Chapter 5 Lila' point
Celine’s POV
He’d left. Zara too.
Yet the room still breathed them in — their silence clung to the walls, refusing to leave. I could almost feel Tristan beside me, that strange warmth that always carried cold beneath it.
Somehow, I’d become the ghost between two lovers.
I wanted to believe this wasn’t real. That I could wake and find myself clean of it. But the ache in my chest — it stayed, reminding me I wasn’t dreaming.
I heard faint footsteps along the hallway as the room door remained open.
Lila came into view with a candle placed on a saucer in her hands.
“Celine…” she muttered, walking slowly inside the room.
This strange woman…
Her eyes were on me, but more suffocating than the last time. She wouldn't even look away, sitting beside me on the bed like she’d known me for years.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Her eyes moved over me like she was peeling back skin. Fingers brushed too close, too slow.
“What are you looking for?”
“Bruises. He’s not the gentle kind.”
The words hit wrong — too certain, too rehearsed — like she’d seen it happen before.
She raised my gown slightly, and I yanked away.
“He wouldn’t,” I said, sharper than I meant to. “He called me his mate.”
“A lie you should never believe.”
My brows furrowed. “You easily call it a lie.”
“That is what it is.”
She gestured I stood up, and began dressing the bed with so much focus like any mistake could cause a life.
“Who are you?”
She chuckled, but her eyes weren't distracted from the bed. “Haven't I told you? I’m Lila.”
“I’m not asking about your name.”
She sighed. “Then what else is supposed to be about me?”
I got closer to her, scrutinizing her face as she did mine.
“You knew my parents…”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “That could actually be a wild guess.”
“I don't believe it is.”
She kept a straight face when she was done dressing the bed, gesturing online on it. But I wouldn't. She tried to walk out, but I held her wrist.
“Really?” She frowned slightly. “You're going to do this?”
“You know something.”
She sat on the bed, her arms spread open. “And if I did? They're dead, Celine. Knowing won't bring them back.”
For a second, I wanted to scream at her. I didn't want to hear anyone say they're dead even though it's already been years and I'd come to accept that.
It always hit differently when someone else said it. The word “dead” still felt too sharp to fit into my chest.
It was like a fresh wound reopening.
“You asked me to escape… you asked me to take such a risk, why?”
She placed her left hand on mine. I flinched but didn't take her hand off.
Her right hand combed through my hair. She kept studying my face without making me understand why she did so. She’d claimed Tristan kept her in charge of me, but that couldn't have included this strange closeness.
“The risk would always be worth it,” she said quietly.
“Worth what?”
“Avoiding chaos.”
“Chaos?” I echoed.
My life was already that—sharp, loud, endless. What more could I possibly avoid?
“How bad can it be?”
“You wouldn't understand if I tried to explain.”
“But at least I would know my fate.”
She got off the bed. “I should probably get some tea. We should talk over that.”
“No need for that.”
She could probably not come back.
“Don't get carried away and feel too at ease because he stopped the Scarlet ascension.”
“I could never be at ease for anything.”
“What if he decides to go on with it at a later time? Another full moon would come and the stakes are against him.”
My skin gave off cold sweat.
“But I thought…” I swallowed hard. “I thought he already decided not to.”
“He could also change his mind.”
“Why? He called me his mate.”
She laughed for a second, but it faltered to change into a pale face.
“Sorry Celine, but he has too much to lose if that is true.”
I pressed my hands tightly together, rubbing my palms violently till she stopped me.
“Since you wanted to know what could become of you.”
I nodded.
“The curse is nearing its peak,” she said quietly. “When it breaks, he’ll go feral — no thought, no restraint. A mad Alpha.”
I froze.
I’d seen him become close to it— that flicker in his eyes when his hand shook against mine. I’d thought it was anger. But now… it looked like fear.
Fear of himself.
Feral — it didn’t just mean savage. It meant he’d forget what made him. Forget his past. Forget everything about himself to become a beast.
She pulled me closer to herself. “I wanted you to escape because he wouldn't choose a mate above himself.”
“But he caught me escaping… he did nothing.”
“Because it's not the ideal time for him to try out the Scarlet ascension.”
I let the words sink in.
But I tried to weigh it with Tristan’s reaction—the way he’d looked at me, the way he’d stopped me from hitting the floor. I wanted to find a meaning in all that.
He’d pulled so close, and I'd almost believed a mate bond existed between us.
What about the sense of familiarity around him?
Every sensation was just dust?
“And what if he decided not to go on with the Scarlet ascension? He has a lover.”
“She was here.”
“Why would he leave her?”
“Isn't the mate bond above a casual relationship?”
She paused.
The question rang in my head like loud speakers.
“The stakes are against you. I can't predict whatever will happen, but you should never trust Alpha Tristan.”
“Someone who thought of sparing me at first instance?”
“That doesn't matter. You don't know anything about him.”
The lines of her face sharpened as she got off the bed, but I couldn't understand her. Each time I tried, I always lost.
“Lila,” I called.
She stopped in her tracks, turning back to look at me.
“Do you really care?”
Her gaze softened, and it no longer felt like she was trying to pry into me. It looked like affection, but I couldn't believe it was.
A minute must have passed before she said “I do”
“Why?”
She returned her eyes to the door. “I have to go.”
“Why tell me all this?”
She stopped when her hand touched the knob.
“What are your intentions?” I pressed.
She turned to take another glance at me.
A drop of tear had slid down her left cheek.
My breath skipped.
“Celine… there’s so much you don’t know, not even about yourself.”
“What are those things I—”
She was already gone.
The door stayed open, but the room felt smaller. Her words lingered, quiet but heavy, like something waiting to happen.