THE TRUTH

In the evening, Jayden and Ember arrive at Jayden's parents' house. They were greeted by Camilla with a smile, "Follow me."

Ember looked at Jayden, and Jayden held Ember's hand. They both followed Camilla. Camilla opened the door, which had a fox emblem. Behind the door, there is a staircase going down to the basement. Ember looked hesitant. Where are they taking me? Jayden notices Ember's expression, and he tries to calm her.

"It's okay, don't be afraid." And they continued to follow Camilla.

As they walked, their sides were decorated with flaming torches. Camilla stopped. In front of them was a large door, about 15 feet high. Ember was curious about what was behind this door. She pulled the door open and opened it wide, she said to them.

"Let's go in,"

Ember was shocked to see the fox statues stacked left and right, and on the front, the biggest fox statue. Fox? What is this? Do they worship foxes? Ember looked at Jayden with curiosity.

"Jayden, what is this?"

"Since you're already part of this family, I think it's time for you to know the secrets of this family." Fabian stood in front of the door while saying, and he came inside.

"Our ancestors were foxes. We are descendants of foxes."

Ember was shocked to hear Camilla's words. What is this? They make me confused. Are they joking right now?

"What do you mean, is this a joke? Do you mean you're not human?"

"This isn't a joke. Ember, this is the truth. We can turn into foxes and humans. But, every full moon, we're going to be foxes. We can't turn into humans until the sun rises."

Fabian explained. She still doesn't believe their words. She finds it hard to believe. Camilla walked over to Ember.

"We're sorry for not telling you from the very beginning. But we have to keep this family secret." Ember was silent because she felt like she was dreaming right now.

"But Jayden, he's different," Camilla added.

"What do you mean?"

Camilla looks at Jayden with a sad face. "From birth, he was cursed,"

"C-Cursed?"

"Well, he was cursed. When he was born, the Dark Fox clan came to attack our clan village. Jayden was injured by the chief of the Dark Fox clan. He injured Jayden with his poisonous claws. Jayden's condition was very critical, and we took him to the Red Fox clan. He was rescued by the chief of the Red Fox clan. But in exchange for his life, he was cursed. Every month, he would suffer pain to change his appearance. But he never completely turned into a fox. Only nails and teeth grew, making his appearance more like a monster than like a fox."

Fabian explained further to her. She felt their words made sense now considering she had already seen Jayden's change before her eyes.

"So what's marriage got to do with all this?"

"The chief of the Red Fox clan told us that with just marriage, the curse Jayden suffered would lessen. Within a week after the wedding, the two couples should sleep together. Otherwise, Jayden would lose his life. We're sorry because we're not telling you about this, and we're forcing you to sleep together."

Camilla lowered her head. She felt guilty because they hadn't told her the truth from the beginning.

"But I'm human. Is it okay to marry a human?"

"That's why we live among humans, because we want Jayden to marry a human. According to the chief of the red fox clan, Jayden is only allowed to marry humans and have children with humans in order to escape the curse."

Fabian explained further to her, but Ember just kept quiet because she was thinking. Jayden noticed that Ember just remained silent.

"Ember, are you okay?"

Ember sighed and said, "Are you using me so that Jayden can escape his curse?"

They were shocked to hear Ember's words, and Camilla came up to Ember and held her hand.

"Ember, we didn't use you, we chose you as our daughter-in-law, and we sincerely consider you as our daughter-in-law. Of course, with this marriage, we needed your help, but it doesn't mean we used you because of Jayden's curse. And you are already part of our family. That's why we will not hesitate to tell you the secret of this family. You are Jayden's wife forever."

"We're sorry if you feel we're using you." Fabian added. They all looked at Ember. Ember walked towards the large fox statue and looked at the fox statue.

"Maybe this is the destiny of my life."

Destiny? What's her meaning? Jayden was curious.

"What do you mean?"

Ember turned to look at Jayden and said, "To marry you. I'm choosing this marriage, so I can't complain. "

Hearing the answer from Ember, Camilla smiled. She was glad Ember understood the situation.

