Chapter 2

The next day, I woke up in the hospital, and the first thing I did was call Luna Raven.

I knew she'd never liked me.

My voice was terrifyingly calm. "I agree to divorce Kael."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, then Luna Raven responded decisively:

"Good that you've come to your senses. I'll have someone send over the papers. Just sign them."

Not long after I hung up, a lawyer appeared in my hospital room, mechanically handing me a divorce agreement.

Tears blurred my vision as memories of Kael flooded back uncontrollably.

In our three years of marriage, he'd been considerate and gentle, taking care of everything.

But when it came to anything involving Talia, he never had any boundaries.

The first time we met, Talia locked me in a house engulfed in flames. Later, with burns covering my entire body, it took multiple healers to restore my skin.

Crying, I begged Kael to hold her accountable, but he just held me and said, "Alicia, Talia was just careless. She's not a bad person. I'm just glad you're okay."

From then on, time and again, countless acts of harm were all brushed aside by him.

The lawyer took the signed documents with relief. "Alicia, once the divorce is finalized, I'll deliver it personally."

After he left, I was alone in the hospital room.

Before long, the door was pushed open again.

Talia walked in holding a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, smiling brightly.

I trembled all over, instinctively shrinking back. "What are you doing here?"

She casually tossed the flowers on the floor, her smile radiant yet venomous:

"To send you off personally, of course!"

"The explosion didn't kill you, so I'll have to do it myself."

Then she lunged onto the bed and grabbed my throat in a death grip.

I struggled desperately.

But having just survived severe burns, I was no match for Talia, who trained regularly.

The air in my lungs rapidly depleted, and darkness closed in on my vision.

Just as my consciousness was about to fade, the doctor making rounds burst in, screaming:

"What are you doing! Stop!"

In the chaos, I used my last bit of strength to grab the doctor's hand. "Call... call the Wolf Council..."

Then I blacked out completely.

When I woke up again, Kael's dark face filled my vision.

He was suppressing his anger. "Alicia, why did you report this to the Wolf Council? Talia's been taken away by them!"

My heart felt like a sharp blade had been driven through it, the pain suffocating. "She just tried to strangle me to death!"

Kael frowned.

"I've told you before—Talia's parents sacrificed themselves for my mother. She's wounded inside but not fundamentally bad. She would never actually want you dead..."

"Not actually want me dead?!"

I cut him off sharply, three years of fear, grievance, and rage exploding all at once:

"She locked me in a fire! She conspired with Rogues to ambush me! She created an explosion that did this to me, and just now she tried to strangle me!"

"Which time wasn't an attempt on my life? If that doctor hadn't come in, I'd be dead! Don't you understand?!"

Kael sighed and reached out to hold me.

I slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me! This time I won't back down. I will make sure she faces legal consequences!"

Kael was silent for a moment, then his eyes grew resolute:

"Talia and I grew up together. She's just been spoiled and become willful. I'll strictly discipline, criticize, and punish her."

"But I will never let her be imprisoned by the Wolf Council and have her life ruined!"

Before I could react, his assistant stepped forward and placed a document in front of me.

"Sign this, we'll let bygones be bygones, and things can go back to how they were."

I stared at the glaring words "Settlement Agreement" and felt utterly absurd. "I won't sign it!"

"Talia lost her parents young and has never faced hardship like this. She can't handle a place like prison."

"Alicia, be good."

"I said I won't sign!" I practically shouted.

The next second, the assistant roughly grabbed my arm and twisted it hard!

"Ah!"

Searing pain shot through my entire body.

He forced my hand to sign the settlement, then pressed my finger into ink and stamped it down quickly!

Kael stood nearby, watching quietly.

Drenched in sweat, I looked up at this man I'd loved for years, my voice weak:

"Kael... you're doing this to me for her?"

He turned to his assistant and instructed:

"Call the doctor. Use the best medicine. Get her hand treated and take good care of her."