It was Judy.

She was behind all this!

To protect Gloria and the babies, the Dixon brothers had arranged a secluded villa for us, hidden deep in the hills.

A while ago, it was Arthur's birthday. Gloria and I went to his party together.

On the way back, we ran into Judy. She put on her usual gentle, considerate act. Since she was Lesley's close friend, we didn't think much of it.

She said antlers from the Mistbound Pack were good for women after childbirth, and she wanted to deliver some to us. Gloria believed her and even drew her a map to our place.

Gloria told Judy that she could bring them to the villa later. We thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to, someone to pass the time with.

But we never could've imagined what Judy was really planning.

We waited an entire month.

What came wasn't a visit. It was people crashing through the gates, fists flying, and two bowls of labor-inducing medicine shoved down our throats.

My baby was almost full term. Even if he came early, there was a chance he could live.

I heard him cry. I know I did.

I begged them to hand him to me. I could still save him. I had to. His cardiogen was the medicine Arthur needed to stay alive.

Lesley had once saved Gloria and me. I owed him my life.

He had pinned all his hopes on this child. I couldn't let him down. Even if I died, I had to protect my baby.

But all my pleading got me was more bitter liquid forced between my lips and more blows crashing into my body.

I watched helplessly as my son slowly stopped moving, his eyes closing for good under their fists.

I was terrified out of my mind.

By the time Regina finally came back from searching everywhere for Lesley, I thought help had arrived.

Instead, Lesley was busy moving plants for Judy.

He decided I was lying, that I was just fighting for attention.

My baby had died.

And Gloria, trying to shield me, was forced to drink the brew, too.

She was only five months along. Just days before, she had told me with a smile that she could finally feel the baby move. Her baby had been saying hello.

In the blink of an eye, it was all gone.

Gloria knew how to fight, but there were too many of them. She was protecting me, and that was how she was dragged down, too.

Even now, after miscarrying, she was so weak that she could barely stand. Yet, she still had someone make a bowl of warm chicken broth and brought it to my room herself.

We sat side by side on the bed.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "If I hadn't believed Lesley's pretty words, if I had paid more attention, I would've seen that he and Judy were never just friends. I wouldn't have let her into our lives. You wouldn't have lost your baby. I wouldn't have married Lesley. And you never would've met Eddie."

Gloria grabbed my hand. Her tears fell on my skin.

"It's not your fault. I was blind, too. I only realized today that Judy was involved with Eddie as well. Don't worry, Margot. This time, I'm leaving with you. I'm severing my bond, too."

We were still talking about how to get away from those two brothers when the villa gates were thrown open again.

It wasn't some lucky day, and it sure as hell wasn't the Dixon brothers' conscience waking up.

They were here for Judy and for their fragile pride.

Sure enough, before they even stepped inside, shouting echoed through the courtyard.

"Gloria, how dare you bring up severing the bond with me! Can you stop comparing yourself to that so-called sister of yours?” Eddie sneered.

"She's the daughter of the chief healer, the pride of the Binders. Everyone envies her. And you? You were picked up off the street! You were raised just to take care of her. Did you really think you were some kind of noble lady, too?

"And now, you want to leave me? Who do you think would marry you after that? What man doesn't keep other women around? I let you be my legal mate only because your child could be used as medicine. You should've been grateful for that!"

"I helped Judy move a few plants, and you start throwing a fit about severing our bond? How dare you! Who the hell do you think you are?" Eddie continued. "If you really want out, fine! I'll send you the severance papers soon enough. But once I do, the baby belongs to the Dixons."

Gloria struggled to her feet, ready to chase after him and slap him across the face.

But that heartless man didn't want to waste even one more second here.

By the time Gloria staggered outside, all she saw was his back. She yanked off her shoe and hurled it at him.

"Eddie! I told you the baby is gone! You're the reason he's dead! You won't save your father, and you'll regret this!"

The night air was cold, and she had just miscarried. I hurriedly told the staff to help her back inside.

Gloria and I had grown up like real sisters. My father had treated her as his own daughter. Everyone in the Binders' respected her as the second young lady of the house.

Yet in Eddie's mouth, she became some girl my scheming family took in to serve me. It was disgusting for a man to use such petty, low tricks to drive a wedge between us.

That was the moment both Gloria and I finally gave up. Our hearts went completely cold.

We should have realized long ago that this was all a setup.

Last year, Gloria and I went into the mountains to gather herbs and ran into a werewolf in heat. He tried to drag us into a cave.

We would've been ruined if Lesley hadn't happened to pass by and save us. He said he was on his way to ask our father for medicine to save someone.

But Gloria and I had been deep in the back mountains. Why would someone in such a hurry take such a long detour?

Now that I thought about it, it was probably a staged rescue from the start.

He played the role of a steady, sincere man so well that I believed him. I begged my father to leave his seclusion and save that werewolf.

I had grown up around medicinal herbs, and my blood had special properties.

