Chapter 3

Because of Natali's instigation, my relationship with my family only grew worse after I came back from the forest.

Compared to her smarts and obedience, my silence seemed like nothing more than a childish tantrum to them. They thought I was trying to express my dissatisfaction about how they weren't giving me enough attention.

They didn't know that I was simply thinking about what Anna had told me before she'd died.

I wanted to do something meaningful for my family before I died.

To keep them from feeling upset or angry, I tried to stay out of their sight during the day.

Only in the quiet hours past midnight would I prepare Kent's favorite breakfast in the kitchen, arrange Mom's favorite flowers in the living room, and polish the decorations Dad loved in the living room.

However, my health began to decline.

During one of my nightly chores, a sharp pain suddenly tore through my chest, and I collapsed onto the ground.

The noise woke Kent, who was sleeping on the first floor. As soon as he opened the door and saw me, all traces of sleep vanished. I was covered in sweat as he hurriedly helped me up.

His gaze was filled with worry as he asked, "You're looking pale, Emma. What's wrong?"

The long-lost concern stung my eyes. I looked into Kent's eyes, and all of my suppressed emotions began to overflow.

Maybe this could be it—Kent was my older brother. He still cared for me, so he would listen to me.

I started, "Kent, I… I'm about to—"

"How could you do this, Emma?" Natali's voice came from the second floor, interrupting me.

She came down with a frown. "I know you've been making noise on purpose every night, wandering around just to keep me from having a good night's sleep. But Kent is the Alpha—he has to get up early to take care of pack matters. Even if you're upset with me, you shouldn't take it out on him!"

Once again, Natali pushed me into a corner with just her few words.

I looked at Kent, whose expression was beginning to turn cold, and started explaining, "It's not that. I've been going out because I wanted to pick flowers for Mom—"

He removed his hands that were supporting me. His gaze was cold as he flatly asked, "You chose to do it at night—when Natali was sleeping—on purpose?"

"I—" I bit down on my lips, unable to explain myself to Kent.

It was only in the middle of the night that the pain from the curse would ease—just enough for me to move around freely.

But Kent stopped believing me for good.

He coldly pushed me away and got up. With a disdainful gaze, he said, "Since you love picking flowers so much, you can just move out to the woodshed starting tomorrow! Pick all the flowers whenever you want! Stop using such a pathetic excuse to bully Natali!"

Kent then took Natali's hand and walked her back to her bedroom on the second floor.

Just as he turned around, I saw her raising her brows smugly at me. She mouthed at me, "I win."

No matter how much I did behind the scenes, I could never win against her.

I looked down, pretending not to see her provocative gaze. With hunched shoulders, I quietly moved a few of my belongings to the woodshed.

I was about to die soon—it wouldn't matter much if I won or not.

At that thought, I started wiping my tears in the woodshed.

Outside the window, Natali was happily serving mushroom soup to Mom and Dad, who looked pleased. Meanwhile, Kent stood by the side, happily watching them.

I turned my gaze away and curled up even more.

I was quietly comforting myself—at least Natali's hatred and attacks were only aimed at me. She was genuinely devoted to Mom, Dad, and Kent.

I coughed out a mouthful of blood, clearly feeling my strength fade away. Once I died, my family would remain happy with Natali by their side.

I slowly closed my eyes, praying for the Moon Goddess to take pity on me—all I wanted was to see Anna the moment I opened my eyes.

It was unfortunate that I couldn't bid my goodbyes to Mom, Dad, and Kent.

The Moon Goddess must have heard my wish.

The moment I opened my eyes again, I realized that I wasn't dead. Although I was still feeling weak, I no longer coughed out blood.

I figured the Moon Goddess must have given me one last chance to bid my goodbyes to my family.

"We're going to your favorite restaurant today, Natali. Go get ready upstairs—we'll be waiting for you in the driveway!" Mom said.

Natali replied, "Alright! I'll go get changed into the dress Kent bought for me!"

It was Mom's voice—and both Dad and Kent were here too.

Ignoring the blood dripping from my body, I grabbed the farewell letter I prepared in advance and staggered out of the woodshed, leaning against the wall for support.

Just as I was making my way to the driveway, I almost bumped into Natali, who was about to head indoors. She was shocked to see me.

My strength was fading fast, but I still managed to gently tug at her sleeve and whispered, "Don't be scared, Natali. Please… Can you help me get Mom, Dad, and Kent? I have a letter for them—"

"Of course, I'm not scared." Natali's lips curled up into a smile as she pushed my hand away.

"I'm just surprised you're still alive. It took me a lot of effort—and money—to trick you into going into the forbidden forest and get that dark witch to curse you. Looks like the curse isn't working as well as I thought," she continued.

What?

I collapsed onto the ground hard after being pushed away, coughing out blood as I looked at Natali, who was smiling coldly, in disbelief.

She said, "I'm starting to pity you, Emma. When I first got here, I also found it strange how they treated their biological daughter so coldly, yet were so warm to me—a complete stranger."

Natali crossed her arms and walked over, a sinister smile playing on her lips. "Later, I found out that I looked like that dead woman—but that's alright as long as I had food and shelter.

"It was until I found out that your brother is the Alpha, and how powerful and well-known your family is—that I decided to get rid of you and take your place."

She crouched down, snatched my farewell letter, and tore it right in front of me. "Don't blame me—you can blame your family who took me in instead."

My chest hurt as if something had pierced through. I suddenly coughed out a last mouthful of blood as my vision started to blur.

At the very last moment of my life, I heard Mom's shocked cry. "Emma!"

I watched as she turned around from behind Natali, and slowly closed my eyes.

It was too late. In the end, I still couldn't manage to bid my goodbyes.