Chapter 4

Ethan leaned against the doorway. When I finished speaking, he let out a scoff and said, "Mirabel, if the legend isn't real, then it can't hurt you. And if it is, you've already saved my life twice. What's one more wish?"

I stared at him, and suddenly, something inside me went hollow.

"Give me back the bracelet," I said.

Ethan crossed the room in a few quick strides and shielded Ashley behind him. "She just recovered. Don't ruin this for her right now."

I planted my hands on the carpet and tried to crawl toward them.

But the next second, Ethan caught Ashley's wrist and lifted it high into the air. The old silver bracelet Mom had left me gleamed softly in the morning light.

He looked me in the eye and asked, each word slow and deliberate, "Well? Are you going to make the wish or not?"

I gritted my teeth. "No—"

Before I could finish, Ethan lifted his arm, ready to hurl the bracelet at the wall.

My heart lurched.

"Fine."

Moments later, the Realm of Wishes opened. Smoke poured from the altar, spreading like a snowfall until it engulfed the entire chamber.

Deep within the mist, Ashley appeared in a wedding gown. With her arm linked through Ethan's, they walked down the aisle together.

Wedding bells rang.

Ethan lowered his gaze and slipped a diamond ring onto Ashley's finger. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and when he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.

"Now, I have no regrets."

They kissed as applause rang out and petals rained down around them.

Later, they moved into a house with a garden.

Ashley didn't like the color of the curtains. By the next day, every curtain in the house had been replaced with ones in the amber shade she loved.

One night, she suddenly craved a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup. Ethan threw on a jacket and went downstairs.

He clumsily made a mess of the kitchen before carrying a bowl back upstairs with a sheepish grin. "If it's bad, I'll do better next time."

Later still, Ashley got pregnant. Ethan turned down every business dinner and made it home on time every single day.

He crouched before her, rested a hand against her belly, and waited for the baby to kick. When he felt the tiny kick, he froze for a long moment before breaking into a goofy grin.

Then, their child was born. He learned to walk and grew up.

Ethan lifted the kid high over his head, spinning in circles on the lawn. He walked their child to school and watched him leave home to build a life of his own.

Many years later, Ethan stood beside Ashley, her hand in his, as they attended their child's wedding.

They grew old together. Their grandchildren filled the house with laughter, and warm sunlight bathed the garden. It felt like a dream that would never end.

Everyone said Ethan had lived a perfect life.

But in the chamber, only silence remained. The mark tore open my palm. Blood trickled down my fingers and dripped into a silver basin below, each drop fainter than the last.

My engagement ring slipped from the pocket of my now oversized coat and rolled to the foot of the bed.

I reached for it, only to realize my hand had already shrunk. My oversized sleeves pooled on the floor, and my fingertips couldn't even reach the edge of the bed.

The backlash ground through my bones inch by inch, as though it were tearing me apart only to force me back inside a body even smaller than before.

I curled into myself, and the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

I wanted to call Ethan's name. Yet, all that escaped my lips was a whimper, so faint it was almost impossible to hear.

Inside the mist, Ethan had already grown old. Ashley leaned against his shoulder as she fell asleep, and children's laughter drifted from inside the house.

He gazed at the garden, bathed in warm sunlight. For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted.

He remembered a time years ago when someone sat waiting under the lamp, dinner already on the table.

She had never asked for flowers or demanded promises. All she'd ever wanted was for him to come home on time, just once.

At that moment, the Realm of Wishes collapsed, and the smoke dissolved into nothing.

Ethan was still smiling when he instinctively called out, "Mirabel, it's over. Once you're back to normal, we'll get married, okay?"

But no one answered. All that remained was an oversized coat lying crumpled on the carpet, and the engagement ring lying beside it.

Ethan halted in his tracks. Then, he walked over and slowly lifted the oversized coat. Curled inside was a newborn baby, with a large bracelet hanging loosely around its wrist.

He froze at the sight of it.