"Lumina has always had a bias against me and now she resents my brother too. Madam, you—"

Smack!

A sharp, resounding slap struck Tracie’s face, the sound reverberating through the room.

“Floyd might be too blind to see what kind of person you are. Do you really take me for a fool?” Grandma Alice’s voice was cold and cutting, each word hitting like a hammer.

“You know exactly how much of the Stuart Family’s fortune was funneled behind the scenes to secure your brother’s position as head of surgery!”

“Floyd might be foolish enough to treat you like a prized gem and that’s his mistake. But don’t think for a second that I won’t deal with you myself.”

With Grandma Alice taking matters into her own hands, the room was gripped by stunned silence. No one dared to intervene. Sean cowered in the corner, too terrified to even exhale loudly.

The sharp crack of each slap echoed as Grandma Alice’s fury rained down, leaving Tracie’s face swollen, red and marked with the imprints of her rage.

Still unsatisfied, Grandma Alice kicked her squarely in the chest, sending her reeling backward—straight into Floyd’s arms as he entered the room just in time to catch her.

Tears streamed down Tracie’s face as she clutched her cheeks, now covered in angry red handprints. Her voice trembled as she wailed.

“Floydie, I don’t know what Lumina might have told Grandma Alice about me. If she truly can’t stand having me around, I’ll step away—I promise I won’t interfere in your lives again.”

“But… could you ask her to show some mercy? To stop coming after me?”

In the midst of the chaos, with the room left in shambles and Grandma Alice’s hand still poised in mid-air, Floyd’s expression darkened like thunderclouds gathering before a storm.

Wrapping Tracie protectively in his arms, he growled through clenched teeth, “And who does she think she is? What gives her the right to say she can’t tolerate you?”

“Stay by my side. You’re not going anywhere!”

With those words, he fixed his cold, furious gaze on Lumina in the bed, his eyes burning with contempt. “You really love causing trouble, don’t you? Is this what you wanted all along, to break off the engagement?”

With a swift motion, he yanked the ring from his left hand and threw it out the window with all his force. “Fine, let’s end it. The engagement is over!”

Grandma Alice, overcome by the shock and anger, collapsed on the spot. The room descended into chaos. Lumina, frantic, tried to help her grandmother but lost her balance and fell from the bed.

The IV was ripped from her arm, spilling the medicine all over the floor. Blood began to seep through the bandages on her legs.

“Grandma! Grandma…”

Using the last of her strength, Lumina crawled toward her, each movement a painful struggle. Just as her hand reached out to touch her grandmother, Floyd stopped her cold.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I just… I just want to see if Grandma is alright,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

Lumina collapsed in front of him, desperation etched on her face, clutching his pants leg in a silent plea for mercy, just wanting to check on Alice.

But Floyd, with a harsh shove, kicked her hand away. “Stop acting innocent! This is all your fault! If it weren’t for you, your grandmother wouldn’t have fainted!”

“You’re only using her to get back at me, aren’t you? Don’t you care about her age, her health? How could you be so selfish and reckless?”

“Lumina, how could you be so heartless?”

With that, he scooped Tracie into his arms and stormed out without a second glance.

As they neared the door, Tracie, nestled against him, shot a smug look at Lumina, who was struggling to get back up. With a cruel smirk, she mouthed two words:

"Serves you right."

Grandma Alice remained unconscious for a full two days.

Drew and Erika, Floyd’s parents, arrived in a fury, having rushed overnight. Without hesitation, Drew slapped Floyd across the face, his anger seething.

“This is how you take care of your grandmother? If the media gets hold of this, what will the Stuart Family’s reputation look like?” Drew’s rage was clear and the slap left a bright red mark on Floyd’s cheek.

Erika, concerned for her son, quickly intervened, trying to calm her husband while casting a sharp look at Floyd. "What happened? How could Grandma have collapsed so suddenly?"

Tracie was the first to break the tense silence. “Lumina caused some trouble a while ago, so Floydie decided to give her a little lesson. But who would’ve thought she’d go straight to Grandma Alice and complain? I don’t even know what she said, but whatever it was, she managed to make Grandma so angry that she fainted.”

With her carefully chosen words, Tracie easily shifted all the blame onto Lumina.

Erika frowned as she listened. “This Lumina really doesn’t know her place. When her parents were alive, I could understand, but now? What’s left of the Shields Family? It’s all been divided up by her uncles and aunts. If it weren’t for the Stuart Family, she’d be an orphan by now. And yet, she still dares to behave like this!”

Though Floyd was still seething with anger, hearing his family trash Lumina made him speak up in her defense, momentarily forgetting his earlier stance.

“Mom, Lumina’s father did help us a lot in the past. Without the funding from the Shields Family, we might’ve…”

“Enough! Let’s not dwell on the past.” Drew interrupted sharply, throwing a pointed look at Tracie.

He then turned to Floyd, his tone serious. “I hear you’re thinking of breaking off the engagement?”

Floyd remained silent, but Erika muttered under her breath, “Breaking it off would be for the best.”

“Besides her looks, what does she bring to the table? She’s been spoiled by Grandma Alice, acting entitled and arrogant. If she actually married into this family, who knows what kind of trouble she’d cause?”

Floyd instinctively wanted to refuse.

