"How can there be a perfect choice in this world—one that betrays neither the Sandharan Order nor the one you love?"

It's a romantic line, but it has nothing to do with Rosalie Stone. Her fiance, Bradley Wakefield, is a man revered like Sandhara himself, but it's not because of her that he leaves the Sandharan Order.

She thinks he will never fall in love. But later, she learns that it's just her that he won't fall for.

And so, she gives up on him. She gives herself seven days to forget about Bradley.

"Rosalie, are you sure you're willing to take Lola's place as the Sacred Goddess? Once you're ordained, you have to remain single for life. That means you have to call off your engagement with Bradley."

In a monastery filled with golden statues of Sandhara, the abbot, Stanley Brown, was speaking to Rosalie Stone. He had an aged voice, but his tone was kind.

Rosalie kneeled inside the main hall, a spot of cinnabar dotted on her forehead. She placed her hands together and said sincerely, "I'm sure."

She wasn't the one Bradley Wakefield loved, anyway. His heart belonged to Lola Lodge. If that were the case, she would give them her blessings and let them have what they wanted.

"I have a request, Abbot Brown." Rosalie lowered her gaze and continued, "Please don't tell anyone about this until I'm officially ordained as the Sacred Goddess. That includes Bradley and Lola."

Stanley agreed and told her she only had seven days to bid her family and friends goodbye. Once those seven days were up, she would no longer be Rosalie Stone. She would be the monastery's Sacred Goddess.

…

When Rosalie walked out of the main hall, she looked up to see a figure in white. Bradley approached from one end of the corridor, wearing a white monastic robe. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, but she sensed a hint of ice in them.

He frowned slightly at the sight of her. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't seem happy to see her, even though she was his fiancee. That stung her heart, but she ignored it and forced a casual smile. "I came to pray, of course."

Bradley's gaze turned icier, evidently not believing her. Well, it made sense. She'd been his tail for so many years and followed him everywhere he went. She wasn't interested in scripture at all, yet she'd read thick tomes of them just so they'd have something in common. She'd even hired a Zoltian teacher to teach her the language.

Zoltian was so hard to pick up. She wore herself out trying to memorize all its alphabets before finally attaining some success. Then, she'd run happily to the prayer room to look for Bradley. She'd shyly professed her love for him in Zoltian, yet he'd only responded to her joy with a frosty sentence.

"You're disrespecting and tainting the religion."

At that time, Rosalie had been too young to understand what he meant. How were her feelings for him a form of disrespect?

Later, she understood. Bradley had been revered as the reincarnation of Sandhara from the moment he was born. He was a saint placed on a pedestal for worshipping, a symbol of holiness. And so, her selfish love was a disrespect to him.

Just then, a melodic female voice rang out, "Brad!"

Lola, wearing a red and white striped monastic robe, ran toward them from the other end of the corridor. Her footsteps were light and deft. "Good news, Brad! Abbot Brown agreed to let me leave the Sandharan Order!"

She threw herself into Bradley's arms, her pretty face filled with excitement.

His expression softened when he caught sight of her. "How can that be? You're the Sacred Goddess, and you're supposed to be ordained in seven days. Why would Abbot Brown let you leave the order?"

"He said someone born on the exact day as me is willing to take my place as the Sacred Goddess." She beamed. "He also said I'm not a good fit for spending the rest of my life in a monastery because I still have mortal ties. That's why he let me go."

Bradley's usually calm gaze showed a rare hint of joy. "Really? That's great."

Everyone said a man of the monastery like him didn't have worldly desires and had a calm inner plane. Matters of the heart couldn't cause even the slightest ripple in his world.

Rosalie had believed that, but she now felt like a joke when she saw the brightness in Bradley's gaze. To him, her love was a form of disrespect. What did he think of his own feelings, then?

Those who were favored had nothing to fear, and those who weren't wouldn't even get the chance to voice their grievances.

Rosalie smiled bitterly, deciding to let the matter slide. She was used to it anyway.

