Chapter 8
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I never could have imagined that Kaden would violate the ceasefire agreement.
He led the entire army of the Land of the Pines and fought his way right to the gates of the Land of the River.
When I rushed to the city walls and looked down at him, I was so shocked I stood frozen in place, barely able to move.
Blood stained his handsome brow bone,
making his face appear even more devastatingly beautiful, like some dark god.
He looked up at me, dark flames igniting
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Chapter 8
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in his eyes, flickering like flames caught in the wind:
“Ginger, I was wrong about you before. Now I’ve come to take you home.”
I stumbled back a step in shock, and Rex’s cold voice rang out behind me:
“You want to take my queen home? That’s quite the joke.”
Kaden laughed coldly:
“Rex, Ginger doesn’t love you, yet you keep her trapped by your side like this. Do you think that makes her happy?”
Rex acted as if he’d heard something
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Chapter 8
hilarious and laughed heartily:
“Ginger doesn’t love me? She loves me more than anyone.”
Kaden smiled too, his tone certain:
“In that case, let Ginger choose for
herself.”
Rex snorted coldly, which counted as
agreement.
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Kaden looked at me, his tone carrying a certain expectation:
“Ginger, come here. Let’s go.”
I stared blankly at his face.
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Chapter 8
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Even stained with blood and dust, his face remained noble and beautiful.
But now, looking at that face, I no longer blushed or felt my heart race.
I shook my head:
“Kaden, I don’t love you. I love Rex. I can’t go with you.”
Kaden stood motionless, as if frozen in
time.
Soon, a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes, and he frowned as he spoke:
“Ginger, are you angry that I
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Chapter 8
misunderstood you? I already know
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Princess Ann’s hand wasn’t burned by you. I’ve already killed Princess Ann. Stop being stubborn, okay?”
Bitter grievance surged in my chest, and I suddenly felt like crying:
“I’m not being stubborn… When I first arrived at the Land of the River, everyone in the palace gossiped about me behind my back, calling me a monster, damaged goods. I didn’t understand and even thanked them for it. They’d hold back their laughter whenever they saw me.
“I lived in constant fear every day, afraid someone would harm me and turn me from a femme fatale into a corpse…‘
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“Every day I thought you’d surely come for me soon.”
“And then you’d say, ‘Ginger, you’ve worked so hard. You’re a very good and diligent femme fatale, and yes, your notes are very neat too! Come on, I’ll take you home.‘ I even picked out entrance music for you: So funny, Ya i ya i ya i ya i ya i ya i ya, Ya i ya i ya i ya i, Ya i ya i ya i ya i ya i ya i ya.”
Kaden stared at me in stunned silence.
“But you never came. The next news I heard about you was that you’d laid out red silk embroidered with gold thread on the road to marry Princess Ann. Everyone
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said it was the grandest event in the Land
of the Pines… I hid in the chicken coop, holding my chicken and crying until even the mighty rooster’s feathers were soaked with my tears.”
At this point, I cried so sadly:
“All these years, I worked so hard and did so much for you–diverting kidnappers, cutting my flesh to feed you, shielding you from hidden weapons, trying my best to be a femme fatale. But you still didn’t love me. I’m not smart enough to think of better ways.”
Kaden, usually so composed, now spoke with urgent desperation, as if trying to reclaim something lost:
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“Ginger, I love you now! I’ll take you home–this time will be different. I’ll
never let you down again!”
“But I don’t love you anymore.”
I looked at him, my tone pleading:
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“Kaden, please sign the ceasefire agreement again and leave. Don’t fight this war. Even if you win and Rex dies, I’ll
die with him.”
He suddenly looked up at me sharply, and I gazed back at him from afar:
“Kaden, let’s never see each other again.”
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