Chapter 8
甘
The first day Isabelle sent a photo of Damon personally hunting a giant bear
for her, Ariel built a fire pit and burned every picture she had ever taken with
him.
The second day, Isabelle sent a photo of them kissing under the moonlight.
Ariel called in a team of werewolf warriors and had every cherry tree Damon
had planted in the backyard uprooted.
The third day, Isabelle shared a compilation of Damon’s love confessions to
her. Ariel dug out the hundreds of love letters Damon had once written her.
The pages had yellowed with time, but the ink remained clear.
She traced the handwriting with her fingers–then, without the slightest
hesitation, fed them into the shredder one by one.
On the morning of her departure-
1133 AM &
Chapter & The Last Goodbye
Ariel opened her eyes to find Damon standing beside her bed.
He hadn’t come home in days. Now he stood there, watching her quietly. His
eyes were heavy with thought.
“Ariel, I just tried to feel your mate mark… and I couldn’t. What’s going on?”
Her heart skipped a beat.
The potion had started working. Her mate mark would completely vanish
today.
She feigned confusion. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too weak.”
“It’ll come back, right?”
He finally relaxed and pulled her into his arms, smiling. “Yeah. I can feel it
again now.”
Then he grinned and asked, “Guess what I bought for you–your favorite?”
Chapter & The Last Goodye
She hesitated, then said softly, “Grilled Alaskan from the east side.”
His eyes li
up with surprise. “How’d you know?”
How could she not?
Back when they were dating, every time Damon made her angry, he would
run twenty kilometers under the moonlight just to bring her grilled Alaskan
from that little shop on the east side to apologize.
The moment that sweet, smoky scent hit her nose, she would melt.
She didn’t care for jewelry or crowns–just that one bite.
And when the smell hit her nose, her wolf ears would twitch without her
realizing it.
He used to laugh and say, “My Ariel is way too easy to please.”
And she would tap him on the forehead, smiling, “It’s not that I’m easy to
please. It’s because I still love you. So I’m willing to forgive everything.”
11:33 AM
Chapter The Last Goodbye
“But the day I stop loving you–even if you die in front of me, it won’t change a
thing.”
The memory drifted away.
Damon pulled a box from behind him, revealing the grilled Alaskan. He smiled.
fondly. “I knew it. I can never hide anything from you.”
Ariel smiled back and said clearly, “That’s right. You can’t hide anything from
me.”
Something in his chest tightened. “Ariel..”
But she said nothing. She got out of bed and went to wash up.
When she came back out, she saw Damon hurrying out the door.
Ariel hesitated just a moment before following.
She had only just stepped outside when she stopped in her tracks.
Chapter 8 The Last Goodye
Isabelle was standing just a few feet away.
She really showed up here. On her doorstep. In broad daylight.
甘
And before Ariel could react, Isabelle reached up, grabbed Damon by the tie,
and pulled him in for a kiss.
At first, Damon looked like he was going to push her away. But after a few
seconds of resistance, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back
-deeply, hungrily.
They stood in the garden, their kiss growing more heated by the second. His
hands slid under her shirt.
Ariel couldn’t watch anymore. She turned and went back inside.
Moments later, Damon came in.
The first thing out of his mouth was, “Ariel, I wanted to spend the whole day with you today, but I just got a call–something happened with the patrol squad. I need to head out. Be good, stay home, and once I finish, I swear I’ll
Chapter 8 The Last Goodbye
spend the rest of the day with you, okay?”
He looked at her anxiously, like her answer was everything.
But Ariel already knew–there was no patrol squad.
Isabelle was the one waiting outside.
And suddenly, it hit her–maybe every time there was a so–called “patrol
emergency,” he had just been out sleeping with Isabelle.
A wave of nausea surged up her throat. She closed her eyes, forced it down,
and steadied herself.
“Go,” she said quietly. “Take care of it.”
Her voice was gentle, calm. No trace of anything wrong.
Damon didn’t think twice. He ruffled her hair and walked out the door.
A car horn blared, then slowly faded into the distance.
Chapter The Last Goodbye
The smile slid from Ariel’s face.
Two silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
甘
She wiped them away, tossed the grilled Alaskan into the trash, and walked to
her room.
She opened the closet and took out the suitcase she had packed days ago.
After one last glance at the home she no longer belonged to, she picked up her phone and sent Damon a final message.
“It’s been two weeks. You can open the Mating Ceremony anniversary gift I
gave you now.
The reply came almost instantly.
“Sweetheart, I’ll be home soon. Let’s open it together.”
Ariel smiled.
Together?
Chapter & The Last Goodbye
Damon, from now on, it’s just you.
The rest of your life, you’ll be alone.
She forwarded every one of Isabelle’s texts to him–every photo, every taunt,
every sickening message.
Then she pulled out her SIM card and snapped it in two.
At last, she wheeled her suitcase out the door.
The potion had fully taken effect.
The mate mark on her neck had vanished completely.
Outside, the sun blazed high in the sky.
From this moment forward, no matter heaven or earth–no one would ever
find Ariel again.
