Now, standing at her grave, I continued my performance, clinging to Ethan as if ovee by


    remorse.


    +15 Points)


    "I can''t forgive myself," I whispered, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. "If I hadn''t called


    you away...''


    Inside, I felt nothing but triumph. Lily was dead and buried. Olivia was disgraced in Ethan''s eyes. And I was exactly where I wanted to be-in the Alpha King''s arms, positioned as thepassionate friend who would help him heal.


    (Ethan''s POV)


    I held Victoria as she wept, her slender frame trembling against mine. Her grief seemed genuine, though misced. The me for Lily''s deathy with me alone.


    "Victoria," I said gently, "would you like to visit Lily''s grave with me tomorrow? To pay your


    respects?"


    Her blue eyes widened with surprise, then filled with fresh tears. She nodded, pressing her


    face against my chest.


    "But Olivia mustn''t know," I added, my voice hardening. "I don''t want another confrontation."


    The memory of Olivia''s cold eyes as she closed the door, leaving me bleeding on her doorstep, still burned. I couldn''t understand how the woman I''d mated could have changed so


    drastically.


    Victoria nodded again, her expression solemn. "Of course, Ethan. I understand." She wiped her tears,posing herself. "I feel so responsible. If I hadn''t called you that day, begging you toe because Emma was upset... if I hadn''t pulled you away from your


    promise to Lily..."


    I shook my head, cutting off her self-recrimination. "The choice was mine, Victoria. I could have kept my promise to Lily first, then gone to Emma. I made the wrong decision."


    The next morning, we arrived at Sacred Moonlight Cemetery just as dawn broke over the horizon. The early hour ensured privacy-Olivia typically visited in the afternoons, ording to Gregory Tanner, the cemetery guardian.


    Lily''s Moonstone Tombstone gleamed softly in the morning light. I knelt before it, ignoring the pain that shot through my injured body. With gentle hands, I cleaned the stone, brushing away


    fallen leaves and dirt.


    "Hello, Lily," I whispered, my voice breaking. "It''s Father."


    The colored photograph embedded in the stone showed my daughter smiling-a smile I had rarely seen in person. Her emerald eyes, so like Olivia''s, seemed to look right through me.


    215


    Chapter 104 Cemetery Confr


    +15 Pomts2


    I arranged the offerings I''d brought-moonberry cakes, forest fruits, and small carved wooden toys. Beside them, I carefullyid out the Crystal-Embroidered Ice Princess Gown that Lily had wanted so badly.


    "I''m sorry I''mte," I continued, tears flowing freely now. "I''m sorry for everything, Lily."


    Behind me, Victoria stood respectfully, her head bowed. I was vaguely aware of her moving around the grave, but my focus remained on my daughter''s photograph.


    "If there''s another life after this one," I said, my voice barely audible, "I hope you''ll be my daughter again. And I promise, Lily, I''ll make you the happiest child in the world."


    (Olivia''s POV)


    I froze at the edge of the cemetery path, my blood turning to ice in my veins. Victoria Frost


    stood at my daughter''s grave, her back to me. As I watched, she leaned down and spat-


    actually spat on the offeringsid before Lily''s tombstone.