Chapter 3

3.

I returned to the sanctuary in a daze, burying my wet, shivering face into the thick quilt, weeping silently until my chest ached.

All the past vows of undying devotion felt like cruel illusions. Even the betrothal gifts that once stacked against my wall had been quietly moved away, undoubtedly gifted to Selene by Harrison.

I let out a hollow laugh and ripped the satin ribbon from my hair.

Harrison had tied this ribbon onto my hair the day I was selected as the Holy Maiden, and I had worn it every single day for twelve years.

His gentle whispers still echoed in my ears: "My heart is not a stone to be rolled away. Lyra, you and I will belong to each other alone for all eternity."

"Harrison," tears traced down my jaw, "is this the exclusive devotion you promised me?"

While I was drowning in suffocating agony, my door was abruptly pushed open.

Selene stepped inside, draped in an exquisite gown woven with golden silk threads, her delicate features accentuated by fresh, elegant makeup.

Under the warm glow of the lantern, she looked radiant and pristine, forming a stark contrast to my bedraggled, broken state.

I pulled my bruised hands behind my back, speaking coldly. "What are you doing here?"

A mocking gleam danced in her eyes, completely devoid of the submissive, humble facade she used to put on before me. "Sister Lyra, at this point, do you still think of yourself as the exalted Holy Maiden?"

She strutted to my bedside and snatched the hair ribbon from behind my back with a sudden jerk.

"Harrison and I will be wed in seven days. Instead of drowning in old memories, you would do better to scrounge up another groom for yourself before it's too late."

My expression darkened. "Give that back to me."

Selene feigned surprise, purposely letting the ribbon slip through her fingers and drop onto the floor.

I reached down to grab it, but her embroidered shoe stomped heavily onto my fingers.

"Sister, only someone as pathetic as you would treat such cheap trash like a treasure. Harrison gave me ten whole chests of precious jewels. If you like, you can pick a piece or two; consider it my apology to you."

"Oh, and Harrison mentioned that he adores seeing me adorned in jewels and bright colors, saying it brings him true delight. Unlike you, Sister Lyra, who always dresses in plain white like a corpse, completely dull and depressing!"

She ground her heel back and forth over my fingers, sending sharp, piercing agony straight to my heart as my skin swelled and bruised.

Harrison used to tell me that my distaste for flashy gowns and excessive jewelry made me pure, like a lotus rising untainted from the mud.

He said I was ethereal and unmatched, yet now he deemed me boring and gloomy, far inferior to Selene's seductive charm.

It turned out that plainness or luxury never mattered; all that mattered was whether he still loved you.

My silence quickly bored Selene, and she lazily lifted her foot, turning to leave.

"Harrison was right. Wasting words on someone like you is utterly tedious."

Staring at her retreating back, I could not hold back the hoarse cry tearing from my throat. "Selene, I treated you with nothing but kindness, regarding you as my own flesh and blood. Why…"

Why steal my betrothed? Why push me toward death?

She halted her steps, glancing back at me with disdainful arrogance, and smirked. "Lyra Shen, yes, you saved my life. But why do you get to be the revered Holy Maiden enjoying endless glory, while I was forced to be a lowly maid who wasn't even allowed near the altar?"

Her face contorted with deep-seated hatred. "You were abandoned by your own family just like me! Why did you get to live a better life than mine?"

"Why did you get to marry the finest gentleman in the city while I had nothing? Lyra, it wasn't fair!"

I fell silent, stunned that she harbored such venomous hatred over such absurd, twisted logic.

I shook my head in utter sorrow and disappointment. "Selene, do you truly think being the Holy Maiden is glorious? In places you never saw, I endured endless torture every single day!"

She laughed coldly. "So what? Who says I wouldn't gladly endure that torture for a taste of your status?"

"Lyra, I am just glad that this time, you are the loser under my feet."

Every ounce of strength drained from my body, and I collapsed onto the cold floor, staring wide-eyed at the wooden beams above.

Only by looking straight up could I keep the tears from spilling out again.

Having soaked in the freezing rain all night, a raging fever consumed me by morning, plunging me into endless nightmares.

In the dream, the young Harrison was blushing as he gently tied the ribbon into my hair.

Back then, because I failed to memorize the scriptures in time, the High Priestess punished me with ten strikes of the cane, leaving me crying in a dark corner with disheveled hair.

Harrison had patiently wiped the dirt from my hands, not caring about the blood on my clothes as he pulled me into his warm embrace, softly fixing my hair.

With tears in my eyes, I had whispered, "Harrison, why are you so good to me? No one has ever been this good to me."

Looking at the wounds across my small frame, he had cried before I even did.

"Because I love you, Lyra. Seeing your wounds hurts me far more than it hurts you."

I fought my way out of the feverish nightmare, curling into a tight ball against my burning skin, weeping until I had no breath left.

Early the next morning, my door was kicked open with immense force.

The blinding sunlight forced my eyes open, only for a sharp slap to land squarely across my face.

Dazed and burning with fever, I lifted my head, colliding right into Harrison's furious, glaring eyes.

"Lyra Shen, even if you are angry about the delayed wedding, you had no right to steal Selene's belongings!"

%%%