Category: English

The wedding was ten days away. I pushed open the fitting room door. Cole Harrison was bent over Sadie Hayes, his fingers working the laces at the back of her wedding dress. The Vera Wang. The one I’d swiped my card for two days ago. Paid in full. The one I was supposed to wear walking down the aisle to him in ten days. The boutique consultant stood off to the side, her face locked in that standard-issue professional smile. She was telling Sadie her shoulders and neckline were absolutely flawless. That this gown looked like it had been made for her. Sadie had walked in with Cole. The staff had probably already decided they were the couple here for the final fitting. I stood in the fitting room doorway. Veil still on. My fingers curled inward, one inch at a time. The photographer I’d brought to capture behind-the-scenes moments had been filming my reveal. Now her phone hung frozen in the air. Like she didn’t know who to point it at anymore. Sadie spotted me through the mirror. Her reaction came a beat late. Her hands flew up to cover the sheer fabric draped across her chest. “Eleanor. Don’t misunderstand.” Her voice was pitched low. Soft. Practiced innocence. “I just thought the dress was so beautiful. I said I wanted to try it on, and Cole said—” “She’s never worn a wedding dress.” Cole straightened up. Finished her sentence. His tone was casual. Like he was explaining why he’d lent the spare key to the neighbors. “Just letting her try it on. It’s not a big deal.” I looked at him. A laugh almost broke through. Last night I’d been up until one in the morning on Zola, cross-checking the final guest list. I’d paid the balance on the gown the afternoon before last. This morning I was still picking fonts for the place cards. And now my fiancé was standing in front of my wedding gown. Fixing the laces for another woman. Tossing me a line about how it was no big deal. I didn’t speak. I walked toward them. The boutique went silent. The sales assistant who’d been holding my gloves took an instinctive step back. Cole glanced at me. Something in my expression must have finally registered. His voice dropped into that tone I knew too well. The one that told me not to make a scene. “She just got back from the West Coast. She’s not in a great place.” “It’s just trying on a dress. Don’t do this here.” I looked straight at him. “Do this? Since when did it become me doing something? The moment you put my wedding dress on her body—that’s when things got ugly.” His brow creased. Sadie bit her lip. Extracting herself. “Eleanor, I really didn’t mean anything by it. I just—” “You meant something.” I cut her off. “If you didn’t mean anything, you wouldn’t have known exactly whose dress this was. And you wouldn’t be standing here letting him fix your train.” The color drained from her face. Cole’s voice hardened. “Eleanor.” “Why are you going after her? She said she just wanted to try it on. Do you have to make this so ugly?” I looked at him. And then I understood. When a heart dies, it doesn’t hurt. It hollows out. So empty you can’t even find the energy to be angry. Not a stabbing pain. Just emptiness. A vast, quiet void. And in that silence, one thought echoed. Clear as a bell. It’s over. *** I reached up and pulled the veil from my hair. The tulle slipped through my fingers. Drifted down into the hands of the sales assistant standing beside me. Everyone froze. Cole’s face finally shifted. “Eleanor. What are you doing?” I ignored him. Looked down at my ring finger. Worked the diamond off. He’d slid that ring onto my hand last month. Said we’d upgrade to something better after the wedding. Turns out in his mind, everything was shareable. The dress. The wedding. Even the dignity of being his fiancée. All available for loan. Anything to comfort someone else. The ring was snug. I twisted it. A red mark bloomed around my knuckle. Cole stepped forward. Reached for me. “Don’t do this.” I sidestepped him. Dropped the ring into the velvet accessory tray. “She wants to try on the wedding dress? Let her marry you.” I lifted my eyes to his. One word at a time. “Find your own groom. Throw your own goddamn wedding. This one was mine.” The silence in the boutique was absolute. You could hear people breathing. The photographer’s phone was still up. The frame trembled slightly. Sadie’s face had gone nearly bloodless. Her voice started shaking. “Eleanor, please don’t be like this. I really wasn’t trying to—” “The problem isn’t whether you were trying to take him, Sadie.” I looked at her. “The problem is he’s already yours. All you have to do is reach for him. His loyalty to me was always rented.” Cole’s expression darkened. “Enough. The wedding is in ten days. You’re pulling this now? Have you thought about the consequences?” That sentence. It snuffed out the last flicker of hope I’d been holding. He knew. He knew exactly how far over the line this was. He’d just assumed I was too deep in—too much money spent, too much effort sunk, too many years invested—to flip the table. He was betting I couldn’t let go. Betting I’d swallow it like I always did. Tell myself to let it go. The wedding was almost here anyway. I nodded. A laugh escaped me. “I’ve thought about it.” “So as of now, the wedding is canceled.” Cole looked like he hadn’t heard me right. “What did you say?” “Canceled.” I turned to the boutique staff. My voice came out so steady it surprised even me. “Pull up the payment records for this gown. The alteration records. The appointment booking information. All of it.” The sales assistants exchanged a glance. Looked at Cole on reflex. I followed their gaze. “What’s the problem?” I asked. “I ordered this dress. I paid for it. Do I not have the right to see my own records?” That landed. The two women looked at each other and immediately went for the iPad and files. Sadie was wobbling now. She clutched the skirt and stepped back. “Cole, I should just take this off—” “Yes. Take it off.” I looked at her. “Now.” Her eyes went red. Like I’d just done something unspeakably cruel to her. I didn’t even have the energy to watch the performance this time. A few minutes later, the staff brought up the system records. Reservation name: Eleanor Vance. Deposit payer: Eleanor Vance. Balance payer: Eleanor Vance. Rush alteration fee payer: Eleanor Vance. I took the iPad. Flipped to the payment page. Held it up in front of Cole’s face. “You see this clearly? I ordered the dress. I paid for it. I scheduled the wedding. You took what was mine to play hero for your high school nostalgia crush. And you wanted me to be gracious about it. Is that right?” Cole’s lips moved. “Eleanor. That’s not what I meant.” “Whether you meant it or not doesn’t matter anymore.” I handed the iPad back to the assistant. Bent down and lifted the train of the gown off the floor. Just enough so I wouldn’t step on it. “As of now, this wedding is on hold.” “The cancellations, the accounting, the liability determinations—I’ll handle every single item. One by one.” “And as for you—” I looked at Sadie. At the wedding dress she still hadn’t managed to take off. My voice went cold. “You want the benefits of someone else’s fiancé? Fine. But don’t use my wedding as your runway.” I turned and walked out. Cole came after me. Grabbed my wrist. His voice was low and tight. “Was this really necessary?” I stopped. Looked back at him. “Cole. You weren’t asking me to calm down today. You were betting I wouldn’t flip the table.” His fingers went rigid. I pulled free. One finger at a time. “Too bad. You bet wrong.”

I walked out of the bridal boutique. The sun outside was blinding. The kind of bright that makes your eyes sting. Maya ran after me. Shoved my phone and bag into my arms. Her voice was still shaking. “Ellie. Are you really calling it off?” I looked down. Pulled the ring box out of my bag. The empty box felt impossibly light. “I’m calling it off. Seven years is enough. No need to throw in the rest of my life too.” I got in the car. Cranked the AC to max. Cold sweat still soaked through the back of my shirt. Maya sat in the passenger seat. She glanced back at me several times. Opened her mouth. Closed it. I knew what she was thinking. Was I being impulsive. The wedding was ten days away. Flipping the table now—the venue, the planner, the invitations, the banquet, the party favors. Every single piece needed to be unwound. And more than that: seven years. Not seven days. Not seven months. Seven years. From the time I was twenty-two. The ride-along years with Cole. From a fresh graduate who had nothing and was nothing. To now. In the beginning, I was the one who got him through the hardest stretches. He caught the flu. Fever spiked to a hundred and four. I was the one who drove him to the ER at two in the morning. When he was grinding through his career change, I was the one balancing my own projects while rewriting his résumé and running mock interviews with him. Later, his career stabilized. The money came. Everyone said my suffering had finally paid off. Only I knew. I wasn’t waiting for someone to hand me a result. I’d taken all those years and genuinely poured them into what I thought was our future together. So even later, when the name Sadie Hayes started flickering at the edges of our relationship, I kept telling myself not to overthink it. Two people who never got together in high school. A shadow left in someone’s heart. Didn’t mean anything real would come of it. On his birthday, a message popped up on his phone. The contact was just a letter. “S.” He said it was an old classmate saying hello. The day she flew back from California, he canceled dinner with my parents at the last minute. Said it was an urgent work thing. Later, I saw Sadie’s Instagram story from the airport pickup. The edge of the frame caught half a shirt cuff. His cuff. I held my phone and stared at it for a long time. I never asked. It wasn’t that I didn’t see. It was that I took every single one of his ambiguities and explained them into something acceptable. Until today. Until he stood in that boutique and fixed the laces on my wedding gown for Sadie Hayes. That was the moment I understood. Some relationships don’t rot overnight. You just kept refusing to admit they’d gone crooked a long time ago. Maya finally couldn’t hold it in. “You want to go home first?” “My place,” I said. “I need to sort out the numbers.” She blinked. “You’re going to do accounting right now?” “If I don’t do it now, you want to wait for him to strike first? Let him spin me as the hysterical bride who lost it right before the wedding?” I unlocked my phone. Pulled up the master wedding budget spreadsheet. I’d built this table with my own hands. The gown. The venue deposit. The planner’s down payment. The party favors. The décor for the new house. The custom rings. The invitation printing. The photographer. Every item was tagged by date and payment account. Clean. Clear. Years of project management had made me good at one thing: taking chaos and breaking it down into executable line items. I used to use that skill to build a life. Now I was going to use it to cut my losses. I highlighted every expense I’d fronted from my personal account in red. Exported the corresponding transfer records and signed contracts into PDFs. One by one. Wedding gown balance: forty-five hundred dollars. Rush alteration fee: six hundred. Venue banquet deposit: ten thousand. Planner down payment: three thousand. Party favors: fifteen hundred. New house décor balance: two thousand. The scattered numbers added up to a sum that went far beyond what any “don’t be like this” could smooth over. Maya stared at the figures and sucked in a breath. “You never squared any of this with him before?” “We talked about it,” I said. “He said let me front it. He’d pay me back when the quarterly bonus hit. Some of it, we just defaulted to me paying. I understood the process better. I could get payments out faster. We’d reconcile everything later.” I laughed at myself when I said it. Reconcile everything later. Turns out in his mind, I was suitable for marriage. Not just because I was stable. Sensible. Good at building a life. But because I could pay. I could cover the gaps. I could manage every headache into neat, tidy order. And all he had to do was show up when required. Keep being the respectable groom-to-be. He used to joke about my Excel sheets. Said they looked like I was executing a merger, not planning a wedding. But he was right. I was managing a project. Only now, it was time to strip this failed project out of my life. Completely.

My phone screen lit up. A text from Cole. “Just calm down first.” The second one came right after. “What happened today isn’t as serious as you think.” The third one was fast. “Sadie just got out of a relationship. She’s in a bad place. I was just looking out for her. Don’t blow this up.” I stared at the words “don’t blow this up.” My fingers went cold at the tips. Even now. He was still fixated on whether this was a big thing or a small thing. Not whether it was wrong. Maya leaned over. Read the screen. Her laugh was pure rage. “He actually has the nerve.” I didn’t reply. A second later, my phone buzzed again. Not a private message this time. Cole had posted in the bridesmaids and groomsmen group chat. The one we’d set up to coordinate wedding logistics. The group had Maya. His best man. A handful of close friends. Cole dropped a message. “Small misunderstanding at the fitting today. Eleanor got a little emotional. The wedding is still on. No need for anyone to overthink it.” I stared at that line for three full seconds. Maya said it flat out. “He’s seizing the narrative.” I made a sound of agreement. Not surprising. Cole’s greatest talent had always been dressing ugly situations up as presentable misunderstandings. He was never afraid of hurting me. He was afraid of other people knowing that ten days before the wedding, he’d used his fiancée’s gown to placate his high school first love. The replies started rolling in fast. “Pre-wedding jitters. Happens to everyone. Cole, just pamper her a little.” “Eleanor’s probably just stressed.” And then Cole’s best friend, Ben, dropped his line. “Bro, you’re at the finish line. Don’t flip the car now.” Almost at the same moment, my mom’s text appeared. “Ellie. Don’t be scared. Take care of yourself first. Dad and I are here.” I looked at the best man’s message. Then at my mom’s. Something hot pressed against the back of my eyes. Some people were afraid their friend might wreck his image. Some people were only afraid I might break. I could see it all now. Who cared about appearances. Who cared about me. I set my phone on my lap. Took a breath. “Maya.” “Yeah?” “The fitting room footage. You were recording, weren’t you?” Maya paused. Nodded. “I was trying to capture you walking out in the dress. Ended up filming Cole fixing Sadie’s laces. It’s not the full thing, but that moment’s in there.” “Send it to me.” She forwarded the raw video immediately. I opened it. The footage was shaky but clear enough. Cole stood behind Sadie. His fingers on the laces at the back of the gown. The movements practiced. Familiar. Agonizing. And the dress. The waistline. The crinoline. The train. Every detail was something I’d confirmed with my own eyes two days ago. This wasn’t a misunderstanding. This was a receipt. I took the boutique payment records screenshot. The wedding expense master sheet. The corresponding bank transfer records. Dragged them all into a single folder. Attached the video. Then I opened a new message in the group chat. Recipients: Bridesmaids, Groomsmen, and Wedding Planning Core Group. I wrote one line. “Cole says it was a misunderstanding. Let’s clear up the misunderstanding. Please see attachments.” Attachment one: Boutique payment records screenshot. Payer: Eleanor Vance. Attachment two: Master wedding expense breakdown. Personally fronted items highlighted in red. Attachment three: Today’s fitting room video. Attachment four: Screenshots of Cole’s three private messages from today. Send. Maya watched me set the phone down. It took her a moment to find her voice. “Ellie…” “He said it was a misunderstanding.” I looked out the window. “I’m just helping him clarify.” The moment the messages went through, the group chat went dead silent. But I knew. The real second half was just beginning.

