Chapter 26
Nyssa pov
“Nyssa!” Aria screamed my name, her voice echoing, causing me to freeze. My eyes narrowed into a cold glare, my hands instinctively clenching into fists, my jaw tightening with barely contained anger.
“Nyssa,” she called again, rushing to my side with a bright smile, her eyes lighting up as she gazed at me. I met her gaze, and before I even realized what I was doing, I released a powerful wave of killing intent straight at her. It was strong enough to make her flinch, and for a brief moment, I saw her eyes flash with fear as she stared at me. But then, the eyes that narrowed behind me made me quickly retract the intent, a frown tugging at my lips as I realized what I had just done.
Killing intent? That was a force werewolves released when they were enraged and wanted to either kill or intimidate their rivals. Even those without wolves could release such a force, but what I had just unleashed was stronger- far stronger than anything I had done before.
“That was only half of our force,” Sheila’s smug voice echoed in my mind. “If I released the rest, that bitch would start coughing up blood.”
I blinked, momentarily taken aback by her words.
Half of the force? I wasn’t sure if she was just bragging or telling the truth. Honestly, it felt like she was just boasting.
“Hey! I’m not bragging-” Sheila started, but she cut herself off as Aria reached for my hands, holding them gently in hers. The fear in her eyes had vanished, replaced with a forced smile as she gripped me.
“Nyssa, how have you been? I’ve been trying to get through to you. You haven’t been picking up your phone, and you’ve been ignoring Kieran too. What happened?” she asked, but my gaze was fixed on the hands that held mine.
“Don’t touch me.” Without thinking twice, I frowned and yanked my hands away from hers in disgust.
I guessed I was getting stronger, thanks to Sheila, because when I pulled away, Aria gasped in surprise and staggered back, losing her balance.
Everything seemed to unfold in slow motion. Gasps filled the air as everyone watched, and I stood there, unmoving, as she reached out, trying to grab hold of me to stop her fall. But I kept my hands firmly behind my back, watching her tumble to the ground without a hint of emotion.
But before she could hit the ground, of course, Kieran appeared out of nowhere behind her. His hand wrapped around Aria’s waist, pulling her close and steadying her before she could fall. His expression was filled with worry as he checked her over, making sure she was okay. Once he was certain she was fine, he turned his cold gaze on me, narrowing his eyes into a glare.
“Why would you shove her?” he asked, mild killing intent radiating off him.
The corner of my lips twitched up slightly as I shifted my gaze away from him and narrowed my eyes at his hand still placed on Aria, and that’s when he seemed to realize the position he was in.
His expression shifted, and he cleared his throat, clearly wanting to pull away from Aria. But instead, she suddenly wrapped her arms around Kieran’s waist, pulling him closer.
“K–Kieran…” Aria breathed out, her voice shaky as she rested her head on his chest. “Kieran, I almost fell… I don’t know what I did to Nyssa, but she shoved me.” Tears started to spill from her eyes, and I watched as Kieran frowned as a crowd began to form around us, drawn like magnets, their whispers ringing around us.
“Wait, isn’t that Kieran and Aria? Why are they hugging?” someone murmured behind me. Another voice responded,
1/3
Chapter 26
“Didn’t you see? It was Lady Nyssa who shoved Aria to the ground, and Kieran saved her. They must be fighting.”
“I mean, even though Kieran saved her, don’t you think that position is a little… strange? Wasn’t Kieran Lady Nyssa’s ex- fiancé? Are Aria and he together now?”
Kieran stiffened at the question, his eyes locking onto mine as he instantly shook his head. Aria also froze when she heard the words, finally realizing what she was doing. She quickly pulled away from Kieran, her eyes darting around the crowd as her face flushed a shade of pink.
The corner of my lips tilted up further as I watched both Kieran and Aria, my gaze sharp.
I see. So, that’s how it was going to be.
A repetition of the past. Just like yesterday, when I almost fell to the ground after Serene knocked on the door, but Darius caught me just in time. In my past life, I had fallen in a similar way when Serene knocked to bring water for Kieran and me, and Thad twisted my ankle that day.
When it happened again yesterday, a sense of suspicion crept in. It felt like the past was repeating itself.
A famous quote flashed through my mind when I was granted a second chance by the Moon Goddess:
“No matter how many times you’re given a second chance, the past remains etched in time–it’s the one thing you can never change, only learn from.”
The past can’t be changed. The events of the past were what made it the past.
That was why the same thing that had happened before was happening again.
After my marriage to Kieran, he had moved into the packhouse to live with me, and this particular day, Kieran had promised to go shopping with me. We were supposed to pick out clothes for our honeymoon, and even though it was just shopping, it was meant to be a date- just the two of us.
But then Aria had said she wanted to follow us and pick out some clothes for herself too. I remembered how upset I had felt when I was about to tell her no, only for Kieran to agree to it, leaving me no choice but to accept it. When we eventually went to the mall, I immediately felt like the third wheel as Kieran and Aria walked side by side while I trailed behind them.
The emotion I felt when Kieran didn’t pay attention to me, the jealousy when Aria would hold Kieran’s hand and swing it around childishly… I remembered them too well. And most of all, I remembered this.
A low chuckle escaped me as I narrowed my gaze on Aria, who looked flustered.
I remembered when she fell to the ground on her own and lied, claiming I had shoved her, and everyone blamed me for pushing my best friend. The day the rumors about my bad character started.
How interesting.
The past was really repeating itself, and I had unknowingly worn the dress I did that day. The same dress, the same situation -just with two idiots standing before me now.
It felt almost like déjà vu, except this time I wouldn’t let them twist things around. I knew what was coming, and I would make sure the outcome was different this time.
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