Rowena opened her mouth, displaying a radiant smile at his honest reply. As soon as he gave his permission, she stepped away from his chest and turned around. She exclaimed breathlessly to the people who had been watching them.

“The engagement ceremony will take place in three months on Rope Island. Everyone present here is invited. You will come, right?”

Her tone was slightly dramatic, perhaps theatrical. Rowena looked around at the people standing speechless at the sudden declaration.

They would be witnesses, as Killian had intended for them just now. Except, unbeknown to him, they would not be there to witness an engagement but to witness her death.

The sound of some people dryly swallowing their breath was heard in the midst of the unexpected situation. People who had no idea what to do next or how to respond just exchanged glances.

The first to react was Countess Rachel.

“Oh my! Miss Philo-… No, Rowena. Are you sure? Of course, I will attend. Congratulations!”

“Congratulations! Thank you for inviting me!”

The Countess and others who had gradually relaxed their stiff expressions approached them and congratulated them. Meanwhile, Veronica, unable to contain her anger, began to leave the scene. The Countess, catching a glimpse of her figure retreating, pushed her way through the crowd and approached Rowena. Still, before she had a chance to say anything, Rowena opened her mouth first.

“I appreciate your kindness, Countess. It’s just that I’m tired right now.”

To which Rachel replied, “I’m sure you are. Please go back and get some rest. Miss …… No, Rowena.”

“Then I will see you in the morning. Your Excellency.”

She called him by his title like she used to call him, but for some reason, this time it felt different, there was something else in her voice… Rowena turned around and was faced by a crowd of people looking at them with weirdly happy expressions; this gave her nothing but distress as she left while trying to suppress nausea that had been building up inside her.

* * *

As if walking on thin ice, the fragile air broke as Rowena entered the tent.

Killian followed Rowena, who walked past him; it was as if she was being chased by a ghost.. and the moment they were in the tent, she began to feel the pressure of his presence even without him saying anything to her; it was a situation she was familiar with… and it was suffocating!

“Why did you do that????”

“I already gave you an answer to that.”

“You are right! That was what I wanted. That was what I wished for.”

She tried to reach for the necklace clasp that she had been wearing while gasping for air. She was frustrated and wanted to get it off her body as soon as possible; knowing what it originally was made it feel like she was wearing a leash, but since she couldn’t see it and even more with her current state of mind, all of her attempts were in vain. 

Eventually, Killian came up to her and unclasped the necklace. Rowena, who was still trying to regain her breath, looked back at him.

“But you should not have deceived me into announcing it in such a public way. You should have told me in advance when you gave me this necklace!”

She was mistaken to think that he had changed. Just because his demeanor had softened a bit did not mean that this man’s nature had changed from its roots. He was still egotistic, still arrogant, still selfish.

When he told her he was going to break up with her, when he came to find her again, and even now.

There was no consideration of her wishes as a concerned party. As if it didn’t even have any importance.

****