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In my past life, during my Silvermoon Pack’s Mating Ceremony, I saved a wolf who had been brutally defeated in a territorial dispute. He turned out to be Julian, the Alpha heir of the Crimson Sun Pack. To repay my kindness, Julian returned to his pack and immediately declared me his future Luna. Within a year, I gave birth to a pure-blooded Alpha, a miracle not seen in a century. Julian was ecstatic. When his father stepped down, he officially made me his Luna. I had a mate who was outwardly loyal and a status that was second to none. Meanwhile, my sister, Rosalie, chose Jacob, the fierce Alpha of the Stone Ridge Pack. But she was cast out for her betrayal, tortured and broken, and sent back to us in shame. Our pack believed she had disgraced our name and drove her away. I pitied her, alone and helpless, and brought her to live with me in the Crimson Sun territory. But she grew jealous of my life. She murdered me with silver-laced poison and threw our child from the highest tower to his death. When I open my eyes again, I’m back at the Mating Ceremony. I watch my sister run without hesitation toward the wolf lying half-dead in the woods—Julian. I know instantly. She’s been reborn, too. But she doesn’t know the truth. Saving an Alpha is one thing, but carrying his pure-blooded heir is a living hell. The title of Luna of the Crimson Sun Pack is not so easily won. … To ensure the strength and future of our pack, all young women of the Silvermoon Pack must choose a mate upon coming of age. My sister Rosalie and I were known as the beauties of our pack, and the news of our ceremony drew nearly every eligible male from the neighboring territories to our camp. My mind is a chaotic mess, my head splitting with a pain so intense I want to curl up on the ground and scream. Rosalie is standing beside me, her face glowing with excitement, while one of the pack elders drones on and on. Seeing this familiar scene, my fists clench. I’ve been reborn. I’m back on the day we were meant to choose our mates. Looking at Rosalie’s sweet smile, I can’t stop myself from trembling. If I hadn’t lived through her betrayal, I never would have known the venomous heart that hid behind that beautiful face. In my last life, on our way to the ceremony hall, we found a wolf grievously wounded, his skin seared by silver. My sister, desperate to pick the strongest mate before I could, ran ahead to the hall while I stayed to heal the injured wolf. After she chose Jacob, the Stone Ridge Alpha, she lied, telling everyone I had scorned the ceremony. She dismissed all the remaining males. When I finally arrived, the hall was empty. The elder scolded me for my willfulness and sentenced me to the confinement chamber for reflection. Rosalie was thrilled. I was born with more of the Moon Goddess’s favor, my wolf form more beautiful than hers. I had always outshone her, and the pack members had always preferred me. Now, I was mateless and had angered several packs. It was exactly what she had wanted. Just as our people worried for my future, an envoy from the Crimson Sun Pack arrived with a lavish bride price, asking for my hand on behalf of their Alpha heir. The dying wolf I had saved was Julian. When Rosalie heard the news, her face twisted with rage. Less than a year after my union with Julian, I gave him the pack’s first pure-blooded Alpha in a hundred years. Julian was overjoyed. After his father abdicated, he immediately made me his Luna. The entire Crimson Sun Pack was grateful to me for giving them such a powerful heir. The elders constantly warned Julian to be faithful and never betray me. My glory was infinite. My sister’s fate, however, was tragic. After marrying Jacob, she was exposed for infidelity and sent back to our pack, her body covered in scars. Our people, ashamed of her, exiled her. She wandered the wilds, fighting with rogue Omegas for scraps of food, even suffering their assaults. I took pity on her lonely state. Remembering we were sisters, I brought her to the Crimson Sun Pack. But seeing my noble status, Rosalie’s heart filled with jealousy. She poisoned me when my guard was down and dashed my child to his death. She hated me to the core. The poison she used was an agonizing toxin designed to inflict maximum pain on a werewolf. The memory of my death sends a shiver down my spine, and I subtly edge away from her. My sister glances around anxiously. As we approach the same patch of woods where I saved Julian last time, I don’t make a move. She shoves me aside. “This poor wolf,” she says with a smile. “I have to save him. Clara, you go on to the ceremony hall.” Without a second thought, she begins tending to Julian’s wounds. Seeing this, I understand everything. My sister has been reborn, too. I wait for her, but she impatiently urges me to leave. I turn and walk away without hesitation, leaving her to bask in her dream of becoming the supreme Luna. Rosalie, saving a life is easy. Being a Luna is hard. In your last life, you only saw the power and glory that surrounded me. You never saw the thorns that tore my flesh to ribbons.

I arrive at the ceremony hall to find it packed with males from various packs. Their muscles are bulging, and the air is thick with the scent of testosterone. I don’t try to sabotage Rosalie like she did to me in our last life. Instead, I offer them a graceful curtsy and explain that my sister was delayed but will be along shortly, asking for their patience. They smile and tell me they understand. These male wolves are all eager to find a mate, each one trying desperately to show off their charm. The naive girl I was in my past life would have been swept off her feet. But now, my heart is filled with a bitterness that makes it impossible to smile. My eyes immediately find my sister’s former mate, the Alpha of the Stone Ridge Pack—Jacob. He stands out in the crowd, his presence calm and steady. Jacob isn’t fawning over me like the other males. In fact, he’s standing at a distance. If it weren’t for the flicker of admiration in his eyes when he looks at me, I might have thought he wasn’t interested at all. Just then, my sister Rosalie rushes into the hall, beads of sweat on her forehead. A look of surprise flashes in her eyes when she sees the room is still full. Did she really think I would stoop to her level and seek revenge? Rosalie announces, “I’m sorry, everyone, but I have already given my heart to another. I have decided to be his mate.” A wave of disappointment ripples through the males, but they quickly turn their attention back to me, their enthusiasm renewed. A spark of jealousy flashes in my sister’s eyes. She points to Jacob in the distance. “I think that one looks good enough for my sister. Our mother is gone, so as the elder sister, I’ll make the decision for Clara. I betroth you to him.” Seeing her smug, meaningful smile, I lower my gaze to hide the complex emotions swirling within me. My sister wants me to suffer the same fate she did in her last life. And just like that, with Rosalie’s silver tongue, my marriage to Jacob is decided. The elder is annoyed that she participated in the ceremony despite already having a mate, but he only sentences her to confinement for a few days of reflection. I count the hours, knowing the envoy from the Crimson Sun Pack should be arriving soon. What I don’t expect is that this time, Julian comes to ask for her hand himself. The elder is stunned by the news. Our Silvermoon Pack’s status has long since faded. Even in our prime, we never managed to attract a suitor from a noble bloodline like the Crimson Sun Pack, let alone their direct heir, Julian. The elder bows low, speaking to Julian with the utmost respect. My sister has already been released and now stands beside the elder, gazing at Julian adoringly. “I’ve been waiting for you. The elder even locked me up.” Her words make both the elder and Julian flinch. Julian’s face darkens with anger. “Why would you lock up my future Luna?” Julian has always been domineering. He sees the elder’s action as a direct insult. Seeing Julian’s displeasure, beads of cold sweat form on the elder’s forehead. His lips move, but in the end, he bows his head in defeat. “I accept any punishment, Alpha Heir.” I can’t bear to see this old man who raised us treated so humbly. I step forward. “Your Highness, you misunderstand. My sister participated in the Mating Ceremony even though her heart was already promised to you. The elder was only trying to protect her reputation. Otherwise, the other packs would surely hold it against her.” Julian’s eyes fall on me, and a flicker of surprise and admiration crosses his face. Sensing his interest, Rosalie becomes defensive, quickly linking her arm with his and whining for his attention. Watching my sister’s frivolous display, the elder looks as if he might faint.

At Julian’s forceful insistence, the date for my sister’s union ceremony is set. Then, with a glint in her eye, Rosalie maliciously suggests that I should have my ceremony on the same day. She claims that as sisters, we are very close. Now that she is to become Julian’s Luna, she wants me to share in her good fortune, to let Jacob know that I have a powerful pack backing me. Her words sound so sincere that even Julian’s gaze softens. The elder is hesitant. A union ceremony is the most important day in a wolf’s life. The bride is meant to be the sole focus of attention. It’s unheard of for two brides from the same pack to be wed on the same day. Besides, Rosalie is marrying the noble heir of the Crimson Sun Pack. Her procession and dowry will far outshine mine. He is about to protest, but I place a hand on his arm and smile at my sister. “You’re so good to me, sister.” I feel Julian’s undisguised stare on me, and my smile tightens. Rosalie glares at me and steps in front of him, blocking his view. Jacob arrives with the bride price. Following an ancient tradition, he has personally hunted a rare white stag as a gift. My wedding in the last life was rushed, so I never saw Jacob’s courtship of my sister. But I imagine she must have received this same magnificent gift. Rosalie’s face darkens slightly, annoyed that Jacob would value me so highly. I have to stifle a laugh. She isn’t even his mate in this life, yet she’s still angry over this. What a strange person she is… The elder, weary from the day’s events, retires to rest. The days leading up to the ceremony are pure bliss for me. In my past life, I was married in a hurry and immediately shackled by the endless rules of the Crimson Sun Pack. This time, I get to enjoy the freedom and anticipation a bride-to-be deserves. I take Jacob for walks through the Silvermoon territory, while my sister spends her days clinging to Julian, constantly in his quarters. The day before our ceremonies, the elder summons us both to his room. He first presents a list of parting gifts. “Rosalie,” he says, “your union is a matter of pack honor, but Clara is our child, too. I would like to give her a larger share of the pack’s blessing. Do you think…” Rosalie’s face hardens. She snatches the list from his hand. “No! I’m marrying the heir of the Crimson Sun Pack. I represent the face of the Silvermoon Pack. My parting gift must be bigger, not smaller. My sister is just marrying into the Stone Ridge Pack. She doesn’t need such extravagance.” She scans the list, pulls out the most meager one, and tosses it in front of me. The elder is furious, but I simply thank my sister and pick up the paper. Swallowing his anger, the elder looks at Rosalie with concern. “Our pack hasn’t had a union with the Crimson Sun Pack for a very long time. Though it is a marriage, our status is not equal to theirs. I worry you will be mistreated when you go there, and we will not be able to help you. You must be careful.” Rosalie looks down on him with a sneer. “I know you’re useless. Useless and obsessed with saving face! Of course I won’t be mistreated. You, on the other hand, Clara…” Her eyes are filled with mockery, as if she can already see the miserable fate awaiting me with Jacob. But I want to laugh, too. Does she really think that just because she saved Julian, she can safely birth a pure-blooded heir and become the supreme Luna? An ancient bloodline like the Crimson Sun Pack struggles with heirs for a reason. Their Alpha blood is so potent, so aggressive, that an ordinary female body cannot withstand it. Carrying a pure-blooded heir is the highest honor, but for every day that child is in the womb, it drains the mother’s life force, torturing her day and night. If the mother weakens, the Crimson Sun Pack will sacrifice her without a second thought to save their precious heir. They only show concern for the mother if she herself possesses an equally powerful bloodline. I was lucky in my past life. I stumbled upon a Moonpetal Flower before I knew I was pregnant. Without it, I would have been sacrificed, too. But Rosalie doesn’t know that. She’s still lost in her beautiful dream, and I have no intention of waking her. She looks at me and says, “Clara, Jacob is a violent man. Don’t expect the pack to stand up for you. You’ll just have to endure it. I was going to help you, but you shouldn’t have tried to seduce my Julian.” The moment the words leave her mouth, Jacob kicks the door open, his eyes blazing with fury as he stares at my sister. Rosalie flinches. Then she sees Julian standing behind Jacob, and her face lights up. She runs to Julian’s side and clings to his arm. Julian ignores her. He looks at me, a playful glint in his eyes. “The Alpha of Stone Ridge is violent? Why don’t you marry me too, Clara? I can give you and Rosalie equal status. You two sisters can serve me together.” At his words, my sister’s face turns deathly pale.

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My Alpha mate, Kayden, promised he would only visit his unstable childhood sweetheart, Clara, ninety-nine times. But when I had finally placed the ninety-ninth bean in the jar, I saw him holding Clara in a tight embrace. I stopped crying and begging him not to go to her after that. I simply asked him for a guardian sigil for a wolf pup, a gift for our coming child. The mention of our child softened his expression. “Wait for me to get back. I’ll go with you to the pack infirmary for the prenatal check-up.” I obediently hummed in agreement. I didn’t tell him that ten days ago, I had already submitted an application to the Pack Elders to sever our mate bond. According to the laws of the pack, we were no longer mates. … Ten days after submitting my application, I ran into Kayden in the hallway of the pack infirmary. He was carefully supporting Clara, treating her like a rare treasure. But the moment he saw me, Kayden’s brow furrowed. “What are you doing here? Are you trying to cause trouble for Clara again?” He watched me with a guarded look, the chill in his eyes piercing my heart. Clara clung to Kayden’s arm and looked at me apologetically. “Ava, don’t misunderstand. Kayden is just worried about me.” Then, her eyes drifted down to my stomach. “I heard you were admitted to the infirmary too. Is the baby okay?” Before I could answer, Kayden rushed to comfort her. “It’s probably just emotional stress affecting the pregnancy. It’ll be fine.” “Don’t overthink it. The most important thing is for you to take care of yourself.” I subconsciously touched my belly, a bitter taste filling my mouth. Right, how could anything be wrong? It’s just that our little pup… was already gone. How could that possibly be more important than Clara’s health? Otherwise, why wouldn’t Kayden have visited me even once, despite knowing I was in the very same infirmary? If he had just bothered to look in on my room, even for a moment, he would have known. Our child, the one destined to inherit the Alpha title, was gone. I forced a smile and my hand found the glass jar in my pocket, warmed by my body heat. Ever since Clara returned, Kayden would disappear every few days to be with her. He said: “Clara has always been sensitive, and now her mental state is fragile. If I’m not with her, what if she hurts herself?” “Don’t worry, I just don’t want her to do something stupid. I don’t have any other feelings for her.” He promised me he would only stay with Clara ninety-nine times. After the ninety-ninth time, he would return to our family for good, fulfilling his duties as my Alpha mate. So every time he left, I would place a single bean in a glass jar. Seven days ago, I finally put in the ninety-ninth bean. But when I went to find him, full of hope, I saw Kayden holding Clara tightly in his arms. I was his Luna, his wife. Yet in that moment, I could only stand on the street corner, a spectator to his tender moment with another woman. “What are you two doing?” I walked toward them, my eyes red, my voice trembling with heartbreak. Kayden released Clara as if he’d been shocked, his eyes filled with panic. “Ava, don’t misunderstand. It’s not what you think.” I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Clara cut in. “It’s all my fault. I’m bothering you two, I’m so sorry.” “Kayden, just leave me alone from now on. Let me just go die somewhere.” With that, she darted into the street and was clipped by a speeding pickup truck. Kayden’s face went pale. He violently shoved me aside and rushed to cradle Clara in his arms. I didn’t have time to react. The force of his push sent me crashing to the ground. A sharp, dull pain shot through my abdomen. I reached down with a trembling hand and it came back covered in sticky, red blood. “My baby… my baby… my pup…” “Kayden, my Alpha!” I clutched my stomach, desperately calling his name, praying he would just look back at me. Kayden paused for a second and turned his head, but his eyes were filled with hatred. “Ava! You know Clara is unstable, so why would you provoke her!” “If anything happens to Clara, I will never forgive you!” “Let this be a lesson to you. Stay the hell away from her from now on!” Then, he lifted Clara into his Ford SUV and sped away. In the end, it was a kind stranger who couldn’t bear to watch any longer who took me to the hospital. The doctor told me I had lost the baby. Lying in that hospital bed, replaying the image of Kayden leaving me, my vision blurred with tears. Kayden Blackwood, I promise you. From this day on, I will never go near you again. You are free. My thoughts returned to the present. Kayden seemed oblivious to my pale face, simply reminding me in a flat tone: “If there’s nothing else, go back to your room. As a member of this pack, be considerate and don’t take up unnecessary medical resources.” I nodded. “Okay.” Kayden continued, “I have to stay with Clara for the next few days. Don’t come looking for me unless it’s an emergency.” I nodded again. “Okay.” Perhaps my calm reaction was too much for him, because Kayden actually paused.

