Chapter 1

"General Stone?" Dominic Stone was taken aback by the unfamiliar address and let out a sigh. "I've told you repeatedly that my involvement with Nina was a result of the love curse. It was never my intention. It's been three years. Aren't you done being upset yet?"

I had already exhausted all my anger in my previous life. Now, I no longer had the energy to be upset.

I told him, "General Stone, you're overthinking this. Please return to the banquet."

Exasperated, Dominic reached out to take my hand, while I instinctively took a step back.

His face immediately darkened, and his hand, frozen in mid-air, clenched so tightly that his knuckles cracked. "You won't even let me touch you, yet you claim you aren't angry?"

I looked at him, realizing that my reaction had been too obvious.

In my previous life, Nina Lowe was poisoned after drinking tea at my place. When I grabbed Dominic's hand, wanting to explain, he shook me off with disgust written all over his face.

"Don't touch me! How could you stoop so low? You disgust me."

His words were etched deep in my heart, and I could still remember them vividly.

Back to the present, Dominic scooped me up before I could react. "Are you jealous? I'll take you…"

I pushed him away. "No need."

Dominic grabbed my wrist. He was about to speak when he realized the wound on my wrist. A thick layer of scab covered the area, surrounded by a patch of dark, bruised skin. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot. "Your mark… Why is it gone?"

Dominic extended his right hand, and right in the center of his wrist was a red mark.

When we first got married, we traveled to Berton. Many people there had similar red marks on their wrists, so Dominic asked them about it out of curiosity.

An elderly woman explained the custom to us. "Monogamy is the norm here. Couples place a red mark at the center of their wrists as a symbol of their lifelong loyalty to each other."

Dominic was excited to hear about this. "Shall we do this too? I'll be loyal to you forever, Jemima."

But later, that vow lost its meaning.

Dominic allowed himself to be captured during the war, only to run into Nina—a military physician who had truly been taken prisoner. Then they worked together to help our army achieve a resounding victory.

From that time onward, he mentioned Nina's name in every single letter he wrote me.

"Nina is both smart and courageous. She actually shielded me during an attack. I look at her in a whole new light now. That girl who used to hide behind me has really grown up."

"Nina is going back to Eldon too, so we decided to travel together. Jemima, remember to meet me at the city gate."

I went there on the day he returned. The people lined the streets to welcome him, and I was overflowing with joy too.

But the moment I saw them, I could no longer smile.

Dominic was leading his prized warhorse by the reins, while Nina sat in the saddle. He had always treasured that horse, refusing to even let me touch it.

Just as I was lost in thought, he spotted me and pulled me from the crowd into his embrace. "I finally get to see you again, Jemima."

His hug was warm, his grip was tight, and it somehow alleviated my unease.

However, after returning to the manor, I realized Dominic had forgotten to bring back the pastries I asked for, and the protective charm he found for me was now hanging around Nina's neck. Moreover, he barely exchanged a few words with me before taking Nina to revisit their old memories, returning only the next morning.

And it was also that night that the two of them accidentally triggered the love curse, beginning a three-year entanglement between them.

Those memories haunted me like a nightmare, tormenting me over and over again.

When I was reborn, I felt sickened by the red mark, so I carved it away with a dagger. With it gone, my feelings for Dominic vanished too.

"Speak! Where's your mark?"

I didn't answer him.

Dominic sneered. "How long are you going to keep this up? Are you going to threaten me with divorce next?"

Last time, Nina left only because I threatened him with divorce. But this time, it was my own choice. I had already used the token granted by the Queen Mother to obtain a divorce decree, and the royal decree would arrive in three days.

This time, I would let the two of them have each other.