Chapter 384: Suspicion

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I could tell he hadn't waited for me to return. Beyond missing me, he was more focused on the Stone of Duality. With only seven days left to change his fate, he didn't want any distractions. So, he didn't hesitate to head straight to town overnight, determined to prevent anything from going wrong.

Zoey let out a dramatic sigh. “I see how it is. You’re leaving me again.”

“It’s okay,” I smiled at her. “We can still catch the sunrise.”

Zoey shrugged. “Forget it. I don’t want to be the third wheel.”

Bill, overhearing the end of our conversation, chimed in, “Is something broken? Daddy will fix it.”

I chuckled softly.

I held Carter’s hand. “You didn’t sleep much last night. Want to rest for a bit?”

“I napped on the plane. But I don’t want to miss the sunrise. Let’s go. I’ll be with you.”

It’s a relief to have a boyfriend who’s easygoing. Zoey was right. Instead of obsessing over when the end might come, it’s better to enjoy every moment we have.

As the first rays of sunlight lit up the sky, we kissed in the wide-open field. It felt like the world had disappeared, leaving just the two of us.

He pulled away, taking out the Stone of Duality to examine it. I pretended not to recognize what it was. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” he replied, visibly relieved when he saw everything was fine.

We walked hand-in-hand through the town. As we passed the lotus pond again, he glanced toward the small cabin across the way.

“What are you looking at, Carl?” I asked.

All we could see from the bridge was the large cherry blossom tree, its branches swaying gently in the wind. There was no sign of the crone.

He quickly shifted his gaze. “Nothing. I just thought the cherry tree’s really big. It’s got to be over a hundred years old.”

“Let’s get a closer look,” I suggested. I knew she was gone.

Carter didn’t respond, and we continued walking hand-in-hand toward the wooden bridge.

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A breeze swept through, making the wind chimes on the tree tinkle softly, like a forgotten song from another time. Carter reached out to touch the ancient tree, and I wrapped my arms around him from behind.

Many years ago, there was a story of love and loss. It happened during the cherry blossom season. A young woman, dressed in red, rested in the arms of a handsome man. He told her, “When the flowers bloom again, I’ll return to marry you.” But as time passed, the girl never saw her general again. The enemy approached the city, and everything she knew was lost. In a final act of desperation, she used an ancient and forbidden spell. She sacrificed her life to give him another chance at life. The general came back, reclaiming the land they had lost and building the country they had once dreamed of. But in the end, he was alone.

I had always wondered what I had done to deserve his love—the kind of love that would make him give everything up. Now, I understood. His love wasn’t a passing fancy—it spanned across time. In this life, he didn’t want any regrets. He would protect me, even if it cost him everything. But Carl, the person I’ve always wanted to protect is you. In every timeline.

We sat under the tree for what felt like ages, but the old woman never appeared. There were no signs of life. It was as though she were a ghost—someone who didn’t belong, fading from existence. Carter didn’t mention her, and neither did I.

As we walked away from the well, hand-in-hand, we didn’t see her. In the water’s reflection, the girl in the red dress leaned against the general, her figure flashing briefly before disappearing.

Carter took me to the farm. As soon as we arrived, Zoey’s voice screamed out, “You’d better stop, or my father will hear about this! He makes a mean chicken soup!”

Feathers stuck in her hair, Zoey ran, followed by a furious hen. It looked like a race. When she passed by me, she waved. “Hey!”

I gave her a thumbs-up. “Go for it!”

Zoey didn’t seem bothered by the curse. Perhaps it was because she had been so gloomy before, and now she was much brighter. She was letting her true self show. The moment she arrived, the farm became a whirlwind. It wasn’t just the hen chasing her—it was Zoey’s spirit. She quickly moved past the chase and took me with her to steal eggs.

Now, it was my turn to be chased. I held a warm egg in my hand, fresh from the hen, and behind me, the mother hen was hot on my heels.

“Carl, help!”

Seeing Carter felt like a lifeline. He stepped in front of me and didn’t do anything but stare at the hen. His look was so fierce that the hen immediately turned and ran.

I poked him in the side, still a little frustrated. “Why didn’t it peck you?”

Carter let out a soft laugh. “Chickens only peck the nice people. She knows I’m not a pushover. If she pushed her luck, she’d be turned into a rotisserie. You can be soft sometimes, so I’ll be your shield.”

“It’s a deal. For life, okay?”

We spent two days in the town before we finally left. Zoey hated the idea of leaving the kittens behind at the farm. Their mother had been killed by a wild animal while hunting the day before, and with no one to take care of them, Zoey arranged to have them shipped back to Jaford.

By the time we reached the city, the cheerful mood we’d had before was gone. It felt like a heavy fog had settled over everything. There were matters I had to confront—matters that went beyond Whitney and the Carlyn brothers.

Amber. She was the real danger. How did she know what she knew? The Stone of Duality—just as she’d said. Thinking about the look in her eyes, I began to suspect that she might already know who I really was.

A chilling thought struck me—what if she was tied to the person who had killed me? I couldn’t shake the memory of the sprawling rose garden at the Dolton estate, and the rose-covered dress Amber had worn when we first met. A thought hit me like a ton of bricks. Could she be the Lady Rose we’ve been searching for?

My breath caught, and I stopped pushing the wheelchair. “What’s wrong?” Carter asked, glancing back at me. Before I could respond, I looked up. There she was. Amber. Standing right at the airport exit.

Her gaze was fixed on me, intense and cold, as if she were ready to end everything in that moment.