okay, you’re okay now. I’m taking you home.” I had barely made it a few steps. Liam stepped in front of me and threw out an arm to block my path. “Ava, enough. How long are you going to keep this up? You’re seriously choosing that worthless thing just because you’re angry? Do you want our whole pack to become a joke to every other pack in this territory?” I immediately covered the cub’s ears in my arms and thought, Don’t listen. Just some fool running his mouth. I walked right past him and threw one line over my shoulder. “We’ll see who the real joke is. It’s way too early to call it now.” Honestly, it was almost funny. The griffin was gifted, sure — but griffins were also notorious for being arrogant, hot-headed, and impossible to handle. If Seraphina wanted to make herself miserable, that was her problem. Because I wasn’t leaving empty-handed. I was walking out with an ancient power this pack had never seen. And we were going straight to the top.

The first time around, I ignored everyone’s warnings and fought Seraphina for the griffin anyway. As the Alpha’s daughter, my strength and status were far above hers. So in the end, she couldn’t take it from me. But because of that, the whole pack started seeing me as selfish and overbearing. Like I was some bully who got off on pushing her own sister down. And little by little, everyone started keeping their distance from me. As for the griffin I fought so hard to win, he turned out to be nothing but an ungrateful beast. When he shifted into human form, he took the name Icarus. I hadn’t even gotten a word out before he was already hitting me. “Why didn’t you let that girl take me? Do you know how much I despise you? People like you are the ones I hate most—born-alpha brats who think bloodline gives them the right to do whatever they want” He hit me again and again. My head spun. I went down hard, scrambling just to stay conscious. He only stopped when he could see I was close to dying. Even then, he looked annoyed he’d had to bother. The next morning, I was ready to send him straight back to the ritual altar. A spirit beast like that? I had no business trying to manage him. But then I watched him fight. He easily defeated every spirit beast bonded to our generation. Every single one. And just like that, I changed my mind. A spirit beast that powerful was too rare to give up. And I was ambitious. I wanted to use him to secure my future as Alpha. So every time he came at me, I gritted my teeth and took it. And the more I poured into him, the faster he grew stronger. That didn’t scare me — it thrilled me. It made me feel like everything I wanted was finally within reach. But the stronger he became, the more openly he looked down on me. Every time he knocked me down and stood over me, he’d spit on the ground in contempt. “If it weren’t for your bloodline giving me access to the finest moon essence and the best energy cores in this pack, I’d be sick just touching you.” He was right. In the entire pack, I was the only one who could give him the highest-grade resources. He despised me, but he still needed me. So I kept telling myself it didn’t matter. Given enough time, he would come around. And when that day came, the two of us together would be unbeatable among our generation.

But after I burned through most of my savings to get him an extremely rare energy core, he handed it to Seraphina right in front of me. Then he reached up and brushed his hand gently across her cheek. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will ever hurt you again.” I had already put up with too much in the name of power. But everyone has a breaking point. And then Seraphina looked straight at me with that smirk on her face— then deliberately loosened her grip and let the energy core drop. It hit the ground with a sharp crack. She covered her mouth and widened her eyes in fake surprise. “Oops. I guess I didn’t hold it tight enough. You’re not mad at me, are you, Ava?” I couldn’t take it anymore. I lunged at her, ready to tear her apart. But before my hand could even brush a single strand of her hair, Icarus kicked me so hard I went flying. Then he came down on me, one foot planted on my chest. “If I hadn’t wanted your status and your resources, I never would’ve let you bond with me. Now my power is fully grown. I don’t need you anymore.” Then he crushed my heart with his own hand. I could only watch as Seraphina stepped in and took everything that had once been mine. The griffin I had poured everything into submitted to her willingly. Even the pack members I had grown up with cheered at my death. They whispered behind my back that someone like me — privileged, untouchable — had it coming. Only my parents, the Alpha and Luna of the pack, were destroyed by my death. When they went to demand an explanation from Seraphina, Icarus drove his claws straight through their chests. And Seraphina? She just stood there, voice dripping with fake innocence — “Huh. I always wondered if Alpha blood ran red just like everyone else’s.” I threw myself over their bodies and screamed. Maybe the Moon Goddess heard my grief. Maybe she heard the injustice of it. Because she gave me another chance. Seraphina. This time, blood will answer for blood.

After I carried the cub back to my room, I immediately took out the moonlit herbs and healing elixirs I’d been saving. I carefully fed them to him. One cup, then a second, then a third. By the time I poured the fourth, I glanced at what was left of my precious stash and started having second thoughts. How was this little guy burning through resources even faster than the griffin had the first time around? I was not about to raise another ungrateful beast. Just as I was grumbling to myself, a burst of white light exploded in the air before me. Standing there was a tall, lean man with his bare chest completely exposed. My face went red immediately. “Oh my — put some clothes on! Now! You can’t just walk around like that.” But before I could say anything else, I heard a quiet sniffle. I looked up again. He was crying. Tears slid down his face — a face almost too perfect to look at. And somehow, watching him cry, I felt a pull I had no business feeling. Ugh. What was wrong with me? I rushed over and steadied him. “Wait — why are you crying? Did I scare you? Come on, buddy, don’t do anything stupid on me, okay?” But he only looked at me with those deep, shimmering eyes and took my hand. “I’m not worth wasting so many precious potions on.” “I’m just dead weight. I’d only cause trouble for you.” “My power is weak. I couldn’t even beat a young forest wolf. Training me would only waste your time and resources.” His voice was shaking the whole time. It was obvious he had almost no confidence in himself. A man that beautiful, crying right in front of you? It hits different. I’m not going to lie. When I opened my mouth to respond, I started stumbling over my own words.

“You’re… you’re amazing. Don’t think that way about yourself. And if anyone dares say one bad thing about you, I’ll go knock their teeth out myself.” A flicker of hope flashed through his eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. In the next second, he lowered his head again, shrinking back into himself. “Are you lying to me too?” “I’m sorry. I have nothing right now. I can’t repay you. But I’ll try. I really will.” His words were so small, so worn down. And somehow, they made the sadness around him feel even heavier. I had no idea what the divine wolf could have gone through to become this insecure. And the moment I chose him, I meant to see it through. So I placed a hand on his back and gently patted him. “Hey. Look at me — as long as I’m alive, this is your home. You hear me?” No one had ever said words like that to him before. He hesitated for a long moment, then finally chose to believe me. Flustered, he carefully worked a wolf-fang necklace free from around his neck and pressed it into my hand. It had been stained dark — worn through with old blood. He rushed to explain, almost afraid I’d turn it down. “This is the only valuable thing I have left. Take it. And don’t worry—one day, I’ll give you the very best of everything.” The certainty in his voice made something in my chest go warm. Just then, a rapid knock came from outside the door. “Ava, are you in there? I need to talk to you!” Seraphina.

Before I could even open the door, the griffin behind her—Icarus—kicked it open with one brutal strike. Seraphina strolled in like she owned the place and dropped into my chair. “Ava, Icarus is still a little weak, and I don’t exactly have anything valuable on hand. So hand over your moon essence and let me use some. You’ve got plenty of resources anyway. It’s not like this little bit means anything to you.” I honestly thought I’d misheard her. Then my mouth twitched. “Do I owe you something? If you want what’s mine, fine—pay market price. I won’t charge you a cent more.” Seraphina hadn’t even opened her mouth. Icarus cut in from behind her, staring at me with cold contempt. “You should be honored we even came to you. Don’t be ungrateful.” Unbelievable. The owner had no shame, and her spirit beast was cut from the same cloth. “Oh, is that what this is?” “Then maybe I’ll take my generosity somewhere it’s actually appreciated. And you—a spirit beast who only just took human form—what exactly gives you the right to talk to me like that?” A proud Icarus was never going to take that quietly. He stepped forward at once, raising a hand to strike me. But before his palm could come down, a powerful force slammed into him. The force sent him flying clean across the room. Both of them froze, eyes wide with shock. Kieran stepped out from behind me and placed himself between us. “You raise your hand against the future Alpha, and this is supposed to pass for manners?” Humiliated in front of Seraphina, Icarus wasn’t about to let that slide. With a roar, he charged forward again. But this time, the person who stopped him was Seraphina. She fixed her gaze on Kieran’s face. Hungry. Unashamed. “So you’re the cub from yesterday.” “I never expected you to look like this after shifting. Well. Aren’t you full of surprises.” Icarus clearly hadn’t expected Seraphina to admire another man right in front of him. For a second, he looked completely thrown. But Kieran didn’t respond to her flirtation at all. He looked at her like she wasn’t even there, his expression cold. “Miss Seraphina, if there’s something wrong with your eyes, you should get that treated before it gets worse. If you go blind someday, you won’t just drag down the whole pack.” “You’ll drag down my —” “— Ava.” The way he said my name—low and intimate—sent a shiver straight through me. And I didn’t stop him. “How dare you!” That was the final straw for Icarus. His pride had been trampled harder than ever before. In the next second, he gathered all his power, turned into a streak of fire, and shot straight toward Kieran’s face. That attack was meant to kill.

Before I could react, Kieran was already moving. He met Icarus head-on and landed a clean, solid strike right into him. Icarus flew out of the courtyard like a rag doll. He hit the ground hard and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seraphina stomped her foot in frustration and rushed after him. Even then, she still turned back to steal one last look at Kieran before leaving. I hurried to shut the door, then pulled Kieran toward me and checked him over head to toe. “Are you hurt? Does anything hurt? You scared me half to death. Why would you take him head-on like that? What was I supposed to do if you got hurt?” Kieran stared at me for a moment. Then he suddenly reached for my hand and held on. “I don’t know. I just saw them treating you like that, and I got angry. I only wanted to stand up for you.” “Did I do something wrong?” Looking at him like that—so helpless, so innocent—I couldn’t bring myself to scold him. Besides, those two had it coming. So I let it go and spent the next few minutes talking him down. I’d already forgotten about the strange intimacy in his voice when he called my name earlier. But in his eyes, just for an instant, something flickered — quiet, satisfied, like a plan that had gone exactly right.

The quiet didn’t last. A few days later, the council of elders summoned me. The moment I stepped into the great hall, I saw Seraphina kneeling below the dais, crying to the elders about all the terrible things I had supposedly done. “I know I come from a lowly background,” she sobbed. “Ever since I returned to the pack, I’ve been careful with every step. I never dared overstep. But I don’t know how I offended Ava. She targets me at every turn… If this is what it’s come to, then I’d rather die to prove I’m innocent!” With that, she lurched to her feet and tried to throw herself at one of the stone pillars, only to be stopped by the people beside her. I let out a cold laugh and walked in. “So my dear sister hates me this much?” I said. “That’s heartbreaking. Over the years, what have you ever asked for that I didn’t give you? Take the griffin, for example. I knew you wanted it, so I let you have it. So tell me—what do you want from me this time?” In a few lines, I made two things clear: I wasn’t the one in the wrong, and Seraphina wasn’t here for justice. She was here for what I had. Her face stiffened instantly. “I may have been human once,” she snapped, “but I won’t accept that kind of slander!” “That’s enough. Silence.” A powerful voice cut through the hall from the elders’ seats above. My father. The current Alpha of the pack. Only then did Seraphina shut her mouth, though not willingly. I looked at my father—still strong, still alive, still standing where he belonged— and felt my eyes sting. The first time around, he had died under Icarus’s claws—killed for trying to get justice for me. Kieran felt the shift in my mood and quietly squeezed my hand. “Seraphina,” my father said, “you claim Ava ordered her spirit beast to injure Icarus. Do you have proof?” That was the question Seraphina had been waiting for. She immediately pulled Icarus forward. The second I got a clear look at his face, even I was startled. He had always relied on my resources to maintain his strength. Now that he had lost access to them—and after Kieran had injured him— his face was deathly pale, and his aura was unstable. He shot me a vicious glare, then reluctantly lifted his shirt to reveal the wounds on his body. His chest and abdomen were covered in overlapping bruises and burns. Some of the wounds had already begun to rot, oozing pus and giving off a foul smell. Seraphina burst into tears on cue. “That day, I only wanted to borrow some moon essence from Ava,” she cried. “But she humiliated me. She said someone of my status had no right to use something so precious, and then she had her spirit beast attack Icarus! I know I’m not worthy, but I still have my dignity!” She painted herself as a proud, wounded victim so convincingly that the younger pack members started speaking up for her one after another. They demanded that the Alpha punish me severely, saying anything less would never convince the rest of the pack. I knew better. They weren’t standing up for Seraphina. They were eyeing the top-grade resources I’d lose if I were punished. The greed in their eyes was practically spilling over. And just as the pressure in the hall reached its peak, Kieran stepped forward from beside me. “He’s lying.”