He let go of Clara and took two steps toward me. “Are you… feeling okay?” “Once Clara’s emotions have stabilized, I’ll schedule a proper prenatal check-up for you.” I just grunted in response, pretending not to see the venomous glare Clara shot my way. As I walked past him, I caught his scent. A faint fragrance of wild jasmine. It was the essential oil Clara always used. Kayden must have held Clara in his arms quite a lot during these days in the infirmary. Otherwise, how could this scent that wasn’t mine have soaked so deeply into his clothes and skin? When I got home, my next-door neighbor, Maria, was just heading out. She jumped when she saw how pale I was. “Oh heavens, Ava, why do you look so pale?” “Did something happen? Your scent… it’s filled with sorrow.” I managed a weak smile, but my eyes welled up with tears. So, I really did look that awful. So, other people could see that something was wrong with me. But my Alpha, my mate, how could he be so blind? It had been seven days. Even a single word of concern… would have been enough. Seeing that I wasn’t talking, Maria didn’t press further. She just gently helped me inside and sat me down. That evening, Maria brought over a large bowl of rich beef stew. “Ava, you’re already frail, and now you’re carrying a pup. You need to build up your strength.” Maria’s husband was the captain of the pack’s sentinels. With many children, their family wasn’t wealthy. This stew was a precious gift from them. After thanking Maria, I sat at the dining table, lost in thought for a long time. I couldn’t understand. Why could an ordinary pack member show me such kindness, while my own husband, the Alpha of our pack, could cast me aside again and again? This union, witnessed by the Moon Goddess herself, felt like a joke. With a sigh, I carefully lifted the bowl to my lips. Just as I was about to take a sip, the courtyard gate was pushed open. “Ava, I’m back.” Kayden walked in, carrying a few changes of clothes. I looked at him, surprised. “Why are you back? Don’t you need to be with Clara?” Kayden set the clothes down and replied casually, “The doctor said Clara’s condition has stabilized, but I’m still worried. I’m having her stay a few more days for observation.” “So, I came back to grab some essentials.” I hummed in acknowledgment, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said that morning. “Be considerate and don’t take up unnecessary medical resources.” It seemed that when it came to Clara, all the rules were different. I think my heart had truly died, because I didn’t even have the energy to argue. I lowered my eyes, about to drink my soup, when Kayden, who had finished packing, suddenly spoke up. “Did you make beef stew?” “Don’t drink it yet. Clara is weak, this will be perfect for her recovery.” My hand froze, the bowl still in my grasp. I stared at him, stunned. “Maria made this specifically for me.” Kayden acted as if he hadn’t heard me, already pulling a thermos from the cabinet. “I know your body. It doesn’t matter if you drink this or not.” “Let Clara have it this time. Next time, I’ll take you to the best restaurant in town.” Those familiar words brought back a flood of memories. “Ava, I’m giving the first choice at the Hunting Festival to Clara this time. I’ll make it up to you next time.” “Ava, don’t go to the Moonlight Gala. Give your spot to Clara. I’ll invite you to the next event.” “Ava, Clara wants to meet my inner circle. You should skip the Beta and Gamma gathering this time. I’ll bring you next time.” “Ava…” So many next times. So many I couldn’t even count them all. While I was lost in my daze, Kayden had already poured the beef stew into the thermos. He offered a dismissive word of concern. “I’m heading out. Take care of yourself at home.” He turned to leave, and the corner of his jacket brushed against the soup bowl on the table. CRASH! The bowl hit the floor, shattering into pieces, just like my heart. “Kayden.” I called out to him and pulled the glass jar with the ninety-nine beans from my pocket. “Ninety-nine beans. Count them.” Kayden’s back went rigid. He turned around, his face a mask of shock. “Is it… really time?” I nodded. “It is.” Kayden set down the thermos, his expression troubled. I didn’t say a word, just quietly waited for his answer. It was just as I expected. After only a moment’s hesitation, Kayden spoke. “Ava, Clara can’t be left alone right now…” A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes, but he continued anyway. “Our promise… let’s just call it off.” I lowered my gaze and let out a soft sigh. “Okay.” Kayden was stunned. He couldn’t believe I had agreed so easily. He rushed over and hugged me. “Ava, you’re so understanding.” “Don’t worry, as soon as Clara is fully recovered, I promise I’ll spend all my time with you.” I just hummed, and made a single request. “Our child will be born soon. I want a guardian sigil.” At the mention of the child, Kayden’s expression softened even more.

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I’m Tess Powell. When Nathaniel kicked open the cabin door, I was dancing passionately with a male model in a scarlet bikini. I swayed in the ambiguous music and lighting, like a fire burning recklessly, scorching the eyes of the onlookers. “My God… This is really something.” Daniel Robert, usually cheerful and talkative, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his cheeks burning red. He was too shy to look in my direction. Nathaniel stood beside him. He was still with that indifferent demeanor, as if he was above the mundane world, but his eyes darkened slightly as they swept over me. “Tess, are you done?” He strode forward in a few steps, turned off the noisy music, and threw a thick blanket over me. But I ignored it, instead laughing and pulling the male model in front of me, nuzzling close to him. “Don’t mind him… Let’s continue.” The male model smirked, pulling me closer in a deliberate embrace, his tousled hair brushing against my neck—too intimate for comfort. But that only lasted barely a second. Nathaniel had already reached out and yanked me away with such force that I nearly stumbled to the ground. “Tess!” He finally lost his temper. “Fooling around with male models, do you even remember what day it is today?” “Of course I do!” For a heartbeat, I froze. Then my hand flew across his cheek. The echo hung between us, drowned only by the silent rush of my own tears. “You don’t own me, Nathaniel. And you sure as hell don’t get to mention my mother!” My mother had treated Nathaniel as her own—pulling strings, pouring resources into him, all to secure his place as the Wilde heir. Yet what did he do to repay her? He had fallen in love with the cheater’s daughter! Among all those people, he had fallen in love with Harriet! Today was my mother’s funeral, and he was the last person in the world who had the right to lecture me! Daniel hesitated and stepped forward. “Actually, the funeral today was all arranged by Nat…” “Tess,” Nathaniel coldly interrupted him. His face—the one I’d loved for twenty years—betrayed nothing. Those glacial blue eyes fixed on me as he spoke, each word a calculated twist of the knife, “Or have you forgotten? Your theatrics at the Wilde estate got your mother killed. This is your doing.”

I stopped abruptly. My swollen eyes were fixed on his face, but something inside me shattered noisily, piercing through me, making it hard to breathe. Yes, it was because I couldn’t bear the thought of him marrying Harriet. It was my arrogance. I failed to see that the Wilde family’s power was far above mine now, and Nathaniel was no longer the illegitimate son who used to be bullied and needed my protection. I was foolish to go to the Wilde family and reveal that ridiculous photo, shouting that Harriet’s mother, Lilith Dorothy, was a shameless mistress. And in my madness, when Nathaniel scolded me, I revealed the fact that his mother had also risen from being a maid. So the royal Mr. Wilde was truly enraged. He suppressed the news and had me expelled from the Wilde family. To make me pay, he retaliated by cropping his face out of the original photo and releasing only my wanton appearance to the public. The entire city was free to scrutinize my demeanor in bed. Even my infatuation with Nathaniel over the past twenty years had become a joke. “Look, the lady of the Powell family is a promiscuous slut.” “Her mother couldn’t compete with Harriet’s mother, and neither could she with Harriet in Nathaniel’s eyes.” Everyone said so. That was why my mother, always proud and radiant, resolutely leaped from the villa in front of me, landing in a pool of blood. Before she died, my mother, tormented by depression, had a moment of clarity. She took my hand, her gaze clear yet sorrowful. “Tess, the way you chase after Nathaniel is just like how I pursued your father back then. We chase so hard that we lose sight of ourselves. It will cost our lives.” “Find more men. You’ll see that love is nothing special.” So on the day of my mother’s funeral, I skipped it and instead hired a boatload of male models on a cruise. It was finally my turn to say to Nathaniel, “So what?” I smiled brightly, but my nails dug into my palms. “We’re just childhood friends. You’re crossing the line here, buddy. Don’t you think?”

Nathaniel’s gaze locked onto me with terrifying focus. After a brief pause, he said indifferently, “Harriet is waiting for you.” At the sound of the name, something inside me fractured audibly, like glass giving way under pressure. I thought I had let go. After twenty years of entangled love and hate, he easily defeated me with one name. “Good for you, Nathaniel.” I muttered softly. No one knew how to hurt you more than a childhood friend. He ordered someone to drag me into the car. Before I left, I saw the male model’s light-colored eyes. Daniel whispered in my ear, “I know you’re upset. But today is your mom’s funeral. You should be there.” He glanced at Nathaniel, who was dozing off across from us, and hesitated to continue. “Don’t be angry. Nathaniel has been hosting the funeral. He still…” His words trailed off. I got it. Did he still care about me? Or was he still grateful for my mother’s protection in the past? Neither seemed to hold up. The moment my mother jumped, whatever had been between us twisted into a noose. With my back against the seat, I traced the slow, gentle arc of the small clay pendant in the rearview mirror, swaying to the car’s unhurried motion. *** Daniel, Nathaniel, and I had been friends since kindergarten. But Nathaniel had always kept only photos of him and me, and the passenger seat was always reserved for me. I had mistaken that tiny sense of “specialness” for favoritism and chased after him like a moth to a flame. But now, the photos of us together had been replaced by a pendant made by Harriet, and the passenger seat was piled with a pink blanket that didn’t fit there. Harriet’s traces were everywhere. Hosting the funeral? I sneered, feeling the bitterness spreading in my throat. It was probably just to impress Marcus Powell, my father, and Harriet’s stepfather, so he could marry Harriet sooner.

When the car arrived at Powell Manor, I got out without hesitation. My mother’s funeral had just ended, yet the living room had already been completely transformed. Even the family portrait of the three of us had been replaced with a wedding photo of Marcus and the maid. My mother hadn’t rested in peace yet, and he was already eager to bring a second wife into the house. “Tess, you brat, where have you been all day?” “Skipping your own mother’s funeral? Do you still have any regard for this family?” Marcus slammed his hand on the table in anger as soon as he saw me, his face flushed with rage. Beside him, the maid, now dressed as a wealthy lady, Lilith, soothingly spoke in a gentle tone, though a flicker of contempt flashed in her eyes. “Marcus, Tess is just too heartbroken to face the funeral.” “She’s still young. Don’t be so angry.” “Indeed, Mr. Powell. Ms. Powell must be very upset,” Harriet said, standing demurely beside them in a white dress. Marcus sat back under Lilith’s influence and snorted coldly, “If she were half as sensible as Harriet, her mother wouldn’t have died of anger!” I looked up sharply at this family of three, their clumsy act, and suddenly laughed. “Stop pretending! If you hadn’t sunk to sleeping together without shame, my mother wouldn’t have been overwhelmed by depression and ended her life!” “Tess Powell!” Marcus warned sternly. Lilith’s face turned pale. “It’s my fault. I failed the madam, but Marcus and I are truly…” Before she could finish, I lunged forward, grabbed her hair, and, in a scream, slammed her down in front of my mother’s portrait. “My mother only took you in because you had nowhere to go! But you repaid her by screwing with my dad?” “You know what? If you really feel so sorry, why don’t you just end your life as well?” Marcus roared at me to let go. Harriet also threw herself at me, crying while pulling at me. “Ms. Powell, let go. Mrs. Powell only died because you pissed her off. You can’t blame my mom for that.” Before she could finish, I picked up the riding crop beside me and lashed it directly across her mouth. She was so good at distorting the truth. “How dare you hit me! Nate will never let you go!” Harriet screamed, covering her mouth, her eyes venomous. I laughed unrestrainedly. “Not pretending now?” “You look better this way, you know?” “You witch, are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Marcus clutched his chest in fury as the servants rushed forward anxiously. “What good does your madness do? Your mom is gone, and it’s all your fault! No one in this family welcomes you!” Harriet shouted shrilly, her eyes red. I raised the whip again, but my arm was fiercely grabbed, the grip so tight it almost crushed my bones. “Tess! How dare you hurt her!” Nathaniel stood behind me, his eyes blazing with rage. I didn’t budge, but my hand, holding the whip, trembled for a moment. “Didn’t you hear what she said? Doesn’t she deserve it?” “I heard it.” Nathaniel let go of my hand, his voice calm. “So what?” My heart skipped a beat, and threads of pain slowly exploded. I stared at Nathaniel, dumbfounded. He knew! He had always known that Harriet was two-faced, that she coveted my place in the Powell family, and that I was struggling under this roof. Yet he still chose to stand by her. “Nate!” Harriet cried, throwing herself into his arms. “She hit my mom and whipped me like this!” Nathaniel held her, his voice as cold as ice, his gaze on me. “Is that so? Then I’ll whip her a hundred times to make her atone for you. How do you like that?” “Nathaniel, don’t you dare!” I glared at him, my eyes red. Nathaniel held my gaze with quiet calm, his stare fixed on me briefly before he motioned for his bodyguard to force me to the ground. In front of Marcus, Lilith, and Harriet, he mercilessly whipped me until I was covered in blood. As pain consumed me and blood poured from my mouth, I heard unmistakably the sound of my heart caving in within. Twenty years of affection and the last bit of care. All shattered into dust at that moment. I lost count of how many lashes I endured before I finally fainted in desperation. In a daze, I sank into a familiar embrace, the faint scent of iris from Nathaniel wrapping gently around me. “Tess! Call the doctor!” I had rarely heard him shout so frantically. Pity it only happened after he had me beaten till I coughed blood. Yet, it was after he ordered me to be beaten until I coughed up blood. Summoning my final strength, I wrenched myself from his arms, preferring the hard ground to his embrace. “Nathaniel, you’re fucking disgusting.”

