On the third day of kneeling before the statue of the Moon Goddess and praying for Ryan Summers, a sudden row of glowing text appeared right in front of my eyes.

[Ryan really is a piece of trash. His little childhood sweetheart, Rowena Blake, ran off the moment she learned he was going to hold a bonding ceremony, so he actually faked his own death just to chase her.]

[Ryan and Rowena are out there whispering sweet nothings to each other under the flowers and moonlight, while Jenna Cuttridge cried her eyes nearly blind over that scumbag.]

[Too bad Jenna never finds out that Ryan tricked her. When he comes back from playing dead, she even happily marries him.]

So this was the miracle the Moon Goddess had bestowed upon me.

Thunderstruck, I grabbed my phone and called my Alpha father, Jake Cuttridge.

"Dad, remember that alliance bonding you mentioned last time? I agree to it."

Half a month later, the news that I would be entering an alliance bonding with an Alpha from the Northridge Pack spread throughout the entire wolf kingdom.

Ryan's friend, Luke Carter, who had been in on his plan, rushed over and demanded, "Ryan just died not long ago, and you're already so eager to find the next guy?"

"He's dead. I can't possibly stay single for him my whole life."

Right before the bonding ceremony, Ryan Summers faked his own death just to chase after his little puphood sweetheart, Rowena Blake. However, he never imagined I would learn every part of his plan from the floating barrage in front of me. With my disappointment hitting rock bottom, I turned away and agreed to the alliance bonding my father, Jake Cuttridge, arranged.

Lines of text flashed across my vision, one after another. At first, I thought I was hallucinating from grief.

Alas, the divine messages kept streaming in front of me, faster and faster.

[Those two bastards are getting all hot and heavy in the Moonlight Forest right now. Girl, see for yourself! Then, you’ll know the truth!]

[Moonlight Forest is where Ryan and Jenna always used to meet. Just thinking about it already makes her chest tighten. Why would she ever go there on purpose?]

My head exploded with a sharp ringing like something inside cracked open.

I pushed myself to my feet, staggering as I headed toward Moonlight Forest.

After cutting through the narrow path, I reached the deepest part of Moonlight Forest. There, a quiet pool glowed with fireflies. That was Firefly Pool, where Ryan and I always met.

Every flower, every tree here felt familiar. Each carried a memory of us.

My chest throbbed with pain, but I forced myself to go deeper. When I was only a few yards from the pool, I suddenly heard a she-wolf’s soft, syrupy voice.

"Ryan, if Jenna finds out you faked your death just to stay with me, won’t she be mad?"

Then I heard the one voice I knew best in this world.

"How could she? My friend and my sister are helping me cover everything up. With a plan this perfect, there’s no way Jenna could ever find out.

"Besides, she loves me so much. Right now, she probably thinks I’m already dead and is sobbing in her room. Once I make up some random excuse and return to her side, she’ll be too thrilled to be mad.

"Let her feel what it’s like to lose me for a few days. When I come back, she’ll be even more obedient."

Rowena let out a soft laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck, teasing, "Ryan, if you can fake your death and lie to Jenna just to chase me… doesn’t that mean you actually have feelings for me? Why not cancel the bonding ceremony with her and be with me instead? My love for you is no less than hers."

The divine message was right about everything.

I froze where I stood, struck like lightning, my face drained of color.

Ryan’s expression shifted immediately at her words, turning sharp and serious. "I just wanted to let loose a little before the bonding ceremony. I never said I would be with you. Know your place. My mate will always be Jenna."

Rowena pouted and playfully hit his shoulder. "Fine, I know. But for the few days you’re ‘dead’, you’re mine."

Ryan smiled again, slipped an arm around her waist, and said gently, "Of course. After the bonding ceremony, I’ll only be allowed to be with one she-wolf. I won’t get chances like this anymore. So we’d better enjoy these days."

Their sticky-sweet voices were like silver blades, stabbing into my chest over and over. The pain nearly brought me to my knees.

I had prayed countless times for my mate to return to me, but I never imagined this would be how it happened.

[My heart hurts for our Jenna. I hope that after seeing Ryan’s true colors, she wakes up!]