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My mom is the Luna of the Thorne Pack. Seven males walked into her bedroom tonight. One by one. The one who set it all up is my Alpha father. He stood in the doorway the entire time, his new whore in his arms, smiling. “The proud Luna.” he says. “You always thought you were better than Brielle. But now…” “Half the males in the pack have seen your skin. Touched it. So you’ll finally agree to let me take Brielle as my second, won’t you?” It wasn’t the first time. I know. And this time, Mom doesn’t scream. She doesn’t fight. She doesn’t even cry. That night, she just slips the mating pendant from her neck — the one my father gave her the night they mated— and drops it straight into the flames. The next morning, he throws Brielle the loudest mating ceremony the Thorne Pack has ever seen. Bigger than the one he gave Mom. Louder. Brighter. Every Alpha and Luna from three territories shows up. I sit beside Mom in the back row in a plain gray dress, digging my claws into my own palms hard enough to bleed. Then, right when the howls go up the loudest — drawings starts raining down from the rafters. Filthy drawings. My mother’s body. Naked. I scramble across the floor, ripping them, stuffing them under the tables, my whole face on fire. My father’s eyes go black. “So you like showing off that much?” he roars at her. “Your’re nothing but a slut! Warriors — drag the Luna to the Pit!” The warriors close in. Two of them grab Mom by the arms. They don’t even wait for her to stand. They haul her up — her feet barely touching the floor — and drag her straight through the hall. I scream. I claw forward. I have to get to her. I have to pull my mom back. But the old nursemaid clamps a hand over my mouth and drags me out kicking. All I can do is watch. Watch the warriors drag her past me — pulling her one way, while the nursemaid pulls me the other. The dark swallows her whole. Soon, the howls begin. Something inside my chest breaks. And their laughter keeps coming. “Any wolf who comes out of the Pit alive can’t even shift again. Useless. Broken.” “Generous of the Alpha, letting his own Luna feed the Pit…” “Pretty Luna. She’s sweeter than any rogue. But it won’t be pretty anymore when they’re done with her wolf.” I go cold all the way to my bones. I tug the nursemaid’s sleeve, voice shaking. “What’s the Pit?” She just shakes her head, eyes wet. “The cruelest thing they’ve ever done to a wolf. That’s all I’ll say.” … The howls go on for hours. I’m locked in my room. I don’t know how long. I don’t sleep. I don’t speak. Then — footsteps in the corridor outside. Heavy. Dragging. I throw myself at the door. Pounding. Screaming. The door swings open. I tear out into the corridor. I crash into Mom’s room — and the smell hits me first. Blood. Sweat. Strangers. My stomach flips. She’s lying on the bed, eyes wide open, staring at nothing. Her robe is so thin I can see right through it — she’s bruised everywhere. Every inch of her. “Mom…” My voice cracks. My fingers hover over her arm — I’m too scared to touch her. I spin around to run for a healer. The curtain slams open. My father walks in with Brielle tucked under his arm, her face painted, perfume sharp. She wrinkles her nose at the smell and hides behind him. He looks down at Mom like she’s a stain. “Maren. Drop the act.” “Yur wolf is still there, and I told every male not to actually touch you. Stop playing dead.” I open my mouth — she has bruises everywhere, can’t he see? But Mom grabs my wrist first. From under her pillow she pulls something out. Then she lifts her chin and looks her mate dead in the eye. “Damon Thorne. I, Maren Ashford, reject —” “ENOUGH.” The Alpha command cracks through the room so hard the windows shake. My knees buckle. Mom’s voice locks in her throat. He used his power on his own Luna to shut her up. “You don’t get to say it,” he hisses. “Not a word more!” He paces. Then, like the words cost him nothing, he says, “Where would you even go, Maren? Your father’s dead. Your brother’s dead. Your mother’s been gone for years. There’s nothing left of the Ashford Pack but bones. I’m all you have.” I freeze. So he remembers. He remembers her brother died to draw the rogues away from him — shredded by a hundred hunters, bones still buried somewhere in the northern sand without a single marker. He remembers her father tore his own throat open in the middle of the council hall, on his knees, begging other Alphas for backup. Bled out on the floor. Just so he could come home alive. He remembers kneeling at the Ashford ancestors’ altar, swearing on the moon: I, Damon Thorne, will protect Maren Ashford until my last breath. One mate. One Luna. Forever. Forever lasted three years. He came home from the Northern War with Brielle on his arm. Said she was a rogue. Said Mom should be gracious and give up the Luna’s quarters. Mom did. Brielle sneezed at the moonflowers in the garden — Mom’s moonflowers, five years of her own hands in the dirt — and he tore them all out the next morning. Then Mom got pregnant. A boy. The pack heir. Brielle whispered one sentence into his ear, “The pup’s spirit clashes with mine, my Alpha. If he lives, I won’t.” That same night, he held Mom down himself and poured the wolfsbane tonic into her mouth. Mom bled out the pup on the bedroom floor, screaming loud enough that every wolf in the pack heard her. But not one came. And out front, in the great hall, my father had Brielle on his lap, laughing, drinking, drums pounding — like he couldn’t even hear her. Like she wasn’t worth hearing. That was the night I knew. My father, who used to lift me onto his shoulders, who held my mother’s hand under the full moon, was already dead.

Like he’s afraid Mom will try to reject him again, Damon snatches the thing she pulled from her pillow — a small carved token marked with the Ashford sigil — and throws it into the fire. The flames eat it in seconds. Then he sighs. Soft. Almost tender. He reaches out to brush her hair back, the way he used to. Mom turns her face away. His hand freezes mid-air. His jaw locks. The whole room drops ten degrees. “Tonight Brielle and I are attending the Blood Moon Ball,” he says flatly. “Give her your mother’s moonstone set. The necklace, the pendant. All of it.” “NO!” I’m on my feet before Mom can move. “That belonged to Grandma. It’s all Mom has left of the Ashford Pack. Nobody touches it.” Brielle’s eyes fill instantly. “My Alpha, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t want anything that belongs to the Luna. I wasn’t born lucky like Elise. I don’t have parents to protect me. Let them all laugh at me tonight then, it’s fine. I’m used to it…” Damon’s face goes to stone. “Maren. Is this how you raise a daughter? Disrespectful. Wild. No discipline at all. Maybe Brielle should raise her from now on. Teach her what obedience looks like.” Mom’s face drains white. She drags herself off the bed on shaking legs and shoves me behind her. “Take all of it. Don’t touch Elise.” A flicker of triumph crosses Brielle’s eyes before she goes soft again. “My Alpha, I’m such a simple she-wolf. I’ll embarrass myself at the Ball without guidance. Why doesn’t Luna Maren come along as my personal maid? She can correct me when I make mistakes.” The Luna of the Thorne Pack. Serving as a maid to her mate’s whore. That’s not guidance. That’s public execution. Damon doesn’t even pause. “Done.” By sundown, a coarse gray maid’s dress lands at our door. I watch my mother peel her robe off her wrecked back and pull that ugly dress over bruises that haven’t even started healing. Tears just keep coming and I can’t stop them. She reaches up and wipes my face. Then she presses something cool into my palm — a moon-bone hairpin, white and smooth as river stone. “Elise, baby.” Her voice is so quiet. “I don’t think I have much time left.” “When I’m gone, take this pin. Run for the Northern Territories. Find Alpha Cassian. Your grandfather raised him like a son. He’ll keep you safe.” “I just wish… I could’ve watched you grow up.” I close my fist around the pin so hard the edge cuts me. I already know. She’s been bleeding out for months. Not from the wounds. From her wolf. She fought, in the beginning. Every time, they shoved her deeper. When Brielle first arrived, Mom didn’t want a rogue she-wolf in our pack around me. She bought a small house at the edge of pack lands and put Brielle there. Reasonable. Generous. The next morning Damon dragged Mom out and made her crawl on her knees the full length of the pack road, in front of every warrior, to invite Brielle home herself. For being a jealous Luna. Six moons ago, after the miscarriage, Mom grabbed a silver knife and went straight for Brielle’s throat. Damon caught her at the door. He didn’t strike her. He told her, very calmly, that if she stepped one paw across that door again, he would dig up Grandma’s bones and scatter them so her wolf could never return to the Moon. Three nights ago, somebody leaked old filthy pictures of Brielle from her rogue days in the north. Damon decided Mom did it. So that night, he drugged her. Then he threw her in a locked shed with a pack of starving rogues. And he stood outside and listened. That was the night her wolf went silent inside her for good. I press my face into her chest. She’s so thin I can feel every rib. “Mom…”

Brielle isn’t done with us. At the Blood Moon Ball, she keeps Mom on her feet all night — pouring her wine, kneeling to fix her shoes, presenting her cup with both hands. Every Luna in three territories watches the proud Luna of the Thorne Pack serve a rogue. When she’s bored of that, she pulls us out to a quiet lake behind the Ball. She unhooks one of her moonstone earrings and flicks it into the dark water. “Pick it up.” Mom doesn’t move. Brielle’s voice goes sharp. “Maren. You are my maid tonight.” Mom finally lifts her eyes. Cold. Steady. Old Ashford fight. “The moonstone set doesn’t make you a Luna. You’re still a rogue.” Brielle’s hand flies up. I throw myself between them and shove her back hard. “Don’t you dare touch my mother!” “You little bitch — ” She swings at me. Mom yanks me into her chest and Brielle’s nails rake across her neck instead, leaving four red lines. For one second, my mother’s eyes catch fire. The Alpha blood rises in her. Brielle actually steps back. Then it’s gone. Brielle laughs. “Look at you. A toothless old wolf. All bark.” “Fine. You don’t. But your daughter? She’s going to suffer for it.” “You wouldn’t dare.” Mom is shaking. “Elise is the Luna’s daughter. You touch her and I will haunt you out of your skin.” Brielle smiles. “oh the Luna’s daughter. But you know. Plenty of packs have already asked my Alpha to promise Elise in mating. Should I tell him to say yes to the Crowley heir? Or the Vance heir?” Two of the most rotten males alive. One trades she-wolves like coins. The other has buried three of his mates already. Mom’s whole body trembles. “Fine. I’ll pick it up.” The lake water in autumn is freezing. Mom wades in step by step. Within moments her lips are blue. Her hands shake too hard to grip anything. I scream for her to come back. Brielle smacks me hard. Twice. “Shut up, you little bitch. One more sound and I cut your tongue out.” My cheek burns. I glare at her with everything I have. A voice cuts the air. “What is going on here?” Damon. Brielle’s face flips in half a second. She grabs my hand and slams it against her own chest — then throws herself backward into the lake. The splash is huge. Damon dives without thinking. He drags Brielle out, holds her against him, panic and tenderness all over his face. He doesn’t even glance at Mom drowning in the center of the lake. A passing pack warrior pulls her out. Brielle clings to Damon, soaked and shaking, then sees me and screams. “No — please — I’m sorry — don’t hit me again, please — ” “I never touched you!” My voice rips out of me. I point to my own swollen cheek. “She made my mother go into the cold water for an earring! She called me a little bitch! She slapped me!” Damon finally looks at Mom. She’s barely breathing. After everything her body’s been through, the freezing lake almost finished her. Something flickers in his eyes. Almost regret. Brielle bursts into tears against his chest before he can speak. “Luna, I know you hate me. Fine. Hurt me, I deserve it. But teaching Elise to lie about me…” “Yes, I slapped her. Because she called me a bitch. She insulted my dead parents. I’m a rogue, my Alpha, but I have pride. I would rather die than be treated like that — ” She lunges toward the water again like she’s going to jump. “ENOUGH.” Damon’s roar shakes the trees. “Elise. Attacking the Alpha’s second. Drag her to the Pack Hall. Twenty lashes.” “NO!” Mom drops at his feet. Soaking. Bleeding. She slams her forehead into the stone in front of every guest there. “I raised her. Whatever she did, punish me. Take mine.” Damon’s eyes are ice. “Forty.” … The Pack Hall is cold. Stone. Old. Mom kneels on the floor, swaying. The silver-laced whip comes down and her skin opens on the first hit. Silver — to a wolf — is fire under the skin. She doesn’t scream. She bites her lip until it bleeds. I drop to my knees and claw at the stone floor, begging anyone, the Moon herself. My skin splits. Blood runs into my eyes. The forty count finally ends and Mom coughs up a mouthful of red and folds forward into the dark. I have her carried back. I send for every healer in the territory. I sit by her bed all night. Sometime before dawn, I fall against the side of her bed. Footsteps wake me. Damon. He kneels by her bed. His fingers shake as he peels the bandage off her back. The whip marks are deep, raw, crusted black with silver burn. His eyes go red. A tear lands on her shoulder. He starts cleaning the wounds himself, hands careful, voice ruined. “Maren. Why are you so stubborn.” “Brielle is not perfect, I know, but she has a good heart. She saved my life in the Northern War. I owe her that.” “Look. If you really can’t stand her, then once she gives me a pup, I’ll send her out and you and I and Elise will be a family again. Like before.” I keep my eyes shut. I don’t want to see him. There is no before anymore. There is no us anymore.

