Seeing that text, I froze for a few seconds before suddenly remembering who owned this number.

My freshly minted, not-yet-public flash mate-to-be, Caspian Shore.

He was one of the most powerful Alphas in the Northern Territories, and Ethan's most hated rival.

Last month, after Ethan once again abandoned me without hesitation for one of Selene's phone calls, Caspian found me on the roadside.

He didn't offer comfort. He just draped his jacket over my shoulders and asked bluntly.

"Aria Greenwood, watching him treat you like this, do you still plan to continue? Want to consider switching to someone else?"

At that moment, alcohol and fury were burning through my rationality.

The deadline for my mother's dying wish was approaching, yet Ethan kept breaking his promises again and again.

I spoke without thinking.

"Switch to someone else? What's the point of just dating! Caspian Shore, why don't you just marry me?"

The moment the words left my mouth, the cold wind sobered me up considerably.

God, what was I saying?

I'd just proposed to Ethan's mortal enemy?

He'd definitely think I was insane, mock my delusions with the most cutting words.

However, Caspian simply raised an eyebrow slightly.

He agreed without any hesitation.

"Alright. It's a deal."

Now, looking at that line about the wedding gown on my screen, I couldn't control the slight upward curve of my lips.

Did I like it? I more than liked it.

The design for this gown was drawn by my mother's own hand, stroke by stroke, when she was pregnant with me.

She'd said it was a gift for her future daughter, hoping she'd wear this gown and walk toward the happiest moment of her life.

Before she fell ill, my mother was one of the country's top wedding dress designers. The words she said to me most often were:

"Aria, the moment a girl puts on her wedding dress is the most beautiful flash of her entire life. I'll make sure you become the happiest bride."

I'd mentioned it to Ethan more than once, begging him to help me find the best craftspeople to turn my mother's design into reality.

I wasn't greedy. I didn't even dare hope I could actually wear it at a wedding ceremony.

I just wanted to wear it to my mother's grave someday, twirl around for her to see.

Then tell her that her daughter wore the gown she designed, that I was happy, so she could rest in peace.

Ethan always readily agreed.

"Sure, sure, baby, I'll find someone after I finish this project."

"Don't worry, I remember. Next time I'm in Italy, I'll ask the master craftsmen."

But one "next time" followed another. The promise always stayed verbal.

Perhaps in his heart, anything related to me, important or not, always sat at the very bottom of his priority list.

The Plan B that could be delayed or canceled at any time for other people.

Yet this dream I'd anticipated for so long, this wish I couldn't fulfill, had suddenly materialized in an almost dreamlike way through the alliance marriage partner I'd chosen in a fit of spite.

A complex mixture of bittersweet emotion and warmth welled up inside me.

I took a deep breath and reached out, wanting to touch that delicate lace and pearls, to feel this intention from my mother.

Just as my fingertips were about to make contact.

Another well-manicured hand with nude-colored nail polish reached in from the side, getting there first, lightly pinching a corner of the gown's sleeve between her fingers.

The owner of that hand spoke with feigned surprise.

"Oh, what a beautiful wedding gown! Aria, is this for your ceremony with Ethan?"

Selene showed no care at all, her sharp nails catching on the lace, her rough movements even tearing off several small diamonds sewn to the cuff.

"What are you doing! Stop!"

My heart clenched instantly, fury rushing to my head. Without thinking, I stepped forward and shoved her away hard.

"This isn't something you can touch! My mother designed this! You're not worthy!"

Selene stumbled from my push, staggering back two steps, her eyes immediately reddening.

She sniffled, her voice trembling as she looked toward Ethan behind me.

"Ethan, I've just never seen such a beautiful wedding gown before. I couldn't help myself. Is Aria misunderstanding something?"

She turned her gaze timidly toward me, then quickly lowered it, as if terrified.

"Aria, did Ethan prepare this gown for you? Are you two getting married? If so, just tell me. I'll definitely prepare a wedding gift early and sincerely bless you both."

Ethan looked somewhat guilty, unusually speaking to her coldly.

"Aria is my future Luna. If I don't marry her, who would I marry?"

Selene choked, jealous hatred flashing in her eyes.

She bit her lip, her voice low.

"But having the wedding gown delivered to the pack office like this seems a bit inappropriate, doesn't it? It looks like she's forcing you to marry her."

A look of "I knew it" flashed across Ethan's face as he looked at me knowingly.

"Aria, I know you love me, but this week really won't work. How about this—I promise you, we'll do the marking ceremony on Monday. Okay?"

Selene leaned against Ethan's side. When she heard "marking ceremony," jealous hatred flashed through her eyes.

I watched the two of them in their seamless performance.

My heart felt like it was being repeatedly torn, aching unbearably. But at the same time, an extremely absurd sense of ridiculousness welled up.

I couldn't be bothered to argue with them anymore. I just silently bent down, wanting to carefully pack up the wedding gown and leave this nauseating place.

Just as I lowered my head to arrange the skirt, Selene suddenly leaned close to me, speaking in a voice only we could hear, smiling triumphantly.

"You think these pathetic relics from your dead mother are enough to compete with me for Ethan? Your mother couldn't keep a man back then, and the daughter she gave birth to is just as useless and worthless! She deserved to die early—"

"SMACK—!"

I used every ounce of strength in my body.

