Chapter 4

My spine froze. Recalling the gentle softness in his eyes a moment ago, I didn't need to guess to know Freya was on the other end of that line.

Yet it had been a long, long time since he had ever shown a hint of that gentleness to me.

As I recalled the cruel measures Cory had used against me, a sudden chill ran down my back.

Shortly after Mom passed away, he became adamant that I was the one who killed her.

He had locked me in the tower, leaving me without food or water for nights, while the guards couldn't even be bothered to glance my way.

It seemed my invitation to dinner this morning had already reached his ears.

In his eyes, I was probably plotting how to hurt Freya again.

Seeing me frozen in place, Cory took it as fear and spoke coldly. "Behave yourself. Making an outcast like you disappear is as easy as crushing an ant."

My pupils shrank. Feeling ice-cold all over, I watched him turn and walk away.

My mind went numbly blank as I drifted into the portrait studio at the corner of the alley like a wandering ghost.

Seeing me so distraught when I said I wanted a photo for my funeral, the receptionist quietly handed me a cup of warm water without a word.

The grievances accumulated over more than a decade burst through the dam in an instant.

People always tried so hard to put up a tough front before their family, only to crumble completely at a little kindness from a stranger.

I sobbed against the counter while she merely patted my back gently without asking any questions.

Leaving the studio, I squatted by the curb and slipped the portrait into the inner lining of the wooden urn.

The scent of fries drifted over in the wind. I walked over, as if pulled by a spell.

The vendor was turning over fish fillets. Without looking up, he asked, "What can I get you?"

I felt around my empty wallet and shook my head, my face flushing red. "No… I don't have money, and I'm not hungry."

The moment the words left my mouth, my stomach let out a ridiculously loud rumble.

I lowered my head and turned to leave, but he called me back and stuffed a fresh batch of fries into my hands. "Take it. If you ever run into trouble, come find me at the docks. I can afford a portion of fries."

The hot paper bag warmed my palms and even slightly thawed a tiny sliver of my frozen heart.

In the end, I made up my mind to head to the pack headquarters to find Aaron.

Back when Cory locked me up in all kinds of places, it was always Aaron who came to let me out.

Even though he still spoke to me with cold detachment, in an environment where I was surrounded by hatred on all sides, that small shred of warmth was enough for me to be grateful to him for the rest of my life.

I still wanted to see him one last time on the last day of my life.

After finally reaching the docks, I was blocked at the door by the enforcers. "Alpha Aaron is in a meeting. He has no time for nobody."

Standing in the freezing wind, I dialed his number over and over, but I received nothing but a busy tone.

I sent a long message, but once again, I got no response.

It was almost dark, and my time was running out.

Not wanting to die out on the streets, I dragged my heavy steps back to the manor.

The attendants had all gone out to buy supplies for Freya's coming-of-age ceremony. The entire mansion was terrifyingly empty. It was so quiet that even my breathing echoed.

I hurried into the kitchen to get busy, not even noticing when oil splattered onto my hands and left red burns.

I made a full table of their favorite dishes. I heated them up as they went cold, over and over again.

My communicator lay silently on the table without a single reply.

Sitting on the dining chair, I stared at the red countdown reflected on the flat surface of the steak knife. Only two hours left.

I really wanted to know if they would feel even a single second of sorrow when I died.

I shook my head with a self-deprecating smile. They would probably just feel that things were finally quiet.

When the countdown dropped to an hour and a half, sound came from the foyer.

I snapped my head up, my heart pounding wildly.

It turned out to be just an attendant returning to grab something, who gave me a disgusted glare before slamming the door behind her.

Finally, with trembling hands, I picked up the landline in the living room and called them.

The phone rang for a long time before being picked up. It was noisy over there, filled with music, laughter, and Freya's sweet, soft voice.

Aaron's tone was thoroughly impatient. "Who is this?"

"Aaron… It's me."

"Judith? What do you want now? Freya is about to make her birthday wish! If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

Tears streaming down my face, I desperately shouted to stop him, "Don't hang up! Aaron, please… Can you guys please just let me share this one last coming-of-age dinner with Freya? Just this once… because I'm going to die very soon."