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I was the Snow Wolf Princess. My clan gave everything to make Bloodfang king. Six months pregnant, he forced a wager on me. My Luna title. Three thousand Snow Wolf lives. At the Autumn Hunt, I had to outshoot his favored consort. His favored consort was the pack’s top female archer. She smirked triumphantly in his arms. One arrow. My sacred crown was gone. The bastards laughed their hardest. Right then, I heard my unborn pup’s voice. He said he was the War God Sky Wolf reborn. “Mom, take the bet!” I drew my bow. First arrow, straight through the bell. Second arrow, clean through the hall. The bastards were left with nothing. Military command and the throne. Both mine! Inside the Alpha King’s tent, I stood below, cradling my belly. I watched that disgusting pair cuddled on the throne. Bloodfang’s men watched me like predators, jeering from both sides of the hall. “Luna, you accepted the bet to shoot against Her Highness Consort Nayi. Are you backing out after only one arrow?” Nayi sat in Bloodfang’s lap, black-eared and gold-eyed, smirking at me. A lithe Black-Stripe Jackal. The pack’s finest female archer. I was the Snow Wolf Princess. My kin came from the snowfields, every last one pure white. During the fight for the throne, I led my kin thousands of miles. We sought these warm valleys solely to crown my mate King. But the moment my dear mate took the throne, he made Nayi his consort. He exalted his mistress and crushed his Luna. At the Autumn Hunt, Bloodfang used entertainment as his excuse to pit me against Nayi. Three thousand Snow Wolf lives thrown on the table. He even demanded my sacred crown as a wager. My bow hand trembled. I bowed my head. Desperate tears splashed onto my knuckles. Right then, I heard a child’s voice from inside my belly. [Fear not, Mother. I am the War God Sky Wolf reborn. The next shot is mine.] My eyes went wide. A tiny wolf spirit emerged from my belly. Silver-white all over, his translucent body shimmered with starlight. Left eye gold. Right eye silver. [Zephyros is here! Who dares bully my mother?] Zephyros, the War God Sky Wolf. The most legendary young hero in wolf history. Could it truly be him? Yet no one else in the hall seemed to see him. Bloodfang drawled from his throne. “Can’t keep up, Luna? Just concede. It is a trinket. Nayi wants it, so let her play with it for a few days. You’re the Luna. Act like it.” My fists clenched tight. That crown had always been the sacred symbol of a Luna’s rank. A crownless Luna. The humiliation would be endless. Nayi stroked Bloodfang’s chest and looked my way. A dark, sultry smile curled her lips. “My King, you are so good to me. But if the Luna is struggling, let’s raise the stakes. I want the ice crystal around Isolde’s neck. Does she dare?” The hall erupted. I hissed. “This crystal is the Heart of Everwinter, our pack’s sacred charge. The Sky Wolf God granted it to our ancestors. It is no power symbol or military seal. It is the foundation of the entire wolf order. Nayi, how dare you treat it like a toy!” I lifted my ice-blue eyes. My voice came out cold and steady. Bloodfang waved his hand and pulled Nayi close with a doting squeeze. “Whatever you want, my love.” I gritted my teeth. The godlike little pup placed a paw on my hand. [Fear not, Mother. Take the bet. With me here, you will not lose. Not a chance.] I paused for just a beat, then made up my mind. “Since Your Majesty will sacrifice a century of our pack’s foundation just to amuse a mistress, then I accept.”

The entire hall went silent with shock. Nayi stepped down from the throne and reached into my collar. She pulled out the ice-blue crystal. The temperature in the tent plunged. Even the flames in the braziers dipped lower. “Perfect, Isolde. It is sacred and beautiful. I have always wanted this…” “Stop!” Slap! I knocked her hand away hard. “This is no trophy or toy. It is the anchor of a thousand years of wolf order. You’re from some backwater Black-Stripe Jackal offshoot. What gives you the right to touch it?” Nayi clutched her hand and stumbled back, feigning injury. She threw herself into Bloodfang’s arms, crying and complaining. “My King, Isolde clearly agreed just now. Why is she taking it back?” Bloodfang had been lounging against his throne, toying with the wolf-tooth pendant at his waist. He slammed a heavy palm on the armrest. His golden pupils shrank to thin vertical slits. The most dangerous signal before a wolf’s rage. Terrified elders dropped to their knees throughout the hall. “My word stands, Isolde. Do you want every beast clan to think the Alpha’s word is worthless?” “I would not dare,” I said coldly. “But beast-kin wagers are known for fairness. The stakes must be equal.” I lifted the sacred crown from my head. My white hair spilled down like a waterfall. Nine pure white wolf-tooth pendants swayed, clinking softly. “I stake this crown and the Heart of Everwinter. I wager my Luna title and our lineage’s dignity. Nayi, what do you have to wager? The slave identity you crawled out of a hyena den with?” In Bloodfang’s arms, Nayi’s pupils flared and her ears shot up. She glared at me with hatred. I went on, unbothered. “You were a slave picking arrows on the wasteland. You only wear silk and brocade because you crawled into the King’s tent. Do you really think you have the right to bet against me?” “Enough!” Bloodfang slammed the throne suddenly. His fangs showed. A low growl rumbled from deep in his throat. Nayi seized the moment and threw herself into his arms. Her tears fell like beads from a broken string. “My King… I am from a minor branch. I have nothing but you. She is right. I am unworthy to bet against her.” She put on a tearful, helpless look and started to rise. Bloodfang yanked her back into his arms, knuckles cracking. He stared at the crown in my hand, then looked down at his bawling mistress. Then he laughed. “Who says she has nothing?” Bloodfang slowly pushed Nayi aside and sat up straight. He raised his right hand and slid the heavy ring off his thumb. Cast from black iron, set with a blood-red wolf-eye gem. The totem of the Great Ancestor Wolf was engraved on the band. “I, the Alpha King, will cover her stake.”

“This is the Alpha King’s Signet, a relic of past Kings. It commands three thousand Grey Wolf warriors.” He slammed the ring hard onto the throne’s armrest. It landed with a dull thud. “Enough to cover that worthless crown of yours, Luna?” My pupils shrank. Every elder in the tent sucked in a sharp breath. Elder Whitemane shot to his feet. “Your Highness, reconsider! The ring must not…” Bloodfang shot him a cold look. His golden slit pupils flared. The elder went silent immediately. Nayi pressed against Bloodfang’s chest and flashed me a provocative smile. A cheerful pup’s voice echoed in my ears. [The Alpha King Ring! We hit the jackpot, Mom. Grab the bow! Your son will guide your arrow!] I watched that bastard pair in silence and smiled. There was a touch of pity in it. “Since Your Majesty is wagering for her, I shall gladly play along.” Bloodfang’s lips curled slightly. “Round two. Change the targets!” For years, I stood by his side at every hunt and archery match. Yet he only ever let me cheer from inside the tent. He forbade me from touching weapons, saying iron was too rough for my delicate hands. So earlier, I could barely draw. I barely scored a five. Nayi grew up on the wild plains and easily scored a perfect ten. Bloodfang knew all of this perfectly well. Iron-spine slaves moved on command. The first-round targets were wheeled away. Two taller iron racks were brought forward. Two copper bells hung from iron chains, suspended a full two hundred paces out. “Change bows,” Bloodfang ordered. His voice was cold as ice shards. Attendants presented two bows. Nayi took hers. Rosewood frame, wolf teeth inlaid on the arms. One of the strongest bows in the pack. She drew it easily into a full moon. The attendant set my bow at Nayi’s feet. It was no ordinary bow. The frame was jet black, heavy as iron. Three cords of ox tendon twisted into a string thick as a pinky. Stood upright, it nearly reached my chest. Hushed voices murmured across the hall. “That is the first Alpha’s Stone-Crusher Bow. Without godly strength, no one can draw it. The Luna is pregnant. The Alpha really is trying to finish her off.” Bloodfang sat high above it all. “You’ve never had a bow of your own, so I’m lending you one worthy of your title.” I said nothing and bent down to pick it up.

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Julian treated “breakup” like his trump card. He always won. Any time we hit a rough patch, he’d throw those words at me. I was always the one swallowing my pride to fix us. Then, I saw it on his laptop. A round-trip flight confirmation to Seattle. His ex-wife lived there. I confronted him with the silent evidence. Offended impatience filled his face. “Isabella is doing poorly. I’m heading to the West Coast for work anyway. Just stopping by to see her.” He didn’t even bother to close the laptop. “If you can’t even trust me, maybe we should break up.” The flight details stared back at me. Then I looked at the man I’d loved for three years. A long silence followed. “Fine. I agree. Let’s break up.” … Julian’s movements froze. He clearly didn’t expect my agreement. An indifferent glance flickered my way. Then he simply returned to his files. “Suit yourself.” I closed his laptop gently. Then I walked out of the study. Outside the door, I closed my eyes. My heart throbbed with pain. Julian didn’t come to the bedroom that night. I knew he was waiting. He thought I’d push open the study door like always, wearing that same practiced smile. But I was done being the clown. The next morning, I carried my suitcase downstairs. Julian was on a call. He saw me and spoke quickly into the phone. “Okay, see you the day after tomorrow.” Julian hung up in a hurry. I knew it was Isabella on the other end. Julian looked at my suitcase, then my face. His brow furrowed deeply. “Where are you going?” “Moving out.”

