I spent three years with Angus, giving myself to him every night.

It wasn’t until I got pregnant that he finally agreed to marry me, promising a lifetime of love and devotion.

Before I could even say yes, everything sadly changed. The very next day, he dragged me to the hospital and heartlessly demanded that I get an abortion.

"Get rid of it," he ordered. "I will never have a child with anyone other than Hallie."

I swallowed the pain, begging him to spare our baby. Later, I found out why—his first love had come back.

That’s when he started calling me disgusting, a clingy burden he couldn’t shake off.

However, he forgot one thing… I was never with him for love.

Among the race of spirit fairies, we believe in repaying debts. If we fulfill a benefactor’s one hundred wishes, our debt would be cleared.

In the past three years, I had already granted ninety-seven of Angus' wishes. Only three more remained…

Once I fulfilled them all, I could finally go home.

——

"Even if you give birth to that child, I won’t acknowledge it. It’ll just be an unwanted bastard." Said the same man who, just yesterday, had promised me the grandest wedding.

In the obstetrics ward, all pretense shattered as he glared at me, his voice laced with venom. "You will get rid of this baby, right?"

I stared at him, stunned by how desperate he was to erase our child and run back to the woman he truly loved.

My mind drifted back to the moment I first told him I was pregnant—how Angus had been overwhelmed with joy, tears in his eyes.

Swallowing the ache in my chest, I forced myself to stay calm.

"Does this count as your ninety-seventh wish?"

So many of his wishes had been the same—he just wanted me to say I loved him.

I had once told Angus that after fulfilling a hundred of his wishes, I would leave. But because I wanted to stay by his side, I had held back from granting the last few.

Now, he only saw my words as a cruel reminder of his betrayal.

"You don’t need to bring up the past," he snapped. "You were never anything more than Hallie’s replacement."

I met his gaze with equal steadiness. "So, does this count as wish number ninety-seven?"

"Yes!" he growled, exasperated. "I’m begging you—just get rid of it!"

The way he rushed me, as if I were some pathetic, clinging mistress, made my chest tighten. Yet, I pushed the pain down, turned to the doctor and said calmly, "Alright."

Angus froze, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected me, the woman who once gave him everything, to agree so easily.

Lying on the cold operating table, I felt the sting of the injection as the doctor administered the abortion medication. The pain of my womb contracting curled me into a ball, but the pain of betrayal cut even deeper.

Just yesterday, everyone believed Angus was hopelessly in love with me. Now, he stood outside the procedure room, waiting—as if he couldn’t feel at ease until he was certain our child was gone.

As I lay there, losing the baby, he was right outside, speaking to his friend Milo.

"Make sure Hallie never finds out about this," he said.

"She’d be furious. Besides, Hallie is the only woman I ever want to spend my life with."

At six months pregnant, I could still feel the baby inside me, its life slipping away bit by bit. Maybe this child was never meant to exist.

Angus, if you loved that woman so much, why did you even marry me?

Milo’s voice was sharp with accusation. "And what about Alrose? You’re really going to make her abort a baby she’s carried for six months just because Hallie came back?"

He continued, "You’re did this because you know Alrose loves you. You think you can do whatever you want to her, don't you?"

Everyone knew Milo had feelings for me. He had always wanted to take me away from Angus.

Angus let out a cold laugh. "The only reason I kept her around was because she looked like Hallie. Alrose had stole years of happiness from Hallie. This is what she owes her."

"If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll disappear—and never come back."

Knowing that I was just someone else's replacement ripped my heart apart.

So what he said and did was all a lie. I was never special—just a stand-in for the woman Angus truly loved.

Every bit of love I thought we had was nothing more than my own foolish delusion. In that moment, my world collapsed. Angus didn’t even try to spare me. He wanted me to get the message and leave as soon as possible.

Even as I lay in that cold, sterile room, losing our child, he stood outside, saying things that cut through me like a hot knife through butter.

Outside, I could hear his mocking tone as he talked to Milo. "You like her, right? Take her. Want to bet if she'd ever wanted to go with you?"

There was a time when, if Milo so much as looked at me, Angus would pull me into his arms, holding me close in silent warning. Now, I was nothing more than something to be handed off.

I stared at the tiny, lifeless baby that had just been taken from me. Swallowing the pain clawing at my chest, I reminded myself—just three more wishes.

Then I could finally go home.

Among the spirit faries, all debts must always be repaid. Angus had saved my life once and I owed him a hundred acts of gratitude before I could return home.

Three years. Over a thousand days and nights by his side.

Through all those years of his love, I had countless chances to remind him to make a wish.

But I never did. Because I wanted to stay.

After the abortion procedure, Milo placed a cup of warm water in front of me.

"Thanks," I said softly, but my eyes were already on Angus.

Angus just smirked, turning to Milo. "Even after I made her lose a child, she still won’t leave with you."

I simply said, "Once I completed your last three wishes, I’ll be gone for good."

Angus waved me off as he strode away. "I’m done playing your little ‘hundred wishes’ game. You don’t need to put on this act to hold on to me," he added without looking back. "No matter what you do, you’ll never compare to even a single strand of Hallie’s hair."

I didn’t touch the warm water Milo had brought me. I didn’t want to owe anyone anything anymore.

Instead, I went back to the Davidsons’ home.

The place was buzzing with music and laughter—Angus had thrown a grand party, filling our home with guests. The moment I stepped inside, every gaze turned to me, expectant, as if waiting for a show.

