Chapter 4

Silas emerged from the bathroom after his shower, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. He stood in front of the wardrobe, picking out what he planned to wear for the ceremony the next day.

“Lyra, Thea will only be making a brief appearance during the public part of the ceremony tomorrow. After the ceremony, there’s still the blessing from the Moon Goddess. I’ll come back for you personally then. I’ll take you there, and you alone.”

He winked at me. “Let people gossip all they want. What really matters is that the most important place has always been yours.”

I looked at him, at the way he said it as though it were the most natural thing in the world. He truly believed that as long as he saved me a place in the end, it did not matter how many times he hurt me along the way.

“Okay, got it.”

I turned away and continued packing my toiletries into a bag.

Leaning against the doorframe, he lowered his voice conspiratorially.

“Actually, I’ve already had people start preparing the details for our official marking ceremony. Do you remember that jewelry exhibition a few years ago? I’ve already placed an order for the moonstone crown you loved so much. I promise I’ll make up for everything you’ve been through at the marking ceremony!”

Once upon a time, hearing that he still remembered the piece of jewelry I loved would have been enough to melt my heart.

Now, all I felt was a deep, aching sadness. It was not that he did not love me. Nor had he forgotten the things I liked.

That was precisely what made it so cruel. He remembered, and he cared. Yet every time he favored Thea, he still expected me to be the one to give way.

“All right. I got it.”

I nodded and took half a step back. He approached, reaching out to pinch my cheek as he always used to.

However, before his hand could touch me, his phone rang. The moment he answered, his assistant’s frantic voice came through.

“Ms. Borne's appearance at tomorrow’s ceremony has been leaked ahead of time. The media are already asking whether she’s taking Ms. Mornington's place.”

Silas’ expression changed instantly. “Keep the media under control. I’m on my way.”

He hung up and hurried toward the door. “Lyra, I need to take care of something. Get some rest.”

He did not even look back before leaving. The door slammed shut behind him.

Not long after Silas left, his mother, Evelyn, called.

“Lyra, I don’t want any surprises tomorrow. You’d better cooperate with Thea’s wishes. Once the ceremony goes smoothly, we’ll reconsider your mediation center proposal.”

I held my phone and gazed out at the night beyond the window.

“Sure. I agree.”

After hanging up, I turned on my laptop and began taking care of the final arrangements.

I logged into the Nightmoon Pack’s internal system and surrendered every last one of the few privileges I still had. Then, I unlinked my access from our shared family account and transferred all my personal funds out of it.

Finally, I bundled up every personal file stored in the system and transferred it to the secure network of the Werewolf Council.

For the past six years, I had barely touched any of my father’s private resources, all to avoid giving anyone a reason to question my intentions.

Meanwhile, Thea had used the Nightmoon Pack’s car fleet and private flights as though they were hers by right.

She even spent event budgets that were supposed to be mine. Silas had never seen anything wrong with it.

At 3:00 am, Thea sent me a photo. It was a beautifully crafted ring, with the ancient crest of the Nightmoon Pack engraved on the inside.

[Silas had it specially commissioned in a rush. He said an engagement ceremony wouldn’t be complete without a ring.]

I stared at the photo. Over the past six years, Silas had given me countless rings, yet not a single one bore the pack’s true crest.

He always said we would wait until the official marking ceremony. Now, Thea had received one simply by winning a stupid wager.

…

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the windows.

I changed into a comfortable trench coat and wheeled my old suitcase out of the apartment.

The convoy my father had sent was already waiting quietly downstairs. The chauffeur came up to collect my luggage.

“Miss, is there anything else you’d like to bring?”

I took one last look at the apartment I called home for six years. “No. That’s everything.”

Before I left, I handed the dark gift box to the apartment’s concierge. “Please deliver this to Silas once the engagement ceremony officially begins.”

The car door closed, and the engine roared to life.

At that very moment, the bells began ringing inside the Nightmoon Pack’s ceremonial hall.

With Thea on his arm, Silas walked down the aisle as applause rose from the guests on either side. Yet his gaze kept drifting past the crowd, fixed on the entrance.

As soon as the first part of the ceremony was over, he immediately beckoned his assistant over.

“Where’s Lyra? Go get her. It’s time for her to get ready.”

The assistant’s face turned pale. He hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the words.

“We haven’t seen Ms. Mornington since this morning, sir. We’ve tried calling her, but her phone is unreachable.”

The smile on Silas’ face faltered.

“What do you mean, you can’t find her? Have you checked the dressing room?”

“We have. She wasn’t there.”

“What about the lounge?”

“Not there either.”

Silas’ mother, Evelyn, approached with a glass of wine in her hand, frowning in displeasure.

“What’s there to panic about? She agreed to this. She’s not going to actually run away. She’s probably just hiding somewhere, throwing a tantrum because she doesn’t want to watch you and Thea together.”

Thea stepped forward as well, putting on an innocent, wounded expression.

“Is Lyra mad at me? Maybe I should just give her the place back…”

Just then, the concierge hurried into the hall, carrying the gift box.

“Ms. Mornington left this behind this morning. She asked me to give it to you once the ceremony began.”

Silas let out a sigh of relief and his expression softened.

“See? I knew she’d know better.”

He glanced at Evelyn. “Mom, look. She even prepared a gift for me.”

Evelyn stood beside him, offering a rather halfhearted compliment.

“Go on, open it. Lyra may be rather unreasonable about the little things, but at least she knows how to behave when it comes to something important.”

Silas eagerly tore away the black ribbon and lifted the lid. The moment he saw what was inside, his hand trembled.

The box slipped from his grasp and hit the floor. The card resting on top fluttered down to his feet.

[Silas, let’s never see each other again.]