[I can’t watch this anymore. Girl, go tear the two of them apart!]

Unfortunately, I didn’t expose them. I simply turned and walked away in silence.

[Don’t tell me Jenna still loves him after learning the truth? No, please, this kind of scumbag isn’t worth it.]

[She must’ve softened when she heard him say he’d return to her for the bonding ceremony. She’s choosing to endure it quietly.]

When I got home, my stomach churned violently, a wave of nausea rolling through me.

A week ago, Ryan received a collaboration assignment from another pack, but on his way there, he was attacked by rogues.

The moment I got the news, I didn't sleep the entire night, praying he would be safe.

Eventually, I received news of his death. According to the rescue team, they hadn't arrived in time. Ryan was already dead by the time they got there.

The scene had been gruesome, they said. Not even a trace of Ryan's remains had been found.

When I heard the devastating news, I almost fainted from grief. Our bonding ceremony was only a week away, yet Ryan had met with an accident at such a crucial moment.

I retraced the route he would have taken for three days and three nights. I even forced myself to dig through piles of corpses in the wasteland, choking back nausea just to find any part of his remains.

And now I was supposed to accept this.

That all of it—every last piece of heartbreak—had been nothing but a setup he orchestrated to coax another she-wolf.

From beginning to end, I had been nothing more than a joke.

[I can't stand this anymore! If my hand could reach into the book, I'd have slapped Ryan already! How dare he treat Jenna's feelings like a game? May he really die without a corpse!]

[Exactly! Our girl is the Alpha's only daughter, a true princess. Those who want to form an alliance marriage with her could circle the whole world! He doesn't know how to cherish her. When his mate really runs away, he'll be the one crying.]

Sarah Summers, Ryan's younger sister, appeared in front of me and handed me a sheet of paper. Her face was full of concern. "Jenna, don't be too sad. My brother definitely wouldn't want to see you ruin your health over him."

I lifted my head and saw her pretending to look sorrowful.

"Sarah… is Ryan possibly still alive?"

For a moment, Sarah froze, but she quickly regained her composure. "I know you're in a lot of pain, but you have to accept the fact that Ryan is gone. Didn't the rescue team already say it? By the time they reached the scene, he was already dead. Even his bones were eaten by rogues."

I remembered Ryan's words. Sarah had always known his death was fake. She'd been in on the lie from the beginning.

To think I actually thanked her for staying by my side during my darkest moments. Now that I looked back, Ryan probably placed her there to monitor me.

When I didn't respond, Sarah assumed I was too heartbroken to speak, and she stepped forward to say, "Jenna, don't overthink things. If Ryan knew, he would definitely feel terrible."

Feel terrible?

How ironic.

Following the clues from the divine messages, I found Rowena's social media account.

Only then did I learn that they had known each other even before Ryan and I got together. They had gone on countless dates behind my back. If not for the divine messages' warning, I wouldn't have even known Rowena existed.

I scrolled through her old posts, and pieces of the past began linking together in my mind.

Last year on our anniversary, Ryan claimed he needed to work overtime and couldn't accompany me, but that same day, Rowena posted on social media.

On the golden beach, the two of them held hands tightly, embracing under the setting sun.

The one in the photo only revealed his hand, but I recognized that watch instantly. It was the one I gave Ryan; there was only one like it in the world.

Posts like this were uploaded every so often, and every single one was perfectly aligned with the times Ryan claimed he was too busy, on a business trip, or working late.

The latest post was a photo of the two of them kissing in Moonlight Forest.

Once again, only Ryan's jawline was revealed, but there was the mole. Even if he turned to ash, I would still recognize it.

The caption read: "You abandoned your perfect alliance match and traveled across the world just to be with me. In this moment, I feel like the happiest creature alive."

The comment section was overflowing with praise for their "beautiful love".

"When one goes this far for the one he loves, I believe in true love again."

"This dude truly loves you. That alliance match is just cannon fodder standing in the way of your happiness."

"How did you land such an incredible guy? Please teach me!"

The divine message section exploded like it had swallowed gunpowder.

[Is there anyone normal in that comment section?? A scumbag cheating with his mistress being praised like some epic romance, pfft. Believe in love? I hope you all find a husband just like him!]

