Chapter 3

The corners of my lips curled in triumph.

"Then you'd better hurry. Brother Kai doesn't wait for anyone."

"Fuck!"

Asher hung up and tossed the ninety-nine diamond-studded roses onto the side of the road.

He floored the Porsche, the tires screeching against the pavement.

He completely forgot the global livestream cameras already set up at the film-studio confession venue, and the hundreds of media outlets that had shown up.

He raced home like a madman, his wolf surging beneath his skin, fueling every desperate second.

At the villa.

I ended the video call and unhurriedly put the little box and the bell collar back in Mabel Cruz's drawer.

Mabel Cruz stared, dumbstruck.

"M-Miss, why did you lie to the young master just now? Since when are you so close with Young Master Sterling?"

I knew that being reborn was something that would shock anyone.

If I told her now, the down-to-earth, science-minded Mabel might think I'd lost my mind.

I gave the stunned Mabel Cruz a faint smile. "Since just now."

"Huh?"

"Mabel, sorry for using your things in an emergency. Help me with one more thing. Find a private investigator you know, right away. I want everything on Sylvia: her schedule today, the people she's been meeting lately, photos and video of all of it. The more detail the better."

After that, I added lightly, "Money's no object."

Mabel Cruz didn't understand why I wanted this, but she went to do it.

"Yes, Miss. I'll take care of it right away."

Once Mabel Cruz had left the room, I finally let out a breath.

I knew Sylvia's playbook all too well.

In my last life, Sylvia had never intended to accept that confession at all. She hadn't even stayed at the venue for half an hour.

Right now, she'd be slipping off to the top floor of the hotel to negotiate with Director Grant, who held the script for a big female-lead role.

Using my brother's fame as the Alpha heir of the Hale bloodline to hype herself up, trading it for leverage to rocket upward.

With all of that set in motion, I sat on the luxurious leather sofa in the living room and waited for my brother to come home and settle the score.

The hall was hundreds of square meters, and you could have heard a pin drop.

On the TV, a financial news program was playing.

A beautiful anchor was delivering the day's hottest financial news in a crisp, polished voice.

"Kai Sterling, Alpha heir to the Sterling pack and Sterling Corp, returned to the country yesterday. Industry insiders speculate he has come home for a mating arrangement with one of the prominent pack families..."

If it had been anyone else, my brother would never have reacted so strongly.

But this was Kai Sterling. Alpha of the Sterling pack. Our bloodline's greatest rival.

In my last life, this grand confession had made Sylvia a huge star, but it had been the beginning of the nightmare for my brother and the entire Hale pack.

Alpha Hale's Over-the-Top Celebrity Chasing: The Late Alpha and Luna Hale Would Wake From the Dead in Fury.

That scathing headline from a major news outlet put the Hale pack and Hale Enterprises right at the center of the storm.

The stock plummeted, wiping out hundreds of billions in market value. Pack allies distanced themselves. The elders questioned whether Asher was fit to lead.

But in reality, Sylvia never meant to accept my brother's mate confession.

She only wanted to use his fame as the Hale Alpha heir to build up her own buzz.

My brother spent tens of millions putting on a spectacular global livestream mate confession for her, and she tearfully turned him down, saying her career was at a critical stage.

She'd worked so hard for so many years to get where she was. She couldn't throw it all away, not even for the mate bond.

"Asher, you love me so much. You'll support me, won't you?"

"Sylvia, I'll always support you."

My brother couldn't bring himself to blame Sylvia. He shouldered all the consequences himself.

After that, Sylvia gained over ten million followers overnight and became a genuine top-traffic she-wolf star.

And my brother had been played for a fool. The pack suffered huge losses, the bloodline's reputation crumbled, and it became the start of the nightmare of his life.

Mabel Cruz truly was a professional butler, remarkably efficient.

About ten minutes later, she came hurrying over.

"Miss! I found out everything!"

She held the video on her phone out to me, her face full of righteous indignation. "The young master treats her so well. Why would she do this? After all he's done for her as the future Alpha of the Hale bloodline?"

"Greed knows no bounds. Like a snake trying to swallow an elephant."

"That's despicable. And I used to think so highly of her. A she-wolf like that doesn't deserve the mate bond. I'm throwing out every single thing she ever gave me."

My eyes were as still as an ancient well, without the slightest surprise.

This had always been a scam they'd set up for my brother.

What con artist would dare give their real heart?

I sat there quietly, my gaze calm as water.

With my delicate, youthful features, I looked like a porcelain princess who knew nothing of the world, yet those clear eyes held a composure far beyond my years.

I looked up and out the window.

The spring sunshine was lovely, and the parasol trees had quietly put out a few new green shoots.

My pretty lips slowly curved upward.

Sylvia, this time it's your turn to go to hell. Let's see if you're still as lucky and composed as you were last time.

Less than half an hour later,

Asher kicked open the villa door, the veins on his temples bulging, his wolf so close to the surface I could practically feel its heat radiating off him. The first thing he did was storm over and rifle through my backpack, dumping everything out onto the carpet.

He didn't find the box of condoms, and there was no sign of the bell collar either. He blew up instantly. "Zoe Hale, you're gambling with your own reputation. Are you crazy?! Do you know what kind of person Kai Sterling is? Do you even know him?"

Who was Kai Sterling?

A pervert so perfect you couldn't find a single flaw in him, rigid to the bone.

They were all the same age, yet he always carried a maturity none of the rest of them had, making them look naive and stupid by comparison.

While everyone else was goofing off and crawling through holes in the fence, he was already studying economic theory and training his wolf to dominate.

Kai Sterling had been his nightmare since childhood, the benchmark he was always measured against.

Any time Kai Sterling was around, no matter how outstanding Asher was, he could only ever be the sidekick.

Kai Sterling wasn't just good-looking. His grades were great too. First in the class every single time. His wolf was stronger, faster, more disciplined.

And my brother, Asher Hale, was the legendary eternal runner-up.

The nickname "Second-Place Hale" was courtesy of Kai Sterling.

Damn it.

His sister could date any wolf in the world.

But it could never, ever be that flashy, girl-magnet Alpha peacock from the rival bloodline.

"Zoe Hale, are you even listening to me?"

Asher gripped my thin shoulders hard, gritting his teeth, eyes wild, his Alpha aura flaring uncontrollably.

Mabel Cruz said worriedly, "Young master, be gentle. You're hurting her. Your wolf—"

"Mabel, you can go."

I spoke quietly.

Mabel Cruz left reluctantly, closing the door behind us for the siblings.

I sat on the sofa and looked up at him coldly.

My brother, so full of life, his features so vivid. Even angry, even with his wolf bristling under his skin, he made me happy.

This was what a beating heart felt like.

It was wonderful!

Little by little, the corners of my eyes turned red.

"Brother..."

Asher was taken aback and unconsciously loosened his grip, his Alpha aura retreating. "W-why are you crying? I haven't even yelled at you yet!"

I steadied my breathing, wiped away my tears, and with a single sentence nailed him to the spot.

"Brother, if you confess to Sylvia as your fated mate tonight, tomorrow you'll be the laughingstock of all of Aurora City. The Hale bloodline will be humiliated."

"What do you mean?"

"You announce her as your mate in front of the whole world, but she only wants to boost her popularity and build up her independent, strong she-wolf heroine image. Then she'll turn right around and trade the buzz you gave her for roles from a director."

"Zoe... Sylvia isn't that kind of she-wolf!"

"Whether she is or not, one phone call will tell you."

"Impossible..."

Asher protested on reflex, but he couldn't help pulling out his phone, his hands shaking.