Ignoring my words, Nathaniel still rushed me to the hospital overnight for proper treatment. But the next day, the company I had secretly established was reported, and every file was sent straight to Marcus. Overnight, the alliances I’d painstakingly forged collapsed and turned on me. Even the photos of the male models I had summoned on the day of the funeral were spread around indiscriminately. It was obvious these actions were intended to ruin me completely. Marcus even publicly declared that he wanted to cut ties with me. Out of choice, I had to humble myself and seek help through intermediaries. I, once the pampered Ms. Powell, still bearing whip wounds, now humbly begged for help from the second-gen followers who used to follow in my shadow. “Tess, it’s not that we don’t want to help.” Bart Nell, said with a troubled expression, but his gaze lingered on my pallor and the fresh wounds on my neck. “It’s just that you’ve offended Nathaniel… None of us can afford the price.” He handed me a glass of amber liquor, his eyes gleaming with a familiar predatory desire. “But if you’re willing to join us for a drink and a gathering tonight… we may give it a second thought.” I knew all too well what “join us for a drink and a gathering” meant. A quid pro quo of power and sex, the most popular and dirtiest trick in the circle. Once an indifferent bystander, I had become the one on the chopping block. I had no way to escape. “Bart, I didn’t ask you here to do this to her!” Daniel’s face twisted with anger as he tried to intervene, but he was overpowered by Bart, whose family background outranked his. “You can’t expect us to take risks and help without her showing any sincerity,” someone sneered, shooting me a menacing look that sent chills down my spine. “Besides, everyone knows Tess’s wild side. She’s got a whole crew of male models. A few more of us won’t hurt.” They closed in, step by step, like predators after a power shift, holding their wine glasses. Humiliation drained the color from my face, and a sour, salty bitterness climbed my throat, threatening to suffocate me. “Quite the party, isn’t it?” Nathaniel’s voice suddenly rang in my ear. “Shame I wasn’t invited.”

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Three years after I died, nothing grew around the estate where I’d lived. Anyone who got too close ended up seriously sick within days. People said I was a curse that would last forever. The rumors spread like crazy, and eventually, the media tracked down Winslet Hayes. She caved under the public pressure and brought in a medium to perform a ritual at the estate and stop me from causing more trouble. When they arrived, the place looked expensive but completely dead. Only cold wind cut through the empty rooms. She quickly pulled Leander Blackwell behind her and rolled her eyes. “That bastard Matthias. Can’t even stay quiet when he’s dead. Should’ve dumped him on some island in the middle of nowhere and let him rot.” But she doesn’t know this—my ghost is standing right beside her, watching her every move. My cursed body is trapped in the ground under her feet, rotting beneath the soil. *** The house that trapped me for three years sits there dark and empty. It’s noon right now, but sunlight can’t get inside. The whole place just feels wrong and makes your skin crawl. The medium Winslet brought, along with her apprentice, looks around the property. Their frowns just keep getting deeper. “There’s way too much resentment here. This is gonna be tough to fix.” The medium remains silent for a moment before finally speaking, “We need to find the body first. Then we’ll use a blade made from a cursed gemstone to grind the bones into dust. That’s the only way we might be able to get rid of this energy.” The method sounds horrible and completely inhumane. Even this medium, who’s seen death plenty of times, struggles to say it out loud. But Winslet doesn’t even hesitate. She immediately orders someone to find cursed gem right away and tells the best craftsman to forge it into a blade as fast as possible. Then she leads everyone toward my grave. “Leander’s been having nightmares every single night. That bastard’s definitely behind it. So what if we dig up his grave and crush his bones? He deserves it.” They buried me in a rush, and it takes the group some time to even locate my grave. When they finally find my tombstone, waist-high grass surrounds it, wild and overgrown. The stone has toppled over long ago, its surface webbed with cracks. The ground is uneven, so Winslet has someone move the tombstone right under Leander’s feet, creating a level surface for him. Then she calls over two workers to dig up my grave. They only dig down about three to five feet before they hit a broken, rotting coffin. Everyone in town knows Winslet is coming here today to do an exorcism, and a bunch of people from the neighborhood show up to watch. They all think I’m the reason their lives have been so messed up. “You worthless bastard! Even death couldn’t make you behave!” An old man rushes up and spits at my grave. “They should’ve just thrown you in a ditch and left you to rot!” Another person steps forward and kicks the coffin hard. “Ms. Hayes was so good to you when you were alive, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now you’re dead, and you’re still causing trouble every day. How can someone be such garbage?” Yeah, everyone in Ridgemont knows Winslet “loved” me the most. Winslet waves her hand and tells everyone to back off. She’s about to signal the two workers to pry open the coffin lid when someone suddenly hugs her from behind. “Winslet, Matthias was still my brother,” Leander sighs. “Whatever he did wrong, I’ve already forgiven him. Can we just let him rest in peace?” Winslet wraps her arm around Leander’s waist and pats his back like she’s trying to comfort him. “Honey, you’re way too good to him. He stabbed you in the back, remember? Did you forget all those nights you woke up screaming from nightmares? I had him confined to this estate years ago, and I can kick him out today, too!” Leander nods, but cold sweat breaks out across his forehead. His anxiety is showing. The medium places a talisman on my coffin and tells her apprentice to open it up. The workers fear the dead too much to curse at the coffin like the others. They carefully break open each lock. After a whole lot of clanging and banging, the workers finally lift the coffin lid. But what’s inside isn’t my rotting, stinking body like they all expected. Instead, the entire coffin is filled with blood-soaked medals. Everyone just stares at all those medals in confusion. Only the medium steps forward and picks one up. The medal has tons of scratches all over it, and the blood has turned black with time. The medium searches through the coffin for a while, and then she suddenly says, “This is a dark ritual.” She pulls a pendant from beneath the medals. The gem is dark green, nearly black, with intricate patterns carved into its surface. Winslet lets out a mocking laugh. “How twisted. He died but he still left behind a ritual to mess with Leander’s sleep. We need to figure out what the hell he was trying to do.” The medium pulls out her dowsing rod, and the tip points straight at the house. The house is filled with extremely malicious energy, so the followers set up a protective circle outside before anyone goes in. Once they’re inside, the dowsing rod completely stops working. It just starts spinning like crazy and won’t stop. The medium tells everyone to search the house for my personal belongings, but they were all cleared out and burned the day after I died. Nothing of mine remains. The moment Leander steps into the house, cold sweat breaks out across his skin. He wants nothing more than to grab Winslet and leave. “Winslet, can we go? Please? I feel really sick.” Leander holds Winslet’s hand, but he can’t stop shaking. Winslet immediately tries to leave with Leander, but the medium nervously blocks their way. “Ms. Hayes, you can’t leave! To break this curse, the person who was closest to the deceased has to stay. If you leave now, the ghost will become way stronger!” No one’s ever dared defy Winslet, and now this medium actually has the nerve to stop her? Still, this woman is from the most prestigious spiritual order in the country, so Winslet can’t touch her. She forces herself to swallow her anger. Then she waves one hand sharply. An antique vase in the center of the hall topples over. The vase shatters on impact, and a notebook falls out from inside. Winslet picks it up and flips through it. There’s nothing written inside, which makes her even angrier. She’s about to rip the blank notebook to shreds when the medium snatches it away. Winslet glares at the medium like she wants to tear her apart. The medium ignores Winslet and starts chanting over the blank notebook. The apprentice came back empty-handed, but when she sees her teacher chanting over a notebook, she and the others form a circle and join in the chanting. The blank notebook slowly begins to show signs of use. “It’s the deceased’s diary!” “Read it!” Winslet’s expression darkens. “I want to see what kind of tricks you’ve got up your sleeve. And I want to know how that piece of trash Matthias even learned about this dark magic!” The medium opens the first page.

The medium begins reading from the diary. “Today is my twentieth birthday. Winslet came over to celebrate with me, and I’m so happy.” “But my brother Leander kept getting between us the whole time. He wouldn’t let me talk to her, and he kept hanging all over Winslet on purpose. It made me kind of upset.” “Maybe I’m just overthinking it. My brother would never treat me badly. I keep thinking about the day they found him and brought him home. Mom and Dad held him and cried so hard. I stood off to the side and promised myself I’d protect him too.” “But after that day, it felt like Mom and Dad didn’t love me anymore. They could only see him.” “Later, I went to the police academy, and Mom and Dad completely stopped loving me. Even when I burned my hand trying to make them breakfast, they just looked at me coldly and told someone to throw the food away.” “But my brother could bring home some cheap souvenir from vacation, and they’d treasure it like gold. They’d carry it everywhere and brag about it to anyone who’d listen.” “Still, he deserves all that love. My brother was missing for ten years, away from our parents for ten years. They can’t make up for it enough.” “At least I have Winslet. She’ll always be by my side.” The medium’s voice stays flat and emotionless, but it still makes me feel like I can’t breathe. Back then, I never imagined that one day Winslet would leave me too. After that, nobody in the world loved me. One day after we got married, Leander hurt himself doing extreme sports. He really loved that stuff. Mom and Dad told me I had to donate my right kidney to him. It was the worst possible timing. The police department was doing retention evaluations right then, and joining the force was my dream. A surgery that big meant I’d need months to recover, and I’d miss my only chance to make my dream come true. I didn’t want to do it. But my parents kept pushing me. Sometimes they’d beg, sometimes they’d threaten. They wouldn’t let it go. In the end though, it was Winslet who tied me down to the operating table. It was actually Winslet who did it. When she hears this part, Winslet gets even angrier. She grits her teeth and says, “He cheated on me first, and now he’s acting like he was so devoted? He’s got some nerve! Leander and his parents were so good to him. How could he say shit like this?” Leander lets out a small sigh of relief from his corner. He walks over to Winslet and puts his arm around her waist. “Don’t be mad, Winslet. He just got confused for a while. If… if they never found me back then, maybe Matthias wouldn’t have ended up like this…” As Leander says this, his eyes fill with tears. Winslet was already furious, and this makes her even angrier. She wipes away his tears and says angrily, “How is any of this your fault? You didn’t do anything wrong. Stop making excuses for him. This is all Matthias’s fault, that piece of trash!” Everyone watching has never even met me, but they all nod along, just as angry. The medium senses something off and keeps reading. “There’s a thunderstorm outside, and my side of the bed is empty. Winslet went to stay with Leander again.” “Ever since we got married, she keeps going over to his place. Every time she tells me not to misunderstand.” “Today the weather is terrible with thunder and strong winds. She’s always been terrified of storms, so I’m really worried about her. But when I tried to talk to her about it, she acted like it was no big deal.” “To stop me from following her, she locked me in my room. Then she left to see Leander. Leander called her and said he was scared of the thunder.” “Winslet, did you ever think that Mom and Dad might be there with Leander, but I’m here all alone?” “Today is October third. I don’t usually write down dates, but I’ll never forget this one. I can never be a cop now.” “Someone hit me, a car accident. They wanted to take me to the hospital, but Winslet wouldn’t let them.” “She said I was just using this as an excuse to go see some doctor. She keeps saying I betrayed her, but I don’t even know which doctor she’s talking about. She locked me in my room and wouldn’t let anyone treat my injuries.” “Twenty-four hours later, a family doctor finally came. The delayed treatment left my leg permanently damaged.” “I worked so hard for the police academy entrance exam, but now, none of that matters. How can someone who can’t even stand up become a cop?” “Winslet, you used to say you loved how dedicated I was to serving my country and the people. You said you’d always support me. But today, you clipped an angel’s wings with your own hands.”