['Alliance match'? As if Ryan deserves it. Jenna's real alliance partner is the big antagonist of the entire novel.]

Ryan and I truly weren’t an alliance match.

As for the alliance marriage mentioned in the divine messages, before all this, I didn’t even know his name, let alone agree to marry him.

All I knew was that he was a powerful Alpha, and my parents wanted the alliance bonding to strengthen cooperation between the packs.

Later, when I was in school, I met Ryan. He began pursuing me relentlessly by bringing me breakfast every morning and taking me to every club activity. He was like a little sun orbiting around me, until eventually he confessed his feelings.

Out of anger toward my father and also because I had been moved by Ryan’s sincerity, I agreed to his confession.

To be with him, I fought bitterly with my father and ran away with Ryan to his pack, ignoring everything else.

Through hardship after hardship, we came to where we were today—a pair everyone envied, a couple others said were fated and perfect for each other.

Ryan had sworn to me that he would love only me for the rest of his life and that he would never betray me. Back then, his sweet words had completely clouded my judgment, making me believe I had found true love.

I never imagined that the one who promised never to fail me would now manipulate me completely just for another she-wolf. All his so-called busyness, his so-called overtime were all lies. He had simply been running to see her.

I used to tell him not to work so hard.

He had said, "I’m the future Alpha. I’ll take over the entire pack one day. If I work harder now, once you become my Luna, you’ll have an easier life. I can’t bear to let you be tired."

Thinking back on it now… how many of his words were ever real?

[Later in the story, when Ryan comes back, he’ll claim he was saved by a young girl and needed a few days to recover. That girl is Rowena.]

[Then he uses ‘repaying her life-saving kindness’ as an excuse to make her his secretary so they can be together openly.]

[The key is that Jenna actually believes him, and she still holds the bonding ceremony with him in the end. After countless betrayals, she dies depressed. Thinking about it now, Jenna was truly miserable. Author, do you even have a heart?]

[But now the plot has changed. She’s found out the truth. Will she repeat the same tragedy?]

I went downstairs.

Ryan’s mother, Helena Summers, sat in the living room on the sofa, wiping her tears over and over with a handkerchief. When she saw me, she fixed her swollen, red eyes on me.

"If you hadn’t rushed my son, he wouldn’t have taken that shortcut. He wouldn’t have run into rogues. You’re the one who killed him."

The day after Ryan’s incident was the day we had planned to take our photos for the ceremony. He’d suddenly changed routes, choosing a rarely used path, and that was when he was attacked by rogues.

When I heard he was dead, I forced myself to swallow my grief so I could comfort Helena, only to be shoved aside mercilessly.

"Don’t think I don’t know. You only seduced my son because he was the Alpha’s heir. You just wanted to become Luna when he inherited the title."

I had always known Helena didn’t like me.

Ryan once promised me that once we were together, he would move out so the two of us could live on our own.

In these past few days, drowned in guilt, I had let her vent at me however she pleased.

Now, watching her clutch Ryan’s photo, choking and sobbing like she could barely breathe, I suddenly found it almost funny.

'Ryan, this is exactly the result you wanted. To let everyone who ever loved you fall into despair one by one.'

Thinking that, I couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh.

Helena exploded instantly. "What are you laughing at?!" She shot up and rushed toward me to slap me.

I reacted quickly, catching her hand before it landed.

Leaning toward her ear, I whispered, "Your Ryan is dead. Looks to me like you’re about to join him soon."

[Jenna finally fights back! I’ve hated this old witch forever—good job, girl!]

Helena clutched her chest and collapsed weakly onto the sofa, crying and thrashing about. She wailed, "My poor Ryan! He was so young, and this vicious mutt killed him! Why is my life so miserable…"

Sarah came downstairs and, seeing the scene, hurried over.

"Mom, Jenna is also devastated by Ryan’s death. Don’t take it to heart. Jenna, why don’t you apologize to Mom?"

I squeezed out my tears. "Since Mrs. Summers hates me so much, I think I should leave."

Sarah froze. This was not at all the reaction she expected. She hurried out the door to message Ryan.