Chapter 3

Out of nowhere, a hand with razor-sharp nails shot out right in front of me.

Katlyn blocked my path, smirking wickedly. "Holly, we're not done yet."

She snapped her fingers, and the gavel fell again in the courtroom.

The judge announced, "Human Holly Cameron, several half beastfolk are accusing you of harming the beastfolk's interests. Do you admit to it?"

I was dragged back to the center of the beast court.

A few half beastfolk girls strolled over to the witness stand. One had cat ears, another had snake scales, and a third had a fox tail.

The cat-eared girl waved at me sweetly. "Holly, it's been a while."

My face went cold as I glanced at Gabriel, who was sitting there like nothing was wrong.

I gave a self-mocking smile and turned to the judge. "When did I ever harm their interests?"

The snake-scaled girl flashed a flirtatious grin. "I can proof Holly stopped me from hooking up with the beast lord."

The fox-tailed girl shot her hand up. "I'm accusing Holly of being jealous of my looks and keeping Gabriel from coming to see me."

The cat-eared girl purred sweetly as she ran behind Gabriel. "I'm accusing Holly of disrespecting beastfolk dignity and making Gabriel bow to her, totally ignoring his status."

The whole thing turned the beast court into a circus.

Even the human section was piling on, throwing shade at me.

In this world, pureblood beastfolk held absolute authority over themselves and everyone else.

Even among the most conservative humans, monogamy was no longer strictly enforced.

I turned to the judge with a bitter smile. "Gabriel and I are married. He promised me that, as his wife, I'm entitled to this right."

I was stuck in a world that wasn't mine, and I never felt safe for a second.

The day Gabriel proposed, he swore he'd give up all his beastfolk privileges and spend his life with only me.

He even insisted on a human ring, a symbol of loyalty. For someone who always hated commitment, he kept telling everyone in the media I was his one and only.

But in the end, Gabriel was the one who ruined everything, tearing our happy marriage apart.

Three years after we got married, Gabriel had full control of the Larsen family and was at the top of his game.

I went into a science laboratory and became a chemist.

I kept experimenting, hoping to create something that could actually save my life.

I couldn't stand the thought of Gabriel getting another scar because of me.

When my experiment finally made a breakthrough, I couldn't wait to hurry home and share it with Gabriel.

But when I got there, the master bedroom door was tightly shut, and I could hear intense, passionate gasps coming from inside.

It was a woman, moaning, "Gabriel, no... please..."

My mind went totally blank. My hands shook as I pounded on the door, unable to believe what I was hearing.

Instead of dying down, the noises only got more intense. Her moans were tangled with his deep, teasing laughter.

His laughter were filled with a familiar joy I'd heard before.

I clenched my fists and pounded hard on the door, biting my lip to keep the tears at bay. "Open the door, Gabriel."

My hands throbbed and went numb, and at last, the door finally opened.

Gabriel stood in the doorway, shirtless, raising an eyebrow and acting like he hadn't just been caught cheating. "You're back?"

I stared at the red marks scattered across his skin, my eyes burning with jealousy and hurt, tears threatening to spill over.

I hurriedly covered my face, my voice shaking. "Gabriel, did you run out of inhibitor? I'll make you another batch."

I opened the fridge, only to find it stuffed with inhibitor shots.

Gabriel's cold voice came from behind me. "Holly, I'm not using them anymore."

I spun around, my nails digging painfully into my palms. "Why?"

He said, "Why? You know beastfolk don't do fidelity. If we have desires, we just take care of it, like grabbing a drink of water. You're the one always pushing those inhibitors on me. Honestly, you're the weird one here, Holly."

I said, "But you promised me we'd live like humans together."

The first time Gabriel was caught in his rut, he spent the whole night pouring cold water over himself, wouldn't even hold me.

His eyes were hungry and desperate for me, but all he said was "Holly, stay away from me. I can't hurt you."

I retreated, leaving a door between us.

While he was tormented, I was a mess of worry.

We didn't sleep a wink, but somehow, our hearts ended up closer than ever.

But now, I was on trial, and Gabriel was just a step away from me. Yet it felt like we were worlds apart.

He simply let Lori Shaffer, the cat-eared girl, barefoot and wearing my favorite white dress, wrap her arms around his waist.

Lori smirked provocatively at me. "Holly, don't blame Gabriel. We just hooked up to scratch an itch. He couldn't stand seeing me suffer.

"You're so naive. There's no such thing as fidelity here. Moreover, Gabriel's the heir to the Larsen family, but relax. I'm not trying to get between you two."