Chapter 2

I was sitting on the floor, staring listlessly into space, when my parents came over to comfort me.

"Hilary, if you're tired, let's go home together, and you can stop enduring all this suffering," they said.

This was their 66th time telling me to go home with them. I looked up despondently, meeting my parents' expectant gazes.

My father was the Beta in the Burning Flame Pack. He'd wanted me to be his successor, but I didn't want that. I chose to be a lawyer instead.

He'd wanted me to work in the court of law in the Burning Flame Pack's territory, but I followed Arnold, whom I had met in school, to the Black Moon Pack.

He came from a family of Rogues and was strongly resentful of pure-breed and powerful families. I didn't want him to think that I was from a social class he detested.

In the six years I'd been with him, I'd never told him about my true origins. I'd gone with him while keeping my family background a secret.

As far as he was concerned, I was born in an ordinary family.

I started off as a nameless lawyer six years ago, but now I was the youngest chief legal advisor ever in the history of the Black Moon Pack. Through our joint efforts, Arnold had also become the Chief Legal Officer of the Werewolf Council.

We had won all the awards for legal practitioners there were, and everyone would teasingly call us an elite couple.

I chose adoptive parents for him who could give him a respectable status as an elite member of the Black Moon Pack, just so he would no longer be known as someone born a Rogue.

This was also how he'd met his adoptive younger sister, Erna.

As our lives improved, I figured he wouldn't mind that I was a pure breed, so I planned to reveal my identity to him after the marking ceremony ended.

However, the chance never came.

And now, I no longer needed to tell him anything.

"Sure," I said to my parents. "I'll go home with you."

Overjoyed, Mom took my hand in hers. "I'll buy a ticket now, darling, and we're going home right away. I'll make sure you won't have to stay here and suffer for any longer."

After comforting my parents, I went home.

Our house was as deserted as always. I took a piece of bread out from the fridge and opened Facebook as I ate. Scrolling down, I saw nine photos Erna posted, showing her and Arnold standing close to each other and acting affectionately.

"I lied to my kind-hearted brother before his marking ceremony, so now he's traveling with me. I feel like he's a bit mad at me, but I cutely told him I'll treat him to dinner later, and his mood cleared up just like that. Hehe!"

I couldn't help but retch in disgust.

I knew that Arnold wouldn't come home tonight, just like how he hadn't gone home in all the previous times this had happened.

It was fortunate that we didn't mark each other, which made it much easier for me to leave.

The next day, I packed my things before heading to the law firm to finalize my resignation. I was a capable employee, so my manager, Charlie Robinson, tried his best to convince me to stay.

In the middle of our conversation, Arnold came in holding his briefcase. I turned sideways to look at him, noting the lipstick stain behind his ear and the cloying scent of gardenias surrounding him.

"That's what Erna's wolf smells like!" my wolf Molly told me heatedly.

He seemed to have had a good time the previous night. He hadn't changed out of his clothes, and he hadn't even gotten the time to wipe the lipstick stain off.

When I left lipstick stains on him, he'd get mad and tell me to stop giving other people an opportunity to laugh at him.

After that, I'd wipe my lipstick off before kissing him.

So, it wasn't that he didn't like it when someone left lipstick stains on him. It was just that I wasn't the woman he was hung up on.

Upon catching sight of him, Charlie acted as though he'd seen his savior and quickly said, "Quick, cheer your mate up. She wants to resign. Did you guys have a fight?"

I frowned. "I didn't resign because of him."

Arnold stared at me in shock. Then, sounding perplexed, he asked, "You're resigning?"

I pursed my lips and said nothing.

"Are you mad because I canceled our marking ceremony yesterday?" he accused.

After noticing something was wrong, Charlie left the room, giving us space to talk.

The moment the door snapped shut, Arnold marched forward, cornering me. "I told you that I canceled because of the poison spreading from Erna's hands. Why can't you be more considerate?"

I took a deep breath, trying my best to meet his gaze calmly. "I'm not mad," I said. "I just want to take a short break from my tiring work."

He frowned pensively. "If you want to take a break, you can just take time off. If you resign suddenly, everyone will think that you don't like that Erna and I are so close.

"She's my sister, that's all. If such rumors continue to spread, how is she supposed to work here in peace?"

He'd forgotten once again. I'd already taken all the leave I could this year just for the multiple marking ceremonies that never went through.

He was just worried that Erna would be the subject of gossip in the law firm.

I chuckled derisively while an agonizing pain drove into my heart. My gaze fell on the skin behind his ear, but I said nothing.

Upon realizing something wasn't right, he reached up without thinking to rub behind his ear. "This is just a red ink stain. Don't overthink it."

I shrugged, giving him a look of nonchalance.

He'd explained why the stain was there, but his excuses were simply flimsy.

I would've believed them before today.

When he noticed my expression soften, he strode over and put an arm around my shoulders. He continued his efforts to convince me against resigning, saying in a kind tone, "Cheer up, okay? The bigger your heart is, the better your mood will be!

"Oh, and stop making a fuss and trying to resign. I'll take you to the rooftop restaurant tonight as an apology."

I was so exhausted by this relationship that I didn't want to speak. He thought I'd said yes to his demands, but no. I'd wanted to tell him that I was going home, but I thought about it and decided not to.

"Arnold," Erna called as she entered without knocking on the door. Arnold let go of me instantly, looking panicked, as though he was afraid that she'd see us being intimate.

Erna smiled awkwardly. "Sorry for interrupting your chat. I'm here because I need Arnold for an emergency."

Arnold made his way toward her immediately, and they walked out together. At the door, Erna tilted sideways on purpose into Arnold's arms. He quickly supported her with an arm around her, letting her recline on his chest without considering my presence.

They embraced each other in front of me.

A short distance away, Erna turned back and looked at me, smiling gleefully.

I turned back, taking deep breaths. The next moment, the pink crystal bracelet around my wrist snapped, and the beads fell onto the floor.

It'd happened without warning.

Arnold had given me this bracelet when we first fell in love. He wanted our love to be sweet for eternity, and he wished that we could be together forever.

I stood there silent for a long time before slowly crouching down to pick up the beads scattered all over the floor. I tossed them into the bin, together with my lingering reluctance to part with him.