Although he had thrown away the engagement ring and said some harsh words, deep down, he never truly intended to break up with Lumina.

Tracie quickly placed a hand on his and whispered softly, “Your parents are already furious, Floyd. Don’t make them even angrier.”

With a smile at Erika, she added, “The engagement can wait. The real issue is that Grandma’s health can’t handle any more stress.”

“Why don’t we send Lumina abroad for now? Once Grandma is better, we can reassess the situation.”

“Alright, let’s do that,” Drew agreed.

After Drew and Erika left, Floyd let out a long sigh and took Tracie’s hand in his. “Thank you. If it weren’t for you…"

Earlier, Drew had been so angry that he might have forced Floyd to break up with Lumina. If that had happened, Floyd would have been caught in an impossible situation.

Tracie smiled knowingly. “There’s no need to thank me.”

“With everything Lumina has done to you, you still help her…” he said, a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“She’s just acting like a child. Do I really need to hold a grudge against her?”

After calming Floyd, Tracie finally had the chance to visit her brother, who had narrowly escaped a broken rib.

Sean was applying ointment to his wounds, wincing in pain while still grumbling, "What the hell were you thinking, causing this whole mess and bringing that damn old woman here?"

Tracie shot him an exasperated look, almost scolding him and sighed, "Do you really think you can keep Lumina's injuries hidden for much longer?"

"What if she dies because of you? Do you really think Floyd will let you off the hook? Forget about losing your position as head of surgery—your life won’t be safe either!"

"This..." Sean immediately panicked. "You’re the one who told me to cover up Lumina’s condition! You can’t just leave me to deal with this!"

"Exactly," Tracie responded coldly, "That’s why I’ve been setting this plan in motion—to send Lumina abroad. Once she has an ‘accident’ over there, no one will be able to trace it back to us."

"And only then will Floyd be free to marry someone else without a second thought."

The plan was set for two days later. In the meantime, Lumina was kept isolated in her hospital room.

Every day, nurses and bodyguards were stationed inside and outside Lumina's hospital room, as if they feared she might run off and cause trouble again.

The truth was, she couldn’t even stand on her own two feet.

Floyd had his doubts, but Sean quickly covered for her. "Lumina's legs have already healed, but she refuses to get up. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Once we send her abroad, she won’t be able to play the victim in front of you anymore. Maybe then she’ll finally stand up."

Floyd's face darkened again. "It seems like that month at Mount Gravenwood didn’t teach her anything."

He didn’t understand why Lumina was always so willful, why she had to use her own health as a bargaining chip to manipulate him.

Yet, deep down, a secret sense of happiness stirred within him at the thought that Lumina cared so much for him.

At that, Lumina didn’t respond the way he expected—panicked or pleading. Instead, she asked quietly, "How is Grandma?"

"How dare you ask about Grandma?" Floyd's frustration flared. "If you hadn’t gone behind her back and complained, dragging her all the way here, she never would’ve fainted!"

"It wasn’t me." Lumina softly defended herself.

"What?" Floyd heard her, but he was unwilling to believe it.

Floyd would never believe her, Lumina thought as she closed her eyes again.

Two days later, it was the day she would leave forever. It seemed as if they planned to send her away for good, keeping her out of their lives once and for all.

All of Lumina’s belongings were packed up and sent to the Stuart Family estate—her clothes, her jewelry, but mostly the paintings she had created for Floyd.

When she first arrived at the manor, she was often downcast and lost in thought.

Although Grandma Alice tried to offer comfort, her strength was limited by age and there were times when she simply couldn’t do enough. That’s when Grandma Alice asked Floyd to stay by Lumina’s side.

Floyd would hold her hand as they took walks around the estate. He would take her to watch fireworks light up the sky and whenever she missed her parents, he would gently wipe away her tears, whispering,

"Don’t worry, I’ll always be here with you."

It was during these moments that Lumina began to secretly draw Floyd.

She captured him from every angle—the front view, his side profile, his smiling face. Every subtle gesture became etched in her heart and transferred to paper.

On the day of their engagement, Lumina felt truly alive for the first time. It was as though she had finally found someone in the world who would never leave her.

That was why she spent an entire month working on a painting of herself kissing Floyd. But before she could give him the finished piece, Tracie arrived, stepping off the plane.

It was the first time Floyd had ever let go of her hand. "Moony, be good. I'm just going to pick someone up. I'll be back soon."

He never returned that night.

From that moment on, he never called her "Moony" again. Instead, he addressed her not by nickname--"Lumina."

Her painting would never be delivered. But no matter how hard she tried, her heart couldn’t seem to let go.

It wasn’t until she ate the red fruit in the forest that everything truly changed.

A single bite of the poisonous fruit twisted her insides and she knew—she was dying. In her final moments, her past obsessions replayed over and over, until they faded into nothingness.

It was then that she finally gave up.

If she couldn’t have her heart back, then she didn’t want it—just like Floyd, she didn’t need him anymore.

As she hovered on the edge of death, a voice suddenly whispered in her ear. "Do you want to live? I can make you an offer."

Dazed, she heard herself ask, "What kind of offer?"

The Spirit of the Forest, with no physical form but a voice full of sorrow, replied, "I can use the last of my power to save you. But once you leave this place, your soul will have to enter my body and fulfill the wish I couldn’t complete in life."