Chapter 2

When Seth and Catherine returned, they could be seen holding hands.

Seth carefully helped Catherine onto the wagon. Once they were properly seated, I finally saw their faces clearly.

Catherine's lips were reddened and glossy. Meanwhile, Seth had an obvious red mark decorating his neck.

Everyone turned around to look at me coolly. They were all waiting for me to lose my temper.

After all, I'd kick up a fuss whenever I saw Seth being close to other women. I'd also pester him, warning him not to speak with other people as well.

There was blatant vigilance in Seth's eyes. He was also worried that I might get mad at Catherine.

But a few minutes had already passed. I didn't react to the incident at all.

Seth was stunned at first. Then, he sneered at me. "Oh? You've finally learned to be demure now that we're about to get married. To think that you're not throwing a tantrum over this."

I merely ignored him. Once we reached the town, I walked away immediately.

When I was done buying what I needed in the town, I was waiting for the next wagon when Seth grabbed me.

"It's about to get dark soon. Let's go home together."

It wasn't safe for me to be alone at night, so I didn't turn Seth's offer down.

Once the wagon arrived, I wanted to go around Seth so that I could sit next to the man in charge of steering the horses. But Seth quickly stopped me.

"You go sit next to Mr. Miller."

After that, he helped Catherine onto the wagon.

"Sorry about that, Callista. Seth cares a lot about me. It'll get very crowded on the wagon if too many people sit together."

The three of us were the only ones who had yet to return to the village. Instead of saying anything, I sat on the bumpy front-row seat that I was already planning to take from the start.

On the way back to the village, Seth and Catherine chatted with each other merrily.

As the sky gradually darkened, Catherine began acting coquettishly around Seth. Claiming to be cold, she asked him to warm her hands. Their fingers intertwined, and soon they inched nearer as well.

The atmosphere grew amorous between them. Even their breathing started becoming heavier.

But Seth whipped around to look at me all of a sudden, finally realizing that I was there too.

For some reason, my failure to glance back made his face fall. He then started sweet-talking Catherine loudly.

Once we reached the village entrance, Seth did something that he had never done before. He actually grabbed my hand before stuffing a wildflower into my palm.

"That's enough. Stop acting like you don't care," he said in a placating tone. "Think of this flower as my way of making it up to you. As long as you stay docile and demure like how you acted earlier, I'll go through the wedding ceremony with you. At the very least, the villagers will think that you're my wife."

I could tell that there was an underlying meaning in Seth's words.

"Who's going to be your actual wife once we're out of the village, then? Is it Catherine?"

Rage colored Seth's expression once he realized that his innermost thoughts were exposed. But a flash of smugness was present as well.

"I knew that you were acting all along! Don't go around telling your parents about what happened. You will never understand my relationship with Catherine. She's a meticulous woman, unlike you, who's often brash and rowdy. If you upset her in any way, don't blame me when I decide to skip the wedding altogether!"

How ridiculous! Seth was the two-timing bastard here, yet he wanted me to endure all of the pain and agony on my own!

I looked down at the wildflower in my hand. I had been pursuing Seth for so long, yet he never remembered the fact that I was allergic to pollen.

"By the way, lend me 150 dollars. I want to buy some books. Once my family mails me money, I'll pay you back."

I had lost count of how many times Seth told me the same thing. The thing was, he never returned any cash to me.

I just huffed coldly before walking home right away. Seth could be heard hollering my name angrily from behind.

As soon as I walked through the front door, I saw Catherine toying with her new watch. I recognized it as an item only sold in a department store in the town.

"Oh, Callista! Look at how expensive this watch is! It's worth 150 dollars!"

Catherine's smug expression and the fact that the watch cost 150 dollars cut me deeply in my heart.

Upon noticing how distraught I looked, she leaned into my ear before murmuring, "Has Seth ever told you that I'm the one he truly loves? My dear Callista, you've led a good life for far too long. This time, it's my turn to become the major general's wife."

It turned out that… Catherine had gotten reborn as well.