Chapter 2

At the celebration party, Aemyth was surrounded by the guests. The bandages wrapped around her ankle were exceptionally obvious.

Our mother, Claudia Lakeshore, helped her sit down with heartbreak etched all over her face.

"Aemyth refused to even take a break despite having injured herself just so she could score a chance at making it through the tryouts. Thank goodness her efforts didn't go to waste."

The moment Aemyth saw me, the smile on her face froze momentarily.

"Aerith, you're here!"

She studied the bandages covering my face as she continued airily, "You don't have to come all the way here just to congratulate me, you know? After all, you've been preparing for the tryouts for a year, yet you can't even make it through the main entrance of the audition hall."

Everyone around us went quiet for a moment. Then, Aemyth linked arms with me.

"Well, now that you no longer have to go through dance practice anymore, life should be easier for you. Then again, I suppose that you can't even perform the most basic pirouette without your wolf now, can you?"

I didn't answer her.

The screen behind Aemyth was playing the selected performance. I saw Aemyth leaning forward in time with the music, her arm suspended in mid-air. Then, she turned and leaped.

I was stunned, to say the least.

Every single move Aemyth exhibited throughout the dance—from the opener all the way to the final glance over the shoulder she cast at the audience—was the same as the choreography I drafted for the tryouts.

I had spent one full year tweaking and editing the choreography. Heck, I didn't even have time to give it a name.

Yet now, there was a line at the bottom of the screen that stated, "Original dance piece choreographed by Aemyth Nightbloom."

"You look so serious when you're watching the clip, Aerith."

Aemyth approached me, her voice soon lowering.

"Is it because you think I did a better job performing it than you ever could?"

I glanced at her.

"Where did you pick up the moves?"

Aemyth just smiled at me without answering. She even squeezed my hand tightly.

The next thing I knew, she let out a pained scream all of a sudden before collapsing backward.

"Aerith, don't do this!"

Ivander quickly let go of me so that he could catch Aemyth. Without his support, I stumbled sideways, only to collide with a table's edge. My wounds hurt so much that I was practically seeing dark spots forming in my vision.

But Ivander just busied himself with checking Aemyth's ankle.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine." Aemyth's eyes were already red-rimmed by then. "Aerith must be in a terrible mood. I shouldn't have brought up the tryouts in front of her."

The guests' expressions shifted immediately.

"Aemyth's still injured! How could you push her?"

I could only stabilize myself by holding onto the table.

"I did no such thing."

Ivander turned around to look at me. This time, he adopted a softer tone.

"Aerith, if you're mad about something, you can just let me know. Don't make light of Aemyth's injury."

He didn't even bother asking me what happened just now.

Mother was about to chime in when her phone suddenly rang. After she was done taking that phone call, she pulled Aemyth into a tight hug happily.

"The organizing committee told me that your dance piece has been shortlisted for the opening solo performance!"

Ivander whirled around immediately. "Really?"

Aemyth looked up at him in delight. The elation in Ivander's eyes was plain to see. Even his grip on Aemyth's shoulders tightened.

Meanwhile, I stood by the sidelines, looking like a background character who wasn't meant to be there.

Once the congratulatory voices died down a little, I finally asked, "Why did Aemyth use my choreography in the tryouts?"

That was when Ivander's smile froze on his face.

"Both of you learned the same dance style. It's completely normal for her moves to mirror yours."

"Is it normal for her entire routine to be the same as mine, then?"

Ivander walked over to me, soon shielding me from the guests' inquisitive gazes.

"Let's not talk about this today. There are plenty of chances for you to dance again onstage in the future."

I just looked at him without bothering to argue with him.

The truth was, I had never shown my choreography in public. Ivander was the only one who watched it in the past.

He used to sit in front of the mirror and watch me tweak my movements repeatedly in the dance studio. He even personally recorded the entire choreography for me.

At the end of the footage, I had walked over to him and told him that the choreography was all about our love story. Back then, he had kissed me on the forehead and told me that he adored it.

Now, he'd given the choreography to Aemyth, yet here he stood, telling me not to make a big deal out of it.

"Aerith?"

Ivander wrapped my shawl around my shoulders properly while waiting for me to yield to him as I always did.

Slowly, I unclenched my fists.

"Nothing."

A long time ago, I had reached out to my beloved mate repeatedly in that dance piece.

But from now on? Never again.