Floyd Stuart abandoned me at Mount Gravenwood for an entire month.
When he finally came to pick me up, he was still fuming.
“You should count yourself lucky that Trace’s leg is fine. If it wasn’t, you couldn’t pay it back even if you were dead!”
“The wedding is postponed by a year. When we get back, you can explain that to my parents yourself.”
He fully expected me to break down—crying, throwing a fit and adamantly refusing to agree to the delay.
Instead, I lowered my head submissively. “Alright, whatever you say.”
Floyd stared at me in stunned silence for a long time. “If you think a year is too long, we could…”
“No need.” I smiled as I cut him off.
What Floyd didn’t know was that I had struck a deal with the Spirit of Gravenwood.
In five days, I would replace her and marry another man.
***
By the time the search-and-rescue team found me, Lumina was utterly emaciated. Her eyes were sunken, cheekbones jutted sharply and her complexion was deathly pale.
The team leader compared her face with a photo for a long time before radioing Floyd, “Sir, we’ve found Ms. Shields.”
It wasn’t long before Floyd and Trace arrived.
When Floyd saw Lumina’s ghostly pale face and frail frame, he froze for a moment, clearly startled. But then his anger flared even hotter.
“Why couldn’t you just stay put? Do you have any idea the rescue team hasn’t slept for days because of you? Can you, for once, stop causing trouble for everyone?”
Mount Gravenwood was perpetually shrouded in a veil of mist, with beasts lurking in every shadow.
At first, Lumina didn’t dare take a single step into the forest. She stayed rooted to her spot, eating the food in her backpack, clinging to the hope that Floyd would come quickly to rescue her and end her misery.
One morning, she woke to a terrifying sight: two wolf-like creatures just a short distance away, licking the last remnants of her backpack. Their eyes glowed green, as if they were seconds away from tearing her apart and devouring her whole.
Lumina was so scared she barely dared to breathe, her nails digging into her palms so deeply they nearly drew blood.
Fortunately, the wolves left after they had their fill.
With no food left, she had no choice but to venture deeper into the forest.
Moments later, when Floyd confronted her in anger, Lumina just bowed her head without a word.
He’d always accused her of talking too much, of pushing her arguments too far. Over time, it had become clear that no matter what she said, his first reaction was always to doubt her.
If that was the case, what was the point of defending herself? Lumina thought idly.
One of the younger members of the search party seemed unable to hold back and muttered in her defense:
“Mount Gravenwood is famously dangerous, with wild beasts everywhere. How could a girl like her possibly stay in the same spot for an entire month?”
“You knew Lumina before?” came the response.
Tracie Ryan’s sudden remark left the young man utterly baffled.
“I don’t know her,” he said, confused.
Tracie covered her mouth with a light laugh. “Hearing you speak up for Lumina like that, I thought you two must have known each other for ages.”
As she spoke, she cast a knowing glance at Lumina, her laughter ringing even brighter. “Lumina is still as charming as ever. Even complete strangers can’t help but jump to her defense.”
The moment she finished speaking, Floyd’s face darkened—not at the young man, but at Lumina. “Oh? So it didn’t take you long to have men standing up for you now?” he sneered. “You really are something else.”
The search team leader hurriedly motioned for the group to step back, worried someone else might cluelessly jump in and escalate the situation further.
For a moment, an eerie silence hung over the forest.
It was Tracie who broke the tension.
