Chapter 2

Hearing him talk like that, so confidently and so blindly, I couldn't help laughing.

He still didn't understand. With the luck he originally had, he would've struggled to feed himself. A wealthy man? Not even close.

Now that he had made it big, he'd forgotten the truth.

Fine. Let someone else fight for the concubine spot in the Winslow family. Whoever wanted it could have it. It wasn't going to be me.

I was just about to refuse when Violet started up again.

She twisted her face and clutched her stomach.

"Patrick, dear, my stomach hurts!" she cried out.

As soon as she called out, Patrick didn't even bother trying to stop me anymore. He rushed to her side and shouted for the servants to take her to the best doctor they could find.

Watching him run off, I couldn't help thinking about Violet's belly. One pregnancy and six sons. Who gave birth like that?

Unless she was one of those Fortune-Thief Rats that stole fortunes and drained people dry.

If that was true, I needed to leave even faster. The sooner I walked out of that filthy place, the better.

That night, a blaze broke out at Patrick's trading house, and the flames dyed half the sky red.

Folks whispered all over town, saying the fire had eaten through every coin Patrick ever poured into the Winslow Trading House.

I didn't bat an eye. Patrick's losses were just getting started. He hadn't even begun to feel the pain yet.

All that wealth he once flaunted would slip through his fingers like sand.

And I'd just sit back and watch him fall hard from his high and mighty perch.

I ignored the noisy chatter outside, freshened up, and went to bed, keeping calm as ever.

But sleep didn't come easy. I kept dreaming about that old fire, the one that bound my fate to Patrick's for good.

When I first took up my post at the ruined shrine of the God of Fortune behind the mountain, I saw Patrick kneeling there, bowing and praying with all his heart.

He carefully lit the eternal lamp that had long gone dark, then offered me three sticks of incense with great respect.

Since he was my very first worshipper, and he was so devout, I breathed a small thread of fortune into his fate, hoping it would help him earn a little wealth.

Never thought a fortune-thief rat hiding under the lamp would kick the stand over. In a blink, the whole little temple went up in flames.

I had only just taken office, my divine strength was weak, and I reacted too slowly. The statue of the God of Fortune collapsed without warning and struck my true form out of the shell that housed me.

Right before the beams came crashing down, Patrick threw himself over me, shielding me with his own body. His left hand was injured, and a scar bloomed across my forehead.

Afterward, I tried to return to the heavens to file my report, only to find I could no longer go back.

That disaster had tied a thick cord of karma between him and me.

Heaven sent the Earth Deity to inform me that only after settling this karmic tie could I return and resume my post.

So, under the pull of fate, Patrick and I came to know each other, then cherish each other, and finally tie our lives together in this destined union.

My dreams turned chaotic. Sweet moments from the past rose one after another as if replayed on a stage.

The happiness of sharing one pastry when we were poor.

The storm where he stripped off his coat to shield me, soaking himself instead.

The winter nights when he warmed my icy feet against his chest.

But as the dream dissolved, so did everything it held. When I woke, only his cold indifference remained.

My head was heavy and dazed when I got up. I missed a step, slipped, and tumbled all the way down the stairs.

My whole body ached from the fall, and a rush of warm blood suddenly poured out of my nose.

My maid hurried over and caught me, gasping the moment she saw my face.

I reached up to wipe my nose, and my palm came away wet with blood.

They sent me to the divine physician. The old man with the grey beard felt my pulse again and again, shaking his head each time.

"Madam, your body has gone beyond saving. There's no road back from here," he said.

I just gave a little smile, not bothered at all.

Death settled all debts, and clearly my mortal shell was fading faster than I expected.

"Where is your family?" he asked when he saw no one with me except my maid.

"They're all gone," I said. The doctor froze, clearly shocked, and sympathy filled his eyes.

I wasn't lying. From the moment I stepped onto the immortal path and became a deity, I severed all mortal ties. What family could I still have?

Patrick used to count as one, but not anymore.

I left to the sound of the physician's sighs, and I didn't expect to run straight into Patrick, who had come to accompany Violet for her follow-up.

Patrick's face instantly soured when he saw me.

He snapped, "Can't you just give it a rest? You really had to show up here too?

"You haven't had a child in ten years. You've already broken all the seven grounds for divorce. Not tossing you out is already me being generous, and you still won't let it go?

"And I told you. Violet's child won't be born carrying a stain."

Before I could speak, he fired off accusation after accusation.

Violet stood beside him, one hand delicately resting on her belly, her eyes shimmering with tears.

"Patrick," she whispered softly to him, "I don't care about titles or status. As long as it's good for the baby, I'll do anything."

She hooked her arm around his and leaned into him, dabbing at her tears. But as she did, she shot me a triumphant glance, her eyes practically screaming 'I win.'

A sudden sharp pain twisted through my body, and I instinctively curled my hands around my abdomen.

Violet widened her eyes dramatically and jumped in before Patrick could speak.

"Aria, don't tell me you're pregnant too?" she blurted out.