“Moving out?” He smirked. “When are you coming back?” I ignored his contemptuous tone. “I’m not coming back.” Impatience nearly overflowed from his face. “Clara, knock it off. Seriously? It was just a quick stop to see her. You’re really blowing this up into something it’s not.” I looked up and watched him silently for a long time. “It is.” It wasn’t just one ticket. Unwavering monthly records filled his account. The orders were dense. Every single trip was to see Isabella. I wasn’t throwing a fit. I just realized there was nothing left worth saving. Julian frowned. “Since when are you so petty?” Maybe I was. “Yes, Julian. I’m petty.” I looked straight into his eyes. My voice was firmer than ever. “That’s why I agreed to the breakup.” Last night, Julian didn’t take me seriously. He was sure I couldn’t let go. For three years, I was always the one chasing after him, always the one giving in. He was used to my obedience, used to me letting everything slide. Even my friends thought I was wasting myself on him. Friends said I was hell-bent on clinging to a man who didn’t deserve me. Julian’s face darkened completely. He let out a cold laugh. “Fine. If you’re set on it, we’re done.” I moved out of the Upper East Side apartment. Julian didn’t contact me. He never reached out first. I visited him once after the Seattle trip. My arrival didn’t surprise him. The situation was entirely under his control, or so he thought. I would return and bow after my so-called tantrums. Leaning against the door, he waited for me to coax him. Instead, I slid the engagement ring off my finger. “This belongs to you.”

Julian lowered his eyes but did not reach out. He suddenly gave an extremely mocking sneer. “Clara, you’re actually giving this back?” Six months ago, Julian proposed out of nowhere. The moment he slipped that ring onto my finger, forever felt real. So I cherished that ring obsessively. I never took it off, even to sleep. He once mocked me for making a fuss. I ignored his sarcasm and repeated my words calmly. “Yes. Returning to sender.” Julian’s smile froze for a moment. Then he curled his lips with a condescending tone. “Keep it.” He said lazily. “Putting it back on you later is too much trouble.” Trouble? In Julian’s world, what was actually easy? Crossing the whole country to see her was not trouble. Gifts and messages always arrived punctually every year. Dropping everything to comfort her wasn’t trouble. If she was upset, he’d drop everything and fly out just to be there for her. Even while I waited for him at home. I had always chosen not to think too hard about these things. Now, they hit me like a tidal wave. I thought if I just kept waiting, he would eventually be fully mine. I was wrong. No matter what I did, Julian always kept a place in his heart just for Isabella. “No thanks,” my voice lacked even a single ripple. “We are completely finished.”

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Under the ancient covenant, sisters of the Crescent Clan must be mated on the same full moon. Our veils stay on until we cross into our new Alpha’s land. For three years, I’ve waited for Kain. My body was wasting away from the silver blight. Today, his ceremonial convoy finally arrived. I was about to step outside, my heart pounding with hope. Then I heard his voice through the thin wooden wall. He was giving orders to his Beta. “Take Sara to my car first. She’s too delicate for the Shadow Mountains. That place would kill her before the first frost.” His Beta sounded troubled. “But Alpha… Lady Lyra was poisoned saving your life. To swap mates now breaks the sacred covenant. The Elders will demand a reckoning.” “I’ve already paid off the ceremony priestess. And I’ll handle my mother.” His voice was cold, decisive. “I am the strongest warrior in our clan. They won’t cast me out over this… inconvenience. Lyra can go to the Shadow Mountains. I have ways to get her medicine, to keep her alive. But Sara? She wouldn’t last a day. Lyra will have to take the hit.” Behind the wall, I swallowed back a wave of nausea. Thick, dark blood dripped from my lips. He knew exactly how sick I was. But in his clever little calculation, I was the one who could be sacrificed. I didn’t scream or cry. I just calmly stepped back into my stone house. They probably expected me to find out and go insane. To tear apart the entire convoy in a fit of rage. Instead, I just let my attendants guide me. I stepped into the black off-road vehicle heading for the Shadow Mountains. Ready to become the mate of a monstrous, brutal Alpha. “Lyra, don’t make a scene. Sara wouldn’t survive a single day in the Shadow Mountains. You go, and I’ll have medicine smuggled to you. In a few days, I’ll find an excuse and bring you back.” Kain’s voice came through the window, crystal clear. He was on his strong war wolf, riding right beside us. His tone was gentle, filled with that usual, arrogant certainty. He spoke as if I wasn’t his mate of three years, the one being shipped off to a monster. I sat perfectly still inside the transport. My hands were folded neatly in my lap. No tears. No shouting. I didn’t even open the window to confront him. There was a moment of silence outside. Kain was pleased with my silence. His voice softened even more. “I know you feel wronged. But Sara is so timid. She was crying the whole time she got into the car. That moonstone charm my mother left for you? I gave it to Sara to calm her down. Her body is always so cold. She needs it more than you do. You’ve always been the understanding one. You wouldn’t hold this against your sister, would you?” My fingers, resting on my knees, went rigid.

That moonstone charm was the last piece of my mother I had. It was the only thing that could keep the silver poison from taking over. I remember a blood moon night, three years ago. I dropped the charm into a frozen lake. Kain dove into the piercing water without a second thought. He searched for three hours, his lips turning purple from the cold. When he finally climbed out, he pressed the charm back into my hand. “What’s yours, Lyra, I would die to protect.” Back then, he only loved me. But now, with a single, casual sentence, he gave it all away. The one thing I cherished was gone. The metallic taste of blood rose in my throat again. I pulled a handkerchief from my sleeve, covering my mouth to stifle a cough. Blood blossomed across the silk. It looked just like the blood I’d shed for him. The day I took a silver-poisoned bolt meant for his heart. “Are you coughing?” Kain asked from outside. “Is it too drafty inside? You were always one of our strongest fighters, Lyra. Don’t start acting fragile just because you’re sick. The Shadow Mountains are a different world. You’ll need to curb that temper of yours. Don’t provoke Draven.” He still mistook my quiet pain for defiance. I folded the blood-stained fabric and hid it away. “Alpha Kain,” my voice was perfectly calm. “It’s getting late. You shouldn’t miss the ceremony.” A sigh of relief escaped him, loud enough for me to hear. “I knew you’d do the sensible thing. Wait for me, Lyra.” The scrape of wolf claws on stone faded into the distance. He went to meet his precious new bride. And I was on my way to the Shadow Mountains.

The car jolted over the rugged mountain pass. With every bump, the silver poison burned through my veins. I closed my eyes, curling deeper into my ceremonial gown. I didn’t know how much time passed before we lurched to a halt. Outside, there were no celebratory howls. No cheering clan. Just a chilling silence. The door was wrenched open. Icy mountain wind blasted in, and a violent shiver wracked my body. A large, calloused hand appeared before me. “My Luna, watch your step.” His voice was deep, not savage like the rumors claimed. It was calming. Without hesitating, I placed my ice-cold hand in his. The man tensed the moment our skin touched. But he didn’t pull away. His grip tightened, enveloping my hand completely. Heat poured from his palm, carrying the steady force of an Alpha. He led me past a raging bonfire and up a long flight of stone steps. The warmth only retreated when he settled me onto a bed of soft furs. My veil was lifted with the tip of an obsidian staff. I looked up into eyes as deep and dark as a frozen lake. Draven. The Alpha of the Shadow Mountains. He was dressed in black ceremonial leathers. His gaze was fixed on my deathly pale face. Then, from his sleeve, he produced a clean linen cloth. “Wipe the blood from your mouth.”

I blinked, taken aback. I took the clean linen cloth from his hand and gently wiped my lips. More blood. Draven took a half-step back, giving me a comfortable space. “No one here ever thought to set up proper heat for a Luna. I had the fires in the main den stoked for you. Just hold on.” He didn’t ask why I was here. He didn’t question the bride swap. I lowered my eyes and said softly, “Thank you, Alpha.” The silver poison flared, a thousand icy needles digging into my bones. I clenched my jaw, refusing to make a sound. A habit I learned over three long years. Because Kain once told me he hated hearing women cry out in pain. Three years ago, I blocked that silver poison arrow for him. The poison nearly destroyed my wolf core. A blizzard had sealed the mountains that night. He carried me through the deep snow, desperate to find a healer. My blood stained his back red. Tears streamed down his face as he made a vow. “Lyra, I swear I’ll never let you suffer again.” But then, Sara returned to the clan. She merely twisted her ankle in the garden, letting out a soft whimper. Kain abandoned me while I was writhing in agony and sprinted to her side. He scooped her into his arms. “Sara is so fragile. How could you leave her alone out here?” That was the first time he ever blamed me. After that, I learned to suffer in silence. “Alpha.” A voice came from the door. “The Crescent Clan sent something for the Luna.” Draven glanced at me. “Bring it in.” It was Finn, one of Kain’s most trusted enforcers. He stood with his head bowed, holding out a rough wooden box. “Luna, our Alpha sent this for you. He’s sorry for tonight’s hardships. Alpha went to three markets to find this frostbite salve for you. He knows the Shadow Mountains are harsh. This should help you endure.” I just stared at that wooden box. And I almost laughed.

I recognized that frostbite salve. Kain had bought it for Sara a few days ago. She’d complained about the harsh smell and tossed it on a table. Kain soothingly coaxed her. “My mistake. Tomorrow, I’ll get you the Elven jade cream instead.” And now, Sara’s trash was his “merciful gift” to me. He actually thought I’d be grateful. He thought I’d still swallow any poison for a drop of his sweetness. “Just leave it there.” But Finn didn’t move. His eyes darted toward me. “Our Alpha also wanted to know…” “Know what?” “He asked why you aren’t wearing the moon-laurel crown he sent. He said he designed it himself, and he was sure you would love it.” I closed my eyes, hiding the bitter irony. That crown was loaded with tacky, colored crystals. It wasn’t my style at all. It was what Sara wanted. She’d casually remarked. “Something that flashy would suit your sister.” He took her words as gospel and forced it on me. “Go back and tell your Alpha,” I said, my eyes snapping open. “I threw it away on the road here.” Finn’s head shot up, his face a mask of disbelief. “Threw… threw it away?” “Off a cliff. I enjoyed the sound it made.” Finn scrambled out of the room like he’d seen a ghost. Silence fell once more. Draven was just watching me. “You didn’t actually throw it away.” I stiffened but didn’t deny it. “So why lie to him?” “Because I don’t want to owe him anything. That crown, and everything else he ever gave me… I had it all sent back to the Crescent Clan’s storerooms.” Draven didn’t press further. He tossed a heavy, black wolf-pelt cloak over my shoulders. “Get some rest. Tomorrow, you return to your clan for the homecoming rites.”

The fire burned warmly, and for once, I slept soundly. No rustling in the night as Kain rushed off to soothe Sara’s nightmares. No maids whispering that Sara’s heart was aching again. The silence of the Shadow Mountains felt peaceful. After washing up, I sat at the table, sipping a warm soup. Draven had sent a healing herbal soup, free of the bitter thistle I despise. I slowly picked out the red berries, eating deliberately. Then, I heard faint footsteps outside the door. It was Grey, one of Kain’s personal guards. I set down my spoon and wiped my mouth. Kain had some nerve. Sending his most elite guard into Draven’s nest just to pass a message. “Lady Lyra.” Grey dropped to one knee, his voice low. “My Alpha sent me with a message for you.” “Speak.” He swallowed hard, as if the words were poison on his tongue. “The Alpha says Lady Sara was frightened last night. She can’t stop shivering. The fires in the Crescent Clan aren’t warm enough. She’s been coughing all night. The Alpha asks you…” He paused, unable to meet my eyes. “To strip off the Spirit Wolf Pelt and send it to Sara.” My hand stilled on the soup bowl. The soup rippled. The Spirit Wolf Pelt. The ancient relic I nearly died to win. After being worn for three years, the armor had completely fused with my flesh. Tearing it off now would be like being flayed alive. Kain knew this. He had fastened the pelt on me himself, his eyes red with tears. “Lyra, wear this day and night. I will never let you feel that pain again.” But now, he wants me to rip my own skin off. All to keep his Sara warm. “What else did your Alpha say?” My voice was flat. Grey ducked his head lower. “He said… he said your secret medicines will keep you alive. You just have to endure it. Lady Sara is too delicate. Without the pelt, she might not survive the winter. Once she recovers, he will find a way to make it up to you.” Kain actually thought some herbs could numb the pain of being skinned alive. “Lady,” Grey urged. “The Alpha is waiting for my report. Lady Sara cannot wait any longer.”

