(Marisel’s POV)

Trevian’s cold eyes immediately turned toward the sound.

The moment he saw me, his hand quickly left Frista’s waist. Almost like a guilty man, he rubbed between his brows before walking toward me.

“Why did you suddenly return here? This district is dangerous and filled with rogue wolves. Why did you come alone without guards?”

The concern in his voice sounded the same as before.

But after seeing him hold Frista so closely, every bit of care from him only made me sick. The hand that once always reached for me now stopped awkwardly in the air.

“I simply wanted to come back. What about you?”

My calm question instantly stopped the lecture he had been about to give me.

He parted his lips, but before he could speak, Frista interrupted sweetly.

“I only recently returned to the kingdom. I asked Alpha Trevian to accompany me around the territory. You are not jealous over something this small, are you?”

Seven winters had passed.

I had become the Luna of the mighty Silverthorne Pack. Yet the way Frista looked at me remained exactly the same. Full of contempt and arrogance.

Because of her powerful family, she always believed she had the right to take what belonged to others.

“Marisel, why are you silent?”

Pouting, she tugged lightly on Trevian’s sleeve.

“Please explain it to her for me. I was young and foolish before, and I already apologized. Tell Marisel not to stay angry with me anymore…”

Her fake and delicate voice made my hands shake violently.

Finally, I could not hold back anymore.

“Are you done speaking?”

Seeing that she finally got a reaction from me, Frista instantly burst into tears and buried herself against Trevian’s chest.

“I already admitted I was immature back then. Besides, many things were done by my friends, not me alone. Why do you still hate me so much?”

Pain filled Trevian’s eyes as he gently wiped away her tears.

“Marisel, enough. Don’t go too far.”

The anger burning inside me was instantly crushed by his sharp words.

Even though I had already decided to leave him, why did my heart still hurt this much?

Why… when he knew better than anyone how deeply I hated her, would he still ask me to forgive her and pretend the past never happened?

Back during our final winter at the Royal Moon Academy, Frista targeted me simply because the boy she liked spoke a few extra words to me.

Every morning, disgusting things covered my desk.

Dead rats. Bloody pads. Even used condoms. The assignments I handed in would mysteriously disappear.

Rumors spread throughout the academy that I sold my body outside the school grounds. Male students from other classes approached me shamelessly, asking how much one night with me cost.

After classes ended, Frista’s followers would drag me into the girls’ washroom by my hair. They took humiliating crystal photos of me. They burned off my eyebrows with fire magic. They pressed lit cigarettes against my skin as though I were an ashtray.

The smell of burning flesh mixed together with their cruel laughter. Scars were left across my back forever.

When Trevian first saw those scars, the man who never cried even after having both legs broken trembled while kissing every wound.

His hot tears fell against my back and burned straight into my heart. He whispered softly, “Marisel… give me a little more time. I will make every person who hurt you pay the price.”

And he truly fulfilled that promise.

The powerful and feared Trevian took revenge for me against everyone involved.

Everyone, except one person.

The only one who escaped punishment was Frista, who conveniently left the kingdom to study overseas.

And at the final step, Trevian lost himself because he fell in love with the very woman who once destroyed me.

My silence lasted too long, and he mistook it for dissatisfaction.

His eyes stayed on me for several seconds. The harsh words he wanted to say softened in the end into only one sentence.

“Get into the carriage.”

Frista wiped away her fake tears and smiled sweetly. “I knew Marisel was kind. She will definitely forgive me.”

She reached her hand toward me. Her nails were painted the same blood red color I remembered too clearly.

Instinctively, I stepped backward.

But like the poisonous snake she had always been, her fingers suddenly dug hard into the flesh at my waist.

I gasped and immediately shoved her away.

Taking the opportunity, Frista deliberately stumbled backward.

And in Trevian’s eyes, the scene became something completely different.

Not her cruelty, but my petty revenge.

(Marisel’s POV)

Trevian immediately pulled Frista into his arms, his voice filled with worry.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

His eyes anxiously checked her body before he carefully wiped away the dirt staining her calf.

Frista bit her lip and softly insisted she was fine, yet her timid eyes kept glancing toward me.

Only after confirming several times that she was unharmed did Trevian finally turn toward me, his brows tightly furrowed.

“Marisel, you have gone too far. Frista already apologized. Why can you not let go of the past? Besides, those things back then were done by others. Frista was only watching at most.”

Hearing his unfair words, my fists tightened hard. My nails dug deeply into my palms, and only the pain stopped me from collapsing completely.

“A watcher?”

I laughed coldly.

Of course, Frista never dirtied her own hands.

As the precious daughter of a noble pack, she only needed one look, and countless students would rush to obey her commands.

Trevian knew every truth. He knew every single detail. Yet because of a few tears from her eyes, he erased all my suffering as though it meant nothing.

“Enough, don’t fight anymore. Everything already happened long ago.”

Standing behind him, Frista acted like a peacemaker. Her lips spoke gentle words, but mockery filled her eyes.

I swallowed my anger and knelt down to gather the scattered belongings from the ground.

Frista pretended to help me. Then she deliberately stepped onto the small model airship.

Crack.

The fragile toy shattered instantly.

Looking at the broken pieces, I finally lost control. My hand lifted, ready to slap her.

But Trevian moved faster.

His foot slammed hard against my leg, sending me crashing into the pile of keepsakes I had just collected.

Sharp plastic pierced my back, and burning pain spread through my body.

“Enough!” he shouted angrily. “Why do you keep targeting Frista? What is the point?”

He did not notice the blood soaking through my clothes. He also did not notice my pale lips or my trembling body.

