Chapter 5

It was only when a housekeeper rushed in to drag the bear cub off that I could scramble away. My hand had teeth marks on it, and I couldn't stop shaking when I looked at the beast again.

Bianca, as if I had committed a mortal sin, began to sob dramatically.

"How could you hurt my poor Fang?!"

"He was just trying to be friendly, and you struck his head!"

She cried, burying her face in Frank’s chest for comfort.

Meanwhile, I stood there, my hand bleeding, listening to her accusations.

Was I supposed to let his bear maul me? Should I have waited for its teeth to close on my throat?

"I don't know what this she-wolf is saying, but her bear attacked me. Repeatedly.”

"This time, it actually bit my hand.”

"I haven't even demanded punishment for this insult, and you're the one in tears?"

I shoved my bleeding hand in front of Frank and Bianca, showing them the wound.

"Oh!" Bianca shrieked in mock horror, pressing herself deeper into Frank's embrace.

Her feigned fragility only made Frank more protective of her.

His eyes met mine, filled with undisguised disapproval.

"Jacqueline, Bianca just told me Fang was trying to play.

"It's your old fear of rogues bear that made him react and bite you.

"You are becoming impossible to reason with."

Frank's words filled me with a cold disgust.

He remembered my trauma, yet he still defended her and blamed me.

"Frank, you are completely delusional," I shot back. "Go comfort your pet and the she-wolf in your arms. I no longer care.

"You can miss the Gala for all I care."

With that, I straightened my posture, smoothed my ruined dress, and walked out to attend the event alone, not giving Frank a chance to reply.

By the time the Gala ended, Frank had never shown up. He didn't come home that night, same as before.

I was perfectly fine with the silence.

However, Bianca's feed on The Howl updated again.

[Thank you for always being here to protect Fang and me.]

The picture showed the back of a man, his hand gently stroking the bear cub's head.

It was a clear and deliberate provocation.

I felt almost nothing.

I just turned off my phone and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning, I was woken by a furious banging on the front door.

I got up and opened it to find Frank, his face a mask of rage.