"I've never left Zolt, Brad. Can you show me the world now that I've left the Sandharan Order?" Lola clung to Bradley and shook his arm, turning on the charm.

He looked at her tenderly, his voice oozing affection as he said, "Alright."

He was supposed to be Rosalie's fiance…

Rosalie's heart twisted painfully. She lowered her eyes, not wanting to see them flaunting their love, and turned to leave.

However, Lola stopped her. "Rosie, you and Brad are getting married in a week, right? Where's the wedding being held? Can I attend?"

Rosalie stopped, unable to take another step forward. Bradley had left the Sandharan Order five years ago, claiming that his inner plane was affected by matters of the heart. He said he could no longer focus on serving Sandhara.

However, she knew for a fact that he hadn't broken his vows for her sake. He hadn't left the Sandharan Order because of her. Their engagement was still valid, but she would never have his heart.

"Is there still a need for the wedding?" She turned to look at Bradley with sorrow. There was a second half to that sentence, but she didn't say it. It was, "It's not like I'm the one you want to marry."

He frowned, his usually stoic face showing a hint of anger. "Don't spout nonsense."

He didn't answer her. Instead, he told her to keep her sorrow and resentment to herself. Everyone but her could harbor resentment, purely because she'd fallen for a man of the monastery like him. She'd already sinned by tainting him with her selfish love. What right did she have to resent him?

Rosalie smiled self-deprecatingly. She turned to leave again.

Behind her, Bradley said coldly, "Since you and I have a promise to marry, I will honor it and marry you."

She'd heard him say that before. When she was younger, she'd cried and asked him, "Are you going to call off our engagement and not marry me? Is that why you're not leaving the Sandharan Order?"

The monks at the monastery didn't have to change their appearances while serving Sandhara. At that time, Bradley had only been 12 years old. He'd never left the monastery, and he sat cross-legged underneath a tree with his hair cascading past his shoulders. He'd been so handsome.

"I won't call anything off," he'd said. "You and I have mortal ties, and I owe you a marriage. I have to marry you in this lifetime to clear my debt so I can serve Sandhara completely."

Rosalie had only been ten years old then, so she was innocent and naive. All she'd understood from his words was that he wouldn't call off their engagement. That had been enough to make her laugh happily. He'd made it clear that he would marry her and that they would be together forever.

How silly. How could she have been so dumb? How could she not tell that Bradley hadn't wanted to marry her at all? All he wanted to do was cut whatever ties there were between them so that he wouldn't owe her anything. Then, there would truly be nothing linking them.

…

Rosalie took a flight home that night. She usually spent as much time at the monastery as possible each time she visited—solely because she wanted to see more of Bradley. Even an extra glance would be enough to satisfy her.

But this time, she came and left on the same day.

Bradley called her the following morning, telling her to meet him for her wedding dress fitting. She didn't want to go—she wouldn't be his bride in six days. She would return to Zolt and become the new Sacred Goddess.

But after some thought, she still decided to go. He was right about one thing—one could only truly serve Sandhara after severing all mortal ties.

So, she would go through the motions of marrying him, allowing him to repay the debt of love he owed her. Then, they would no longer have anything to do with each other. Neither would owe the other.

Rosalie headed to the wedding dress boutique with that thought in mind. But when she arrived, she saw Lola wearing a pure white wedding dress and twirling happily before a mirror.

The wedding dress looked familiar. Rosalie recognized it to be the one Bradley had had tailored for her.

Bradley had changed out of his monastic robe. He wore a black suit as he stood beside Lola, his gaze affectionate and doting. They were the very embodiment of love and tenderness.

Even Rosalie felt like they were the ones who were about to get married, let alone others. She felt like she wasn't even needed.

"Rosie, you're here!" Lola spotted Rosalie and stuck out her tongue, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Rosie. I've never seen the wedding dresses that you guys wear here. I couldn't resist trying this one on because it was so pretty."

She blinked innocently, looking uneasy. "You won't be mad at me, will you?"

