Chapter 4

Only after his friends' laughter had died down did he swear under his breath, yank the door open, and go after me.

But the hallway was empty. The elevator was already on the ground floor, and even my scent had been carried off by the night wind.

Charles's childhood friend sensed something was off and asked carefully:

"Charles, want me to go bring Lilith back? It's late. It's not safe for her to be out alone."

Charles stared into the dark night, irritated for reasons he couldn't explain.

He had never imagined I would actually dare to walk out with my bags.

In the past, no matter how far he went, I had always given in.

This time, he took it for granted that I just wanted him to come coax me.

He let out a cold laugh, and the certainty came back into his face. "Bring her back for what? Give it three days. She'll come crawling back on her own."

"But didn't you two agree to seal the bond next week?"

"If she misses it, that's on her."

Charles picked up his phone, completely unconcerned. "If she really wants to be my mate, she should know what matters most."

"Once she figures it out, she'll come back to me."

That night, after I checked into a hotel, I got a voice message from Annie.

"Lilith, if you've actually got a backbone, don't ever come back."

"But I know you. You could never give up an Alpha like Charles."

"Even if nobody wants you around, you'll stick to him like a leech and never let go."

I could tell she was trying to get a rise out of me.

In the days that followed, Charles didn’t call again. Instead, he posted one story after another on Instagram.

In one, he was traveling with Annie. In another, they were at a couples’ restaurant. In the next, they were even picking out furniture together...

I ignored all of it. I packed up every gift Charles had given me over the past fifteen years.

Along with them, I put in the documents that held the truth about our family’s bloodline, and the papers to break off our engagement. Then I had it all shipped to the ceremony venue.

For years, I had taken care of Annie with everything I had. I did everything an older sister was supposed to do.

But she always believed my kindness was just jealousy in disguise. She could never believe that I loved her and wanted nothing in return.

The moment she handed me that drugged glass of wine, she stopped being my sister.

From now on, she could walk her own path. I would never protect her again.

Before I boarded the plane, I blocked Charles and Annie everywhere.

Then I pulled the SIM card out of my phone, snapped it in half, and tossed it in the trash.

From that moment on, I was done with my old life.

......

At the ceremony venue, the guests had all taken their seats. The officiant was getting ready to begin the bonding ceremony.

But I still hadn’t shown up.

Charles checked his watch for the third time. A strange unease was creeping over him.

“Where the hell is she?” he swore under his breath.

Annie stood beside him in her bridesmaid dress, looking anxious. The guests kept throwing her sympathetic looks.

“Maybe she’s still mad at me,” she said softly. “Charles, should I try calling her again? I know she doesn’t want to hear my voice, but today’s such a big day... I don’t want her to miss it and regret it.”

Charles’s face darkened.

“Regret it? She’s only making a fool of herself.”

He took out his phone and dialed my number.

It didn’t go through.

He tried again, several more times. Still nothing.

“This is ridiculous!” He gripped the phone tighter as his anger kept building. “She’s pulling this on our bonding day? Does she have any idea how many people are waiting for her here...”

“Excuse me, which of you are Mr. Charles and Miss Annie?”

A delivery man cut him off.

“These packages are from Ms. Lilith. I need a signature.”

Charles frowned. “That’s us. What is this?”

The delivery man checked the label and handed over the packages.

Charles opened the first one.

Inside was every gift he had given me over the past fifteen years, each one neatly sorted and carefully wrapped. There was the watch he gave me for my eighteenth birthday, the necklace from our engagement, and countless little things he had once told me to keep forever.

I had sent every single one of them back.

His face went cold. He reached for the envelope at the bottom of the box. Then he saw the words printed on the front.

[Engagement Termination Agreement]