Chapter 3

Early the next morning, Asher showed up at the house himself, coming to press for the marriage. He was still rolling the crystal ball in his hand.

Kayla and I were hauled out of the woodshed.

Coraline watched from the sidelines, her face full of anticipation for the spectacle.

Asher lounged in a chair, his gaze flickering back and forth between us. "Have you thought it over? So, who's it going to be?"

His voice had a hypnotic quality, almost like it could bend your will. Just hearing him made me feel drowsy, like I could surrender and let him call all the shots.

It was a soul enchantment spell. In my previous life, I got caught up in it and nodded like a fool.

This time, I bit my tongue hard. The sharp pain instantly snapped me awake. My mouth was flooded with the taste of blood.

I looked up, pretending to be entranced. "Mr. Quinn, I'm willing to marry you."

Kayla, beside me, grew anxious and reached out to grab me. I discreetly pinched her palm, signaling her to stop.

Asher smiled, clearly pleased, "Anna, you really know how to behave. As long as you stay obedient, endless riches and glory will be yours."

I stepped forward, acting like I was hungry for riches. "Mr. Quinn, I have a condition."

Asher raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"I heard the Quinn residence has a special bone broth. Supposedly, it keeps you beautiful and young forever," I said. "I want some."

Asher's face changed instantly. His murderous aura filled the room. "Who told you about that?" he demanded.

That so-called Soul-Binding Soup was made from corpse oil and human hearts, specially prepared for the one sealed inside the coffin, Amelia William.

If any living soul dared to taste it, the corpse poison would eat them alive, turning them into a living corpse.

I shrank my neck, pretending to be scared. "Coraline told me. She said she ate it before, and that's why her skin is so nice."

I just tossed the blame Coraline's way.

Coraline was caught off guard for a moment, just about to protest.

I cut her off, saying, "She also said the broth tastes incredible. She's been dreaming of having another bowl ever since."

Asher turned his gaze toward Coraline. The murderous glint in his eyes vanished, replaced by an unsettling tenderness.

"Since you want it so badly, I'll have a bowl brought over," Asher said.

Coraline practically shivered under his stare, but there was no way she'd dare defy Asher.

She could only give an awkward, forced smile. "Y-yeah, the broth really is great."

She had absolutely no clue it was made for the dead. She just figured it was some kind of fancy health supplement.

Asher nodded. He figured I was nothing but a gluttonous idiot.

As long as I agreed to marry him, he didn't care what I asked for. In the end, he planned to drain every last drop from me anyway.

*****

That night, a servant from the Quinn family brought over a lunchbox. When I lifted the lid, a strange, intoxicating aroma filled the air.

The broth was a deep, rich red, with a few bones on the bottom.

Kayla and I acted out a big scene in our room, making it look like we were fighting over the broth.

"I want it. Mr. Quinn gave it to me," I yelled.

"I'm the older sister, so it should be mine," Kayla snapped back.

We got into a heated argument, completely fooling the phantom figures guarding the door.

Finally, I shoved the bowl away, acting all sulky. "I'm not eating it. Send it to Coraline. Let her see just how well Mr. Quinn spoils me."

Kayla carried the bowl and knocked on Coraline's door.

Coraline was doing a face mask, but when she saw the bone broth, her eyes lit up.

"Smart move," she said, snatched up the bowl, and gulped it all down in one go. She even licked the bottom clean.

After finishing, she licked her lips in satisfaction, still wanting more. "This is really good. It makes me feel all warm inside."

Kayla and I hid in the shadows, our eyes fixed on Coraline's neck.

That butterfly-shaped birthmark was starting to flush red. It was almost as if the mark was waking up.

Now that the corpse poison was in her, no one could save her. Coraline brought this on herself. It was not our fault.

It was the day of the wedding. The sky hung so dark and heavy that it felt like it could collapse at any moment.

The Quinn family's wedding procession arrived. The air held no mirth, only the thin, broken sound of weeping, as if it were a funeral.

The figures carrying the sedan chair were all phantoms, with two big red spots painted on their cheeks. They didn't touch the ground. They just drifted along, floating through the air.

Coraline burst into the room, clutching the wedding gown.

Her face was unnaturally red, as if she'd had too much to drink. It was a sign that the corpse poison was beginning to show its effects. "Hurry up and put it on. It's time to go."

She shoved the wedding gown over my shoulders in a rush.

The gown was icy cold, embroidered with countless curses. This was never meant for the living.

I stared at Coraline, her face twisted with greedy anticipation.

"Wow, Mom, this dress is gorgeous. Honestly, it'd suit you way better," I said.

Coraline shot me a glare. "Quit your nonsense. Hurry up."

Kayla stood behind Coraline, clutching the stick we'd stashed away ages ago.

"Mom, look behind you," Kayla suddenly shouted.

Coraline instinctively turned around. A heavy thud echoed in the room.

Kayla brought the stick down with all her strength, cracking it right against the back of Coraline's head.

Her eyes rolled back, and she crumpled to the floor, completely out of her mind.

Kayla and I sprang into action. In no time, we pulled off her clothes and forced the wedding gown onto her.

Coraline was a bit curvier than I. The wedding gown squeezed her so tight, she looked like a stuffed sausage.

Just to make sure she didn't wake up halfway through, I pried her mouth open and forced down a bottle of obedience water.

Asher had given it to me, meant for me to drink so I'd meekly climb into the sedan chair. But now, Coraline was the one getting it all.

We shoved my unconscious stepmother into the sedan chair. Then we pulled the veil over her head.

The phantom servant couldn't tell people apart. They only went by the wedding gown.

Asher led the procession atop a majestic steed. The horse was also phantom, its eyes nothing but painted circles.

Without so much as a glance behind him, he gave a curt wave and commanded, "Let's go."

The cries started up again, echoing through the air. The sedan chair wobbled its way out the door.

Kayla and I exchanged a look, then bolted for the back door. We had to get out of there, and fast.

If Asher ever realized the bride had been switched, we were as good as dead.

We had just made it out of the alley when a thick fog suddenly rolled in. Suddenly, a thick fog rolled in all around us.

Countless lost souls and wandering ghosts emerged from the ground. They could smell the living on us.

They closed in around us, drooling and baring their fangs, hungry eyes fixed on their prey.

"Smells so delicious," one of the ghosts moaned.

"If we eat them, we can reincarnate," another groaned.

Kayla and I pressed our backs against the wall, feeling hopeless as the ghosts closed in on us.

Kayla's hand shook so badly that the knife almost slipped from her grip.

Just then, two beams of golden light shot down from the sky.