I set the bowl down. Then I walked into the shadows of the stone wall. And ripped the armor from my own flesh. Flesh tore free with a wet, sickening sound. Blood instantly soaked my underclothes. The pain made my teeth chatter, but all I saw was his face… Gently placing this pelt on me in the snow. I balled up the dripping armor, fought back the tremors, and stepped out of the shadows—throwing it right at Grey’s feet. “Take it away.” Grey just stared at the blood-soaked mess, completely frozen. He never thought I’d actually do it. He definitely didn’t expect this bloody, mangled ruin. “Tell Kain,” I said, my eyes locked on his. “The Spirit Wolf Pelt is a gift. For Sara.” Grey snatched the pelt and vaulted out the open window. A blast of cold air hit me. My strength finally gave out. My legs buckled, and I crumpled to the ground. I started coughing up mouthfuls of black blood. I collapsed on the floor, coughing so hard I could barely breathe. And my vision blurred at the edges. Before everything went dark, a pair of black boots stopped in front of me. A heavy cloak was thrown over me, wrapping me in its weight. Draven’s strong arms lifted me from the floor. “Do you really care that little whether you live or die?” His voice was shaking, thick with suppressed rage.

I woke three days later. A brazier burned by the bed, its herbal scent filling the room. I moved a finger. The silver poison in me was calmed by a gentle Alpha’s power. “You’re awake?” Draven sat at a nearby desk, holding an ancient scroll of hide. He looked at my pale face, his expression unreadable. “Three years ago, I was on the cliffs. I saw you take that silver arrow for him.” My whole body went rigid. I stared at him, stunned. He let out a bitter laugh. “I watched you nearly die for him, and get a wound that would never heal. I thought he would cherish you. Instead, he threw you away like you were nothing.” He set down the scroll and slowly walked toward me. “From now on, I will protect you.” My gaze fell. A lump formed in my throat, but I couldn’t speak. “Today is the Homecoming Ceremony,” he said, changing the subject. “If you’re unwell, I can send word to the Crescent Clan. You don’t have to go.” I pushed myself up to sit on the edge of the bed. “Thank you, Alpha. I’m fine. I have to go back.” I must. If I don’t, Kain will think I was tortured here, too broken to face anyone. An hour later, I was ready. I was dressed in the formal attire of the Shadow Mountains’ Luna. Black silk wrapped around me, my hair held up by an obsidian pin from Draven. He and I were in the same car, heading for the Crescent Clan’s territory. Our car stopped at the entrance just as Kain’s procession arrived. He was helping Sara down from her car. She was wearing my ceremonial dress. The Spirit Wolf Pelt on her chest shimmered in the sunlight. Kain looked up and saw me. His eyes widened in absolute shock. He expected me to be wasted away, a wreck. Not regal. Not serene. “Lyra,” Sara cooed, her voice dripping with venomou sweetness. “There you are. Kain’s been worried sick.”

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At my final bridal fitting, I stepped out of the dressing room to find my sister, Daphne, straightening my fiancé Nolan’s bow tie. Nolan Hayes—the mafia Don feared throughout Boston’s underworld. I had just opened my mouth to say, “I’ll do it,” when the makeup artist smiled and walked toward Daphne. “Right this way, bride.” I stopped short. Nolan did not correct her. The black-suited guards stationed outside the door kept their eyes forward. Daphne only smiled shyly and leaned against him. Meanwhile, Miles—my childhood friend—raised his camera and began taking pictures of them. I stood frozen, like an outsider. Nearly every photo on Miles’s camera was of Daphne and my fiancé. There wasn’t a single shot of me—the actual bride. Daphne spoke as naturally as though she were the one getting married. “Fiona, bring me that bouquet.” When Nolan noticed I had not moved, he came over and gently took the flowers from my hands. Those eyes of his, eyes that had terrified countless men across negotiating tables, held a rare trace of warmth. “Fiona, what are you staring at? Go choose the invitation design. I’ll come over when we’re done with the photos.” Miles lowered the camera just enough for one eye to appear above the viewfinder. “Fiona, move a couple of steps to the side. You’re blocking the light.” I moved without a word and stood in the corner. At that moment, I finally understood how unnecessary I was. If this wedding had no need for me, then I wouldn’t be there. … I quietly picked up my bag from the bench and pushed open the door. The bell above it chimed once. No one called after me. I looked back. Daphne was twirling in front of the mirror while Nolan stood behind her, adjusting the bow at her waist. Miles held up his camera. “Yes, yes. That’s the angle.” The shutter clicked five or six times in quick succession. I turned away and walked out of the boutique. As I got into my car, the two black sedans assigned to protect me fell in behind me without a sound. My phone lit up with a message from the wedding planner. Miss Bennett, the wedding is coming up. Have you chosen the invitation design? Before I could answer, another message arrived. Or you could let your sister choose. She has excellent taste. The car was so quiet that I could hear every breath I took. One after another, as though I were counting something. What was I counting? How many times I had been forgotten in this relationship? I typed three words. Let her decide. I meant it. Let Daphne decide. Nolan would listen to her in the end anyway. The reply came almost instantly. Got it. I stared at those words and imagined the planner breathing a sigh of relief. Every decision the bride made was always changed afterward. They were probably tired of revising the plans over and over. It was easier to let my sister make the decisions from the start. Before I could put my phone down, notifications began pouring in. Miles was uploading photos to the group chat one by one. I opened one. His composition was excellent. The light fell perfectly across their faces. Nolan stood in a sharply tailored black suit, and the two of them looked like the stars of a bridal campaign announcing the future wife of the Hayes Don. I had poured everything into this wedding, as though doing so could prove that I was not always the one who got forgotten. I never imagined that, in the end, I would still be pushed out of the frame. My phone lit up, went dark, then lit up again. Messages kept filling the group chat. I did not respond. No one noticed. I dismissed my escort detail and drove alone to the apartment I had been renting. A note was stuck to the refrigerator. Seven days until the wedding. I peeled it off, crushed it into a ball, and dropped it into the trash.

The next morning, I checked my phone. The wedding-planning group chat showed 99+ unread messages. Daphne had tagged me only once, in a voice message. I tapped it. “Fiona, I changed the wedding song. The song you picked was too gloomy. The wedding should feel lighter.” Nolan replied immediately beneath it. Agreed. The original song doesn’t suit the occasion. Half the family will be there. Choose something lighter. The original song did not suit the occasion? I had spent an entire month choosing it. It was the song my parents had played at their wedding. Hearing it always made my eyes burn. They had died far too young, and I had wanted them to be present in some small way. Nolan knew that. So did Daphne. Yet they still thought it was too gloomy. Daphne continued in the chat. “Fiona never likes making decisions. We can just choose these things for her.” Nolan replied with one word. Agreed. I stared at it without moving. Messages streamed past one after another. No one noticed that Fiona was in the group chat. No one noticed that Fiona was silent. I had no role in my own wedding. I opened my private conversation with Nolan. The last exchange was still from yesterday’s bridal shoot. I had written, I’m a little nervous. He had replied with a head-pat emoji. After that, nothing. He had not even messaged me privately after I left early to ask what was wrong. The only thing he had done was tag me in the group the night before. What happened? Did you get so nervous you left early? No one answered. No one cared. Daphne posted a photo with the caption, Fiona, today’s shoot went perfectly. The dress is officially confirmed! And just like that, the matter was forgotten. Then they went back to discussing flowers, invitations, and the ceremony backdrop. Suddenly, I realized I was not merely unnecessary. Being unnecessary would at least mean I had once existed. I felt as though I had never been there at all. While I was packing, Daphne suddenly video-called me. When I answered, someone was applying her makeup. “Fiona, you’re moving way too slowly. The makeup team still isn’t confirmed, so I booked one myself. I’m testing them out for you first.” I looked at Daphne in front of the mirror and wanted to say something, but I no longer knew what. Two weeks earlier, I had told her my friend would personally do my bridal makeup. But it was as though my wishes never reached her. She simply made every decision for me. Had I never confronted them? Had I never been unhappy? Had I never stood my ground? I had. It always ended with the same line. “Fiona, you’re more mature than she is. Don’t make a big deal out of this.” Miles had known me longer than anyone, yet he always took her side. Then Nolan entered my life and pursued me relentlessly. The man known throughout the underworld for his ruthlessness and decisiveness would personally drive me home late at night and tell me my quiet, absentminded ways were adorable. I thought he liked me that way. But after he met Daphne, his preferences seemed to change. Without realizing it, he began saying that women should be lively and decisive. One day, I finally said, “Can you stop being so close to Daphne? You need better boundaries with her.” I thought he would understand. Instead, he laughed, ruffled my hair, and dismissed it. “Boundaries? Once you marry me, Daphne will be part of the Hayes family too. Do you expect me to treat her like a stranger?” I fell silent. Of course I didn’t want them at each other’s throats. But the words, You’re more mature, so you should be more understanding, had weighed on me for years. For the first time, those words felt heavy enough to suffocate me. They had forgotten that I was only two years older than she was. I wanted gifts too. I wanted someone to ask me, Do you like this? But no one ever cared.

I called my landlord and told him I was moving out that day. “Are you sure?” he asked. “You’ve lived there more than four years.” Four years. When Nolan and I first started dating, he had wanted me to move into the Hayes estate—a heavily guarded compound where his most trusted family members lived. Daphne said I should keep some private space before marriage and suggested I live alone. So I rented this apartment near the family’s downtown headquarters, hoping I would see Nolan more often. He agreed, and every now and then, he would slip away from his security detail and spend the night. These rooms had witnessed the sweetness of our early love, then the arguments, the silences, and the countless times he left in a hurry because of family business. But now I had finally reached the end of my patience. “Yes,” I said. “I’m moving today.” The landlord sighed and told me to leave the keys in the mailbox. Not long after I hung up, the door opened from the outside. Nolan and Daphne walked in, laughing together. Daphne glanced back at him with a smile. “You promised that when my lease ends, I can stay at your estate for a few weeks after the wedding. I want the room with the bay window in the east wing, and I want the curtains changed to pink.” I stood in the middle of the living room, convinced I had heard her wrong. She spoke so naturally, as though she had every right to decide how long she would stay and how our future home would be decorated. Nolan did not object. He smiled indulgently. “As long as Fiona doesn’t mind.” “Fiona always takes care of me. Of course she won’t mind.” Something loosened inside my throat. “What if I do mind?” The room went silent for two seconds. Daphne stared at me. Perhaps it was the first time I had ever truly refused her. Before she could say anything, her eyes were already turning red. Nolan’s tone sharpened with reproach. “What’s wrong with you, Fiona? You’ve always given her whatever she wanted. Now you’re going to make an issue out of one room?” “I’m not making an issue out of it.” “Then what are you saying?” He frowned. “Her lease is ending. She’d only be staying a few weeks. She’s your sister, not some outsider we need to guard against. The estate is enormous. What difference would one extra person make for a few weeks?” “That is supposed to be our home after the wedding. The home of the future lady of the Hayes family.” I looked at him. “Which one of us is marrying you?” That shut Nolan up. Daphne spoke softly, eyes red. “Fiona, I only wanted to be close to you. If you don’t want me there, forget it. I won’t move in.” Nolan turned to me with reproach. “Look what you’ve done. One sentence, and you’ve hurt her this badly. She’s your sister. Can’t you think about her feelings?” “And who thinks about mine?” I lifted my head. “You personally brought her into a company owned by the Hayes family and approved a salary far above everyone else at her level. She has almost nothing to worry about. What about me? All I have is—” “Enough.” Nolan’s expression changed. “Be reasonable. She’s your sister. I only take special care of her because of you. Do you really have to be this petty?” Petty. That word again. I smiled and stopped speaking. Daphne tugged at his sleeve. “Nolan, stop. Fiona is probably just in a bad mood.” He patted her hand, then softened his voice toward me. “Fiona, I’ve already made the decision. It will be good for Daphne to stay with us. You two can keep living close to each other.” I nodded. Agreed. It was their home, after all. I would never live there. Nolan relaxed. Daphne dabbed at the corners of her dry eyes and smiled again. I turned back to my packing. Behind me, Daphne asked, “So I really can change the curtains to pale pink?” Nolan laughed softly. “Whatever you like.”

