Chapter 4

Grayson spun around abruptly, his gaze equally tense.

"Ember, what's going on? You're leaving home?"

My heart jolted. In my rush to catch the rogue wolf, I'd forgotten to hide my suitcase. I gripped the wound in my sleeve tighter and forced a calm smile. "Seeing you all travel made me want to get away too, so I packed my stuff ahead of time. That way I can pick a destination and leave right away."

Victoria immediately walked over, clinging to Grayson's arm coquettishly: "Uncle, sister probably just wants to clear her head, don't worry. But sister, if you leave and I suddenly need wolf essence, what am I gonna do?" She deliberately brought up "wolf essence," reminding everyone of the purpose of my existence.

Father and Mother's faces immediately darkened. "Get away? What for! Didn't I tell you to stay by Victoria's side forever!"

"Exactly! What if Victoria feels sick in the middle of the night and you're not here? If something happens, who's gonna take responsibility? Have you forgotten why we had you!"

Grayson looked at my pale face, suddenly feeling uneasy. He remembered when he'd bought the engagement gift a few days ago, I'd casually mentioned "wanting to find a place with forests to paint." Was I actually serious? But Victoria tugged on his hand again: "Uncle, sister's probably just throwing a tantrum. When she comes to her senses, she'll come back. If you push her, she'll definitely get angrier."

He hesitated—on one side was the resolve in Ember's eyes, on the other was Victoria's "understanding," and ultimately he chose to believe the latter: "Ember, if you wanna go somewhere, that's fine, but give us a heads up. It's too dangerous alone."

I laughed silently to myself. He still didn't get it—where I was going was a forest they'd never be able to find.

A few days later was mine and Victoria's birthday. Though we were three years apart, our birthdays happened to fall on the same day, but there was always only one cake in the house—Victoria's favorite strawberry cake, with candles matching only her age.

In my previous life I'd naively asked Mother "why aren't there candles for me," but Mother said "two cakes would be wasteful, you can blow them out together with Victoria." Now I realized it wasn't about waste—they simply didn't want my birthday to steal any of Victoria's spotlight.

At the birthday party, pink balloons filled the living room. Victoria stood in the center wearing a princess dress Grayson had bought her, unwrapping gift after gift. "Thanks for the bracelet, Mom!" "Thanks for the stuffed animal, Brother!" "Uncle, this gemstone necklace is gorgeous!"

Everyone crowded around her while nobody noticed me standing in the corner, clutching a birthday card I'd drawn myself—something I never got to give in my previous life, and now there was even less point.

"Hey Uncle, why do you have two boxes for your gift?"

Victoria picked up two similarly wrapped boxes, looking at Grayson with confusion.

Everyone's curious gazes followed, and Grayson somewhat awkwardly handed one box to me.

"This one's for you."

I took the box, my fingertips recognizing the familiar weight—in my previous life he'd given me the same box, containing a freebie that came with Victoria's necklace. Sure enough, opening it revealed a cheap bracelet, while Victoria held a necklace studded with rubies.

Finn couldn't help laughing: "Oh, so it's a freebie. Pretty fitting for Ember."

Mother chimed in: "Yeah, Ember doesn't usually wear jewelry anyway. Giving her something too nice would just be a waste."

Victoria pretended to be shocked, covering her mouth: "Oh! So this was a freebie? Uncle, why didn't you say so earlier? I thought you'd gotten sister something really nice!" As she spoke, she secretly raised her eyebrows at me, her eyes full of smugness.

I said nothing, just quietly threw the bracelet in the trash when no one was looking.

After the party ended, Victoria suddenly said: "I just got my license and want to drive everyone home today. Is that okay?"

Father and Mother immediately agreed: "Sure! Our Victoria's so capable!"

Finn also smiled: "I'll ride shotgun and keep an eye on things for you."

They all forgot I was still standing by the garage door. Before driving, Victoria deliberately glanced at me, then said to Finn: "Brother, sister's standing behind me. I'm worried about hitting her when I back up. Could you ask her to move aside?"

Finn waved his hand: "Ember, move it! Don't block Victoria's driving!"

I was about to step forward when I saw Victoria's lips curve into a sinister smile. The next second, accompanied by the screech of brakes, the car slammed into me hard, knocking me to the ground.

As my consciousness faded, I heard Victoria's fake crying: "Sister! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I hit the wrong pedal!" Then came Mother's screaming: "Ember!"

So she'd never intended to let me live from the very beginning.