chapter 3

Scarlett did not respond to Zane. A coldness emanated from her heart, spreading slowly through her veins. In his embrace, she no longer felt any warmth—only a deep, bone-chilling numbness.

He was such a convincing actor.

If she hadn’t seen him messing around with another woman, if Amy weren’t growing weaker by the day, perhaps she might have believed his well-rehearsed explanations—if only out of pity for the effort.

But there were no “what ifs” in this world. As she watched the tears glisten in his eyes, all she felt was disgust and bitter irony.

She pushed Zane away and offered Cecilia a faint smile.

“Thank you for always doing your best. Since you’re already here, why not stay for dinner?”

Zane sensed something amiss. He signed nervously,

“Scarlett, are you still angry?”

Scarlett shook her head, her gaze drifting back toward the wild plains beyond.

Zane clapped his hands, and the sea of roses lit up. A server wheeled over a cart and lifted the lid—revealing not food, but a moonstone jewelry set, exquisitely crafted.

It was made from the highest-grade moonstone he had acquired at the clan auction last month, all because she once mentioned she liked it.

She looked up and saw the burning devotion in Zane’s eyes.

In the past, such gifts would have moved her to tears. Now, she only watched him calmly.

“Scarlett, do you remember the first gift I ever gave you? It was right here, on this very spot, when I confessed my feelings for you. It was a piece of moonstone—I spent two weeks learning everything you loved. Everyone called me a fool, but I knew it was all worth it for you.”

“When you said you liked moonstone again recently, I bought this and asked the priest to make a matching set. Each piece is engraved with our bonding runes. They symbolize that my love for you will never fade.”

Cecilia looked on with envy, “Luna, I never imagined that after all these years, you and Alpha would still be so deeply in love.”

A trace of mockery flickered in Scarlett’s eyes. Those vows of eternal love, that promise of unwavering affection—it all looked perfect from the outside. But only she knew their love had long since decayed.

She allowed Zane to fasten the jewelry around her neck. The moonstone’s glow made her skin shimmer. She truly did love moonstone.

But crystals are fragile—and so is love.

During dinner, Zane busied himself cutting venison for her. But she noticed his hand repeatedly straying toward the car keys beside him.

She had never seen those keys before. Each time he pressed a button, she detected a low hum, followed by Cecilia’s soft, stifled gasp.

She watched as Cecilia’s face flushed, her jaw tightened, her expression growing more strained. Just as the tension seemed ready to boil over, Cecilia’s hand trembled and knocked over her wine glass, spilling red wine across Zane’s shirt.

Zane frowned and signed to Scarlett,

“Scarlett, I’ll go clean this up. The venison is all cut—please eat.”

With that, he left the table.

A moment later, Cecilia’s communicator buzzed. She excused herself, citing an emergency at the alliance hospital, and hurried away.

Scarlett did not remain seated as Zane had asked. Instead, she walked across the room and stood before the floor-to-ceiling window. She watched as Cecilia stumbled unsteadily toward Zane’s car parked along the roadside.

Silently, Scarlett made her way downstairs. Through the partially lowered window, she saw them—Zane and Cecilia pressed tightly together, kissing with raw hunger.

Soon, the car began to rock.