Chapter 7

I carefully packed up the wedding gown and sent it to the small villa under my own name.

On the way back, my phone kept buzzing.

The screen filled with one taunting text after another from unknown numbers, every word dripping with Selene's barely concealed smugness and malice.

I scanned them expressionlessly, left them all unread, and blocked the number directly. The world instantly became peaceful.

When I pushed open the front door, I was surprised to find the living room lights on.

Ethan was actually home.

He sat on the couch, seeming somewhat restless, and immediately looked up when he heard the door.

I thought he'd instantly demand answers for me slapping Selene earlier, even prepared myself for another fierce argument.

However, the look he gave me was unusually gentle, even carrying a hint of guilt.

He stood and walked toward me, pulling out a bracelet from his pocket.

"Aria, you're back."

"I was wrong about earlier today. I got too emotional. On my way back, I saw this bracelet and thought it would suit you. Want to try it on?"

He paused, his gaze falling on me, something complex—like reminiscence and longing—flashing in his eyes.

"That wedding gown means something different to you, a keepsake from your mother. I shouldn't have said what I said about it. The design is truly beautiful and unique. You'll definitely look stunning in it."

I stood there, watching coldly, not even accepting the bracelet.

If I remembered correctly, the photo Selene had just sent me included a matching necklace.

A bonus gift, yet he expected me to accept it with joy.

Seeing my silence, he tried to do what he'd done countless times before—caress my cheek and pull me into his embrace.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch my skin.

His phone exploded with sound from his pocket.

Ethan's movement froze.

His impatient expression instantly changed after hearing the call's content.

"What?! I'll be right there!"

Ethan dragged me to an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs.

Pale lights illuminated the chaotic scene outside the warehouse entrance.

Several Alpha Council enforcers were still setting up barrier tape, and Selene sat on a broken crate, wrapped in an oversized jacket, crying inconsolably.

The moment she saw Ethan, her tears flooded out even more dramatically as she threw herself into his arms.

"Ethan, you're finally here. I was so scared, I was really so scared..."

She sobbed breathlessly, yet her gaze kept drifting toward me.

"I don't know why Aria would do this to me. Yes, I'm the daughter of a mistress, but I didn't get to choose my birth. If I could have chosen, I'd rather not have come into this world than carry this original sin."

She cried until she could barely breathe. Ethan's heart ached terribly as he patted her back repeatedly, consoling her constantly.

"It's okay now, it's okay, Selene, don't be afraid, I'm here."

As if encouraged, Selene looked at me even more miserably.

"Just because of this birth I couldn't choose, does Aria have to hate me this much, even hire rogue wolves to ruin me? Just because I accidentally touched your mother's wedding gown today? But I really didn't mean to. I didn't know the gown was so fragile. If I'd known, I absolutely wouldn't have touched it."

At this emotional point, she choked up so much she could barely speak, looking so fragile she might faint at any moment.

Ethan's expression grew darker and darker as she spoke.

He looked at me, his face full of disappointment.

"She's your sister. How could you do this to her?"

I bit my lip hard.

"I didn't do it."

"If not you, then who!"

Ethan didn't believe me at all.

"Selene has always been kind to everyone. Besides her friction with you, who else would do something this vicious to her? Over a wedding gown, you can't tolerate her existence? Aria Greenwood, you've disappointed me so much!"

My gaze swept over one of the rogue wolves being held by enforcers nearby, cursing and swearing.

The rogue wolf's eyes flickered, glancing imperceptibly toward Selene.

I understood immediately.

This was all her staged performance.

I gritted my teeth, trying to defend myself.

"It wasn't me. You can check the security footage, I—"

"Enough!"

He wouldn't listen to any explanation, just convicted me on the spot!

"After all this, you're still making excuses. You're hopeless!"

Selene trembled in his arms, speaking at just the right moment.

"Ethan, don't blame her. She just hates me too much. It's all my fault."

Ethan suddenly grabbed my arm, ignoring my struggles, and shoved me into an adjacent empty, abandoned storage room covered in wolfsbane rust.

"You stay here and clear your head! When you recognize your mistakes and truly reflect on them, I'll let you out!"