But I was human, and the one he needed to save was a werewolf.

Only a child born from a human and a werewolf, carrying my bloodline, could provide the cardiogen he needed.

I begged my father again, this time to let me marry Lesley. And because of that, Gloria met Eddie and was fooled by his sweet talk, too.

Thinking back, after the weddings, both men were always busy. Even when they came home, everything felt like a routine.

Once we were pregnant, they moved out altogether.

Because I liked it quiet, Lesley sent me straight to the secluded villa.

To outsiders, he claimed it was all my idea, making himself look like a devoted husband. But all I had asked for was to dismiss a few servants.

Now, it was obvious. They had wanted to move Gloria and me out from the beginning, to make room for Judy.

On Arthur's birthday, we had agreed that Gloria and I wouldn't make the trip because we were pregnant.

But they insisted, claiming it was about respecting elders.

I was heavily pregnant then, my belly heavy and swollen.

Lesley said the mountain road was too rough for a carriage and unsafe, so he made me walk the entire route.

I walked for a full day and night. I nearly collapsed on the way back and had to rest for two weeks afterward.

As soon as we returned, they dragged Gloria and me to see Judy, without the slightest concern for our condition or the babies.

Now, I understood. They just wanted to provoke her.

They wanted her to see that they had mates, and now children, too. That way, she would feel threatened and cling closer to them.

And it worked.

Judy showed up soon after. And our children paid the price.

She removed every obstacle between herself and them.

That night, the villa was unusually lively.

Judy even came by in the evening. She didn't look sick at all. If anything, there was a hint of smugness in her eyes.

Yet she spoke gently, as if she were innocent.

"I only see them as my brothers. You two don't need to be this angry."

After saying that, Judy cast a casual glance at our stomachs.

"No matter how upset you are, you shouldn't take it out on the babies," she said lightly. "If Lesley and Eddie found out, they'd lose their tempers. After all, the babies' cardiogen is priceless medicine."

I stared at Judy. Something about her words felt wrong.

Sure enough, she frowned and sighed like she couldn't help herself.

"But it's a good thing the sick one isn't Arthur. The brothers used such a clumsy lie to keep you two in the dark. You're both smart. You probably would've figured it out soon, anyway. I mean, at the birthday party, Arthur drank gallon after gallon of whiskey and looked perfectly fine."

She suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide.

"Oh, no! They told me not to say anything. How did I let that slip?"

Gloria and I looked at each other.

Only then did it hit us.

Arthur had never looked sick at all.

When we went down the mountain during my pregnancy, I had seen him myself, full of energy. But I had been exhausted from the long walk, barely able to stay upright, let alone pay attention.

Now, that memory came rushing back, and a chill crept up my spine.

If the babies' cardiogen wasn't needed for Arthur, then who was it for?

In this world, there was only one person Lesley and Eddie cared about that much.

The woman standing right in front of us. Judy.

Lesley said Judy was so ill that she could barely breathe, and she needed plants nearby to help her rest.

Then why hadn't he noticed that his fragile patient was standing here in our villa, stirring up trouble?

They watched Judy so closely that there was no chance they missed it.

The second she went out, someone would have followed her to protect her.

Yet, they still allowed her to show up here. How was that anything but enabling her?

They might've even enjoyed it, believing Judy was getting jealous and fighting over them.

Seeing how pale Gloria and I had gone, Judy finally smiled, satisfied.

"Oh, right," she added casually. "Lesley and Eddie are about to take me back to the Mistbound Pack's territory. It's market week over there. They're going shopping with me. I figured you probably don't want to see them right now, anyway. This is a good chance for you to rest and recover."

She sounded considerate, but her eyes kept drifting to our bellies.

She was showing off!

When she left, Gloria and I forced ourselves up with the servants' help and followed.

I wanted to push them to sever our bonds as soon as possible. Neither of us wanted to be tools they used to make Judy jealous ever again.

But all we saw was Lesley and Eddie walking on either side of her, guarding her closely.

Lesley spoke gently. "Why did you come out so late? Do you know how worried Eddie and I were?"

"Yeah," Eddie chimed in right away. "This place is so remote. What if something happened? You've only just started feeling better. Don't wander around."

That tenderness, the way they treated her like something precious, was something Gloria and I had never once received.

Judy laughed softly. "Stop it. I heard that Margot and Gloria were upset because of me, so I came to smooth things over."

Lesley lifted a hand and stroked her hair, his voice full of affection. "They're always like that. Don't mind them. You shouldn't come here and suffer like this."

Eddie nodded. "Exactly. I'll divorce Gloria soon, anyway. She's just some stray girl. She really thinks she can climb all over me?"

Lesley echoed him, making his stance clear. "They're both difficult. It's obvious they're not fit to stay with the Dixons."

"Lesley!" I screamed, my voice breaking. "You're going to regret this!"

"You heartless ingrate!" Gloria shouted, too, shaking with rage. "I carried your child! Is this how you see me?"