Chapter 2

Back in my room, I began to pack.

In truth, there was nothing to pack. Nothing could be carried into the Frostlands. I just wanted to keep my hands busy so I wouldn't look so pathetic.

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

At dawn the next day, I prepared to visit the lake where my mother’s ashes rested, for one final farewell.

The moment I stepped out, I saw Lucien standing at the door.

His expression was somewhat complex. Holding a bottle of liquor in his hand, he looked as though he had been drinking all night.

The moment he saw me, he grabbed my hand and interrogated me again.

"Sylvia, why are you forcing Selina into a marriage of convenience?"

"Selina is in terrible health. There is absolutely no way she could endure the brutal environment of the Frostlands!"

"How could you just stand by and watch your own sister walk to her death?"

His eyes were bloodshot, carrying the scent of vodka and tobacco. His wolf seemed to be whining in agony.

"You bullied her since childhood, and now you don't even care about her life?"

I stood rooted to the spot, stunned. What gave him the right to say such things to me?

My nose stung with a sour ache, and tears fell involuntarily.

Seeing my pained expression, he seemed to regain a sliver of clarity and hastily took a few steps back.

I closed my eyes as the tears continued to stream down my face, struggling to soothe my wolf's agony.

A flash of regret crossed his eyes, and he reached out as if to support me. "I'm sorry, Sylvia. I've had too much to drink..."

I shook off his hand and spoke calmly.

"Lucien..." I don't need you anymore.

But before I could even finish my sentence, a wolf howl echoed from the distance.

"Lucien, hurry! Selina stabbed herself with a silver dagger!"

I froze once again, memories of my past life rushing over me like a tidal wave.

It always used to be like this.

He did care about my feelings, coaxing me and trying to cheer me up whenever I was sad.

He would carefully select gifts for me and fulfill my every wish.

But the moment something happened to Selina, he would immediately abandon me and leave.

I was always second to Selina.

Just as expected, the moment Lucien heard that Selina was injured, he instantly shifted into his wolf form and bolted away.

Leaving me completely alone.

My inner wolf let out a mournful howl, the heartbreak too unbearable to bear.

Perhaps he had always treated me as a younger sister, yet I had always misinterpreted his intentions, entangling myself with him for an entire lifetime.

In this life, it was time to wake up.

Returning from Moon Tear Lake, the moment I entered the castle's main hall, I was met with a heartwarmingly glaring scene by the hearth.

Lucien and Selina were nestled together on the beast-fur sofa. He held a vial of salve, carefully applying it to Selina’s wrist.

Selina’s eyes were red-rimmed, looking like a wronged little rabbit.

"Lucien, it doesn't hurt. Please don't worry," she said, her voice carrying a deliberately suppressed fragility.

Lucien’s brows were tightly knit, yet his touch was as gentle as if he were handling flower petals.

"How could you be so careless? You’ve scraped off such a large patch of skin, and the cut is so deep."

The tenderness and doting in his eyes were things I had never received in my ten years of marriage in my past life.

A bitter ache seized my heart.

Selina raised her eyes and saw me. A gleam of triumph flashed in her pupils before she instantly reverted to her innocent, pitiful expression.

I stood rooted to the spot, a chill running through my entire body.

"I will go to the Frostlands, so neither you nor Sylvia will be put in a difficult position."

Father must have already told Selina that I was the one going to the Frostlands.

But she clearly hadn't told Lucien either. She just wanted him to misunderstand me and hate me.

In my past life, to escape the marriage of convenience, Selina had sliced her own wrist with a silver dagger.

Though the wound wasn't deep, it had terrified Lucien to the brink of madness and solidified his resolve to protect her.

In this life, she still used a wound to effortlessly win Lucien’s pity.

"Absolutely not. I will never let you go to the Frostlands. Your health is too poor, and Sylvia... she is stronger than you."

"Lucien, please don't say that. It's all my fault. I'm useless. My body is too weak to go to the Frostlands..."

Selina clutched the cuff of Lucien’s sleeve, her voice choking with sobs as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

Lucien pulled her into his embrace, resting his chin atop her head.

"Selina, none of this is your fault. I will protect you."

Watching them embrace, I found it utterly ironic.

Just because she is weak, do I have to yield to her?

If he found out that it was me who was sent away, would he be acting like this right now?

Unwilling to entangle myself with them any further, I turned and walked back to my room.

Early the next morning, a bouquet of flowers was left at my door, with a sticky note attached.

"I'm sorry."

This was our most common way of apologizing when we were kids. Whenever he angered me, he would give me something I liked to say sorry.

But clearly, this apology no longer meant anything.

I didn't touch the flowers and went straight downstairs.