Chapter 3

The next morning, I was getting the house ready for a family gathering.

Before the Bonding Rite, both families had agreed to meet, exchange introductions, and formally acknowledge the union.

My relatives had traveled a long way for the occasion. They deserved better than to arrive and discover that my future mate couldn't be bothered to show up.

My phone rang just as I was setting out the dishes.

Kael's name flashed across the screen.

[Aria, I'm outside your house. Come out for a minute.]

I frowned but went anyway.

The moment I got into his car, he placed a small metal box in my hands.

Its lid was slightly ajar, revealing a ring that caught the sunlight and scattered it in dazzling flashes.

"The Mobius ring you liked, with the little star-like stones," he said. "I was going to put it on your finger after the Bonding Rite, but I thought you deserved an early gift this time."

I looked at him, unsure what to make of that.

He gave me a warm, practiced smile.

"My Aria has such a big heart. Sable kept me tied up all night, and I couldn't get away until this morning. Yet you haven't complained once."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

I shut the lid.

That was when I noticed the symbol engraved on top.

"You're using the box marked 001 to give me a ring?"

I turned to him, my voice flat.

"Kael, are you deliberately trying to humiliate me?"

His brows drew together as he glanced at the box.

"Sorry. I didn't notice."

He shrugged as if it were nothing.

"The original ring box got lost. This one was handy."

Then he looked at me with that familiar, faintly impatient expression.

"Aria, you're being sensitive again."

My eyes had already fallen to the tiny inscription in the corner of the lid.

[January 28, 2024. Five times. Love you.]

For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

It felt as if someone had reached into my chest and crushed my heart in their fist.

The first time Kael and I had been intimate, he'd asked me a strange question.

"Shouldn't we write it down?"

I hadn't understood what he meant back then.

Now I did.

It was a private code between him and Sable—a memory they'd marked as theirs, one he had apparently treasured enough to keep.

And he'd used that same box to hold the ring he intended to give me as his future mate.

The blood seemed to drain from my body, leaving me colder than the winter air.

When I finally spoke, my voice was ice.

"Kael, we're not completing the Bonding Rite."

He stared at me, then let out an incredulous laugh.

"What kind of joke is that? The ceremony is practically here, Aria."

"I know you're upset about Sable. I'll be more careful from now on."

"I'm breaking up with you."

His expression hardened.

"Aria, there's a limit to how much you can carry on. I won't indulge every tantrum or spend my life catering to your moods."

He glanced toward the house, where my family was waiting for us.

"You arranged this gathering because you were expecting me, didn't you? Starting a fight now won't do you any favors."

I met his gaze without flinching.

"If I don't complete the Bonding Rite with you, what's stopping me from choosing someone else?"

Something dark flashed across his face.

For the first time that morning, he looked genuinely unsettled.

He opened his mouth to answer, but a knock on the car window interrupted him.

My second cousin stood outside, smiling brightly.

"Hey, you two! What are you still doing out here? Everyone's waiting inside."

Kael's expression changed almost instantly. The tension in his face eased into something resembling composure.

"Aria, don't make jokes like that anymore."

My cousin had flown halfway around the world overnight to be here for my ceremony. She still had no idea I'd decided to replace the groom.

I didn't explain. I simply opened the car door.

Kael was about to follow when his phone rang.

He glanced at the screen.

The color drained from his face.

For a second, he looked torn, his gaze darting between me and the incoming call.

Then he answered, and whatever he heard made his jaw tighten.

"Aria, something's come up. I have to handle this. This time—"

I slammed the car door shut and tossed the ring through the open window.

"Go, then."

He caught sight of the ring, his expression turning complicated. After a moment, he sighed.

"Stop being stubborn. I'll take care of this and come back to get you for the ceremony."

He stepped on the accelerator before I could respond.

The car shot out of the courtyard.

He didn't even hear me say, "Don't bother."

My cousin stared after him, practically beside herself.

"Aria! The groom just left! What are we supposed to do about the family gathering now?"

As Kael's car disappeared through the courtyard gates, a black SUV rolled slowly in from the opposite direction. The two vehicles passed each other without stopping.

I gently patted my cousin's hand.

"Don't worry," I told her. "He's not the groom anymore."