章節 3: Chapter 3
That night, Damien didn't come back. I didn't bother using our mind-link to ask where he was.
I already knew. I'd seen Selene's posts on her vision feed.
They had gone to the Silvermoon Pack to tell her family about the ceremony's "progress."
In the clip, Selene's mother was affectionately holding Damien's hand, talking animatedly. Damien's other hand rested on Selene's abdomen, channeling a gentle energy into her. The smile on his face was one of achingly tender affection.
In the five years we'd been together, Damien had visited my family exactly once—right after we got engaged.
Even though our homes were less than a half-hour drive apart, he never made an effort to visit my parents.
He claimed he didn't like being around elders, that it made him uncomfortable.
During that single visit, he was merely polite, a universe away from the warmth he was showing Selene's family.
I closed my eyes, forcing down the lump of bitterness in my throat, and shut off the crystal.
The next day, I met up with a few friends to tell them the ceremony was canceled.
Damien had always said he hated ceremonies, calling them meaningless formalities.
It was only because I insisted that he reluctantly agreed to a small bonding ceremony with just our closest family and friends.
Everyone knew how much Damien meant to me, so the news of the cancellation stunned them.
"You've waited for Damien for years. Why are you suddenly letting him go?"
An indescribable sorrow welled up inside me.
How could anyone sever a twenty-year connection so easily?
But the relationship had been one-sided from the start.
From the very beginning, I was the one chasing him. And not once did he ever stop and wait for me.
I didn't mind before.
I told myself that if I could just get him to bond with me, I could win his heart completely in time.
I was willing to wait for the day he would finally open his heart to me.
But ever since Selene, his so-called "savior," reappeared six months ago, everything had changed.
I finally saw that Damien wasn't cold to everyone.
With Selene, his expression was always gentle, his smile easy and frequent.
With me, he was always a closed book. I was just a supporting character in his life.
What was worse, he pretended to seek my consent, all while he had already gone behind my back and bound himself to Selene through a blood oath.
I finally understood there was no future for us.
I didn't tell my friends the truth. I just said I was leaving to work at the academy and would be out of touch for a while.
To make it up to them, I stayed out late with them before heading home.
When I got home, Damien had just arrived as well.
He caught the scent of alcohol on me, and his nose wrinkled in distaste. He took a few steps back, clapping a hand over his nose and mouth, his tone sharp with impatience.
"Stay away from me. Don't get that smell on me."
A bitter, self-mocking laugh escaped me. He was probably worried the smell would contaminate the "pure energy" Selene needed.
After all, she was a "patient."
I didn't say a word and went straight to the purification room to cleanse myself.
When I came out, Damien was on the sofa, a mind-link conversation clearly underway, his eyes crinkling with a smile.
I glanced at him and started toward the bedroom, but he suddenly called my name.
"There's something I need to discuss with you."
I froze.
The last time he'd said that, a month ago, was when he "discussed" holding the blood oath ceremony with Selene.
The ceremony was already in progress. What was left to discuss?
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