"Livia's fine," Malva said, stepping in between them, looking up at Mitchel with a gentle gaze. "Mitchel, have you forgotten? A month ago, Livia took me to the island to swim. Mitchel, please don't be angry. After all, Livia didn't mean to leave me stranded on that deserted island..."
"It's just that it rained heavily that day and I had nowhere to take shelter, which is why I ended up sick for a month. It's really not Livia's fault..."
For a moment, there was complete silence by the poolside.
The atmosphere froze for several seconds before Mitchel released her hand, his voice cold to the extreme, filled with unspoken hatred. "Using the same old tricks again! I finally see through you! Livia, how could I be engaged to someone like you?"
Hearing the word "engagement," Livia seemed to snap out of her daze.
Her wet eyes looked at him, filled with confusion.
Mitchel's heart softened. Furrowing his brows, he took off his jacket and draped it over her.
The woody fragrance wafted into her nose and only then did Livia realize that she hadn't died.
She was the daughter of the prestigious Mayer Family in Holida City and since childhood, she had been betrothed to Mitchel, a marriage arranged between families of equal standing.
Her mother died during childbirth and she grew up under the care of Mitchel’s mother, Hailey, becoming childhood friends with Mitchel.
Hailey treated her as her own daughter and gave her whatever she wanted.
Although Mitchel appeared cold on the outside, he was especially attentive to her. Every birthday, he would give her a custom-made piece of jewelry. At gatherings, he would even serve her tea and pour her water in front of everyone, treating her like the little princess of their circle.
From childhood to adulthood, her dream had always been to become Mitchel's bride, so she arrogantly drove away every girl around him.
She only waited for her 23rd birthday to marry him. But no matter how much she tried to guard against it, she couldn’t prevent Malva.
Malva was a poor student sponsored by the West Family. She resembled Mitchel’s late younger sister, which earned her his special affection. Livia, loving everything related to Mitchel, tried to be kind to Malva as well.
When Malva wanted the birthday gift Mitchel was supposed to give her, Livia gave it to her.
When thunder struck and Malva wanted to sleep in Mitchel's arms, Livia endured.