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On the day I tried on my wedding dress, I caught my fiancé flirting with my little sister. Sasha is standing in front of him, giggling, and his fingers are at her throat, tying the ribbon of a sample veil she pulled off the rack. The stylist breezes past me like I’m a coat stand and heads straight for my sister. “Bride, this way please.” Sasha doesn’t correct her. Neither does Julian. Cole, my childhood best friend and our wedding photographer, brushes past my shoulder without a glance. His shutter clicks. Click. Click. Click. I look at the monitor. Ninety-nine shots. I scroll through every single one. Sasha laughing. Julian laughing. Sasha twirling. Julian’s hand on her waist, steadying her. Not one frame of me. Something cold drops through my chest, slow and final, like a coin sinking in water. I should be used to this. I have been used to this my whole life. “You’re the older sister, Elena. Just let her have it.” “Be the bigger person. She doesn’t know any better.” “A good big sister doesn’t keep score.” That was Aunt Nora. Uncle Robert. Every aunt, every uncle, every neighbor at every Thanksgiving since I was four years old. Let her have the bigger slice. Let her pick first. Let her, let her, let her. I learned to swallow before I learned to speak. So when Julian started looking at Sasha a beat too long at family dinners, I told myself I was imagining it. When he stopped calling my quiet “cute” and started saying women should be “lively, with opinions,” I told myself I was being insecure. When I finally worked up the nerve to ask, “Could you not be so close with Sasha?” he just ruffled my hair like I was a child. “She’s your sister, babe. You want me to be enemies with my future sister-in-law?” I went quiet. I always go quiet. “Elena, sweetie.” Julian finally notices me. He walks over, gently lifts the bouquet out of my hands, my bouquet, and carries it back to Sasha. “Why don’t you go pick the invitation samples? I’ll be there in a minute.” Cole peeks out from behind his viewfinder. “Hey, Elena, scoot a couple steps? You’re blocking my light.” I step back. And back. Until I’m against the wall. I pick up my purse off the bench. The little bell over the door chimes when I push it open. Nobody calls my name. I turn around once. Sasha is twirling in front of the mirror. Julian is behind her, tying a bow at her waist. Cole’s shutter is going off like applause. In the car, my phone lights up. The wedding planner. Hi Elena! Have you decided on the invitation style? A second message, three seconds later: Or your sister can pick! She has such great taste. 😊 I sit there in the silence, listening to myself breathe. Counting. I don’t even know what I’m counting anymore. Maybe how many times I’ve been erased this week. This month. This life. I type three words back. Let her choose. She will anyway. Julian will agree with whatever Sasha picks. He always does. Got it! the planner replies in two seconds flat. Relieved. Of course she’s relieved. No more pestering the indecisive bride. The group chat blows up. Cole is uploading the photos in real time. Sasha glowing in white. Julian’s hand on the small of her back. They look like a Vera Wang ad. I laugh. It comes out broken. When I was a little girl, I used to play wedding in the backyard with Cole and Sasha. They were always the bride and groom. I was the flower girl. I scattered the petals. And after they ran inside for snacks, I was the one left in the grass, picking every petal back up alone. Nobody ever asked if I was tired. I drive back to my apartment. There’s a Post-it on the fridge in my own handwriting: Wedding, 7 days. I peel it off, crumple it into a tiny ball, and drop it in the trash.

I call the landlord first thing in the morning and tell him I’m moving out today. “You sure, Elena? You’ve been here, what, four years?” Four years. When Julian and I first started dating, he wanted me to move in with him. Sasha was the one who said couples shouldn’t live together before the wedding, that it “killed the magic.” I agreed. So I rented this little place near his office, hoping I’d see him more often. He stopped by once in a while. Crashed for a night. Left before I woke up. The walls in this apartment have seen us kiss, fight, go silent, and every version of his back walking out the door. “Yeah,” I say. “Today.” He sighs and tells me to leave the keys in the mailbox. I’m taping up a box of books when the front door swings open. Julian walks in first. Sasha skips in behind him. She turns to him with a sparkle in her eye. “So it’s settled, right? The bedroom with the bay window in the new house, that one’s mine. But I want the curtains changed to pink.” I freeze in the middle of the living room. I think I’ve misheard. She says it so casually. Like moving into our marital home, the home Julian and I picked out together, is the most natural thing in the world. Julian doesn’t push back. He just laughs, fond and indulgent. “As long as your sister’s okay with it.” “My sister loves me. Of course she’s okay with it.” Something inside me snaps. Quietly. Like a thread I didn’t know was holding me up. “And what if I’m not?” Two seconds of dead silence. Sasha’s lips part. She blinks like a kicked puppy. Right on cue, her eyes well up. Julian’s voice drops, hard. “Elena. What’s gotten into you? You usually can’t wait to give her whatever she wants. Now you’re going to fight over a bedroom?” “I’m not fighting.” “Then what are you doing?” He frowns. “She’s your sister, not a stranger off the street. The house is huge. The room is empty. What’s the problem?” “It’s our marital home,” I say. “Is she marrying you?” Julian’s mouth opens. Closes. Sasha sniffles, eyes shimmering. “Sis, I just wanted to be close to you. Forget it. I won’t move in.” Julian shoots me a look. “See what you just did? She’s a girl. She’s your little sister. Can’t you think about her for once?” “Can anyone think about me for once?” The words come out before I can stop them. “You got her that cushy job at your company. She’s set for life. And what do I have? I only have⁠—” “Enough!” His face changes. He steps toward me. “Be reasonable. She’s your baby sister. The only reason I look out for her is because of you. Do you really have to be this petty?” Petty. I laugh. A small, dry sound. Then I shut my mouth. Sasha tugs his sleeve. “Julian, don’t. Maybe she’s just in a mood.” He pats her hand. His voice softens. For her. “Elena. The decision’s made. Sasha moving in is a good thing. You sisters won’t have to be apart anymore.” I nod. Sure. Whatever. It’s your house. Your family. I won’t be living in it anyway. Julian exhales, relieved. Sasha dabs at her eyes and gives him a watery smile. I turn back to my boxes. Behind me, Sasha’s voice, bright again. “So I really can do pink curtains?” Julian, laughing: “Whatever you want.” That afternoon, I drive to Julian’s office. In my bag: his apartment fob, his office key, and a client file he’d asked me to organize weeks ago. The receptionist beams at me. “Ms. Carter! Want me to ring Mr. Hayes?” “No need.” I set the bag on her desk. “Just give him this.” I turn and walk out. I’m halfway down the stairwell when I hear his voice through a cracked door. “Saturday? Mani-pedi appointment with you?” My fingers go stiff on the railing. Then his laugh, warm and easy: “Yeah, yeah, I know. You want to look perfect for the wedding. I’ll go. I’ll tell your sister.” I press my forehead against the cold concrete wall. Saturday was supposed to be ours. He promised me last winter we’d watch the sunrise together before the wedding. He kept pushing it. To spring. To the week of. Finally we settled on this Saturday. Now he’s “handling” me. Like I’m a chore. I don’t wait to hear the rest. I walk down the stairs, get in my car, and drive straight to my hometown upstate.

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On our third wedding anniversary, Liam brought Serena home. He had forgotten our anniversary again. He just gave me a displeased look. “What are you staring at? Go get Serena her slippers, quickly.” He paused, then added, “She just got divorced and has nowhere to go. She’ll stay with us for a few nights. Don’t get the wrong idea.” Serena was the woman he loved but couldn’t have in his youth. How could I not overthink it? That night, I was jolted awake by a sharp female voice. Liam wasn’t beside me. From the guest bedroom next door, I heard intimate moans. What they were doing was obvious. I pulled out my journal from the nightstand, flipping to the first page. It was already filled. “Day one of marriage, he got drunk and called out Serena’s name. Minus ten points.” “I had a high fever. He flew to Paris for Serena’s dog’s birthday. Minus ten points.” …… “Brought another woman home on our anniversary. Minus twenty points.” After writing that, I looked at the bottom line: “When I deduct one hundred points, I’ll file for divorce.” Now, only twenty points were left.

Ashley POV I closed the thick textbook and rubbed the back of my aching neck. “Ashley, your husband is in the news again.” The seventeen-year-old boy opposite me twirled his pen, pushing his phone screen toward me. His eyes held undisguised pity and the bluntness typical of his age. “Who’s that woman? She’s making him forget his actual wife?” My gaze fell on the screen. It was a video secretly filmed by a reporter. Late at night, in the VIP lounge of the international airport, Liam Vance, wearing the black coat I had ironed for him that morning, was holding a slender woman with red-rimmed eyes tightly in his arms. Flashbulbs flashed non-stop. Liam, who usually hated cameras, didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he pressed the woman’s head into his chest with a large hand, shielding her face from all prying eyes. It was a look of cherish and fervent devotion I had never seen in our three years of marriage. The bold headline below the video was painfully clear: “Liam, heir to the prominent Vance Group, picking up his ex-girlfriend Serena Clarke late at night as she returns home after her divorce.” I stared at the screen for five full seconds until it went dark. Then, I forced a faint smile. “Adults’ business is not for kids. You got half your grammar questions wrong today. I’ll check your corrections tomorrow.” I calmly packed my canvas bag, pushed open the door, and walked out of the luxury mansion nestled in the hills. As soon as I stepped outside, a cold wind wrapped in drizzle hit me. I shivered, pulling my trench coat tighter. Today was my and Liam’s third wedding anniversary. For this day, I had canceled my two evening tutoring gigs, booked a table at his favorite French restaurant half a month in advance, and even bought a sexy silk nightgown. But just three hours ago, Liam had sent me a cold message: “Something urgent came up at the office. I won’t be back tonight.” Turns out, his urgent business was picking up Serena. I didn’t hail a cab. Instead, I opened my umbrella and walked for a long time in the rain. Passing a cake shop that hadn’t closed yet, I went in and bought a small strawberry mousse. It was already eleven at night when I returned to our downtown penthouse apartment. The house was pitch black, empty, and devoid of any warmth. I didn’t turn on the main lights, only a dim floor lamp. I placed the strawberry mousse on the dining table and lit a thin candle. The candlelight flickered, illuminating my pale, thin face. “Happy third anniversary, Ashley,” I whispered to the empty air, then blew out the candle. I didn’t make a wish, because I knew my wish would never come true. At two in the morning, the click of the fingerprint lock finally echoed from the front door. Liam walked in, bringing with him a chill. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and long-legged. His chiseled face showed clear exhaustion, but when he saw me sitting on the sofa, his brow immediately furrowed. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?” His voice was low, with a hint of annoyed displeasure at being disturbed. I stood up and walked closer to him. As soon as I was near, a faint hint of orange blossom perfume drifted into my nostrils. That was Serena’s favorite scent. Back in college, Liam’s clothes always smelled like that. My chest felt like it had been stung by something sharp. I suppressed the nauseating acidity rising in my throat and asked softly, “Is the company matter settled?” Liam’s hand paused slightly as he took off his coat. His gaze flickered for a moment, but quickly returned to its usual aloof indifference. “Yeah, it’s settled.” He was lying. I looked at his stern face and suddenly found it a little funny. This man, who was decisive and ruthless in business and never bothered to lie, was now lying to me to protect another woman’s reputation. “Liam,” I called out, stopping him as he was about to go shower. My voice was a little hoarse. “Do you remember what day it is today?” Liam’s steps halted. He turned to look at me, his impatience even more pronounced. “Ashley, I’m exhausted today. I don’t have time for your guessing games. If you need money, just use your platinum card.” With that, he walked straight into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. The sound of water running covered my suddenly heavy breathing. I bit down hard on my lower lip until I tasted a hint of blood, then slowly released it. I went to the study, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out a locked journal. I opened the first page, which had a table titled: “Liam Point Deduction Chart.” Full score was one hundred. The first line read: “Day one of marriage, he got drunk and called out Serena’s name. Minus ten points.” The second line read: “I had a high fever, he flew to Paris to buy Serena a limited-edition handbag. Minus ten points.” … The densely packed handwriting recorded every heartbreak I’d suffered over the past three years. I picked up the pen and wrote in the newest line: “On our third wedding anniversary, he went to the airport to pick up Serena, who’d returned home after her divorce, and lied to me about it. Minus ten points.” After writing that, I looked at the bottom line: “When I deduct 100 points, I’ll file for divorce.” Now, only twenty points were left. I closed the journal and locked it again. I returned to the bedroom. Liam had already showered and was lying in bed. He had his back to me, presenting a rigid back. I lay down beside him, separated by a boundary that felt like it could never be crossed. The next morning, I was woken by a shrill doorbell. I got up to open the door, but when I saw who was standing outside, my blood ran cold. Serena stood there in a pure white dress, her long hair flowing over her shoulders. She was dragging a huge suitcase and looked at me with red-rimmed eyes, like a frightened fawn. And Liam, who had gotten dressed at some point, was standing behind me. He reached past me, took the suitcase from Serena’s hand, and spoke in a tone I’d never heard before, so gentle. “Why are you here so early? I told you to get some more sleep.”

