Chapter 1
Ten years after I got pulled into this world, I gave up on finding my way home and married Edward Whitmore, the celestial guardian who promised he'd protect me forever.
He taught me to read and write. He took blades meant for me. He lifted me from nothing, a lost girl in a foreign world, and made me his wife.
I thought fate had finally smiled on me. Then the pain hit. My stomach cramped so badly I collapsed, and through the haze, I heard him talking to his advisor.
"My lord, if you want to save the child, you have to stop draining her soul. She won't survive much longer if you keep this up."
Edward's face twisted for a second, but then it was gone.
"No. I brought her here from that other world for one reason—to bring Seraphina back. We're so close now. I can't stop.
"Seraphina died as a Divine Maiden, sacrificing herself for everyone. Izzy is her reincarnation, so it's her duty to bear this burden.
"And if Izzy ends up paralyzed?" His voice didn't even waver. "I'll take care of her for the rest of her life."
The truth hit me like ice water. I was never his wife. I was just a vessel, a way to resurrect the woman he actually loved.
*****
Behind his back, I clenched my dress so hard my nails dug into my palms.
My life meant nothing to him. My baby's life meant nothing. We couldn't compare to someone who'd been dead for over twenty years.
Edward was heartless and devoted in all the wrong ways.
She asked, "You knew her body couldn't handle a pregnancy. So why the hell did you get her pregnant?"
"Seraphina was a saint, so she could never carry a child herself. I thought I could give Isabelle's baby to her to raise and fill that void for her."
His words cut through me like a knife. He only cared about fixing Seraphina's regret, but what about me?
I had no one in this world. I was finally going to have someone who shared my blood, and he wanted to rip that away from me.
He promised me a family. He promised.
A tear slid down my cheek, and he immediately pulled me into his arms. "Izzy, is the baby hurting you again?"
He didn't realize I was awake. He just thought the baby was making me uncomfortable.
He turned to Lydia in a panic. "Do something! Help her!"
He looked desperate, like he'd take the pain himself if he could.
If I hadn't heard what he just said, I might've been touched by how much he seemed to care.
Lydia's expression shifted, and she looked torn. "The Breath of Serenity incense could ease her pain."
Edward went still.
Breath of Serenity was priceless. The mermaid clan only produced one stick every hundred years, and every bit they offered went straight to the Sanctuary of the Divine to strengthen her divine soul.
I was a fake. How could I compete with the Saint—the woman everyone worshipped?
Edward stayed quiet, and Lydia let out a tired sigh.
She asked, "My lord, have you thought about what happens to your wife after Saint Seraphina comes back?"
"The Guardian Estate is big enough. I can take care of her."
"You're not planning to let her go?"
"She's my woman. Where would she go? Besides, if something happens to Seraphina again, she's Seraphina's reincarnation. She might be able to take the hit for her."
So I was just Seraphina's human shield.
He wanted to trap me in this world forever.
Edward used his heart's blood as the catalyst for my pregnancy stabilization medicine.
Everyone said Edward loved me to his core, and they couldn't believe he'd sacrifice his divine essence to protect my baby.
When I heard all that envious gossip, I wanted to laugh. Edward didn't love me. He just wanted to keep the child in my womb safe for Seraphina.
He left for the Highpeak to make sure Seraphina's resurrection would go perfectly.
Before he left, he handed me a bracelet and told me it would protect my soul. He said I couldn't take it off.
I recognized the spell marks carved into it. The bracelet wasn't protecting anything. It was draining my soul.
I tried to remove it, but he'd cursed the damn thing. I couldn't get it off, no matter what I did.
The pain came in waves every single day and night, and it felt like drowning.
I broke into his study looking for a way out.
That was when I found all the portraits he'd painted of me.
I had round, bright eyes that made me look like I was always smiling, but the woman in those paintings had something else in her gaze. Something divine and sorrowful, like she pitied the whole world.
That woman wasn't me.
I thought back over the past ten years. Every single portrait he'd ever painted had those same eyes.
He said he wanted to capture proof of our love, but he'd never actually painted me. Not once.
I tore through those paintings like I'd lost my mind and shredded every single one.
The pain from the bracelet hit me so hard that everything went black. I stumbled and knocked over an ornate box sitting on his desk.
I saw Edward's journal sitting on the desk.
Pages and pages were filled with everything he'd done over the decades to bring Seraphina back. I forced myself to read through it all, torturing myself with every word, until I reached an entry from ten years ago.
[I finally found a way to bring you back. I pulled her into our world.]
[She's your reincarnation. She looks just like you, except for the eyes.]
[She's terrified. She cries every day and begs to go home, but there's no way I'm letting her leave.]
[I've been extracting her soul essence daily, but she actually thinks I'm the only good person in this world. Pathetically naive.]
[She wants to marry me. I'm sorry, Seraphina. I've defiled myself.]
[I remember you wanted a child, so I got her pregnant.]
[Seraphina, we'll see each other again soon.]
I stared at the pages, numb. Memories flooded back, playing through my mind like scenes from someone else's life.
When I first arrived in this world, I couldn't understand the language or read the writing. I was an outsider, and people bullied me constantly. I nearly died more than once.
Edward was the one who saved me. He taught me to read and write, showed me how to navigate this world. I thought he was my only salvation, my only lifeline in this strange place.
It had all been a lie.