After hearing everything the man had to say, he turned to her.

She was very good at acting, he mused.

But what was the point of trying to win his favour when everything was as clear as day?

She had been so desperate to leave that she had taken his own child...

With a flick of his hand, he dismissed the man.

Yeren returned to his scribbling. If he kept looking at her, he might cover the distance and wring her neck.

His Lycan was itching to do just that.

He never thought she could be so... selfish. She never struck him as a self centered person.

But perhaps, he never knew her as well as he thought he did.

"You should be in bed resting. Nothing would come out of spewing any more lies, Lady Stenly."

She looked like she would topple over and fall any minute, but he admired the fact that she refused to give in.

She just stood there, her arms folded across her chest stubbornly.

"I didn’t do it." She said again.

Part of him wanted to believe her. To believe her lies.

But he knew better.

Why else would she lose the baby just before the doctor was set to see her? Why else would she have her things packed? And to add to everything, she had even confessed her intentions to her maid. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

How dare she.

And she still had the nerve to lie to him?

"You should rest... so you can recover soon and be on your way. It would be better for everyone if you just... left."

Even so, it was hard for him to want her gone.

Andon had just left him.

Now her?

When he looked up, he saw tears in her eyes.

"I know I wanted to leave, but it was only because I couldn’t help it. You don’t want to marry me, but you want to keep me here. For what? And even if I had the child, you still wouldn’t want me, would you?"

"But I assured you that I would marry you if it came to that." His patience was deserting him.

"What kind of marriage would that be? I don’t want to be the woman who trapped you-"

"So you admit that you did it?" He cut her off to ask.

She began to speak but stopped. "You seem bent on believing it from what I can see. Hate me if it pleases you, but I didn’t do it. And I promise you," She stepped closer with much difficulty. "I will prove that I didn’t do it."

Then she turned to leave.

At the door, she turned back to him. The tears were flowing freely now.

But he had to force himself to look her in the eye, to pretend that he didn’t care if he hurt her...

"I would never harm the child of the man that I love."

And then she was gone.

Yeren tried to ignore her words but they kept replaying themselves in his head.

’I would never hurt the child of the man that I love...’

So she really did love him?

Or was she just saying it to assert her claim?

He returned to his scribbling, annoyed that he was wasting his time writing another poem.

And it was about her...

Scrunching it up in his fists, he tossed it into the burning hearth and went to lean over the parapets.

The skies were gray and gloomy, mirroring how he felt.

What if she hadn’t done it? He knew there were enough people who wanted to hurt him, but would they be willing to go so far?

Thunder crackled and strong winds began to blow. Within minutes, the skies darkened and a heavy torrent of rain exploded on the grounds beneath it.

He stood there, allowing the rain to drench him. A few people scurried about to get to safety below him.

Yeren imagined her curled up on her bed, crying her heart out.

It was her own fault, he told himself.

But his imagination was thwarted when he saw a carriage stop at the front entrance of the castle. It bore no insignia, which told him it was a rented carriage.

There was nothing fancy about, but he couldn’t help the cold feeling that surged through him.

Then, he saw both Claire and her sister’s guards along with a few maids rush out under the rain towards the carriage.

In their arms were cloth chests.

So they were leaving?

Under this weather?

When she had barely recovered?

From what he had been made to understand, she was still bleeding. Why in the world would she be leaving at such a time?

She had to be mad.

Their cloth chests were loaded into the wagon that pulled up behind the carriage.

Did she want to get herself and her sister killed?

The carriage rider stepped down and opened the door for them.

Her sister ran down the steps, shielding her hair from the rain as best as she could and slipped into the carriage.

He kept waiting to see her and didn’t even realize he was tapping his foot.

Then, she rushed across the distance to the carriage. But instead of entering, she held on to the door and looked back at the castle.

Very slowly, her eyes lifted in his direction.

The instinct to back away from her gaze was very strong, but he refused to.

Their gazes locked.

Just looking at her wet hair that had matted to her forehead, her wet gown, her glazed eyes, flushed skin and pink ears, he felt warmth course through him.

Then she tore her eyes away from his, waved to the people that must have been standing on the stairs and entered the carriage.

The carriage driver slammed the door shut, wiped his face and mounted the driver’s seat.

And within minutes, they began to roll towards the gates.

She wasn’t going with her guard?

He wanted very much to inform his men to keep the gates locked and send her back to the castle.

But he didn’t. And her carriage slipped through the gates.

She was gone.

She was really gone.

’Because you chased her away.’ a voice in his head said.

He stood there and stared at nothing in particular, allowing the heavy rain to soak him.

He mind linked with her guard and asked him to come to the study.

After a while, he heard a knock then footsteps behind him. The footsteps came to a halt a few feet behind him.

Without turning around, he asked, "Why did you let her leave?"