Chapter 2

Seeing me standing there in a daze, Kael reminded me impatiently.

"I see you have nothing urgent. Let's go dissolve the bond now."

The woman beside him stroked the crown with satisfaction, not forgetting to turn her head and give me a provocative smile.

Her eyes seemed to say she got everything I ever wanted without even trying.

I didn't follow Kael. Instead, my gaze fell on a small bundle in the corner.

"My things?"

Kael looked at me flatly.

"Just these. Everything's packed. Once we complete the ceremony to dissolve our bond, you can go live in that small warehouse on West Street."

"Consider it compensation. At least you won't be homeless. That's the last kindness I'll show you."

That was merely the old warehouse where he used to store worn weapons. Now he spoke of it as some great favor.

Yuna put down the crown.

"Zara, Kael protected you for three years. Even at our parting, he's still concerned about you. You should be grateful."

This was my second meeting with her.

The first was in Kael's military tent, where I heard they discussed military secrets for five hours.

Looking at it now, all the impropriety had been traceable all along.

"Did you win this?"

She covered her mouth and laughed shyly.

"This crown was the top prize at the Spring Hunt Banquet. I really loved it, so Kael won it for me."

I knew all about this.

Half a month before the Spring Hunt Banquet, I had begged Kael no less than three times to compete for the top prize.

But he only frowned and scolded me for wanting too much.

I never imagined he would personally present my cherished object to another.

"It was just a little effort. Your happiness is what matters most."

Kael tenderly placed the crown on Yuna's head. The two of them looked so affectionate that to outsiders, they truly seemed like a married couple.

The dragon pearl in my sleeve burned until my whole body went numb.

I was so close to telling Kael we were having a child.

He would no longer have to rage about his people being oppressed by the bear clan, no longer have to worry about being unable to revitalize the wolf clan.

But the devastating betrayal came one day earlier.

I bit my lip, picked up my luggage, and walked out first.

Following behind me weren't just Kael, but Yuna as well.

In the hall, he placed his hand under mine for the last time, solemnly and ironically declaring.

"I, Kael, willingly dissolve the matrimonial bond with Zara."

Two minutes later, the totems belonging to each other on our chests had completely disappeared, as if they had never existed.

I couldn't snap out of it for a long time.

What churned through my mind was how he looked three years ago when he formed the bond with me.

To marry me, he withstood pressure from the entire wolf clan council of elders.

They said he, the heir to the wolf clan, shouldn't choose an unknown deer clan woman who offered no help to revitalizing the clan.

His father even declared that if Kael insisted, he would strip him of his qualification to inherit the clan leadership.

But Kael came anyway, bringing that bond contract, eyes shining as he asked if I was willing.

At that time, I didn't know how much he had sacrificed for this. I simply believed he truly loved me.

Looking back now, everything he sacrificed became the reason he could casually discard me today.

Because if he could abandon something once, he could abandon it a second time.

Yuna swiftly took Kael's arm and walked toward the bonding platform, tilting her head with an excited smile.

"Kael, let's reserve a bonding appointment. After our wedding ceremony next week, we'll come immediately to form our bond."

Kael agreed without hesitation.

Over the past three years, he never once kept his promise to give me a wedding ceremony.

Whenever I brought it up, he always shut me down with excuses. Busy expanding wolf clan influence. Not enough money. No need for ostentation. And so on.

Now he agreed to hold a wedding for her more readily than giving me a bouquet of flowers on a holiday.

I stared blankly at their intimate backs. My chest throbbed, the pain deepening with each beat.