"I'm still confused. You're not human, so what are you?

"Spirit, we are fox spirits. Actually, we're not living in this human world. We have our own world. But we can travel back and forth to the human world because we have the ability."

Fabian clarified it for her. Spirit? They're spirits? They really shocked me. However, at the same time, she was also curious about the room.

"So what about this room? What's this room for?"

"This room we built to remind us that we're a fox spirit. We've already lived here for many years, since Jayden was 1 year old. We rarely return to our world because we want to adapt ourselves to living here as humans. We learn how to live as human beings. We run a business, and we're so lucky that our business was successful. Sometimes we forget that we're fox spirits, because we're already used to living with humans. The human world is far different from our world."

After hearing Fabian's explanation again, Ember remains silent. She was just staring at the fox statue. She feels her mind is blank. On the way home, Ember just looked out the car window. She felt like she was dreaming. Jayden glanced slightly at her, breaking the silence.

"Are you okay?"

Ember looked at him with her confused face, "Am I dreaming?"

"No, you're not dreaming," Jayden responded to her question, and then suddenly something crossed the road, causing Jayden to quickly step on the brake.

"Are you okay, you're not hurt?" Jayden asked worriedly. He wanted to make sure Ember was not injured.

"I, I'm fine. What's the thing that crosses the road all of a sudden?"

"I'm not sure either. I'll go check first."

Jayden opened the car door. Ember held Jayden's hand and said, "Be careful."

Jayden nodded his head and got out of the car. The surrounding atmosphere was dark, and there were only car headlights. Not a single car passed by. Jayden checked his car and found no signs of a collision. He looked at the tar road, and he noticed something. He came over and took the object. He examined the object, which looked like a sharp nail. His forehead furrowed after seeing the sharp nails, and he felt uneasy. He hid the sharp nails in his pants pocket and hurried into the car.

"Did you see anything?"

"No, it could be a wild animal passing by,"

Jayden replied to her with a smile before driving away. As he drove, he looked in the side mirrors because he sensed something was there, and he even accelerated his car.

The next day, Ember appears uninterested while wrapping flowers. Aubrey was dismayed to see Ember's condition and approached her.

"What exactly happened to you? Why do you act like a person who has lost all hope of ever being alive?"

Ember turned to look at her with a frown.

"Seriously, is that what you think of me?"

"Yes."

Ember released the flower in her hand and then took Aubrey's hand and sat in the chair with her. Aubrey was concerned by Ember's actions.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you this, Aubrey, but I hope you keep this secret from anyone."

"What exactly is it? Please don't tell me if it's something frightening."

"You told me to tell you, so you must know in case something happens in the future."

"You've piqued my interest while also making me nervous. What happened? Did you murder someone?"

"Nonsense. There isn't such a thing."

"So, what is it?" Aubrey inquired, intrigued. She can't wait to know.

"The story goes like this..." And Ember began telling Aubrey everything. Aubrey remained silent after hearing Ember's story.

"So, what do you think? I understand that if you're surprised."

"Wow..."

Ember was perplexed to see Aubrey's reaction.

"Aubrey, what do you mean, wow?"

"Wow, what an incredible story!" Aubrey exclaimed happily and stood up. Ember was perplexed as she looked at Aubrey. Seriously, did she not have feelings? She can say this is an incredible story.

"This story is so good that it could be a film. I've spent my entire life watching movies based on fantasy stories. I had no idea it existed. This is fantastic, Ember; you are extremely fortunate."

Aubrey was sincere in expressing her feelings. Ember was taken aback by Aubrey's actions. Aubrey placed her hand on Ember's shoulder and said,

"Ember, I understand if you have a fibrous mind. But perhaps this is your life's destiny. Do you think everyone has the same faith as you? No way! You're special because this kind of thing can happen in your life."

Aubrey tries to persuade Ember. Ember also thinks, Yes, this is her faith. Everything that Aubrey said was right.

"Yes, I believe so as well. This is my life's destiny."

PS- Next title: LOVE SPROUTS INSIDE OUR HEARTS