I watch Winslet’s face, hoping to see even a little bit of nostalgia for what we used to have. That would at least prove she had real feelings for me once. But instead, she just grabs something nearby and throws it. “The proof you cheated is right there in front of us, and you still want to deny it? You’re absolutely shameless! Keep reading! Let’s hear what other bullshit he has to say!” The medium glances at Winslet, then continues reading. “My leg is broken, and I need to recover. But Winslet hasn’t come to see me once while I’ve been recovering. I’ve tried calling her but she won’t pick up.” “My parents did come by though. I thought they were here to check on me, but they just wanted to tell me to stop calling Winslet.” “They said Leander failed his police academy application again. He’s really upset about it, and Winslet is keeping him company while he clears his head. They begged me not to bother Leander. They said Leander had never asked for anything his whole life and wanted me to let him have it this time.” “My parents knelt in front of me and begged. It hurt so much to see them like that. They’re my parents, but here they are on their knees acting like they’re nothing.” “But I couldn’t say yes to them. My whole life, Leander took everything from me. First it was my toys, then my dreams, and then even my parents’ attention. Now he wants to take Winslet too, the only thing I have left.” “When I didn’t answer, my parents cried even harder. They were about to start banging their heads to the ground when I finally nodded. It felt like someone was stabbing my heart.” “Winslet still pulled some strings and got Leander into the police academy like he wanted. That was fine. Everything would’ve been fine if I hadn’t seen that entertainment news segment.” “On TV, a reporter asked Winslet if she and Mr. Blackwell were getting married soon. They didn’t say his name, but everyone knew they meant Leander standing next to Winslet. And Winslet and I were already married.” “Winslet just smiled and didn’t deny it. The media took that as a yes. I didn’t understand. I felt so hurt. Another reporter asked if Winslet had pulled strings to get Leander into the police academy.” “Winslet said no. She said the spot at the academy was supposed to be Leander’s all along, and that I stole it from him.” “My hands were shaking when I turned off the TV. I couldn’t listen anymore. Everything was gone. Even Winslet left me.” “In the end, they took away the one thing I was proud of, the dream that gave my life meaning. I looked down at my useless legs and cried.” After everyone hears those diary entries, they all go quiet. Only Winslet speaks up, her voice cold. “Still pretending? Aren’t you tired? Is it really that hard to admit you were having an affair?” Leander puts his arm around Winslet and rubs her back. “Winslet, Matthias was just upset because he couldn’t be a cop anymore. He was just saying things he didn’t mean. Don’t take it personally.” I watch the two of them being all lovey-dovey. The way they look at each other is so intense. I let out a quiet sigh. I remember when Winslet and I first got married. We were that sweet with each other too. But then Leander kept coming over to see Winslet. One thing led to another, and they ended up in bed together. When I caught them, I asked Winslet to explain. She didn’t even bother talking to me. She just said she was pregnant with Leander’s baby. Then she kicked me out of her company. She moved in with Leander and wouldn’t answer my calls. I had no way to reach her. Winslet gets annoyed listening to the diary entries, so she grabs the journal and starts reading it herself. “Winslet’s pregnant. She’s staying at Leander’s place now. I can’t see Winslet anymore, but Leander keeps coming around to mock me.” “He says our parents, my wife, and my career all belong to him now. He says I don’t deserve anything, that I’m just a pathetic failure.” “I didn’t want to fight with him, so I turned my wheelchair around and tried to leave. But he walked right toward me on purpose. When he passed by my wheelchair, he pretended to trip and fall to the ground.” “Winslet and my parents rushed over. Leander said I pushed him on purpose because I was jealous he could walk. I denied it, but nobody believed a word I said. They all called me ungrateful.” “Winslet was so upset that she had a miscarriage. She had people lock me up in this mansion on the estate outside of town.” “The house was huge, but I was the only one living there. The servants who took care of me just did their daily cleaning and prepared my meals. They never said a single word to me.” “The only company I had was a crow that built a nest on the eaves outside my window.” “Everyone says crows sound harsh and awful, but that crow’s voice was the most beautiful sound I heard during that whole time.”

Winslet continued reading. “But later, that crow who kept me company died in Ridgemont’s first snowfall.” “Winter in Ridgemont hits hard and fast. One night passed, and everything outside my window was covered in white. I struggled against the freezing wind to check on the nest, but all I saw were a few twigs barely hanging on.” “The cold wind had torn the nest apart. I looked down and saw the crow frozen and dead on the lawn below.” “The crow died, and I was alone again.” “I wanted to die, but they had the whole place locked down tight. Every sharp object was gone. The top floor of this mansion didn’t have elevator access, and I couldn’t get my wheelchair up the stairs.” “The only thing I could do was stop eating, but they figured out what I was doing pretty fast. So the servants stopped preparing meals and started giving me nutrition injections every single day instead.” “I couldn’t live properly, and I couldn’t die either.” “My mental state just kept getting worse. Pretty soon, I could only lie in bed, kept alive by the machines filling my room.” “Winslet didn’t want me, but she wanted to keep me alive.” “One day, a servant came into my room, turned on the TV, and then left.” “On the screen, Winslet stood in front of a crowd of reporters and personally denied every single achievement I’d earned at the police academy. She said all those awards were actually won by Leander, who just happened to look like me.” “The media goes absolutely crazy. I don’t even need to look to know how everyone is judging me.” “Sure enough, everyone says Leander was cursed to have a brother like me, and that the Blackwell family should be ashamed to have a son like me.” “Public opinion sweeps through the entire city like a tidal wave, and when it reaches its peak, my parents come out to respond. ‘We’re sorry, everyone. We didn’t raise our son properly,’ they said. ‘But we hope you can forgive Matthias for our sake. We spoiled him too much. We’re truly sorry.’” “Every single word they say just confirms those lies that were never even true. I’m lying in bed right now, and I don’t even have the energy to be angry anymore.” *** “I keep thinking about a few years ago when I was still a student at the police academy. Back when Leander hadn’t been found yet, and I was the only son in the family. Back before Winslet married me, when she was completely focused on me. Scene after scene flashes through my mind like a slideshow.” “Am I going to die? Maybe that’s better. Please let it be quick. I can’t take this suffering anymore.” “But I don’t get what I wish for. Ever since Leander came back, I haven’t gotten what I wished for even once.” I’m lost in these memories when a loud thud snaps me back to reality. Leander drops to his knees in front of Winslet. I guess Winslet just finished reading those diary entries and asked Leander if everything in them was true. Leander doesn’t try to defend himself. He just shoots back a question. “Winslet, is that really what you think of me? “He’s my own brother! I’ve always protected him! Why would I ever frame him? If you don’t believe me, just ask any servant in this house.” Winslet’s sharp gaze softens. She realizes she’s wrongly accused the person she loves. She carefully helps Leander back to his feet. “I almost got fooled again. I said those things, but I also ordered them to buy out all the media outlets. How did some reckless reporter still manage to publish that story?” After she says this, she opens the diary again and keeps reading. “A group of men broke into the house. They were stumbling around like drunk homeless people.” “The servants disappeared like they couldn’t see anything. Those men walked straight into my room. My leg was broken, and I’d been bedridden for so long. I couldn’t fight back.” “Their mouths reeked of alcohol and decay. They crawled all over me, breathing hard against my skin. And then they finished all over me.” “After that first day, someone came every day. Always drunk men.” “The servants only showed up when they needed to change out my IV. They never even bothered to clean me up or wipe away the filth on my body.” “Help me. Someone please help me. Or just kill me. Anyone, please.” “Leander came to visit, but Winslet didn’t. He said I looked disgusting now, like a dried up corpse. He said even those men didn’t want to come anymore because I was too dirty.” “He told me he wanted to preserve my best appearance, so he forced a bowl of medicine down my throat. The medicine tasted bitter, but not as bitter as my heart felt.” “He didn’t need to force me though. I would’ve drunk it on my own. I could finally die. “Winslet, I never want to see you again. Not in this life or the next.” The diary entries stop there. Everything after that is just huge dark red bloodstains covering the pages. Leander immediately speaks up. “That’s complete bullshit! What did I do wrong? Why is he lying about me like this?” Winslet, who usually treats Leander like he’s the most precious thing in the world, doesn’t move. When Winslet doesn’t answer, Leander starts to panic. “You don’t believe me, Winslet? He’s lying!” Winslet finally hugs him back. “I believe you, Leander. I believe you.” She turns to the medium. “This is ridiculous! Burn this journal right now!” Someone immediately moves forward to grab the diary. But the medium slowly lifts her head. “No, wait! Something’s wrong!”

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At the party, my fiancée’s male best friend, Bryan Stone, switches out my glass of milk with lube. I catch the taste immediately but it’s too late, I’ve already swallowed it down. My stomach burns like acid, and Bryan’s laughing so hard he can barely breathe. “That’s lube, dumbass! Can’t you even tell? God!” Mira Sinclair, my fiancée, watches me double over in pain, and I can see the disgust written all over her face, like I’m the one embarrassing her right now. I tell Bryan to apologize but he just grins at me. “What, you can’t even take a joke? Come on, Ryder, don’t be such a bummer.” I grab the bottle and dump the rest over his head. Half a second later, Mira’s hand cracks across my face. I walk out of the banquet hall and pull out my phone. “Marry me in three days. You in?” *** The second I pour the lube over Bryan’s head, the entire room goes silent, and every single person turns to look at Mira. Everyone knows Bryan is Mira’s precious male best friend, and nobody dares mess with him. Not even me. Lube drips down Bryan’s face, and he starts frantically wiping at it. “Mira! What’s Ryder’s problem? He can’t even take a fucking joke!” Before I can say anything, Mira slaps me hard across the face. The sound echoes through the silent room, and I can tell she put everything she had into it. Her cocktail ring splits my lip open, and blood runs down from the corner of my mouth, but she just stares at me with ice-cold contempt. “Ryder Blackwell, what the fuck is wrong with you?” She spins around to help Bryan wipe the liquid from his hair and completely ignores my bleeding lip. My stomach churns violently, and that slick, oily feeling replays in my mind. I can’t help it, I start to gag. Mira’s face hardens even more. “If you’re gonna puke, do it outside. Don’t make everyone sick.” I grab a glass of water off the table and chug the whole thing. The nausea finally backs off a little. Bryan keeps wiping himself down while pointing at me accusingly. “Mira, I was just messing around with Ryder. He didn’t have to do this. Does he hate me or something? Why’s he targeting me?” Mira keeps soothing him while she helps clean him up. “It’s Ryder’s fault. All of it.” That gentle tone in her voice hits me hard because I haven’t heard her use it in months. At least not with me. Once Mira finishes helping Bryan, she turns back to face me, and her voice drops to pure ice. “Apologize to Bryan!” I stubbornly wipe the blood from my mouth and refuse to back down. “Mira, do you even hear yourself right now? I’m the one who got tricked into drinking lube, and when I push back just a little bit, you can’t handle it?” I stare into Mira’s eyes and catch a flash of guilt, but it disappears in a second because Bryan’s already tearing up and throwing a fit. “I’ve never been humiliated like this in my entire life! In front of all these people too, I can’t show my face anywhere now!” His voice gets louder and more dramatic. “Mira, maybe we shouldn’t be friends anymore. Your fiancé clearly hates me.” He turns like he’s about to leave, and Mira panics, grabbing his arm hard. She shouts at me, “Apologize. Now!” I see the steel in Mira’s eyes, and I know if I don’t apologize, I’m not getting out of here. The lube’s still churning in my stomach, but I swallow down the nausea and force out the words. “I’m sorry.” Mira’s expression finally softens, and she turns to comfort Bryan. “It’s okay now, it’s okay. He was wrong. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.” I have no idea what she means by making it up to him, but the smug look in Bryan’s eyes tells me it’s nothing good. The music starts up again, and Mira and Bryan are back spinning around the dance floor, leaving me alone at the table thinking about what kind of marriage I’m about to walk into. Suddenly, a sharp pain rips through my stomach. I’ve had stomach problems since I was a kid, and the lube must have triggered it, because now it feels like knives are tearing through my insides. I try to stand up and call for help but my voice gets swallowed by the music, and nobody hears me. “Mira… Mira.” I reach my hand toward her direction, begging her to see me and take me to the hospital. She doesn’t notice, but Bryan does, and he smoothly shifts his body to block her view of me completely. With no other option, I struggle through the pain and manage to call an ambulance with trembling fingers. As I’m fighting my way toward the door, I see Bryan lean in and kiss Mira on the lips. My heart turns to ice. The heartbreak cuts deeper than any stomach pain. Looks like there’s no point in having that wedding in three days.

At the hospital, the doctor pumps my stomach and finds it’s not just the prank lube—Bryan had also added paint. They have to pump me three times to get it all out. My already weak stomach is absolutely destroyed after all that. Late into the night, even breathing sends burning pain through my chest. When I can’t take it anymore, I ask Mira to come take care of me for a bit. I call her three times and she doesn’t pick up once, but then I see Bryan’s social media post. They’ve moved the party to my villa, and they’re tearing the place apart. In the video, my personal belongings are scattered all over the floor, and my collectible figures have been tossed in the trash. Even worse, I spot my first award-winning robot design from college, and the head’s been ripped off the body, both pieces lying broken under a table corner. Meanwhile, Mira and Bryan are drinking from each other’s glasses and making out while everyone around them cheers and whistles. I can’t let it go, so I call Mira again. This time, she actually picks up, but her voice is dripping with irritation. “Jeez, Ryder, do you know what time it is? What do you want now?” “Mira, I… I’m not doing well. I just had my stomach pumped, and I’m in a lot of pain. Can you come see me? Just for a little bit?” My voice sounds pathetic even to my own ears. I can tell Mira hears the pain in my voice, and she’s hesitating, but then, Bryan cuts in from the background. “Mira, come on! I just peeled some grapes for you.” Whatever hesitation she had vanishes instantly, and her voice turns cold and annoyed. “Your stomach hurts? Go see a doctor. I’m busy right now, so stop calling me all the time. Take some medicine and leave me alone.” My throat feels like someone stuffed cotton in it, and I can’t get a single word out. Bryan grabs the phone, and his voice is pure provocation. “Ryder, you sound like shit. Still crawling back from death’s door?” I can hear the smug satisfaction in his tone. “Bryan, get the fuck out of my apartment and fix all my collectibles!” “Those robot parts of yours? I had the cleaning staff sweep them up. They’re probably at the bottom of some dumpster by now. Trash belongs where trash belongs, right?” “Those were my babies! You broke them and just threw them away?” My stomach cramps up hard, and I double over, cold sweat breaking out across my forehead. “Come on Ryder, quit the drama. This is Mira’s bachelorette party, and she’s got a surprise planned for me, so stop killing the vibe. She doesn’t have time for you anyway, she’s busy with the champagne tower.” “And those toys of yours? Mira said we could do whatever we wanted with them, so we took them apart and tossed everything. Must be nice being rich enough to own all those collector’s editions. Too bad they’re scrap metal in a dumpster now. Anyway, good luck with that.” I’m furious and panicking at the same time, and my stomach twists so bad I can’t even find the words to fight back. At some point, he hangs up. I take whatever the nurse gives me and pass out. When I wake up, sunlight’s streaming through the windows and there’s a text from Bryan with a photo attached. Blood-stained sheets. “Mira’s surprise? Turns out it was her. LOL.” That’s the wedding suite I set up for Mira. I picked out every piece of furniture, every decoration. She told me she loved pink, so I turned the whole villa into a pink castle. Back in college, when I won that robotics competition, she hugged my project and cried. Happy tears. I don’t know when she changed, when she became someone I don’t recognize. Maybe it started when Bryan showed up. Maybe before. My phone rings. The bridal shop calls. “Mr. Blackwell, your custom wedding dress and rings are ready for pickup.” “Just throw them out. Don’t want it anymore.”

