Chapter 7: Chapter 7: We’re Just a Contractual Couple, Nothing More

Lila’s POV

The Great Elder’s unfinished sentence—”She can’t possibly…”—was like a thorn lodged in my heart. After returning to my room that night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep. My mind was consumed by a single term: Destined Mate.

Zoe had once vaguely mentioned that Jasper’s family had such a concept. ’But what does it actually mean? Is it love? A curse? Or… a destiny one must obey?’

The next afternoon, while Jasper was at a corporate meeting, I found myself inexplicably drawn to his study.

The door was unlocked. I gently pushed it open, my heart pounding like a drum. The study was vast, with bookshelves lining three of the walls. The air was thick with the scent of cedar, leather, and the crisp cologne he always wore. I walked straight to the third shelf of the bookcase on the far wall—it held several thick tomes with gilt-stamped covers. One of them had a wolf’s head totem carved on its cover.

I pulled the book out, my fingertips trembling slightly. As I opened the yellowed pages, a passage of text caught my eye:

“The Destined Mate is not bound by blood, but by a resonance of the soul. Upon their appearance, the King’s violent nature shall be quelled, and the beast core shall find peace. However, once this bond is forged, it is irreversible and cannot be forsaken. For those who defy it, their bloodline shall wither and their soul shall scatter under a dying moon.”

My hand trembled, and the book nearly fell to the floor.

’Irreversible? Cannot be forsaken?’

’So his loss of control on our wedding night… it wasn’t a coincidence?’

“Find the answers you were looking for?”

A low voice suddenly came from the doorway.

I whipped my head around. Jasper was standing in the shadows of the doorway, his suit jacket draped over one arm and his tie slightly loosened. His eyes were as deep as the night sea. ’When did he get back?!’

“I… I was just…” I frantically snapped the book shut, my cheeks burning. “I was curious…”

“Curious about what?” He walked toward me, one step at a time. His leather shoes were silent on the carpet, yet each footfall felt like it landed directly on my heart. “Curious if you’re my Destined Mate?”

I bit my lip, unable to meet his gaze.

He stopped in front of me and gently took the book from my hands. His fingertips brushed against the back of my hand—a touch so light it was barely there, yet it sent a shiver through me. “This book is very old,” he said, his tone suddenly softening. “But what’s written inside isn’t necessarily all true.”

“Then what is true?” I couldn’t stop myself from looking up.

He stared at me, his gaze slowly drifting down to my lips. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “For instance… your breathing has quickened.”

“That’s because you startled me!” I blurted, instinctively taking a step back, only for my back to hit the bookshelf.

He gave me no chance to escape. Planting a hand on the shelf next to my head, he trapped me between his arm and the bookcase. We were so close I could smell the faint scent of whiskey on his breath and see the dark fire dancing in the depths of his eyes.

“Lila,” he murmured, his voice so low it was almost against my ear, “did you know that your right eye twitches when you lie?”

I went rigid, my heart thundering in my chest.

He suddenly raised his hand, the pad of his thumb gently tracing my lower lip. The motion was so soft it was almost reverent, and it made my knees go weak. “That night… how much do you remember?”

I held my breath, unable to speak.

“Do you remember how I kissed you?” he asked, his voice husky. “Do you remember how you trembled in my arms, but not from fear?”

“Jasper…” My voice trembled. “We’re only married by contract…”

His eyes darkened. He lowered his head, his nose almost brushing against my lips—

Just then, the butler’s voice drifted up from downstairs. “Sir, Mr. Arthur Goodrich is on the phone. He says Caleb Goodrich is waiting for Madam at the school gate.”

His body went rigid, and he stopped.

A few seconds of dead silence passed.

Then, he slowly straightened up and pulled his hand back, as if that intensely intimate moment, one that had been on the verge of spinning out of control, had never happened.

“Put the book back.” He turned and walked to his desk, his tone calm again, almost cold. “Dinner is at seven.”

I stood frozen in place, my palms slick with sweat. I could still feel the ghost of his breath on my lips.

’He had been so close, yet he’d pulled away at the very last second.’

’It was as if he was reminding me that we were only married by contract. Nothing more.’

And right then, Caleb found me at the university.

He was waiting for me outside the architecture department building. He wasn’t in a suit, just an old sweatshirt—the same style we used to wear in high school. He’d lost weight, and the dark circles under his eyes made him look exhausted but stubborn.

“I just wanted to see you,” he said, his voice soft. “I heard the Hale family elders gave you a hard time?”

I just nodded, not saying a word.

“Jasper Hale… He’s not someone you can handle.” He paused, his expression complex. “He’s only nice to you because the contract isn’t over. Once the family pressure is gone, what will you do?”

I didn’t argue. Because his words struck at the very heart of the fear that I turned over and over in my mind each night.

On the day of my master’s graduation ceremony, I didn’t invite anyone.

No one from the Goodrich family attended. Uncle Arthur was at the golf course, and Caleb was picking out wedding invitations with Penelope. The papers had run a photo of them nestled together under the headline: “Countdown to the Society Wedding of the Century.” I stood alone outside the auditorium and took a photo with an ivy-covered archway in the background. It felt like a curtain call with no one there to witness it.

On the way back to Moon Hidden Villa, the driver suddenly spoke. “Sir asked me to inform you that there’s a reception for the Hale Group tonight. We’ll be leaving at seven.”

I was taken aback. “Do I have to go?”

“Sir said that you are Mrs. Hale.”

He paused, then added, “He also said… wear the dark blue velvet dress.”

The dress had been hanging in the most conspicuous spot in my walk-in closet. It had no tag, no note, as if it had appeared out of thin air. I had tried it on once and found that the waist was cinched perfectly and the shoulders fit just right—but he had never taken my measurements. ’He couldn’t have… memorized them on that night everything went off the rails, could he?’

The reception was held in a top-floor ballroom downtown. The light from the crystal chandeliers was dizzying, and the champagne tower reflected countless fake smiles. I stood in a corner, holding my glass, and overheard two women talking nearby in low voices.

“Is that Jasper Hale’s new wife? The adopted daughter from the Goodrich family?”

“I heard the elders don’t approve of her. She’ll probably be kicked out any day now!”

“Hush, the way the Young Clan Leader looks at her doesn’t suggest he’s just messing around.”

I lowered my head and took a sip of champagne. The bubbles tickled my throat.

Then, I saw Jasper step out of the elevator. He was wearing a bespoke black suit, with a silver wolf’s head for a lapel pin. His gaze swept across the crowd, pausing on me for half a second before he walked over to greet the hosts.

I didn’t move, nor did I expect him to come over to me.

But five minutes later, a waiter passed by with a tray and murmured, “Madam, Sir would like you to try the new Yirgacheffe. No sugar.”

I froze.

’There were hundreds of people in the room, and he was all the way across the hall, yet he remembered that I don’t take sugar in my coffee.’

In that moment, it felt like something had gently bumped against my heart, a feeling that was both soft and aching.

But in the next second, I saw another figure in the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling window—Caleb.

He was standing at the entrance to the terrace, dressed in a sharp suit, an engagement ring on his finger. He didn’t come inside, just watched me from a distance, his expression complex and unreadable.

Our eyes met through the glass for a few seconds. He suddenly raised his hand and lightly tapped his chest—it was a secret sign we had as children. It meant, “Are you okay?”

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