Chapter 221
1355words
“And that is?” I cautiously asked, already having a feeling what Fae was thinking, but I needed to hear it from her for sure.
With a wide smile, glinting eyes, and determined voice, but a complicated expression of both sadness and happiness, Fae explained, “If Jackson is forced not to be with Quinne because of his status and he’d likely never forget about her, then I’ll gladly change myself to be similar to who she is.”
Sacrifices… I stared at her as the hope in her gradually changed into sadness. And the glint in her eyes became a mist from her forming tears.
Meanwhile, my mind went blank.
That’s a huge sacrifice for her to make. Imitating another woman?
It did not even need to be acted out before one can have an idea of how it would turn out. It’s as clear as day that it wouldn’t work the way she wanted.
No matter how similar she manages to be to Quinne, it’s impossible for Jackson to mistake Fae for Quinne.
Sadness loomed over me to hear my friend wanting to do such an extreme move for the one she loved.
She’s already wonderful the way she was now. She’s lively and passionate. She’s a really great person, so why should she change into another? For what? For love? For Jackson?
For sure, this kind of sacrifice would empty her soul. She’d be lost. Then… would it still be worth it? I didn’t want her to come to a point where she no longer knew herself.
“What on earth is Fae planning to do? That’s absurd!” Trisha shouted at the back of my mind.
Our hearts were both aching for Fae, and our breathing hitched.
Calming ourselves down, I sighed. But before I could completely calm down, flashes of my past memories came rushing into me. Gianna’s face filled my mind.
In Gianna’s desperation, she drank that dark wizard’s potion so she’d look exactly like me. But despite that, Kylian still didn’t touch her, nor did he pay attention to her.
I need to save Fae…
With that thought in mind, I took a deep breath and hesitantly asked Fae, “Don’t tell me… A-are you planning to find a dark wizard to make yourself look exactly like Quinne?”
While waiting for her to answer, I prayed deep inside me that she would say no.
Not only was hiring a dark wizard an illegal act, which she’d be sentenced to if she was caught, but that potion had its adverse effect. She’s suffered great pain in her initial drink, and she’s emotionally in pain as things won’t go the way she wanted them to.
I really didn’t want Fae to go that path.
After a moment of thinking, Fae forced a smile to cover the sadness she was obviously feeling. Just like how forced her smile was, she also felt forced to do such an act because she loved Jackson so much.
Looking as proud as she normally does, she smiled and replied to me, “I’m the princess’s best friend. Why would I do something as stupid as that?”
That got me breathing a sigh of relief. It surely calmed my heart that she wouldn’t go that far.
Bitterly laughing, she said in a low tone, “Quinne’s personality and face are completely different from mine. She’s gentle, while I’m bold. She’s finesse while I act harshly. She’s humble, and I’m proud.”
“We are way too different, so I’ll try to have the same personality as hers and probably even change the way I fix my style to be like Quinne.” She let out a deep breath and continued, “So… if one day Jackson finally completely gave up on Quinne, I’d be the first woman he’ll see.”
She shrugged. “Besides, I also planned to find a way to go somewhere in a humanitarian area. I’d like to try to see how Quinne lives her life.”
A complete turn. She’s turned her life in three-sixty for Jackson. And with how determined she looked and she spoke, no words managed to form in me to persuade her to do things differently – to be just herself.
With pride, she gave me another news that broke my heart.
“And guess what?” She clapped her hand in victory. “I already found a job in a humanitarian area. I’ll be a clerk in a coffee shop. Quinne also works there after school.”
“And you know this how?” I asked.
“Recently, whenever Jackson isn’t in the castle, I’d go there to order some coffee and hope that I’d see him there,” she explained.
“This is so not worth it! Della, tell her! Fae is the daughter of the King’s beta, for goddess sake! Her status is up to the elites! She can live way better than that! Why will she live like that poor human girl? She’s so much better than that woman she wants to imitate!” Trisha shouted, ranting her anger in me.
“Agh!” Trisha shouted. Apparently, she’s still not done. “Besides, if she does that… Jackson might get disgusted at her. She’d lose him more!”
Trisha was right. That’s a huge probability. But I’m not Fae. She’s only my friend, and I can’t dictate to her. All I could do now was be with her and make sure she knew what she was doing.
“Is it all worth it for you to do all this, Fae?” I intently asked.
She smiled with lace of bitterness. “I thought you’d be the one who’ll understand me best in this matter.”
Right… because I once threw everything and became an omega for love. But that’s exactly what I’m worried about. Look where I was now. Look what happened to me…
She swallowed a lump in her throat and shrugged. “Whether it’s worth it or not isn’t important. I love him… and I’m willing to do this for him. That is what’s important.”
I was itching to persuade her to stop, but it felt like my throat had been sliced and I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t… I couldn’t because I’ve been there. She’s in the place I was in before.
I knew how to constantly chance myself… to humble myself…. For a man who didn’t even love me.
It’s hard to judge her whether it’s worth it or not, because right now, the most important person for Fae was Jackson. And the most important thing Fae needed right now wasn’t judegemnet, but undersntading and support.
I was in that place before, and she stayed by my side, supporting me in a distance. Now that our roles were reversed, how dare I blame her?
Like what she did before, I’d stay by her side, standing by if she needed help.
I embraced her and said, “No matter what you ended up doing, I’ll be with you.”
Pulling away, I told her with conviction, “Call me me anytime just for updates of if you needed something, I’ll always be there for you.”
She frantically nodded her head and smiled happily. “I will.”
With that, we spent the rest of the day chatting about little things. When the night deepened, Fae finally bid her goodbye.
As soon as she vanished from my eyes, I swiftly grabbed my phone from the night stand and called Jackson.
“Where are you?” I asked urgently as soon as he answered my call.
“I’m at Crimsontail Pack, there’s a lot of things to handle in here. Why?” He sounded busy, or more like he intentionally wanting to sound busy.
But I’ve known him for my entire life. I already memorize every connotation in his voice for me to mistake it.
“Stop lying, Jackson!” I scolded. “I know that you are with that human girl right now.”
“H-how did you know?” he warily asked in a low voice, almost a whispered.
I shook my head, and firmly replied, “It doesn’t matter how I learned it. I need to see you tonight, or else I’ll let Dad about it.”
With that, I hunged up the phone without waiting for her reply. Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited for Jackson’s arrival.