When I get home from the hospital the next day, I’m expecting the place to still be trashed. But when I push the door open, everything’s been cleaned up. Except all my collectible figures and wall art are gone, completely cleared out. Mira’s in the kitchen making breakfast like nothing happened. “You’re back? I had something come up yesterday so I couldn’t visit. How’s your stomach feeling?” “Bryan’s just being immature. He was joking around with you.” I know the difference between a joke and a grown man being deliberately cruel. “He did it on purpose and made my stomach condition worse. Do you even realize I can only eat liquids right now?” Mira frowns and I can already see the impatience on her face. “Enough! Bryan just likes to have fun, why are you being so petty?” I freeze and my stomach starts aching again. “Fine, let’s say that was a joke. What about everything in my room? Did you forget that robot model was from our first competition together? The painting on the wall was a birthday gift from my mom before she died.” My voice shakes. “Were those all jokes too?” Mira slams the dishes down hard and the crash echoes through the kitchen. “That’s all ancient history. You were hoarding all that junk and taking up space. You should be thanking Bryan for cleaning it out. And that worthless painting? Something from a dead person hanging in our house all this time gives me the creeps.” The words hit me like a knife to the chest and the pain in my stomach surges up instantly. I grab the doorframe and double over, cold sweat running down my temples. “Mira,” I force out through clenched teeth, my voice barely audible, “that was my mom.” She acts like she doesn’t even see me struggling, and her voice is full of disgust. “So what if it was your mom? She’s gone, what’s the point of keeping all that garbage? Bryan was trying to help this household, and here you are making a big deal out of it.” “That was my stuff. What gives him the right to throw it away?” I can’t hold it back anymore, and the words come out choked with tears. “You’re being completely unreasonable!” Mira’s face flushes red and she points at the door. “Bryan was nice enough to help clean up your place, and instead of being grateful, you’re standing here complaining! I swear, that stomach pain has made you lose your mind!” While she’s talking, I hear the door lock click. Even the fingerprint reader now recognizes Bryan’s print. “Hey, stomach feeling better already? Guess I didn’t use enough lube after all.” “Bryan!” I lunge forward to grab his arm but Mira blocks me. “What the hell are you doing!” She shoves me backward and I stumble into the wall. The pain in my stomach mixes with the pain in my back, and my vision goes dark for a second. “Bryan was trying to help! Don’t be crazy!” I stare at her and suddenly, I’m laughing, even though tears are streaming down my face. All those years together, everything we had, she’s throwing it away like garbage. “Forget about him, I made your favorite shrimp bisque.” Mira pulls Bryan away and they sit down at my new dining table to eat breakfast. She even pours me a bowl but her tone is still cold. “You should have some too. It’ll help settle your stomach.” She sets the bowl on the table like I’m some guest in my own home. But she’s forgotten that I’ve been severely allergic to shellfish for years. Back in college, the first thing she ever cooked for me was shrimp bisque. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I had a bowl. I went into anaphylactic shock right there and almost didn’t make it. She was terrified and swore she’d never forget about my allergy again. But today, because Bryan loves it, she’s forgotten everything about us. I watch the soup slowly cool down and my heart goes cold right along with it.

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The son I’d raised for twenty years ran off with an Omega servant. He left a note saying if he couldn’t be with the one he loved, he didn’t want to be Alpha. I burned the letter and turned to support my rival’s son instead. Because in my past life, I’d forced my son to return and take his place as Alpha. The Omega girl he loved was caught by rogues during the chase—they raped her, broke her. She killed herself. Later, after my son became Alpha King, the first thing he did was murder Clara, the Beta’s daughter I’d arranged for him to marry. The pack erupted in chaos. Beta Marcus, who loved his daughter more than life itself, demanded justice. My son just smiled and summoned the latrine slaves, reeking of sewage and filth. In front of the entire pack, he ordered them to defile me, to ruin my Luna scent forever. He looked down at me with contempt. “You destroyed my future with Ivy by dragging me back, then you had those rogues rape her to break my will. Now I’ll let you taste what it’s like to be violated by the pack’s filth!” Then he pointed at me and announced to Beta Marcus. “She’s the real culprit! If she hadn’t forced your daughter on me, Clara would still be alive!” Beta Marcus, his eyes glowing red with feral rage, shoved my head into the cesspool. The thick, vile sludge filled my lungs as I drowned in the pack’s waste. When I opened my eyes again, I was back to the day my son left his note. “Luna Selene, don’t worry! I’ll send trackers immediately. We’ll bring the future Alpha back before sunset!” The Gamma’s confident voice finally pulled me out of the nightmare of my past death. My nails had torn through the paper in my hands. In my past life, when I’d read this note, I’d been furious. With the succession ceremony just three days away, I’d ordered the Gamma Caleb to hunt him down immediately. But now… I held the letter to a candle flame and watched the ashes dance in the air. My voice was calm. “Don’t bother. Come with me to Damon’s den instead.” The Gamma’s head snapped up, shock written across his face. He didn’t dare question me. He simply melted into the shadows behind me as we left the royal pack house under cover of darkness. When word reached him of my arrival, Damon rushed out to meet me, bowing respectfully with his neck bared in submission. “Mother—Luna Selene. What brings you here?” Looking at the face I’d once despised to my very core, I felt a strange disconnect. My dead mate had only ever had two sons. One was Asher, born from my womb. The other was Damon, standing before me now—born from the woman my mate truly loved, the one who died giving birth to him. If it weren’t for my position as Luna and the power of my bloodline, that bastard would have made Damon his heir without a second thought. He loved that dead female more than he ever loved me. “Luna Selene?” Damon called out again softly, suspicion flickering in his eyes. After all, in all these years, I’d never shown him anything but cold contempt. I’d certainly never sought him out. This time, I smiled at him warmly and reached out to take his hand, my voice gentle. “Damon, don’t be so formal. You can call me Mother from now on.” Damon’s whole body went rigid. His eyes widened as he stared at me in shock. Then I continued. “Your father is dead. Asher isn’t fit to lead the pack. I’ve thought it over carefully. You’re the only one strong enough to hold our territory. It’s late, but… why don’t we go inside and talk?” By the time I left Damon’s den, dawn was breaking. My Gamma materialized beside me, hesitating before speaking. “Luna Selene, are you really going to—” His words were cut off by a cold, furious voice. “Selene!”

The Gamma’s face changed. He reached for his weapon but froze when he saw it was Asher. “What, Mother? So scared Damon will take the throne that you came to drag me back before dawn?” Asher’s mocking eyes moved from the Gamma to me. But underneath, I caught something else—hatred. My blood went cold. A terrible thought hit me. Has Asher been reborn too? I kept my voice steady. “You chose to run off with that Omega and give up being Alpha. I can only respect your choice. Why would I drag you back? I just couldn’t sleep. I’m old. I was taking a walk.” The moment I spoke, Asher’s face darkened. Then his eyes flashed with understanding. He stepped forward and stared straight at me. After a long pause, he laughed. It sounded fake. “So Mother and I have both been reborn. Why act like enemies?” “They say there’s no lasting hatry between mother and son. I hated you in my past life because you hurt Ivy. But nothing’s happened yet. I won’t target you this time.” He paused. “After all, only Damon and I can inherit the Alpha position. And you’re Damon’s mother’s killer. So we’re in this together, aren’t we?” As he spoke, my face went pale. The injustice flooded through me like a wave. My dead mate had believed I killed her for twenty years. Now even my own son believed it too. The only one who trusted me was Damon—the dead woman’s son. “She died in childbirth! What does that have to do with me!” Seeing my reaction, Asher became more certain. He laughed. “Alright, I’m not going to expose you. You’re my mother. If I said anything, it would ruin my reputation too.” “But from now on, don’t interfere in things that don’t concern you.” He turned to Ivy beside him, his eyes going soft. “Ivy, I was too impulsive in our past life. That’s how they hurt you. But this life is different. I’ve prepared everything. I swear I’ll make you Luna!” Ivy buried her face in Asher’s chest and nodded shyly. “I’ll listen to whatever you say, my Alpha.” I watched them coldly. Last life I gave you the throne and you didn’t want it. This life you’ve tasted power and now you want everything. But it’s too late. Asher returned to the pack house before me. He announced that the Omega servant Ivy was now his chosen mate. At the same time, I summoned Clara, the Beta’s daughter. Beta Marcus led most of the pack’s warriors. That’s why in my past life I forced Asher to marry Clara—to secure the Beta’s support. Clara bowed to me, her hands nervous in her sleeves. I spoke directly. “Do you know why I summoned you?” “I… have some idea.” “Do you have feelings for Damon?”

Her head shot up, excitement flashing in her eyes. Then she seemed to remember herself and dropped to her knees. “I wouldn’t dare! Both princes are exceptional. I’ll accept whatever arrangement you make, Luna!” I smiled and helped her up. “Silly girl. I’m serious. I’m not testing you.” “In three days at the succession ceremony, I’m putting Damon on the throne. And you beside him.” Clara stared at me, stunned. But before she could respond, noise erupted outside. Ivy walked in like she owned the place. She grabbed Clara’s hand without permission and gave me a casual greeting. “Good morning, Luna!” “Oh! You must be Clara! You’re pretty, I’ll give you that. Nice body too—almost as good as mine. I heard you want to be Asher’s mate?” She frowned, pretending to look troubled. “But Asher promised he’d only love me. If you don’t mind, I have a cousin back home who’s about your age.” “Since you can’t mate to Asher, why not consider my cousin? He’s a pack patrol. Being his mate is better than being some ignored second mate, right?” As she spoke, Ivy’s attitude was full of pride. She didn’t even acknowledge me. Clara’s face had gone pale with humiliation. She looked at me. A Beta’s daughter being mocked by the lowest Omega in the pack. Even with Clara’s good temper, she couldn’t take this. And I wouldn’t let her suffer it either. “Caleb. Slap her.” The moment I gave the order, my Gamma appeared. In a blink, Ivy was on the floor. Her expression went from shock to hatred. Then she clutched her stomach and started screaming. “Mother, why did you have someone hit me? My stomach—it hurts! The baby…!” I looked at her flat stomach, about to speak, when a force shoved me aside. “You vicious bitch! Who gave you permission to harm my heir!” Asher’s push sent me stumbling. My head hit the decorative glass vase. The vase shattered. My temple was being hurt, bruising and bleeding. Clara rushed over to help me. Caleb appeared again, taking a protective stance. I took a sharp breath and waved them off. “I’m fine. Caleb, escort Miss Clara home first.” After they left, Asher helped Ivy up. His eyes on me were venomous. “Looks like Mother has already forgotten how miserably you died in our last life. You still want to control everything about me.” As he spoke, two figures appeared—reeking latrine slaves. The moment I saw them, my body went stiff. Past life memories rushed back. I could barely hold onto the doorframe as I dry heaved. Asher raised an eyebrow. “So you do remember. Then you should know what to do, right?” I forced myself to stand straight. I looked at the child I’d carried for nine months. Cold spread to my fingertips.

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The shipwreck hurled me, Lydia Johnson, onto a lonely island. In the end, I survived like a castaway. It wasn’t until the eighteenth time the massive brown bear tore apart the shelter I had rebuilt with my own hands that something inside me finally snapped. At that moment, three years of bottled loneliness and despair erupted all at once. In a rage, I howled and rammed my stone spear into the bear’s belly. That was when I found that the beast was actually screaming in a human voice. I froze on the spot. The dialogue I had overheard last time I nearly died burst into my mind. “You feel sorry for her? She had it coming. She took Miss Juliet Johnson’s identity for twenty-six years. Of course President Owen had to stand up for the woman he truly loves.” “Her parents? Mr. and Mrs. Johnson already erased her from the household registry. The Johnson family has only one daughter now—Juliet.” “Her brother? He cut ties with her long ago. He’d rather she vanished without a trace.” The truth hit me with brutal clarity. There was no supernatural bear. Only a carefully staged deception—one meant to leave me wishing I were dead. *** When I was about to catch up to the “bear,” something pricked the back of my neck, sharp, like a needle. Darkness swallowed me instantly. Torrential rain beat me awake. When I opened my eyes, everything seemed to have reset to its primitive state. The storm beat down mercilessly, washing away what little body heat I had left. My limbs felt heavy, as if filled with lead. By the time I dragged myself back to the cave, fever had already set in. There were 1,096 tally marks carved into the rock wall—one for each day I had survived here. Three years. A bitter smile tugged at my lips. The fire inside me guttered out. I curled into myself, my body turning cold and rigid like a stone slowly losing its warmth. Then she appeared again. The girl. A hallucination born of my fractured mind. Every time my body reached its limit, she would show up. “Lydia, don’t die,” she urged. “I just saw your parents come looking for you. Go outside—go see.” I said nothing. I knew exactly what she was doing. Trying to lure me back into the rain. Trying to trick me toward another dead end. I had fallen for it too many times. She kept her distance, her tone growing impatient. “Fine. Your brother Andy Johnson came, but you must kneel and bow before he’ll show himself.” My fingers twitched. Then I shut my eyes. After three years, my knees wore armor-like calluses. “Your husband, Dunn Owen, brought the mango cupcakes you loved. He was here to bring you home!” The more frantic she grew, the calmer I became. Anyone force-fed ten mango cakes would loathe them forever. “You won’t even move! You’re so ungrateful! No wonder they discarded you!” Her shriek was a bayonet in my heart. My breath caught in my throat, a sour ache spreading through every limb. I could hold on no longer; my hands went limp and let go. I collapsed to the ground. As darkness swallowed me again, the girl rushed close, speaking to someone I could not see. “Looks like she’s dying… Mm… Mm.” But the instant those warm hands touched me, I opened my eyes and knocked her out. It was all fake. Even the hallucination was counterfeit. She was not the self who consoled me. She was one more link in the trap. She lay senseless, while I plucked the earpiece from her ear. “Flora, is she dead? Wake her up!” “Miss Juliet Johnson has landed. If she misses the show, we lose the bonus.” “Let’s steer her to the west stream this time. Dozens of piranhas are waiting!” I staggered unsteadily to my feet. The rain had stopped, but in the next second, the blood in my veins froze. “Today is Juliet’s birthday. Add a few electric eels to the stream!” It was Dunn, the man who had sworn at our wedding to protect me forever, now ordering my death to amuse my sister. I advanced towards the stream, kneeling at every step. Juliet gave a soft choke. “Dunnie… Though Lydia bullied me, today is also her birthday. Let’s leave, please.” Dunn’s voice was icy. “It’s because it’s her birthday that she needs to remember this lesson. What she owes you?she’ll pay every last bit.” My knees hit the sharp stones, leaving a trail of blood behind me, yet I felt no pain. For three years, each kowtow had been a prayer. That was my wish for them to find me. Hmph. How ridiculous. Recalling that earlier near-death moment, I began to feign. A blissful smile spread across my face. Half awake, half dreaming. The stream became my lost dining room; my family waved me to the table. I stepped in without hesitation. Piranhas tore fiercely into the flesh of my legs; electric eels left me completely paralyzed. I sank fully into the water. Through the haze, I heard a voice from hell. “Revive her. I haven’t finished watching this show yet.” That was exactly what I had waited for!

