Chapter 6 Everything is too confusing

Celine’s POV

Just like the first time I woke in this room, the sharp scent of herbs pulled me from sleep. But this time, no candlelight stung my eyes, only daylight.

“Celine.” Lila’s voice cut through the haze. “You’re awake.”

I pushed myself upright, eyes fixed on the door, half-expecting Tristan to walk in. The memory of last night played again and again in my mind. It was an endless loop I couldn’t escape.

Just three days since being sold out… and already this much chaos?

“You didn’t have lunch,” Lila said, her face bright with a smile that didn’t match my mood. “I’m so sorry about that.”

I shook my head. “I don’t intend to eat. I’m not hungry.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“I’m not.”

My stomach betrayed me with a low growl.

“See?” She winked. “Even your stomach can’t stand your lies.”

A knock came, then the door creaked open. A girl about my age stepped in, balancing a tray with a jug, two mugs, and a small plate of what looked like sugar—or something sweeter.

Even from across the room, the scent of coffee reached me.

“Morning tea,” Lila said cheerfully. “Enjoy.”

She set the tray beside the bed and waved the girl away, already pouring a mug for me without asking if I wanted it.

“This will strengthen you, make you feel alive again.”

“I don’t want it.”

Her brow tightened. “Why?”

She glanced into the mug, took a quick sip, then shot me a half-frustrated look.

“It’s not bad. Everyone drinks this—even your late parents—” She froze, forcing a smile to hide the slip. “Just have it.”

“My parents… you knew them, didn’t you?”

She sighed again, still silent.

“You won’t even tell me about them, will you?”

Nothing. Not a word.

Her silence dragged me back into memory. The image of my parents’ deaths filled my mind again—haunting me, stealing what little peace I ever managed to find.

But this time felt different.

The memory didn’t come because I was calm—it came to crush me further, to add weight to the unease already pricking beneath my skin like needles.

“I saw them…” My voice broke into a sob. “Their dead eyes… staring at me from a pool of blood…”

My tears wouldn’t stop, running hot down my cheeks and jaw.

“Celine!” Lila grabbed my hands, prying my fingers from my thighs.

Only then did I notice the blood—how deep I’d been digging into my own skin without realizing it.

“Stop!”

She snatched a towel from the table and wiped my fingers, but halfway through, her hands began to tremble. Her eyes darted—restless, unfocused.

“You were hurting yourself…” She stood abruptly. “I need to treat this before it gets infected. Oh, Celine!”

“I—”

But she was already gone before I could finish.

Soon, over a minute later, she returned with a box that had a cross sign drawn on each side of it. She opened it and brought out cotton wool and a bluish substance.

All these… What for?

When she was done cleaning up the wound, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“The moment I saw you.” Her fingers were going through my hair like a comb. “I knew it was you.”

“It was me?”

She nodded. “And it was a huge grief that Alpha Tristan wanted you as his cure.” She seemed to lose focus trying to express herself, like a long poem was set before her to read. “Oh! How I would have been mourning by now if Tristan hadn't decided to stop.”

“Lila?”

“Oh…”

She sat on the bed, leaning my body against her shoulder. She went on to pat my back. I was lost in this action of hers.

“About my parents…”

“Not now.”

“Why?”

“Well, I knew your parents. It's time you ate something.”

I left her arms to lie in the bed, facing upward, and for a start, she stared intently at me, trying to read through me.

“I’m not hungry,” I said.

She remained mute. It became my turn to try to read through her. It has always been my turn, but I could get a grasp about her.

The supposed tea we were supposed to drink was left untouched, probably cold by now. She must have lost interest in it. Silence followed between us, and this silence was strong, neither of us saying anything to each other.

It was just our thoughts.

“He insists I'm his mate.” I broke the silence. “And… And I don't know what that should be about.”

“What do you feel about that?” She wore that eager look on her face again.

“What am I supposed to feel?”

She leaned her chin on her knuckles, muttering something too low for me to catch. The stillness between us pressed harder than her words.

“Lila?” My voice cracked through the silence, uncertain and small.

“Well…” Her voice trailed off again.

She wouldn’t speak — not even now, when it had nothing to do with my parents?

“You said you had so much to tell me,” I reminded her softly. “You told me to silence every emotion… why?”

“Celine,” she began. “You shouldn’t believe anything he says. Don’t get caught up in him.” Her hand wrapped around my arm. “You’re human, and he’s a werewolf.”

My brows drew together. “Is that all there is to know?” I asked, though the edge in my tone surprised even me.

She turned her face away, her gaze falling to the floor.

“For now,” she murmured.

“For now…” I echoed under my breath, the words settling uneasily in me.

Then came the creak of the door.

The door opened inch by inch, letting in a sliver of light that crawled across the floor.

“Zara!” Lila gasped, springing to her feet. “You’ve been outside the door this whole time?”

She didn’t answer. She only walked closer, her stare locked on me like the night before — only this time, darker, deeper. Her eyes were bottomless, wide enough to swallow me whole.

“Celine,” Zara whispered, her voice shaky, her eyes still wet and burning.

But why all this?

Everything felt too confusing, too heavy for me to understand, like I was trapped inside someone else's grief.