Chapter 2
If it were the old days, I would've skipped over to open the door, playfully clung to Carter's arm, acting all cute.
But now, my chest felt so tight, even taking a breath stung.
I bit down hard on my lip, still refusing to say a word.
It stayed quiet outside for so long that I almost thought Carter had left. Then I heard a soft sigh, barely audible, full of helplessness and concern.
He said, "I won't bother you. I'll leave the treats at your door. If you're not feeling well, just let me know. I'm always here."
His footsteps faded into the night, so soft it almost felt like he'd never been there at all.
I waited a long time, making sure he was really gone, before I finally crept over to the door and opened it just a crack.
There on the stone steps sat a food container, still steaming gently, and beside it was a white wine flask, the very kind I loved most.
My tears fell without warning, scalding as they hit the doorframe.
I quickly shut the door, slid down against it, and wrapped my arms around myself.
He still treated me with such kindness. It made it impossible to believe the ending those comments kept predicting for me.
With tears clouding my vision, memories flooded in all at once.
When I was six, Carter had just brought me back to the Lumenism Sect from the foot of the mountain.
I was crying as if my heart would break, and he scooped me up, wiped my tears with his sleeve, and promised, "From now on, I'll always protect you."
When I was eight, I slipped and fell into a mud pit in the herb garden while practicing swordplay, getting myself covered in dirt.
Carter just laughed, pulled me up, brushed the mud off me, and even snuck a spirit fruit from Second Elder to cheer me up.
When I was twelve, during the Flower Festival, I kept begging him to take me down the mountain to see the floating lights.
He snuck me out without telling the elders, bought me my favorite cheese cake from the Velaris Table, and rented a boat so we could float lanterns on the river all night.
When I was fifteen, I went into seclusion to practice my swordplay, but had a mishap and damaged my meridians.
Carter stayed by my side the whole time, never leaving, nurturing my meridians with his own spiritual energy. He watched over me for three whole months.
When I finally woke up and saw how pale he looked, I felt a pang in my heart for him.
Nine years of memories played in my mind like a montage, each scene flickering by.
Carter always remembered every little thing I liked, and whenever I was feeling down, he'd be the first to show up, showering me with all his warmth and gentle favoritism.
I really thought those days would last forever.
But now, the screen kept reminding me that all this kindness was just paving the way for my downfall.
Someday, Carter would strike me down with his sword, shattering my inner core and turning me from his precious girl into a cripple.
I'd be kicked out of the Lumenism Sect, forced to survive among ordinary people, tormented by vagrants I never even cared about, and in the end, I'd die in agony and despair.
And him? He'd team up with Reeva, becoming the most enviable couple in the whole sect, walking the path together while everyone else looked on with admiration.
Tears slipped down without warning, splashing onto the floor and leaving a faint, blurry mark.
I wiped my tears away, looking up at the endless stars, and asked softly, "Carter, would you really do that to me?"
The night breeze brushed past, but the stars stayed quiet, never giving me any answer.
Only the screen comments popped up again, their words dripping with icy mockery.
[Michelle is still dreaming, huh? Carter's heart was snatched by Reeva a long time ago. He only sees Michelle as a little sister. She's just crushing on him all by herself.]
[Just thinking about how Michelle will get all clingy with Carter later is so cringe. Good thing he ends things for good with one sword strike.]
[Honestly, Michelle is kind of pitiful.]
[Pitiful? Nah. I'm just waiting for Reeva to have Carter totally wrapped around her finger, and then let the sweet romance begin.]
I shut my eyes, refusing to look at those comments anymore.
Was the ending really locked in? No way.
I would stay away from Carter, from Reeva, and from this scripted tragedy.
I was going to survive.
When the notice for the sect's trial in the sealed realm came down, I blanked out for a moment.
The sealed realm only opened once every three years—a place where danger and opportunity went hand in hand. It was also the key turning point in the story, where the main couple's romance would really kick off.
The screen had already spoiled it ages ago: in the sealed realm, Carter would abandon me to save Reeva.
I would take a hit for him and end up seriously injured, while Carter and Reeva, after facing death together, would start to fall for each other.
When I packed my things, I made sure to bring plenty of life-saving pills and talismans, and chose the most secluded, least-traveled route scroll I could find.
I also quietly stashed away the protective charm Carter had given me, hiding it in the deepest corner of my quarters.
That had been with me for nine years, so familiar that it felt like a part of my own body.
But now, I couldn't even bring myself to touch anything connected to him.
On the day the sealed realm opened, all the disciples taking part in the trial lined up in front of the mist-shrouded mountain gate.
I stood in the very back corner, head down, trying to disappear into the shadows of the crowd, my fingers gripping the hilt of my sword so tightly my knuckles turned white.
That familiar figure pushed through the crowd and walked straight toward me.
That faint, morning dew-like scent drifted closer again, and my back went rigid, my breath instinctively growing lighter.
"Michelle," a voice called out.