’Whisney! What are you doing? Why would you open her wound like that?’ Lethia’s thoughts screamed, alone in her mind.
But the fox paid her no mind. Her eyes remained fixed on Chasey, sharp and waiting for an answer.
Chasey swallowed the lump in her throat. She hadn’t expected the question to come from Lethia. She tried to keep her mood cheerful, avoiding any talk of the kidnapping Adam had caused, all to enjoy this short escape.
What was she supposed to say? Her fingers fidgeted at her sides, a nervous tic to steady her sudden confusion. The intensity in Lethia’s gaze intimidated her, making her want to hide. But the shame and pain she carried made her doubt there was anywhere in the world to hide.
"Q–queen... Th–that’s..." Chasey bit her lip. "What kind of question is that? He did a bad thing." Chasey tried to lighten her voice, hoping Lethia wouldn’t make this a serious conversation.
But Lethia’s serious expression didn’t waver.
"You both still haven’t rejected each other, have you? You lied to Renar and Callista." Lethia’s calm tone was a stark contrast to Chasey’s pale face.
"H–how did you know? I... I..." Chasey stammered. Nobody knew the truth, that she and Adam had never rejected each other, except for them.
"It doesn’t matter how I knew." She chuckled. "I just can’t understand the justice of betraying someone to save others. Especially your mate bond. Someone you can’t easily ditch. You said you loved him once. Do you love me more than him? Is that even possible?"
Lethia’s half-mocking tone made Chasey look down. Her eyes were glazed over, wanting to burn a hole in the floor. Lethia’s words were like a splash of ice water, leaving her stiff and speechless.
A memory flashed in her mind: overhearing that Adam was a spy.
Without a second thought, Chasey had hacked into Adam’s personal data to expose Varrel’s crimes.
Vivid images of her first night submitting to Adam, spreading her legs to distract him, made her chest tighten and gasp. And when she was caught, the memory of Adam beat her and mocked that she was a slut, still fueling her nightmares.
Was she easy? Was she wrong for tainting her bond?
But it wasn’t easy at all. Nothing she had chosen, lived, or felt was easy.
With trembling lips, Chasey looked back at Lethia, her eyes filled with sorrow.
"No. This isn’t about who I love more. It’s... I just did the right thing. It was not an easy choice. At that time, I was thinking that I would regret it more if I didn’t do something right." Chasey’s lips pressed together.
She bit back the tears threatening to fall. But Lethia’s unreadable face didn’t seem impressed by her answer.
That confused Chasey even more because Lethia’s expression made her feel like she had done something wrong. It was a look completely different from before Chasey had left. It felt like two different people.
In that moment, Lethia’s mind was in an uproar, scolding Whisney for being so cold.
’Whisney! Stop it! Don’t you see it hurts her? You said you wanted to feel loved, but now you’re questioning her with nonsense. Just give me my body back if you continue to be like this!’
But again, Whisney stayed focused on mentally bullying Chasey.
"Something right?" Lethia’s mouth said. "So, if someday I do something wrong, you might betray me in order to do something right?" She asked coldly.
And the girl she was questioning gasped, as if wanting to answer but still searching for the right words.
Whisney smirked. ["Such a bullshit. Love?" she chuckled. "Mortals are such untrustworthy beings. See? Your so-called friend would end up betraying you."] She spoke to Lethia.
Lethia was utterly speechless at how twisted Whisney’s mind was. It reminded her of her own past self, the one who was always suspicious of others and refused to just feel.
But what Lethia couldn’t understand was how Whisney could be so heartless as to bring up someone’s trauma. She herself was so careful when talking about her own kidnapping.
’Regardless of whether she’s lying or not, you have no right to judge her like that. She did it—’
["Because she wanted to save you? Of course, you would support her because what she did benefited you. But even without her help, we did it ourselves though."]
Whisney nonchalantly dismissed Lethia’s thoughts. Lethia didn’t know anymore what was going on in this grumpy fox’s mind.
Lethia’s body stood from the bed and headed out of the room, leaving Chasey frozen in confusion, still searching for words.
But a hand gripping her arm stopped her. Lethia’s head turned to Chasey, who was still looking down. Yet the grip on her arm was strong, but gentle.
"I don’t think I will betray you," Chasey said, a soft smile returning to her lips. "Because I know you will just do what’s right. I trust you enough to confidently say so. Queen, with all of the things that have happened in your life, I know it’s hard to trust someone, but I’m sure you will feel it. Like me, who has no reason why I should trust and follow you. It’s just because of you."
Lethia felt her heart beating faster. But the heart is controlled by the brain, and Whisney still occupied her body. So, did that mean Chasey could melt her ice?
"And Queen..." Chasey gripped both of Lethia’s arms, turning her body. "Where are you going? Your stomach is already getting bigger and bigger each day. Is that why your mood swings so much?"
She slowly guided Lethia to sit back down on the edge of the bed.
"You should take a nap first. Rest your mind and body. I will wake you up when they are back." Chasey smiled brightly with sparkling eyes, then left the room and closed the door.
With Chasey gone, Lethia’s body sat stiffly as her heartbeat pulsed faster, almost giving her cold sweats as if something had shocked her body.
’See? You must have been touched, right? Now you’ve made me need to apologize to her later. Why is my body hot? Did it give you a reaction?’
But Whisney remained silent, not answering Lethia.
’Don’t you feel something? Or are you still in denial? Whisney, I used to think that love is useless. But that’s just because I spent the energy on the wrong people. It’s not love that’s wrong, it’s just that we haven’t—’
Lethia’s stream of thought stopped abruptly as she felt her whole body heat up. Her head arched back and a fast-forward flash of scenes played in front of her.
Then she found herself walking, someone gently holding her hand in front of her. But she couldn’t see anything, as if she had been blindfolded.
By the way her feet landed, she could feel tall grass brushing her calves and the roots of vines underfoot.
The scent of earth with fresh leaves and damp mud made her guess she was walking in the middle of a forest.
Lethia knew it was not her, but she became immersed in it as if she were living the experience for a moment.
"Where are you taking me? We might get lost." She asked. Her heart thundered in her ears with anticipation of where the person who was holding her so protectively would take her.
"We won’t. Just trust me, Lyria." A man’s deep, firm bass voice softened when he said "Lyria," making her breath hitch.