Ashley POV Serena glanced at me timidly, biting her lip. “The hotel bed was too hard, and I was scared being alone… Liam, am I disturbing you two?” “No,” Liam answered definitively. Then he turned to me and said in an undeniable, commanding tone, “Serena just got back, and she’s emotionally unstable. She’ll be staying here for a while. Go tidy up the guest room.” From the first day Serena moved in, this house stopped being mine. There was a pink toiletries set on the bathroom counter, Serena’s stuffed animals piled on the sofa, and even my desk, which I usually used for lesson planning, was now covered with her various cosmetics. I didn’t make a fuss. I acted like a dutiful invisible person, leaving for my tutoring jobs on time every day and returning late at night under the moonlight. I thought that if I just yielded, I could maintain surface peace. But I underestimated Serena’s tactics and overestimated Liam’s bottom line. One weekend night, I was suddenly hit with a severe stomachache. It felt like a meat grinder violently churning inside my stomach. I was in so much pain that I broke out in a cold sweat, curled up in bed, my breathing shaky. I fumbled for my phone and called Liam. The phone rang for a long time before he picked up. Liam’s extremely impatient voice came through. “What is it?” “Liam… my stomachache is acting up, it really hurts. Can you come back and take me to the hospital?” My voice was so weak it was almost inaudible. There was silence on the other end for two seconds. Apparently, he heard the pain in my voice, and Liam finally relented. “Alright, I’ll be right back. Get dressed first.” I hung up, forced myself to get up, put on a thick coat, and sat on the living room sofa, waiting for him. The cramping pain in my stomach came in waves. I bit down hard, staring at the clock on the wall. Twenty minutes later, the lock clicked. Liam strode in. Seeing my pale face, his brows furrowed slightly. “Why are you in so much pain? Let’s go, the car’s downstairs.” He actually reached out to help me. Leaning on his warm arm, my nose stung, and that little spark of hope in my heart, which was almost extinguished, seemed to reignite. Just as we reached the front door, and Liam had picked up his car keys, the guest bedroom door on the second floor suddenly burst open. Serena ran out barefoot, her face ashen, trembling all over, and threw herself into Liam’s arms. “Liam! I’m scared! There’s thunder outside, I’m so scared!” She clutched Liam’s shirt, crying uncontrollably. “Please don’t leave? Please don’t abandon me!” Liam stiffened, instinctively letting go of my hand and instead wrapping Serena tightly in his arms. “Don’t be scared, Serena, I’m right here. It’s just thunder, it’s okay.” He patted Serena’s back gently, his voice dripping with tenderness. I lost my support and stumbled, my back hitting the cabinet by the door with a heavy thud. A dull ache spread, but it was nothing compared to the cramping in my stomach, or the tearing pain in my heart. I looked at the two of them, tightly embracing, as if they were the loving couple, and I was just the villainous female antagonist ruining their moment. “Liam,” I took a deep breath, my voice trembling from the pain. “I’m really hurting.” Liam’s movements paused. He turned to look at me. In his deep-set eyes, there was no sympathy, only the cold calculation of weighing pros and cons. “Ashley, Serena had a very unhappy marriage abroad. She’s been severely traumatized and has serious PTSD from thunder,” Liam said, frowning, his voice carrying a sense of righteous accusation. “You just have a stomachache. Go to the hospital in a cab by yourself. I’ll stay here with her.” You just have a stomachache. That sentence was like a resounding slap across my face, shattering the pitiful hope in my heart. I looked at Liam and suddenly laughed. It was a laugh uglier than any cry. “Alright.” I didn’t argue, didn’t become hysterical. I just turned around, pushed open the door, and walked out into the stormy, thundering rain. I don’t know how I managed to get a cab, or how I registered and got an IV. The cold IV fluid dripped into my veins. I lay on the emergency room bed, staring at the sterile white ceiling, took out my phone, and noted in my memo: “My stomachache was unbearable, but he made me go to the hospital alone in the pouring rain to comfort Serena who was afraid of thunder. Minus ten points.” Only ten points left. Just then, a commotion erupted outside the emergency room. “Doctor! Come quick and see her! She’s bleeding!” The voice was too familiar. I turned my head, and through the half-open curtain, I saw Liam. He was soaking wet, cradling an equally drenched Serena in his arms, his face showing a mix of panic and urgency I had never seen before. A doctor rushed over to examine her. A few seconds later, the doctor’s voice was a little helpless. “Sir, this lady just accidentally cut her finger while cutting fruit. The wound is very shallow, doesn’t even need stitches. A band-aid will be fine.” “What do you know! Her blood doesn’t clot well. What if it gets infected? Call your best surgeon!” Liam roared furiously. I lay behind the curtain, silently watching the scene unfold. Turns out, he wasn’t afraid of the heavy rain, or the thunder. He just… didn’t care about me. I closed my eyes, and a hot tear slid down my temple. Just then, Liam seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned his head, his gaze directly meeting my dead eyes.

Ashley POV The moment our eyes met, I saw a flicker of panic, almost imperceptible, in Liam’s eyes. He released Serena’s hand and took a step forward, as if to come over. But Serena chose that moment to let out a delicate whimper of pain. “Liam, I feel so dizzy.” Liam’s steps were rooted to the spot. He looked at the swaying Serena in his arms, then back at me, pale-faced and hooked up to an IV behind the curtain. Finally, he turned back to support Serena. “I’ll take Serena to get bandaged first, I’ll come find you later,” he said coldly, from several feet away. I didn’t respond. I simply pulled the curtain shut, blocking his view. I knew Liam too well. As long as Serena shed a single tear, his “later” would become “never.” Sure enough, even after I finished my IV, had the needle removed, and walked out of the hospital alone, Liam never reappeared. For the next few days, I buried myself in work. I took on more tutoring jobs, leaving early and returning late, deliberately avoiding any encounters with Liam and Serena. Liam seemed to enjoy my absence too. He spent every day shopping, visiting art exhibits, and seeing a therapist with Serena, acting like a devoted boyfriend. One afternoon, I was teaching a class at a high-end tutoring center downtown. The center was on the third floor of an old commercial building. Downstairs was a popular coffee shop. I was standing at the podium, explaining a complex math problem, when suddenly, a piercing fire alarm blared through the entire building. “Fire! Run!” There were heart-wrenching screams from outside. My face changed. I immediately put down the chalk and directed the dozen students in the classroom. “Don’t panic, everyone! Cover your mouths and noses with your clothes, duck down, and form a line to the emergency exit!” Thick smoke quickly poured in through the door cracks, making it hard to see. By the time I shielded the last student out of the classroom, the hallway was engulfed in flames. The old building’s fire safety system was outdated, and the fire spread incredibly fast. I coughed violently from the smoke, tears streaming down my face. I fumbled my way towards the stairwell, but at a corner, a suddenly collapsing wooden beam struck my calf. I cried out in pain, falling heavily to the ground. Sparks still clung to the beam, and the intense heat scorched my skin, making me almost pass out. I desperately tried to push the beam away, but it was too heavy. I couldn’t budge it. Flames licked at the surrounding walls, and the air grew thinner and thinner. I lay on the ground in despair, my vision gradually blurring. Just then, a tall, imposing figure suddenly rushed up the stairwell. It was Liam. He was wearing a well-tailored suit, his face smudged with ash, anxiously searching for something in the inferno. My heart pounded fiercely. Was he here to save me? Did he know I was teaching here, and rushed in despite the danger? “Liam,” I used all my strength, reaching out towards him, my voice hoarse beyond recognition. “I’m here. Save me.” Liam heard my voice and spun around. Through the smoke and flames, his gaze landed precisely on me. I knew he saw me pinned under the burning beam, saw the desperate will to survive on my face. He took long strides, running towards me. Ten feet, five feet, three feet… Just as I thought I was finally saved, and hope ignited in my eyes, a piercing cry suddenly came from the other end of the hallway. “Liam! Help! I’m so scared!” It was Serena. She was in this building for some reason, now trapped near another classroom door, surrounded by fire. Liam’s steps abruptly halted. He looked at me, so close, then at Serena in the distance. For the first time, his stern face showed struggle and hesitation. “Liam,” I stared at him, tears mixing with black ash and flowing into my mouth, bitter enough to make me gag. Don’t choose her. Please, this time, don’t choose her. However, no miracle occurred. Liam just looked at me deeply, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. Then, he unhesitatingly turned and sprinted towards Serena. “Ashley, hang on! The firefighters will be here any minute! Serena has depression; she can’t handle this!” The man’s voice cut through the flames, like a poisoned knife, savagely stabbing into my heart and then twisting. I watched as Liam wrapped Serena in his suit jacket, picked her up, and rushed down the stairs without a single glance back. He didn’t even turn his head once. The fire grew fiercer, and the ceiling above groaned, cracking under the strain. I gave up struggling. I lay on the scorching floor, feeling the flames creep closer and closer. A string in my heart snapped completely. Boom! A massive, burning section of the ceiling crashed down, engulfing me entirely.