Selene screamed, her head snapping to the side from the slap. But her hands violently shoved me back!

Caught off guard, I stumbled backward hard, my lower back crashing brutally into the cold edge of a desk. Sharp pain shot through me instantly, making my vision go black.

And Ethan didn't even glance at me.

"Selene!"

Ethan gasped, immediately pulling her into his arms.

Seeing the red mark on her cheek, he was both shocked and angry, looking at me with complete disappointment.

"She's your sister. How could you hit her?"

Selene sobbed pitifully, looking utterly wronged.

"I was just trying to help Aria arrange the wedding gown. If she didn't want me to touch it, she could have just said so. Why treat me like this?"

"You're being completely unreasonable."

Ethan gave me one cold look.

He lowered his head and patiently comforted Selene.

"Selene, don't be scared. I'll take you to the healer."

His voice carried unprecedented nervousness and tenderness, completely different from the cold harshness when he'd just reprimanded me.

He held her, turned, and left without looking back.

Leaving only me, clutching my agonizing waist, standing there alone.

Looking at the wedding gown that had been pulled into disarray, and the empty doorway.

I laughed soundlessly, though tears rolled down from the corners of my eyes.

I carefully packed up the wedding gown and sent it to the small villa under my own name.

On the way back, my phone kept buzzing.

The screen filled with one taunting text after another from unknown numbers, every word dripping with Selene's barely concealed smugness and malice.

I scanned them expressionlessly, left them all unread, and blocked the number directly. The world instantly became peaceful.

When I pushed open the front door, I was surprised to find the living room lights on.

Ethan was actually home.

He sat on the couch, seeming somewhat restless, and immediately looked up when he heard the door.

I thought he'd instantly demand answers for me slapping Selene earlier, even prepared myself for another fierce argument.

However, the look he gave me was unusually gentle, even carrying a hint of guilt.

He stood and walked toward me, pulling out a bracelet from his pocket.

"Aria, you're back."

"I was wrong about earlier today. I got too emotional. On my way back, I saw this bracelet and thought it would suit you. Want to try it on?"

He paused, his gaze falling on me, something complex—like reminiscence and longing—flashing in his eyes.

"That wedding gown means something different to you, a keepsake from your mother. I shouldn't have said what I said about it. The design is truly beautiful and unique. You'll definitely look stunning in it."

I stood there, watching coldly, not even accepting the bracelet.

If I remembered correctly, the photo Selene had just sent me included a matching necklace.

A bonus gift, yet he expected me to accept it with joy.

Seeing my silence, he tried to do what he'd done countless times before—caress my cheek and pull me into his embrace.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch my skin.

His phone exploded with sound from his pocket.

Ethan's movement froze.

His impatient expression instantly changed after hearing the call's content.

"What?! I'll be right there!"

Ethan dragged me to an abandoned warehouse in the suburbs.

Pale lights illuminated the chaotic scene outside the warehouse entrance.

Several Alpha Council enforcers were still setting up barrier tape, and Selene sat on a broken crate, wrapped in an oversized jacket, crying inconsolably.

The moment she saw Ethan, her tears flooded out even more dramatically as she threw herself into his arms.

"Ethan, you're finally here. I was so scared, I was really so scared..."

She sobbed breathlessly, yet her gaze kept drifting toward me.

"I don't know why Aria would do this to me. Yes, I'm the daughter of a mistress, but I didn't get to choose my birth. If I could have chosen, I'd rather not have come into this world than carry this original sin."

She cried until she could barely breathe. Ethan's heart ached terribly as he patted her back repeatedly, consoling her constantly.

"It's okay now, it's okay, Selene, don't be afraid, I'm here."

As if encouraged, Selene looked at me even more miserably.

"Just because of this birth I couldn't choose, does Aria have to hate me this much, even hire rogue wolves to ruin me? Just because I accidentally touched your mother's wedding gown today? But I really didn't mean to. I didn't know the gown was so fragile. If I'd known, I absolutely wouldn't have touched it."

At this emotional point, she choked up so much she could barely speak, looking so fragile she might faint at any moment.

Ethan's expression grew darker and darker as she spoke.

He looked at me, his face full of disappointment.

"She's your sister. How could you do this to her?"

I bit my lip hard.

"I didn't do it."

"If not you, then who!"

Ethan didn't believe me at all.

"Selene has always been kind to everyone. Besides her friction with you, who else would do something this vicious to her? Over a wedding gown, you can't tolerate her existence? Aria Greenwood, you've disappointed me so much!"

My gaze swept over one of the rogue wolves being held by enforcers nearby, cursing and swearing.

The rogue wolf's eyes flickered, glancing imperceptibly toward Selene.

I understood immediately.

This was all her staged performance.

I gritted my teeth, trying to defend myself.

"It wasn't me. You can check the security footage, I—"

"Enough!"

He wouldn't listen to any explanation, just convicted me on the spot!

"After all this, you're still making excuses. You're hopeless!"

Selene trembled in his arms, speaking at just the right moment.

"Ethan, don't blame her. She just hates me too much. It's all my fault."

Ethan suddenly grabbed my arm, ignoring my struggles, and shoved me into an adjacent empty, abandoned storage room covered in wolfsbane rust.

"You stay here and clear your head! When you recognize your mistakes and truly reflect on them, I'll let you out!"