And then I saw her. My eyes scanned through the crowd, finding her instantly.

In that moment, I finally understood why Angus had wanted me to say I loved him. Because all along, he had never really been looking at me. He had only ever been seeing that woman in my face.

Angus looked completely caught off guard when he saw me. "What are you doing here? Can’t you stop clinging to me like some desperate leech?"

He must have forgotten—he was the one who begged me to come.

Just a week ago, he insisted on throwing me a birthday party. I told him I didn’t like big gatherings.

Yet, that man wouldn’t take no for an answer. "Then I’ll make a wish," he said. "I wish for my Rose to attend the birthday party I planned for her. Will you grant me that?"

Look at him now, the party had become a grand welcome for Hallie. Here, I was nothing more than an unwelcomed guest.

I swallowed the humiliation and bitterness. "I’ve come, just like you wished. This is the fulfillment of your ninety-sixth wish."

Angus, desperate to distance himself from me in front of Hallie, acted like I was nobody to him.

I had done what I came to do. So, I simply left the place.

However, Hallie’s call stopped me.

"I heard that while I was gone these past three years, you've taken care of Angus, Ms. Traverse. It must've been difficult for you."

Hallie let out a delicate sigh, feigning innocence. "While I was by the lake just a moment ago, the ring Angus gave me slipped off into the pool."

"Why don’t you take the ring, Ms. Traverse? It’s worth 800,000 dollars. Consider it a payment for your troubles."

I had no interest in entertaining Hallie's little show and continued to leave.

By then, I could hear the subtle edge of displeasure in her voice. She let out a dramatic sigh. "Oh, that’s right—I almost forgot. Ms. Traverse just had an abortion, didn’t she?"

"I see… so you can’t swim. That was my mistake for assuming too much."

Angus hurried to reassure Hallie. "I told you—the child with her was just an accident. The only children I’ll ever have will be with you."

I hear his hurried steps catching up to me. Angus stopped me from leaving. "Those last three wishes you mentioned—do they still count?"

I told him they did.

Of course, Angus didn’t believe I was truly repaying a debt. But he was confident that I would say anything just to keep clinging to him.

Watching him grow impatient, urging me to retrieve the ring from the lake, I suddenly recalled a moment in the past...

Back then, when Angus’s family heirloom had slipped into the water, he had held me close after I returned from taking the golden bracelet. The man trembled with worry as he scolded me to not do something like that again.

But now, he didn't even think twice...

So, I stepped into the lake. The freezing water rushed up, filling my nose and lungs. Inside the house, laughter and music carried on, oblivious.

I dove deeper into the pool, pushing through the suffocating cold. Suddenly, sharp object at the bottom slicing into my feet. It didn't take long before my fingers closed around the ring.

By the time I surfaced, my abdomen throbbed and blood trickled from the soles of my feet.

All I saw in Angus’s eyes was disgust. "Can you stop with this pathetic act? It’s disgusting."

I placed the ring firmly in Hallie’s hand.

"This is your ninety-eighth wish," I said to Angus before walking away.

I forced myself to ignore the pain at my feet and went past the Davidson's house--all aware that Angus stared at me with a stunned gaze.

A replacement was just a replacement. Once the real one returned, the replacement became nothing more than a stray dog, barely hanging on.

Though my feet were injured, the cold that caught up my heart felt far worse. The coldness spread to my physical body, like an ice block that couldn’t thaw.

I spent the next three days in the hospital.

During that time, I heard that Angus never left Hallie’s side. He told people I was just a pathetic leech who wouldn’t let go.

I felt awful—sick, restless, unable to sleep.

Then, a news notification caught my eye.

[Prince Angus’s woman exposed as an adult film actress.]

I clicked on its link.

The woman in the video was clearly visible. She was Hallie Palmer. Even the tiny mole on her neck was identical.

In the comments, some people insisted the video was AI-generated.

I knew Angus had hired people to spread that lie. But the public wasn’t convinced.

[No way this is AI. The tech isn’t advanced enough to make fingers look this natural.]

A message from Angus popped up on my phone.

[I’ll pay you. Take the blame—say the woman in the video is you.]

I stared at the message for a long time, my heart feeling as if it had been kicked hard.

Take the blame and claim that I was the one in the adult video? If I did that, I’d never be able to show my face in Astrait again.

I swallowed the pain and typed back. [So… is this your ninety-ninth wish?]

He agreed without hesitation—he just wanted me to clear Hallie’s name as soon as possible.

***

When Angus came to find me, the first thing he did was take me to a tattoo artist and have a small black mole inked onto my neck, in the exact same spot as Hallie’s.

"Hallie wants to go into the entertainment industry," he said. "She can’t have a scandal like this ruining her future."

"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure this whole thing gets buried quickly."

Hallie wanted to be a celebrity? That was the excuse he came up with?

Angus went so much to held a press conferrence to completely erase the stain of Hallie’s scandal.

I stood on stage, facing the cameras. "I’m sorry," I said. "I’m the woman in the video. I deeply regret any trouble I’ve caused Miss Hallie Palmer."

Instantly, the crowd erupted in outrage. People hurled insults at me, calling me shameless, a whore, a liar.

I had never felt such humiliation in my life. By the time I stepped down, my legs were so weak I nearly collapsed.

But then, for the first time, Angus caught me. He draped his suit jacket over my shoulders.

"You actually went through with it," he murmured, almost in disbelief.

So he knew, after all. He knew exactly how much this would destroy me.