Chapter 5

The timed video uploads to social media were my final "last words" and my perfect revenge for this ridiculous mate bond. I had spent weeks preparing them, ensuring that the truth would come out exactly when I wanted it to, when it would cause maximum impact.

While those videos were crea

Chapter 6

Though I told myself not to follow that news, I couldn't help clicking on updates.

Every report came with striking photos: Violet walked out of the courtroom haggardly, her once proud face full of tear marks; Alric stood at the place where I "jumped into the sea", his back hunched over

Chapter 7

The afternoon sun streamed into the clinic. I was carefully bandaging the injured hind leg of an orange tabby cat, my movements gentle and precise.

The child who had brought it—a little girl with pigtails and worried eyes—lay on the nearby examination table, curiously watching my every