William looked at me as if I were crazy as I walked into the heavy rain.
“Julia! You stop right there!”
I turned a deaf ear to his roar.
The blood from the wound on my knee flowed to the ground with the rainwater.
The wounds were healing, but the pain wouldn’t fade.
Only then did William hurriedly try to pull me back into the car.
But just then, the car door suddenly opened, and Rita carefully took a step out.
“Brother…”
Almost instinctively, William turned around and shoved Rita back into the car:
“You’ve always had trouble keeping your wolf strong when you catch a chill. You shouldn’t be out in the rain; your wolf just can’t handle it.”
The car door was slammed shut.
Rita looked through the car window and silently forced a smile towards me.
As if mocking my worthlessness.
But I didn’t care anymore. I had already made up my mind to leave.
I found the nearest hotel and checked in.
I looked at the long string of report messages on my phone. They used to be dense and frequent, but now the replies were sparse.
I couldn’t even be bothered to tell William.
I caught a fever from the rain and quickly fell asleep.
Unexpectedly, I was awakened in the middle of the night by a rapid ring.
“Where are you? Why aren’t you home?”
I said nothing. Before, he would’ve checked on me the moment I showed even the slightest sign of feeling unwell.
But tonight, he only thought to call me this late.
My silence displeased him.
“Did you bring your wolf-strengthening elixirs and vitality supplements for the pregnancy?”
“I don’t know how you’re being a mother, a pregnant woman staying outside, aren’t you afraid that the child will have a bad reputation after being born? Please, take better care of yourself, for both of you.”
Reputation?
By the time Rita spread the news about my out-of-wedlock pregnancy and everyone found out, I had already lost any claim to it.
“William, you’ve been dragging your feet on the mating ceremony. Are you actually considering the child’s reputation?”
William paused, then quickly said,
“Don’t pressure me. I promise I’ll arrange it. Just give me a little more time, okay?”
I’ve heard this countless times since I got pregnant.
William’s mother looked at my belly and said, “You must take care of yourself.”
But then she turned around and told the pack, “She’s already pregnant, what’s the rush? She won’t leave anyway.”
William’s father even stated explicitly that the mating ceremony was just a formality and that I shouldn’t take it too seriously.
With my big belly, I could only endure, only wait, and couldn’t dare to leave.
William allowed Rita’s capricious behavior to drag things on and on.
In early spring, Rita said it was too cold to wear a wedding dress.
