Chapter 3

That night before bed, Leo didn't beg me for a bedtime story the way he usually did.

"Mom, I want Sugar to sleep with me."

With that, he climbed onto the alpaca's back and rode her, giddy with excitement, back to his room. Julian watched them go, his eyes holding a tenderness I'd never once seen him look at me with.

Watching my son wrap his arms tightly around that alpaca's neck felt like something twisting inside my chest.

Of course. No matter what I did, a child that wasn't really mine would never truly bond with me.

Half an hour later, once Leo had fallen asleep, the alpaca strolled out of his room as if it owned the place. I moved to lead it to the study. It dodged my hand with a quick hop and spat on me instead.

Julian walked over to it and looked at me. "Evie, maybe Sugar doesn't want to sleep alone in the study. Why don't we just let her sleep with us?" He stroked the alpaca's head affectionately. "Come on, Sugar, give Mommy some love."

The alpaca tilted its head and let out another wet "phht."

I pulled two tissues from my pocket, wiped the spit off my skin, and turned toward the bedroom. "My sleep's already bad enough. If she spits on me in the middle of the night, it'll wake me up. Let's just let her stay in the study."

My expression must have been less than pleasant, because Julian didn't push back. He let the matter drop and shut the alpaca in the study. "Fine. Sugar will just have to make do tonight."

Before the door closed, the alpaca turned and fixed me with a stare full of pure malice.

In the middle of the night, I was drifting in and out of sleep when I felt warm breath gust across my face. A second later, something cold brushed my skin.

My eyes snapped open.

The alpaca was standing right beside the bed, staring straight at my face, mouth opening for another spit.

I had no idea how it had gotten in. But I'd been ready for this.

The first thing I'd done after being reborn was travel to the outskirts of the city, to Cloudpeak Hermitage, and ask the old hermit there, Master Alaric, for a protective charm.

I reached under my pillow and closed my fist around it.

The alpaca went rigid, as if an invisible hand had closed around its throat. It tried to cry out and couldn't. Its legs buckled beneath it, and it collapsed to the floor, the light in its eyes dimming by half.

I pulled out a wet wipe and calmly cleaned my face. Then I looked down at it.

"Feeling good?"

It couldn't speak. It could only tremble.

The next morning, the first thing Leo did after waking up was run to check on the alpaca. He found it slumped weakly on the floor, its coat dull, its eyes half-shut.

"What happened to Sugar?!" he cried out.

Julian came over at the sound. The alpaca lifted its head with visible effort, its eyes pitiful. He turned to me, brow furrowed. "Did you find her in the bedroom last night and hit her out of anger?"

Leo glared at me too, his face full of fury. "Mom, you're mean! You're the one who made Sugar sick!"

I crouched down and looked at my son calmly.

"Leo, Mommy was asleep the whole night. I didn't do anything. Maybe Sugar's just not adjusting well to the new room.

"And doesn't it strike either of you as strange that an alpaca opened two separate doors to get from the study into our bedroom?"

Both their expressions tightened at that.

Right then, the alpaca strained to lift its head and spat weakly onto my knee.

Leo threw his arms around it, crying. "Look, she's like this, and she still spat on you! You must have hurt her yesterday!"

Julian's voice went grim. "Evelyn, since when have you gotten this petty, picking fights with a little pet? If she only spits on you, that means she can sense your hostility toward her. Maybe you should be the one doing some soul-searching."

Whatever warmth I'd had left in my heart went cold for good.

It had been exactly like this in my last life too. Whether it was the alpaca or Nadia herself, whenever there was a conflict, I was always the one in the wrong. Even though she was the one who'd stolen my identity for over twenty years.

While she'd lived in luxury with the Salems, I'd been scavenging trash to pay for school. While the whole family doted on her, my foster parents had nearly sold me off to some mountain village in exchange for money.

She'd even used my womb to bring her child into the world. And still, in their eyes, Nadia remained the victim—even hiding inside an alpaca, even as she tried to steal my life out from under me.

I wiped the spit off my knee and walked away.

Not this life. I wouldn't give anyone another chance.