Chapter 1

"Happy birthday, darling. I tracked down this familiar just for you. Pure as snow, she’s bound to bring you unimaginable luck."

Tristan’s deep, gentle voice murmured in my ear.

With a flawless, loving smile on his handsome face, he handed me an open box. Inside crouched a rare, snow-white rabbit.

My daughter, Lily, leaned in with bright eyes. "Mommy, Daddy and I picked her out together! I named her Sera. Do you like her?"

I looked down.

Inside the iron cage, the rabbit was huddled tight. Its fur was pure white, but its eyes were bottomless pits of black.

"Pet her, Mommy. Sera is such a sweet girl."

I forced a smile and reached out my hand.

The next second, the rabbit lunged, sinking its incisors deep into my fingertip.

A sharp pain shot through my hand. Golden Elven blood instantly welled up, and the rabbit began to lap it up greedily.

"Ah! What are you doing? You terrified her! Bad Mommy!"

Instead of caring about my bleeding hand, Lily screamed, charging at me like a feral little beast and shoving me hard.

I stumbled back, but Tristan grabbed my wrist in a vice grip.

"Aurelia, don't move!" he warned, his voice low and urgent.

His eyes were glued to the white rabbit feeding on my hand. "If you pull away now, you'll break her teeth!"

At my own birthday party, my husband and my daughter only cared about the rabbit that had just bitten me.

Looking at this absurd scene, the gruesome memories of my past life flooded my mind.

Just like today in my past life, it was the exact same gift, the exact same scene.

Back then, I was completely blinded by love. "I honestly thought it loved me. I fed it the sweetest grass and built its nest with the finest materials.

And what did I get in return?

It bit me, over and over. It started small with my fingers—just a few drops of blood. But then it went for my neck. It tore into me, draining my life away like it could never get enough."

When I was so pale that I collapsed from exhaustion, I finally broke down and begged to get rid of her.

Tristan had just looked down at me with pure annoyance. "Aurelia, you're getting hysterical. Sera is just a helpless pet. You can't even tolerate a little rabbit?"

Lily went on a hunger strike, crying, "If you send Sera away, I'll hate you forever!"

I caved over and over, stepping straight into the abyss.

In the end, on our wedding anniversary, I was drained dry.

As I lay on the cold floor, withered like a dead tree, my fading soul watched the blood-gorged rabbit shed its disgusting pelt and turn into a naked, gorgeous woman.

Seraphina. Tristan's former lover.

"Mommy is finally back!" Lily squealed, throwing herself into the woman's arms.

Tristan pulled them both into a tight embrace, his eyes red and his voice trembling. "It was all worth it. Playing the perfect husband to this haughty Elf for all these years was worth it for you."

It was only in that despairing moment I realized Tristan had only approached me to use my Elven blood for Seraphina’s curse.

Even my own daughter’s soul had been suppressed by his dark magic. That tiny body was possessed by their wicked love child!

"Aurelia? Are you spacing out?"

Tristan's voice snapped me back to reality.

The white rabbit, now full of blood, had a grotesquely swollen belly. She released my finger, utterly satiated.

Tristan pulled out a silk handkerchief and half-heartedly pressed it against my wound.

"Sorry, darling. She's just getting used to your scent," he said in his gentlest tone. But the corner of his eye twitched, barely hiding his excitement. "I'm sure you two will be inseparable once she's used to you."

I knew he was secretly thrilled, thinking the first step of his grand resurrection plan was a complete success.

But in this life, I would never be a stepping stone for their twisted family reunion.