Ashley POV When I woke up, all I saw was the hospital’s glaring white. The strong smell of disinfectant filled my nostrils, and excruciating pain shot through my right arm and calf. I moved my cracked lips, but no sound came out. “The patient’s awake! Call the doctor!” A nurse’s surprised voice rang in my ears. After a series of examinations, the doctor told me I had second-degree burns over much of my body, a fractured calf, and had inhaled a large amount of toxic gas. Surviving the fire was extremely lucky. “Firefighters brought you in. Where’s your husband? I don’t see any family members,” the doctor said, frowning, a hint of displeasure in his voice. I closed my eyes and said nothing. My husband was busy comforting his first love. Why would he have time for me? The ward door was pushed open. It wasn’t Liam who came in, but his good friend, Greg Evans. Seeing me wrapped up like a mummy, Greg’s face showed a flicker of awkwardness and guilt. He placed a fruit basket on the bedside table and cleared his throat. “Ashley, you’re awake. Liam… he’s a bit busy, he asked me to check on you.” My gaze was hollow as I stared at the ceiling, my voice hoarse like sandpaper. “He’s with Serena, isn’t he?” Greg choked, his eyes darting away. “Ashley, don’t misunderstand. Serena just happened to be at the coffee shop downstairs looking for Liam that day, then the fire happened. She was terrified, and her old condition flared up. Liam had no choice…” “No choice?” I scoffed, a movement that pulled at the wounds on my face, making me gasp in pain. “He had no choice, so he stood by and watched me burn to death, while saving a woman who didn’t even have a scratch?” Greg was speechless. Just then, footsteps and hushed arguing came from outside the door. The ward’s soundproofing wasn’t good. I clearly heard the conversation outside. It was Daniel Hayes, another of Liam’s friends. “Liam, are you crazy? Do you know the video of you rushing into the fire to save Serena has gone viral? The entire city is laughing at the Vance family! You risked your life for a divorced woman? If you get scars on your hands, will you still be able to hold your position as the Vance heir?” Then came Liam’s cold, firm voice. “If I can’t, then I won’t. As long as Serena is okay, I can give up everything the Vance family has.” Daniel was furious. “What about your wife? Ashley is still lying in there! She’s your actual wife! You saved Serena right in front of her. How do you think she feels?” There was a long silence outside the door. So long that I thought Liam had left, before his low, cold voice slowly broke the quiet. “How she feels, does it matter?” “If her father hadn’t died saving my grandfather back then, if my grandfather hadn’t forced me, I never would have married her. For these three years, I gave her the dignity of Mrs. Vance and endless money. What more could she be unsatisfied with?” “I married her to find an obedient ornament, and to give up hope, to forget Serena. But I overestimated myself. I love Serena. From beginning to end, she is the only one in my heart. As for Ashley, she is injured, and I will give her the best medical care, but don’t expect any affection from me.” These words were like sharp ice blades, precisely piercing my already bruised and battered heart. Turns out, these three years of marriage were just my solo act, from beginning to end. What I thought was love growing over time was merely his calculated charity; what I thought was a beautiful relationship was just his indifference after his heart had turned to ashes. He gave all his favoritism, his madness, his tenderness to Serena, leaving me only with calculation and exploitation. I slowly closed my eyes, tears sliding down my temples, seeping into the bandages, stinging terribly. I didn’t cry out loud. I just silently added the last sentence to that journal in my heart. “He personally admitted that he married me only to repay a debt and to forget Serena. Minus ten points.” One hundred points deducted. I opened my eyes. There was no longer any hidden endurance or love in them, only a desolate emptiness. With my uninjured left hand, I struggled to press the call button beside the bed. The nurse quickly arrived. “Ashley, what’s wrong?” “Please, contact a lawyer for me.” My voice was quiet, but it carried a decisive strength. “I want to draft divorce papers.” The conversation outside the door ceased abruptly. A few seconds later, the ward door was violently pushed open. Liam stood in the doorway, his face terribly grim, his dark eyes fixed on me in the bed. “What did you just say?” he asked through gritted teeth, as if he’d heard some unbelievable joke. I met his gaze without flinching, repeating coldly: “I said, Liam, we’re getting a divorce.”

Ashley POV Liam’s face instantly turned ashen. He strode to the bedside, looking down at me, wrapped in bandages, his eyes burning with suppressed fury. “Ashley, haven’t you made enough of a scene?” He lowered his voice, his tone full of warning. “Do you know what you’re saying? Divorce? Do you think the Vance family door is something you can just walk in and out of?” In his eyes, I was just playing hard to get. For three years, I had been as docile as a cat without a temper, silently enduring no matter how much he neglected me. Now, bringing up divorce was merely a tantrum because he’d saved Serena in the fire first. I looked at his arrogant demeanor and suddenly felt utterly disgusted. “I’m not making a scene,” my voice was calm, as still as stagnant water. “Liam, I’m tired. Since Serena is the only one in your heart, I’ll grant you your wish.” He scoffed. “Ashley, don’t forget, before your father passed away, he entrusted you to me. Without the Vance family, how will you make a living in New York? With your few thousand dollars a month from tutoring? Don’t be so reckless. When your injuries heal, I’ll compensate you with a penthouse downtown.” That dismissive tone again, as if I were a beggar. I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at him anymore. “Get out. I don’t want to see you.” “You!” Liam’s temples throbbed. He was about to say something when Serena’s delicate voice suddenly came from outside the door. “Liam, are you in there?” Liam’s expression instantly softened. He glared at me furiously, then turned and quickly walked out. The moment the door closed, I finally couldn’t hold on any longer, and silent tears streamed down my face. The next day, the lawyer came to the ward with the drafted divorce papers. I signed my name without hesitation. I asked for nothing. The Vance family’s assets, properties, shares. I didn’t take a single penny. I truly left with nothing. As I signed, the ward door opened. It wasn’t Liam who entered, but Serena. She wore a custom Chanel suit, her makeup flawless. She walked to the bedside in high heels, looking down at my disheveled self. “Ashley, I hear you’re divorcing Liam?” Serena chuckled, covering her mouth, her eyes full of a victor’s smugness. “You’re quite sensible. You should have realized long ago that you’re not good enough for him.” I handed the signed agreement to the lawyer, signaling for him to step outside. Once only the two of us were left in the ward, I lifted my eyelids and looked at Serena coldly. “Did you come here just to say these pointless things?” My cold attitude stung Serena, and her smile faded slightly. She pulled a velvet box from her bag, opened it, revealing a brilliant pink diamond ring. “Do you recognize this?” Serena deliberately dangled the ring in front of me. “Liam bought this at auction yesterday for twenty million. He said this is the ring that truly belongs to Mrs. Vance. As for that cheap ring on your hand, you should have thrown it away long ago.” I glanced at my empty ring finger. That plain band had probably fallen off during the fire, when I was trying to push away the beam. “Oh, really?” My tone was flat. “Well, you’d better hold onto it tightly. After all, trash like Liam is only a treasure to you.” “How dare you call Liam trash?!” Serena exploded, raising her hand as if to hit me. Just then, familiar footsteps sounded outside. Serena’s eyes flickered. Her raised hand suddenly reversed direction and slapped her own face hard, then she collapsed to the floor, covering her face and crying hysterically. “Ashley, I’m sorry… I know you hate me, but you can’t hit me…” The ward door was violently pushed open. Liam immediately saw Serena crying on the floor, and me, expressionless, leaning against the bed. “Serena!” Liam tenderly helped Serena up. Seeing the clear red handprint on her face, he turned and glared at me. “Ashley! Are you insane? She has depression, and you dared to hit her!” I looked at her terrible acting, lacking even the desire to explain. “Yes, I hit her. So what?” I retorted with a cold laugh. “How could you do such a thing!” Liam looked at me with profound disappointment. “I actually thought I owed you something after the fire. But now it seems, a vicious woman like you doesn’t deserve my sympathy!” “Are you done talking?” I pointed towards the door. “If you are, take your first love and get out.” Liam laughed in exasperation. “Fine, Ashley, don’t you dare regret this!” He picked up Serena and strode out of the ward. Half a month later, I forced through my discharge procedures. My injuries weren’t fully healed, but I couldn’t stand another moment in this city saturated with Liam’s presence. On the day I was discharged, I went to New York’s largest art center. A crucial education symposium was being held there, and I needed to meet a professor to get a letter of recommendation. It was my only chance to leave New York and move to California. In the art center’s main hall, a grand jewelry exhibition was underway. I dragged my still-healing leg, limping through the hall. As luck would have it, Liam and Serena were also there. Serena was wearing that pink diamond ring, nestled in Liam’s arms, accepting media interviews. I lowered my head, trying to quicken my pace and leave, but fate always seemed to play cruel jokes on me. Above my head, the massive crystal art chandelier, weighing several hundred pounds, suddenly let out a grating, snapping sound. Bang! A steel cable broke, and the huge chandelier plunged straight down! Directly below the chandelier were both Serena and me! “Serena!” Liam’s eyes widened in horror. Like a mad leopard, he lunged desperately towards Serena, embracing her and rolling them both to a safe area. And I, thrown by the immense impact, crashed heavily against a marble pillar. Shattered crystal glass pierced my body like blades. But the most painful was my lower abdomen. I lay in a pool of blood, clutching my agonizingly painful stomach, feeling a warm liquid gush furiously down my thighs.

Ashley POV An excruciating, heart-wrenching pain. I curled up on the cold marble floor, my vision blurred by blood and tears. All around were screams, alarms, and panicked footsteps; the entire art center was in chaos. I clutched my lower abdomen tightly. The warm liquid was gushing out faster and faster, draining all warmth from my body. “Save my baby.” I weakly reached out to the crowd, but couldn’t even form a complete sentence. Not far away, Liam was anxiously checking Serena. Aside from being a little startled, Serena didn’t have a single scratch on her body, yet she still huddled in Liam’s arms, trembling pitifully and crying. “Liam, I’m so scared, the light almost hit me…” “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here.” Liam held her tightly, his voice filled with the relief of a narrow escape. He didn’t notice that less than ten feet away, his wife was lying in a pool of blood, close to death. It wasn’t until the ambulance arrived, and paramedics carried me away on a stretcher, semi-conscious, that Liam, amidst the confusion, caught a glimpse of a dazzling crimson. But he only frowned, then averted his gaze, because Serena was calling him, complaining of dizziness in his arms. Inside the emergency room, the situation was chaotic. “Patient has severe abdominal trauma and massive hemorrhage! Blood pressure is dropping rapidly!” “Ultrasound shows an eight-week intrauterine pregnancy, placental abruption. The baby can’t be saved, we need to perform a D&C immediately and transfuse blood!” “Patient is RH-negative O-type blood! How much reserve blood does the blood bank have?” The chief surgeon commanded the rescue, dripping with sweat, but a nurse rushed in, pale-faced. “It’s bad. The only two bags of RH-negative O-type blood in the blood bank were forcibly claimed by Mr. Vance of Vance Group ten minutes ago.” The doctor was horrified. “Why did he take them? Does he have a critical patient on his side?” “No.” The nurse was almost in tears. “The woman Mr. Vance brought in was just startled. Mr. Vance insisted her face was pale and she might have internal bleeding, so he forcibly kept the blood bags in her room as a precaution, saying no one was allowed to touch them without his permission.” Lying on the operating table, my consciousness was hazy, yet I heard every word of that conversation clearly. RH-negative O-type blood. Serena was also this blood type. Years ago, because Serena had this rare blood type, Liam had established several private blood banks worldwide, just to ensure she would always have blood available if she ever got injured. And now, for a woman who was merely startled, he withheld the blood that could save my life and my baby’s. “Call Liam immediately! Tell him there are two lives at stake here!” the doctor roared. The nurse tremblingly dialed Liam’s number and put him on speakerphone. The phone rang three times before it was answered. Liam’s cold and impatient voice came through. “I told you, those blood bags must remain in Serena’s room. She has severe PTSD. If she has a stress reaction leading to shock, that blood will be life-saving.” “Mr. Vance, we have a pregnant woman here with severe bleeding. Without this blood, both she and her baby will die,” the nurse pleaded, her voice choked with tears. There was a moment of silence on the other end. Just as the doctor thought Liam might relent, he let out a laugh so cold it was chilling. “What do other people’s lives have to do with me? I only care about Serena. If so much as a single hair on her head is harmed, I will make sure this entire hospital pays. Stop bothering me with these petty games.” The call was ruthlessly disconnected. The emergency room was dead silent, save for the piercing alarm of the heart monitor. I lay on the cold operating table, a tear, mixed with blood, sliding from the corner of my eye. I no longer had the strength to hate. I only felt profound sorrow. That was his child. He didn’t even know he was about to be a father, yet he personally sentenced his own child to death. The wavy line on the heart monitor instantly flatlined. A sharp, prolonged beep pierced the emergency room air.

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