Chapter 2

Elias opened his eyes with difficulty. A flash of disgust crossed his pupils as he said hoarsely, "Get away from me."

When he saw clearly who the woman before him was, he suddenly froze.

"Vivian, why is it you?"

He looked around and spotted me coming over to check on the situation.

In my past life, I was the first to throw myself at him, having sex with Elias without hesitation to counteract the drug.

But the first thing he did after coming to his senses was push me away, his eyes filled with revulsion.

He showered for two hours straight, as if he'd just touched something filthy.

But now...

"Elias, I'm so glad you're okay. I..."

Vivian's body was covered in intimate marks, her expression a mix of concern and coy embarrassment.

She hesitated, deliberately covering her lips with her hand.

Elias understood. He said nothing.

He left with Vivian in his arms, not sparing me another glance.

I knew Elias had been secretly drugged with an aphrodisiac, which caused him to lose control.

In my previous life, he quickly found the culprit, so there was no need for me to remind him unnecessarily.

The night wind was biting cold. I developed a fever that same evening.

"Knock, knock."

My mind was fuzzy when I opened the door to see Elias. I instantly snapped awake.

"...Why are you here?"

Elias leaned lazily against the doorframe, giving me a casual glance.

"Clara, what game are you playing now?"

I looked at him in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Elias let out a cold snort. "In front of all those people, you deliberately called Vivian to have sex with me. Doesn't her reputation matter? How can you be so selfish?"

I felt a tightness in my chest. I wanted to ask him what exactly he expected me to do.

If I saved him, that was wrong. If I called for his beloved, that was also wrong.

I should have just left him there to fend for himself.

"Think whatever you want." I sniffled, speaking slowly. "If there's nothing else, I'd like to rest now. I'm not feeling well."

Elias probably thought I was putting on an act to gain his sympathy. He smiled with a curl of his lip.

"Playing hard to get? Clara, you're getting more and more tricks up your sleeve."

"If you're not feeling well, take medicine. I'm not a doctor."

Watching his retreating figure, I let out a long sigh.

Everyone in the Dubois pack knew I liked Elias—liked him in a way that was both humble and stubborn.

He said long hair was gentle, so from childhood to now, I'd always kept my hair long, never changing my hairstyle.

He also said light-colored clothes looked nice, so dark colors disappeared from my wardrobe entirely.

He liked quiet, elegant girls, so I turned down party after party to practice piano and violin at home.

It took the painful lesson of my previous life to understand.

Vivian met all the conditions he mentioned, simply because she was the one he loved.

And no matter how hard I tried or what I became standing before him, I didn't deserve even a passing glance from him.

Soon, news spread that Vivian had sex with Elias to counteract the drug.

When something happened to him, the entire territory was in turmoil.

Several people in security uniforms found me.

"Miss Clara, please cooperate with the investigation."

They said that because I was the first to discover Elias had been drugged, I was the prime suspect.

I didn't understand. "But I saved him."

The security guard looked apologetic. "Elias says we can't rule out the possibility that you orchestrated this whole thing to claim credit for saving him."

I froze.

Claiming credit? So that's what Elias thought of me.

They forcibly took me to a storage room in the territory and locked me in, even though I warned them this was illegal.

The only response I got was: "Elias will take full responsibility."

"He said not to let you out until the truth is uncovered."