They carried me to a fully-equipped medical room. Shocked, the doctors and nurses tending to me didn’t have the heart to see my broken body. “Not one patch of unbroken skin… Mr. Owen must hate her to the bone.” “He wouldn’t even let us use anesthesia. Quick, start the transfusion!” But before the blood could reach my veins, Dunn burst in, cradling Juliet. Ignoring my mangled, blood-soaked form, he roughly shoved me off the bed onto the floor. “Juliet’s having a hypoglycemic episode. Give her blood now!” Dunn said, frantic. The doctor hesitated. “We only have one unit of plasma left, and Miss Johnson is severely anemic…” Dunn didn’t hesitate. “If Lydia hadn’t kept Juliet from eating all those years, do you think Juliet would have hypoglycemia?” “Besides, this woman is tough. Her life is hard to take. Three years have passed, and she’s still alive.” Yet Juliet looked panic-stricken. “Dunnie, I can’t take anything more from Lydia. When she wakes, she’ll hate me…” He spoke gently, each word a rusty saw across my heart, “Juliet, remember, everything Lydia ever possessed, the Johnson heiress title, her parents’ love, even Andy’s love and mine, did any of it ever truly belong to her?” “We are merely returning things to their rightful owner.” The sentence felt like a verdict. It was I who had stolen Juliet’s identity and lived the life of a pampered heiress for twenty-six years. Then, at the happiest moment of my life, it all came to a screeching halt. At the wedding, Dunn was kneeling to place the ring on my finger. Amid the blessings of all our guests, Juliet barged in. She wore a dress washed until it was pale, her voice trembling with careful restraint, yet it carried to every corner of the room. “Miss Johnson, can you give back the life you stole from me?” In that instant, my world was utterly overturned. Dunn was my last lifeline, and I clung to him tightly. We had sex desperately in bed, and he promised over and over, “Lydia, as childhood sweethearts, we’ve been in love for ten years. No matter who you are, I’ll never abandon you.’ But he broke that promise. Our parents held the grandest recognition ceremony for Juliet, and Andy showered her with hundreds of gifts. It was only right. They owed her that, after all. So I didn’t let the jeers and mockery get to me. I still had Dunn. But there were things I didn’t know. Dunn had repeatedly spent time with Juliet, making up for the childhood she’d missed. He’d even given her our memories. When I found out, he said impatiently, “Lydia, I’m helping you make it up to her.” Therefore, he missed the anniversary of our first date. And later, our wedding anniversary. On our birthday, I spent months learning to cook, prepared a feast, and bought Juliet twenty-seven birthday gifts. But they all kept it from me and took Juliet to Europe instead, renting a castle to celebrate her birthday. Now I’d say, “You don’t need to hide it from me. I could have just been an audience member down below, clapping for you guys.” But back then, I made a scene. And I dumped all my resentment on Dunn. His eyes filled with disappointment. “If you hadn’t targeted Juliet, why would we have needed to keep it from you?” I widened my eyes, explaining over and over, “I wasn’t targeting her. I even spent five months designing a dress for her!” But Dunn produced a recording and laughed at me. “You’re smart. Surveillance is erased, and the people you arranged are flawless.” “But Juliet, true to being Mom and Dad’s biological daughter, secretly recorded every time she met you.” I screamed hysterically, “I didn’t! That’s AI-generated!” He scoffed. “Tell me, does a girl who grew up in deep mountains even understand this kind of tech?” “I’m the one who taught her to use her smartphone and made her first social media post.” I was utterly desperate. Pain crushed my chest. My body seized, and blood spilled from my mouth. There was a voice roaring inside my mind. “So, Dunn, you used these technologies I don’t understand to build a prison on an island for me, to deceive and punish me?”

Dunn was taken aback and asked instinctively, “Why did Lydia vomit blood?” The doctor hesitated and stammered, “She has been suffering from malnutrition for a long time and endured so many injuries…” He seemed incredulous. “Didn’t I instruct you to deliver food regularly?” Dunn’s voice changed instantly, filled with anger. “Save her!” “If she dies, all of you will pay with your lives!” Juliet timidly spoke up, “Lydia must have been deliberately starving herself during that period, which damaged her stomach.” I remembered. At that time, I was like someone bewitched. Juliet, nurtured by money and love, transformed from a beautiful swan into a noble phoenix. She drew all of Dunn’s attention and affection. Meanwhile, I went mad with dieting, working out, and undergoing cosmetic procedures. I even went to clubs to learn flirting techniques. Finally, I put on those humiliating clothes, trampling on my once proud self. Yet all I got from Dunn was a glance of disgust. “Disgusting.” Though he lay in bed, he turned his back to me. I felt as if I had fallen into an icy abyss, staying awake until dawn. It seemed that Dunn remembered this incident and believed what Juliet had said. He hoarsely instructed, “Treat her stomach for the next couple of days.” Then I vomited blood again. The doctor finally realized something was wrong. He pried open my eyelids and said, “Mr. Owen… She… She seems to have lost the will to live…” Suddenly, there was a commotion around me. My soul felt like it was about to dissipate. But I was not willing to give up. So when I was transported back to Eldermere and taken to the operating room, my spirit regained control of my body. Without looking back, I held my breath and ran without hesitation. From the trash bin to the sewer, I suddenly felt the urge to visit my home in Sunscorch. But the moment I emerged from the sewer, my brother Andy, who had been with me for over twenty years, appeared in front of me. He crushed my hand with his foot, his gaze cold and indifferent. “You’ve been hiding for three years. Why show up today? Couldn’t you just stay in the sewer like a rat?” “Is it because Juliet ruined your wedding that you want to ruin hers today?” Before I could explain anything, he ordered his men to gag me and tie me up, dragging me to a basement. He then thoughtfully turned on the television for me. The screen was broadcasting a live stream of a once-in-a-century aerial wedding. Juliet, in a pure white wedding dress, was with Dunn in a hot air balloon. He promised her, “In this world, you’re my only love.” Under the bright blue sky, the diamond ring sparkled, and the couple shared a lingering kiss. At the same moment, thousands of pink balloons rose into the air, turning the scene into a fairy tale. I thought I wouldn’t feel heartbroken anymore. But the pain in my heart at this moment overshadowed all the injuries on my body. Andy laughed at me mercilessly. “Look at yourself now. You never belonged to our world.” He stared at my right hand and ordered the bodyguard, “This is the hand that poisoned Juliet, right? Break her hand.” The next second, I screamed in agony, the intense pain making me black out and fall to the ground. In my dazed consciousness, I remembered what he said. After Dunn refused to share a bed with me, I discovered I was pregnant. Overjoyed, I hired three caregivers to look after me. Everyone’s relationship with me improved because of the baby. Juliet even sent over a meal she had prepared for me. I treasured it and ate every bit, but then my stomach started to cramp. Lying on the hospital bed, I had the vomit tested for toxins. I showed them the report, but they all thought I was framing her again. Juliet cried pitifully, “Lydia, how could you be so cruel, using an innocent life to accuse me?” They forced me to admit my jealousy, to confess my schemes. They made me apologize to Juliet and pressured me to divorce Dunn. In grief, I refused it all. Everyone left without mercy, never looking back. They were all filled with resentment towards me.

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One day, a polite yet unsettling call came through from the hotel, alerting me to an outstanding charge. The fee for condoms used the previous night, they said, had already been added to my membership account. I was utterly dumbfounded. I’d worked late the night before and hadn’t set foot inside that hotel at all. Therefore, I confronted my husband, Rex Dillon, the only person who knew my card number, and demanded an explanation. But he only stared at me, his face a mask of confusion. “Honey, that hotel’s over ten thousand a night. I wouldn’t waste that kind of money. It’s got to be a system glitch on their end.” “Probably someone typed in the wrong membership number. I’ll call and complain tomorrow!” I didn’t waste another breath on him. The hotel’s investor was my best friend, Vivien Bowman, so I dialed her directly. “Hey, can you check who Rex brought to the hotel last night? I’m gonna catch them red-handed!” – My husband’s pathetic excuse was almost laughable. The day Vivien became the hotel’s investor, she called me and gifted me a lifetime free-stay VIP card for my birthday. The card was linked exclusively to my personal information, meaning no one else could use it. Yet the hotel had called, claiming I’d checked into the presidential suite the night before and used the condoms in the room. I asked three times to confirm, and the person on the line insisted it was Leila Ruth herself who’d checked in. I couldn’t swallow this humiliation. What made it worse was that once, when I’d mentioned using the card, Rex had looked utterly annoyed and snapped. “Is our home not good enough for you? Why would you rather sleep elsewhere? I’m so sick of your ridiculous spending habits!” I didn’t get it. Why was he so pissed off just because I wanted to use a free card? The angrier I grew, the faster I drove, heading straight for the hotel. The holiday season was approaching, and the lobby was packed with guests checking in. I had to wait nearly half an hour before the receptionist finally looked a little less swamped. “Hello, I’m Leila Ruth. You called me this morning.” I said, my anger simmering just beneath the surface. The receptionist looked up, her face clouding with confusion. “Ms. Ruth? I thought you just went back to your room. You made it clear that no housekeeping service was needed a moment ago.” My face darkened instantly. The receptionist went on. “Just ten minutes ago, Ms. Ruth called and activated the do-not-disturb service.” I was so furious that I trembled all over. That woman had the nerve to check in under my name! Gritting my teeth, I said, “But I am the real Leila Ruth!” The receptionist eyed me up and down impatiently. “Madam, if you don’t have a reservation, please leave. We have many guests today. Please don’t cause a scene here.” “Ms. Ruth arrived with her husband and used the VIP card. Although I’ve never met Ms. Ruth, Mr. Dillon is a regular here. No doubt about that.” It hit me like a bolt of lightning. My husband had become someone else’s husband? The irony was bitter enough to choke on. At that moment, the elevator dinged open. Tiffany Butler stepped out, clad in the latest Chanel suit of the season. The diamond necklace around her neck was the one I’d bought at auction for 1.8 million. As far as I knew, she was just my husband’s newly graduated junior. The receptionist’s face lit up as if she’d spotted a savior. She pointed straight at Tiffany and said to me. “This is the real Ms. Ruth. The rightful one. I suggest you leave immediately and stop making trouble.” Tiffany’s face blanched the second she saw me, but she recovered fast, forcing a sickly sweet smile. “What a coincidence! Are you staying here, too?” I coldly shook off her outstretched hand. “Tiffany, don’t you think you owe me an explanation? Why did you check in under my name? And why were the condoms you used charged to my account?” “Also, why are my shoes on your feet? And when did my husband become yours?” My voice cut through the lobby, and the previously noisy crowd fell dead silent. Every pair of eyes locked onto Tiffany. Tiffany glanced around nervously, then her eyes immediately welled with tears. “What are you talking about? My husband gave me this card because he felt bad about my frequent business trips. And he bought me these shoes as well.” “As for the condoms…” She feigned shyness and lowered her head. “What’s wrong with me using them with my husband?” Suddenly, she lifted her gaze towards me, her expression laced with pity. “Are you upset because your husband doesn’t treat you well? Need my help to get you a psychiatrist?” The moment the words left her mouth, the crowd erupted into murmurs. “Look at her haggard face. Her husband must not want to touch her.” “A card like that starts at 300,000 dollars. She doesn’t seem like someone who could afford it.” “Are they seriously letting in just anyone at such a high-end place?” I was only wearing casual clothes today, hardly the shabby mess they made me out to be. Tuning out their gossip, I turned to Tiffany with a cold, sharp smile. “I never realized you were so good with words.” Then I shifted my gaze to the receptionist. “Did you verify her identity when the co-called ‘Ms. Ruth’ checked in?” The receptionist hesitated, her face flushing. “She said she didn’t have her ID, but Mr. Dillon is a regular, so…” “So you just broke the rules?” I cut her off sharply. “Your hotel’s security is a joke.” The receptionist fell silent. Tiffany immediately slipped back into her sweet, innocent act. “She’s just a receptionist. Why are you picking on her? People stay at hotels they can afford. Don’t make a scene here.” Her words couldn’t have been clearer: I didn’t belong here. At that moment, her phone rang. The word “honey” blazed bright on the screen. “Answer it,” I sneered. “Put it on speaker. Let’s hear how Rex is going to spin this.”

Tiffany answered triumphantly. As she tapped the speaker button, she burst into fake, heaving sobs. “Honey, come to the hotel quick! There’s a crazy woman saying I’m not your wife and trying to kick me out…” She wailed dramatically, and Rex’s furious voice exploded from the phone at once. “A crazy woman? How dare she bully you? Don’t be scared. I’m on my way!” A crazy woman. So that was what I was to him now. The onlookers stared at me with open disdain, some even stepping forward to comfort Tiffany. “Don’t take it to heart. She’s insane.” Tiffany murmured her thanks, then turned to me with a look of feigned concern. “My husband will be here soon. He has a terrible temper. You better leave fast.” “He just gave me that $300,000 VIP card, you know? “ “Shows how much he spoils me. If he gets here… Who knows what he might do to you?” It sounded like a warning, but it was nothing but a slap in the face, a barefaced provocation. I trembled with rage, every fiber of me screaming to tear off her hypocritical mask right then and there. Rex arrived faster than I’d expected. He burst through the hotel doors. The second his eyes landed on me, they turned cold and vicious. He roughly shoved me aside, then pulled Tiffany into a tight, protective embrace. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.” The way he gently stroked Tiffany’s hair was so tender it hurt to watch. Pushed by him, I stumbled backward, my waist slamming hard into the sofa arm behind me. If not for the furniture, I would have crashed straight to the ground. Meanwhile, Tiffany stood on tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and the two locked in a long, wet, lingering kiss. “You’re so good to me, honey.” Tiffany panted, her voice thick with coquetry. “You need to set this woman straight. She won’t believe I’m your wife!” Only then did Rex turn his gaze to me. There was no flicker of guilt, only pure disgust. He released Tiffany and strode over, then slapped me hard across the face. “Tiffany! Have you no shame? “ ”Just because I turned you down when you tried to hint for a permanent position, you’ve held a grudge ever since.” “Now you dare to bully my wife in public?” I clapped a hand to my cheek, which flared red, swollen, and burning hot. I stared at him in disbelief. The man before me was a stranger, terrifyingly unfamiliar. Before I’d come to the hotel, he’d feigned ignorance on the phone, using his usual gentle patience to tell me not to overthink. Yet, in the blink of an eye, he could twist the truth without batting an eye and even hurt me. He’d always had two faces, it turned out. Now that I thought back, the signs had been there all along. He’d only lit up at the latest gaming console I’d bought him, but dismissed my painstakingly developed scientific research as nothing but scrap. His so-called concern had always circled back to my bank card. Maybe he’d never loved me. Maybe he’d never even tried to understand the real me.