Rosalie smiled. "Of course not. You can have the wedding dress if you like it so much."

"You're talking nonsense again." Bradley glared at her. "Is this something to joke about?"

She looked at him, wanting to tell him she wasn't joking. As long as he and Lola were willing, she could let them have her wedding, let alone her wedding dress.

However, Bradley had an ugly look on his face. She didn't want to provoke him further, so she held her tongue and kept her words to herself.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have tried anything on," Lola said, looking apologetic. "Don't be mad, Rosie. I'll take the wedding dress off and return it to you right now."

Then, she hurried to the dressing room.

"Do you have to be so forceful?" Bradley shot Rosalie an icy look. He looked at her like she was a sinner he was judging and punishing on behalf of the gods.

She shut her eyes, feeling tired. Her intention had been to step down so Lola could take her place, yet he said she was being forceful. Sure enough, a person who wasn't loved and favored would be in the wrong, no matter what they did.

Whatever. She didn't want to explain anything—she would be joining the Sandharan Order in six days anyway. For those who renounced the world, all joy and sorrow would turn to nothingness. All in the world was emptiness. So, what was there to explain?

Soon, Lola was done changing out of the wedding dress. To stop herself from appearing "forceful", Rosalie entered the dressing room without saying anything. She tried on the dress Lola had just taken off to find that it was a size too big for her.

She was taller than Lola but much skinnier. The wedding dress had looked perfect on Lola, yet it was too short and wide on her. It wasn't meant for her, no matter how she tried to adjust it.

Rosalie laughed inwardly. It was normal for the dress not to fit her—she wasn't the one Bradley wanted to marry, after all. That was why he'd remembered the wrong size and inadvertently had the designer tailor a dress for Lola. It made perfect sense, didn't it?

Rosalie took off the dress and changed back into her own clothes. Then, she walked out of the dressing room.

"Rosie, why did you come out without the wedding dress?" Lola furrowed her brows and asked nervously, "Are you still mad at me?"

"No." Rosalie smiled faintly. "I tried it on, and it fits perfectly."

"Then why—" Lola started.

Rosalie cut her off, "Because there's a saying that there will be bad luck if a groom sees his bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. That's why I didn't show you guys what I looked like in the dress—it's fine as long as it fits."

Lola believed her and nodded as the realization dawned on her. "Oh, I see."

Meanwhile, Bradley gave Rosalie a pointed look. His face was devoid of emotion, so she couldn't tell how he felt. Then again, who could read the mind of a man of the monastery?

…

After the dress fitting, Rosalie headed home and retrieved the scripture Stanley had given her. She sat down in the study and started reading it.

Her study was filled with scripture, and all the texts were written in Zoltian. Many of them were priceless collectibles.

She'd initially started collecting them to close the distance between herself and Bradley. She'd wanted to understand his inner world and ensure they had something in common. She'd even desired to have their souls resonate with each other.

However, he'd told her off for being insincere, even saying that she was disrespecting his religion.

Rosalie had been indignant, and she'd started learning about the Sandharan Order on willpower alone. Gradually, she found herself truly falling in love with the religion. Whenever she read scripture, it would calm and save her shattered heart.

She'd agreed to be the Sacred Goddess not only because she wanted to forget about Bradley. It was also because she believed the Sandharan Order was where her soul would finally find peace.

She was so engrossed in studying the scripture that she didn't notice Bradley entering the study. She was reading a text when it was taken from her hands.

"Why are you reading this?" Bradley looked at her imperiously, his gaze cold. "Didn't I warn you about this? The Sandharan Order won't accept people with impure senses and lingering emotions. Why bother putting on an act for me when you can't cast aside your worldly desires?"

Rosalie bit her lip hard. She didn't want to argue with him, but she couldn't hold herself back this time. She looked up stubbornly and retorted, "What about you, then? Can you cast aside your worldly desires?"

Could he let go of Lola? He wouldn't have left the Sandharan Order if he could!