“Those were my brother’s belongings!” My voice broke painfully. “And she destroyed them like that!”

For a brief moment, Trevian froze. But very quickly, his expression turned cold again.

“It is only a model. I will buy him a better and more expensive one.”

I stared at the man I had known for seven winters and suddenly felt like I was looking at a stranger.

He had forgotten.

Forgotten that he was the one who gifted that model airship to my brother during his birthday celebration. Forgotten that Marcellus once dreamed of becoming a proud sky rider who flew across the kingdoms.

But my brother was already gone.

No matter how expensive the new model was, it could never reach his hands again.

The desire to argue slowly disappeared from my body. Silently, I turned around to leave. But Trevian had already entered the driver’s seat of the carriage.

When he saw me walking away, he quickly drove in front of me and blocked my path.

“I already told you to stop being stubborn. Look at your face. You are so pale. You skipped breakfast again, did you not? Come. Let’s eat lunch together.”

I pressed my lips together tightly.

The severing certificate was already being processed, so I no longer had the energy to fight him.

Numbly, I entered the backseat. The seat beside the driver had long become Frista’s place. Even the scent inside the carriage had changed into the sweet perfume she liked so much.

The entire ride was filled only with their voices. Frista’s silver laughter pierced my ears like needles.

Ever since Frista returned to the kingdom, I had not experienced a single peaceful night.

To steal my place, she attacked me endlessly. She bribed servants to place allergens into my meals.

She sent dead rats covered in blood to our estate, trying to frighten me into divorcing Trevian immediately.

She even drugged me unconscious, staged shameful photos, and spread them throughout Moonbook.

She kidnapped my brother and forced me to sign a severing agreement.

Every time, Trevian swore he would punish her.

Every time, he promised me it would never happen again.

Yet in the end, he still climbed into bed with the woman I hated most.

Leaning back against the seat, I closed my eyes. The wound on my back hurt so badly that I could barely think clearly.

Suddenly, the sharp scream of brakes tore through the air.

My eyes snapped open.

A massive transport carriage was rushing straight toward us from the side.

(Marisel’s POV)

Trevian sharply turned the steering wheel, but the collision could not be avoided.

The violent impact made the entire carriage shake brutally, and the protection spells burst open instantly.

My head slammed hard against the seat, and dizziness flooded my mind.

Instinctively, I wanted to check if Trevian was safe. But he did not spare me even a single glance. All of his attention was focused on Frista. He even wrapped his body around hers, protecting her tightly in his arms.

“Frista, answer me. Are you alright?”

His voice trembled with panic I had never heard before. Blood ran down from his forehead, yet he did not even bother wiping it away.

In his embrace, Frista whimpered weakly, trembling like an injured bird.

“Trevian, my hand hurts… my head hurts too…”

In the front seats, they looked like the tragic lovers from an old tale. And I, the one injured the most, was forgotten in the back.

Without the protection of the spell barrier, the force of the crash threw me violently against the carriage door before slamming me back again.

My head crashed into the glass window, shattering it into countless sparkling pieces.

The wound on my back tore open further, and warm blood quickly soaked through my clothes.

Only then did Trevian finally glance toward the backseat. Hesitation flickered briefly in his eyes.

But in the next moment, he turned back toward Frista again.

In the distance, emergency sirens echoed closer and closer. Nearby wolves rushed forward, pulling at the damaged carriage doors and shouting for help.

“Save Frista first!”

Trevian’s urgent voice cut through the chaos as though he had completely forgotten that I was still trapped inside, bleeding heavily and barely conscious.

My vision slowly blurred as crimson filled every corner of my sight.

I struggled to cry for help. I wanted him to remember me.

Just once.

I wanted the man I once saved winters ago to save me in return.

But Trevian carefully carried Frista out of the carriage, softly comforting her the entire time.

He never looked back. Not once. Not even for a single moment of hesitation.

The numbness from blood loss slowly spread through my body.

As darkness swallowed me whole, one final bitter thought rose inside my mind.

When he proposed to me beneath the Moon Goddess, he promised he would never allow me to be hurt again.

Yet he could not keep that promise for even one winter.

***

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying in a healer’s ward.

“You are finally awake!”

The healer sounded excited and relieved.

“If you had not woken up soon, Alpha Silverthorne was prepared to purchase this entire healing hall for you!”

Her eyes were filled with envy.

“You are so fortunate to have a mate who loves you this much. He even ordered people to redecorate your room so you would feel more comfortable. Every day, he brings fresh flowers too. Never the same kind twice.”

I slowly turned my head. On the bedside table sat a vase filled with blooming crabapple flowers. The very flower I hated the most.

“Really?”

A cold smile curved across my lips.

“He loves me that much?”

Without noticing anything strange, the healer excitedly took out her crystal communicator crystal and showed me a video that had already spread throughout Moonbook.

“Of course. Look at this. It proves how deeply he cares for you. He even risked his own life to pull you out from the wreckage.”

The shaky recording, taken by a bystander during the accident, showed Trevian carefully carrying someone out from the passenger seat.

He held her gently and protectively in his arms. Although her face was hidden, her slender figure was unmistakable.

The comments beneath the video overflowed with admiration. Everyone praised Trevian as a devoted mate.

“A loyal mate.”

“A man who treasured his Luna more than his own life.”

Yet the woman he rescued so carefully… was not me.

While the entire kingdom envied the love I supposedly possessed, I had been abandoned inside that carriage, left bleeding and dying alone.

A bitter laugh escaped from my throat.

“Yes… he truly loves me.”

The healer’s smile stiffened awkwardly.

She quickly excused herself before hurrying out of the room.

A few moments later, Trevian entered carrying another fresh bouquet of flowers.