A strange sense of calm rose from the depths of my chest, drowning out all the anger. I lowered my hand from my face and looked straight at him, my voice shockingly steady, even to myself. “Rex, repeat what you just said.” “Tell me, who am I? And who is she?” A flicker of panic crossed Rex’s eyes, but it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by an even more self-righteous, aggressive tone. “You really are crazy! Wasn’t I clear enough? She is my lawfully wedded wife, Leila! And you? You’re just some intern who failed to climb the ladder, Tiffany!” He raked his eyes over me, his voice cold and cruel. “Look at yourself. You’re pushing forty, aren’t you? How could I possibly marry someone like you? Don’t embarrass yourself, okay?” The crowd erupted into more murmurs, sharp and judgmental. “Can’t get a man herself, so she’s jealous of others’ happiness.” “I told you she must be crazy. Didn’t think she’d start having delusions, too. That’s really scary.” “Poor couple. They’re so unlucky to run into a nutjob like this.” I stayed quiet, just watching their little show. Rex was clearly dead-set on protecting Tiffany, even if it meant grinding me into the dirt. But did he really think he could twist the truth with just a few lies? Slowly, I pulled my ID card and marriage certificate out of my bag. “These should be enough to prove who I am.” Rex and Tiffany’s faces froze at once. Tiffany’s eyes went wide with shock, and she tugged nervously at Rex’s sleeve. Rex lunged forward, snatched the ID and marriage certificate out of my hand, and without even glancing at them, hurled them straight out the hotel’s revolving glass door. “Will you just stop?” Veins bulged on his forehead, his act growing more convincing by the second. “Last time you waved a fake ID at me to disgust me, and now this new trick? Forging an ID and a marriage certificate?” “Tiffany, have some shame! Do you think I won’t call the cops and report you for harassment and forging official documents?” The onlookers’ stares shifted from disdain to outright revulsion, and they echoed in unison. “Call the police! Do it now!” His reflexes were impressive. I’d give him that. The second I laid out the proof, he’d branded me a fraud. At that moment, I almost wished the marriage certificate had been fake. Tiffany visibly relaxed at that. She snuggled back into Rex’s arms and spoke to me in a tone that sounded concerned but oozed malice, “You’ve been so abused by your husband that you’ve lost your mind. I can introduce you to a good psychiatrist.And a top divorce lawyer if you need.” She stressed the word “divorce” extra hard. After all, once I was gone, she could step right into the role of Mrs. Dillon. As a response, Rex kissed her forehead, then turned back to me, his eyes as cold as ice. “Get out of here now, or I’m calling the police immediately!” He snapped at the receptionist. “Call security to drive this crazy woman out. Who knows what else she might do? What if she hurts other guests?” The crowd roared, “Kick her out! Or we’ll complain about the hotel!” The receptionist didn’t dare hesitate. She grabbed her walkie-talkie and called for security at once. Two tall guards marched over, grabbed my arms from either side, and began dragging me roughly towards the exit.

I struggled desperately, my elbows throbbing from the rough tugging. Amid the chaos, Tiffany had somehow slipped close to me. Seizing the split second when everyone’s attention was elsewhere, she tripped me. Already off-balance, I crashed hard to the marble floor. “Oops!” Tiffany gasped in feigned innocence. “I just wanted to help you up, and you deliberately fell to blame me. Unbelievable!” My ankle swelled into a painful lump instantly, and a wide patch of skin was scraped raw on my knee, blood seeping out at once. My face paled with agony as I tried to stand, only to collapse back down. Rex stood there, watching coldly, as if I were a total stranger. My heart turned to ice at that moment. Any last shred of hope for him was snuffed out. With trembling hands, I fumbled in my pocket for my phone, desperate to call 911. But the second I unlocked it, Rex lunged forward and snatched it away. “What are you trying to do? Call the police?” he accused me falsely. “Let me tell you, everyone here saw clearly that you fell on purpose. Don’t even think about framing my wife and the hotel!” “I have a bleeding disorder. Call an ambulance, now!” I shouted through the pain. But Rex remained indifferent, instead hurling my phone forcefully across the lobby. The receptionist, fearing trouble, hesitated to act. Left alone, I endured the searing pain, using my uninjured leg to prop myself up and crawl towards my phone. Just then, a delicate high heel stomped down hard on my palm. Tiffany looked down at me condescendingly. “Sign a statement and admit everything today was your fault. Then I’ll call an ambulance for you. Otherwise…” She pressed down harder. The excruciating pain in my hand, mixed with the agony from my knee and ankle, nearly made me black out. I could barely speak, trembling violently from both pain and rage, my consciousness growing hazy. Just as I thought I would pass out, a series of rapid, sharp high-heel clicks echoed from the hotel entrance. My best friend, Vivien, was striding in. “Leila, I’ve found out. Rex really did cheat! “ ”He’s checked into this hotel more times than you have in the past few years.” “He even dared to use the exclusive membership card I gave you with that mistress. I won?t let him get away with this!” My best friend, also the hotel’s investor, had arrived with several hotel executives and security guards in tow. Her voice, however, cut off abruptly the moment she saw me kneeling on the ground in such a miserable state. The receptionist, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, now turned pale, her voice trembling as she timidly called out. “Dir… Director Bowman…”

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I was scrolling through Reddit when I stumbled upon a post that made me stop cold. **[Throwaway] Our biological daughter contacted us and wants to visit. We’re close with our adopted daughter and don’t want her disrupting our family of three.** **She’s clearly after the inheritance and won’t leave us alone. Is there a clean way to get rid of her permanently without it affecting us?** I died once before, three years from now, and somehow came back with all my memories intact. I know that in three days, the Freeze will begin. It was an apocalyptic disaster that would plunge the world into deadly subzero temperatures for three years. I felt sorry for this biological daughter, so I left a comment. **Tell her the Freeze is coming in three days. Send her to a mountain cave shelter with three years’ worth of supplies.** The original poster liked my comment. The next day, I dragged my suitcase up to my biological parents’ estate. Before I could even speak, they grabbed my hands. “Sophia, the Freeze is coming. We need to get you to a cave shelter.” … My heart skipped a beat. I thought of that Reddit post and tested them carefully. “Mom, Dad… How do you know about this?” They exchanged glances, their expressions grave. “Sophia, we’ve been reborn too. It sounds crazy, but your parents would never lie to you. Time is running out—in three days, the Freeze will hit.” Relief flooded through me. So they’d been reborn too. I’d been too suspicious. But then something nagged at me. This was too much of a coincidence with that post. I tested them again. “Mom, Dad, we don’t need to leave. Let’s stay here and fortify the estate…” Dad cut me off immediately. “We’re staying. Your mother and I are business owners. We have to remain here to assist with government relief operations. The estate will be used to shelter disaster victims.” But anyone who’s lived through the end knows the brutality of the apocalypse better than anyone. Survival is all that matters. Who would actually stay behind for infrastructure work? I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat and decided on one final test. I moved toward the door. “Don’t you have an adopted daughter? I’ll go with her then.” The moment the words left my mouth, they panicked. They blocked my path in unison. “No!” Realizing their mistake, Mom cleared her throat. “You don’t understand. Nina has been fragile since childhood. She needs our personal care. We can only feel at ease if she stays with us.” Dad quickly added, “Exactly. Don’t overthink it. You’re our biological daughter. We’d give our lives to keep you safe.” With every word they spoke, my heart sank deeper. If I insisted on taking their adopted daughter with me, their whole plan would fall apart. At that moment, I became one hundred percent certain. My biological parents weren’t reborn at all. They were the ones who made that post. In my previous life, I’d just learned about my biological parents when the Freeze hit. That’s why I’d rushed here after my rebirth—to warn them about the coming apocalypse. But now? They didn’t deserve to know. I forced a stiff smile and nodded. “Then I’ll go alone.” Relief washed visibly over their faces, barely concealed gratitude in their eyes. I added, “But the Freeze will last a long time. I need to prepare adequate supplies to survive. I’ll gather everything tomorrow and head to the cave the day after.” They agreed immediately. That night, I opened the post again. My heart turned to ice. **Update: Plan is in motion. Sending her to the cave the day after tomorrow!** The comment section exploded. **Hahahaha she actually believes the Freeze is coming?** **You guys are ruthless. This bio daughter is kind of pitiful. If I were her, I wouldn’t have come back at all.** My parents replied instantly, their tone cutting. **What’s pitiful about her? If she hadn’t come back, she’d still be begging in the street! She only came looking for us because she wants our money. Letting her live in a cave where she won’t starve—she should be grateful!** I stared at the screen, a cold smile curling my lips. They found their biological daughter inconvenient. They’d specially crafted a Freeze prison for me, hoping to be rid of me forever. But what they could never imagine was this. The Freeze was real. And it was coming.

Early the next morning, Dad came to find me. “Sophia, we’ve already located a shelter cave for you. It’s hidden and safe. Once the government relief operations are complete, we’ll bring you back out.” I nodded obediently. “Alright. But I need a lot of supplies, and moving everything in and organizing it all requires manpower. I can’t do it alone.” Nina suddenly burst out of her room, her face twisted with impatience. “Can’t you do it yourself? God, you’re so demanding!” Her attitude made it crystal clear—she knew the truth too. I ignored her and said calmly, “Fine then. I’ll go hire some help. It’ll just cost a bit more money.” Mom and Dad panicked immediately. They were terrified I’d involve outsiders. If word got out, it would destroy their reputation. Dad quickly grabbed my arm. “No, no, no! No need for strangers. Family is more reliable!” Perfect. Exactly what I wanted. For the rest of the day, I directed all three of them like a general commanding troops. “Dad, take the truck and get steel rebar and cement. Reinforce every wall in that cave.” “Mom, buy long-term food storage, canned goods, and bottled water. As much as you can carry.” “Nina, get thermal gear, sleeping bags, and emergency medical supplies. Only the best cold-weather rated equipment.” The three of them were clearly reluctant, but to get rid of me as quickly as possible, they had no choice but to obey. They drove three trucks back and forth all day, exhausted and drenched in sweat. I supervised the entire operation. I didn’t lift a finger. I was going to make them build me an impenetrable fortress with their own hands. And when the Freeze came, I’d let them watch me living comfortably inside. While they froze outside, unable to even get through the door. That evening, Dad was installing the final reinforced door at the cave entrance. The light from outside gradually dimmed. He patted the iron door with satisfaction. “There. Now no one can get in, and no one can get out. I left a small opening at the bottom for passing supplies through.” I looked around the cave. Supplies were stacked everywhere. Preserved food and rations piled up like small mountains. Dozens of large barrels filled with drinking water. Thermal gear and sleeping bags covered the floor. A generator, diesel fuel, and basic medications. This cave had everything I needed to survive three years of the apocalypse in comfort. Mom said dismissively, “Who knows how long this so-called freeze will last. Maybe forever. But don’t worry—even if we can’t come ourselves, we’ll have someone deliver supplies to you.” Nina snapped impatiently, “Alright. let’s go. This place is filthy!” They turned and started walking away. They’d barely taken a few steps when snow began to fall from the sky. At first, just a few scattered flakes. Then it quickly turned into heavy snow, falling thick and fast. Nina cried out in shock, disbelief written all over her face. “It’s snowing? But it’s summer! How can it be snowing this hard in the middle of summer?” Mom and Dad froze too, confusion in their eyes. I turned and walked back into the cave, my steps light. Yes, snow in the summer. Could the Freeze be far behind?

As I was leaving, Dad deliberately smashed my phone, cutting off my contact with the outside world. I’d been prepared. I had a backup phone hidden in my bag. I opened the news app and found exactly what I expected—emergency alerts. “Emergency Alert: Unprecedented summer snowfall reported across multiple states. Temperatures plummeting rapidly. Citizens are urged to stay at home and prepare cold-weather protection immediately.” Next, I checked the Reddit post. Nina had switched to her own account. **That idiot sister actually believes the Freeze is coming! She’s sitting in that cave like a good little prisoner. So easy to fool! Now no one’s going to disrupt our perfect family of three. Mom and Dad love me best!** The comment section was split between people mocking me and people who found the situation pitiful. Nina saw the sympathetic comments and fired back immediately. **She should’ve known her place. Mom and Dad never looked for her all these years, but she had the nerve to show up anyway. She deserves this!** Someone else commented. **It’s literally snowing in summer right now. What if the Freeze is actually coming?** Nina exploded. **You’re as stupid as she is! Want me to lock you both up together?** I closed the post and headed deeper into the cave toward a small hidden opening. I’d deliberately left it there. It was just big enough for one person to crawl through. After my rebirth, I’d made sure my adoptive parents prepared early before I left to find the Ashfords. But this place—with its fortress built by the Ashford family’s own hands and abundant supplies—was the safest option. Bringing them here was the right choice. When I reached my adoptive parents’ house, they looked surprised to see me and quickly pulled me inside. “Sophia, what are you doing back? Did the Ashfords treat you badly?” “Mom, Dad, I came to take you somewhere safe.” Mr.Parker and Mrs. Parker had raised me with love and even encouraged me to find my biological family. Now it was my turn to protect them. I kept it brief, not wanting to worry them. I just said I needed to bring them to a shelter. My parents packed a few changes of clothes and followed me without question. By the time we reached the mountain path, it was already getting dark. As we approached the cave entrance, I suddenly spotted a figure nearby. I quickly pulled Mom and Dad behind some trees. I looked closer. It was Nina! My heart jumped. What was she doing here? Had she seen the summer snow and actually started to believe the Freeze was real?

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