Chapter 3
980 Words
When the plane touched down in Evermont, I was busy planning my next step when chaos suddenly erupted ahead. People started screaming.
"It's Ethan! He's over there!"
"Oh my God! What is he doing here?"
The crowd surged toward the arrivals gate. I moved aside on instinct, but a hand suddenly clamped around my wrist and yanked me into a service stairwell. The door slammed shut behind us, cutting off the noise outside.
My back hit the wall. When I looked up, a face even sharper and more dangerous than Julian's was less than 10 centimeters away. There he was, Ethan, the current heir to the Chase family, the youngest Super Football MVP quarterback in history, and one of the top three highest-paid athletes in the country. The press called him "the most desired man in the Avalon States".
I had seen him once in my previous life at the engagement banquet. He had stayed in the corner the entire night, quietly drinking champagne for two hours without speaking to a single person.
He recognized me. "Serena? I heard you broke off your engagement with Julian?"
I nodded. "Yeah. So?"
He smiled. "Perfect. Since you're not marrying my brother, why not choose me instead?"
I stared at him. Without pheromone suppression, he couldn't live past 27. In my previous life, he had never found a match before he died. But Julian wasn't better-looking or richer than him, yet he still looked down on me for over 10 years.
I hesitated and asked, "If we bond, that means marriage. For life. With only each other. Are you sure?"
He didn't even blink. "I'm sure."
"Fine. I'll marry you."
Either way, the secret of my pheromone control wouldn't stay hidden for long. Once Siana failed to save Julian, the Chase family would come for me sooner or later. I might as well lock myself in first.
Ethan paused for a second before pulling me into an excited embrace. Maybe afraid the curse would flare up at any moment, he wasted no time bringing me back with him. Our wedding was scheduled for three months later.
He handled everything himself, calling the wedding planner, booking St. Arion's Cathedral in the Upper District of Empire City, and commissioning a custom Vera Wang gown. He even flew all the way to Milanoire just to choose my wedding shoes.
I told him there was no need to go so over the top since it was only a deal between us, but he looked at me dead serious.
"Once a woman with pheromone is bonded, there's no way out unless one of us dies," he said firmly. "Of course this wedding has to be big. I'm planning to spend my whole life with you."
A strange warmth spread in my chest. That kind of honesty was something Julian never once gave me in my past life.
I quietly went to Tiffany's flagship store on Avenue V and ordered a custom men's wedding ring. I had Ethan's name engraved inside the band. The moment I finished signing the order, a familiar sugary voice came from behind me.
"Well, well, well, look who it is?" She walked in holding her phone. The screen showed an i********: Live stream, and the comment section was exploding. "Isn't this my runaway little sister? What are you doing, coming all the way to Empire City?"
Ever since Julian publicly announced the engagement on social media, Siana's follower count had jumped to two million. Every day she went live, casually flaunting her diamond ring, her mansion, and every gift Julian gave her. The whole "Cinderella marries into high society" story had the internet hooked.
Now she leaned into the camera and said sweetly, "Can everyone please give my sister in Empire City a little support?"
Then she tilted her head, and a silver chain slipped out from her collar. A purple crystal pendant hung at the end. Under the light, the back of the crystal faintly revealed two letters: E.S.
My blood turned to ice in an instant. That was my mother's last keepsake, a natural purple crystal she picked up at a flea market in Sola Fira, engraved on the back with her initials.
My father had once told me, "You're too young to keep something this expensive safe," then he took it away by force. Later, he said it got lost during the move.
And now it hung around Siana's neck.
"Give me back that necklace." I stepped forward, my voice shaking.
Siana instantly pulled back into the livestream frame, tears falling on command. "Serena, Dad gave this to me because he was worried I'd be mistreated by the Chase family. You can't just snatch things like this."
The livestream chat blew up at once.
A: [What the hell, she's stealing jewelry?]
B: [Of course she's ugly and vicious!]
Siana leaned toward me, lowering her voice so only I could hear. "Want it back? Then apologize on my livestream. Slap yourself, say 'I stole my sister's boyfriend' out loud, and maybe I'll think about returning this trash!"
I almost laughed at how shameless she was. "Siana, have you no shame? That's my mother's keepsake! You know exactly how Dad took it away from me back then. Give it back!"
Siana looked like she had just heard the funniest joke. She fought to hold back her laughter, eyes turning even redder as she shook her head at the camera, acting pitiful. "Serena, I know you've always resented your mother's death. You think Dad wronged you, but…"
Her voice broke on cue. "Now that you're grown, you should face reality. Your mom tricked the necklace out of my mom—back when she came between my mom and Dad. It's only been returned to its rightful owner."
"Shut up!" My blood rushed to my head, and I raised my hand to strike her.
- Writer
