Chapter 3

I was confused—

Did David love me from his heart,

Or was it all just a competition with Jackson?

If he truly loved me,

How could he say—so easily—that he hoped I would die for him?

He didn't care if my wolf broke down.

He didn't care if I actually died.

All he wanted… was to prove that, in my heart, he had finally replaced Jackson.

Despair consumed me.

My knees gave way beneath me, and I collapsed to the ground.

My wolf whimpered endlessly, curled up inside me.

I could feel her pain—the raw agony of betrayal.

And then,

A quiet, terrible thought crept into my mind... the Aria who clung to the past had finally vanished..

From now on, I wanted to be myself.

I wouldn't live in Jackson's shadow anymore,

nor would I wait around to be loved by David.

After returning to my den, I kept thinking about David's strange behavior these past few days.

The things he said today weren't because he was drunk—

but I believed he had been planning it for a long time.

After everything, I finally understood: I had always been living beneath the shadow of his suspicion.

Then something blurred my vision, and tears streamed down my cheeks.

It wasn't that I didn't want to be claimed by him—

it was that he told me he would never mark a she-wolf who still carried another's shadow in her heart.

It was also him who humiliated me for the scar on my belly—

the one without fur, caused by the fire.

That's why I was still trying to heal it in the Moon River.

I didn't understand how the words coming from his mouth

had become so twisted, so cruel.

He blamed everything on me—

because my wolf was "insane," because I hadn't forgotten Jackson,

because I didn't care about all he had done for me...

But why did he act like he loved me so much?

That's when I realized—the ring hidden inside the drawer was his secret,

and he was hesitating whether or not to claim me.

Thinking about that,

I felt something tighten around my throat, suffocating me, making it hard to breathe.

I vaguely heard my wolf whisper,

"It's the Moon Goddess guiding us on the right path."

Suddenly, I understood.

I would play my part perfectly with David.

I would show him my madness and sorrow.

I would make him believe I died right before his eyes—

because my wolf was completely broken.

So he would finally see how much I loved him…

and how impossible it was for me to leave him.

But it was cruelly ironic—

because David's mind wasn't any stronger than mine.

He was just as weak.

You would completely lose me once I finish everything and die right before your eyes.

Then we would see who truly ends up regretting.

The luckiest thing is that I already know the whole truth in advance—

so even if I stray down the wrong path, I can always find my way back.

David, now it's your turn to taste the bitter emptiness of shattered hope,

to feel desperation sweep through your soul,

and to watch your wolf spiral into madness.