Chapter 3
Seeing this, everyone quickly pulled me away.
“Lydia, you’ve gone too far. Freya worked all night making these for us, even pricking her hands.”
“And you still want to frame her? Allan was just speaking fairly, and you attacked him out of jealousy. How can someone be so heartless?”
I realized that no matter what I said, these people would never take my side.
Even with my bloody wounds right before their eyes, continuing to explain would just be a waste of breath.
I looked at the sachets hanging from their bags, and my heart suddenly tightened.
The sky had already darkened considerably. If I kept following them, I’d probably encounter the wolf pack attack too, and by then it would be too late to escape.
Staying alive was what mattered most.
I didn’t want to argue anymore and turned to leave.
But Allan had somehow gotten to his feet
and grabbed me by the
collar.
Hesaid, “Lydia, you think you can just walk away after framingo
Freva?”
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Chapter 3
was taller and stronger than me–a solid, muscular man–and I couldn’t get away.
I gave up, saying quietly, “I already warned her this morning not to give me her sachet, but she did it anyway. I got seriously injured because of it. The fact that I’m not calling the police to pursue her for intentional harm is already giving her face.”
Allan was furious: “Freya gave you the sachet out of kindness, and you’re framing her. Mountain climbing is tough enough. without you bullying and provoking her repeatedly.”
I suppressed my anger, not wanting to continue the argument.
But Allan somehow produced a wooden stick from nowhere and pointed it at me.
He said, “You’d better apologize to Freya right now, or when this stick comes down, you’ll face the consequences.”
I looked at him in disbelief: “I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I apologize to her?”
Allan’s expression grew even darker as he stepped closer: “If you don’t apologize to her, I won’t be so polite. You’d better think carefully about the consequences.”
With daylight about to disappear completely, I was getting desperate. I could only swallow my grievances, look toward Freya, and reluctantly say, “I’m sorry.”
Freya looked at me with a half–smile, her eyes full of mockery:
A
Your voice is so quiet, you must still be resentful. How abouɓ:20
Chapter 3
for you instead?”
Allan quickly comforted her: “Freya, it’s not your fault. You don’t need to apologize to someone so heartless.”
He turned back to glare at me, saying viciously, “Apologize properly and kowtow to Freya for forgiveness.”
I endured the humiliation and knelt down, staring hard at Freya: “I’m sorry, Freya. I was wrong. Please forgive me.”
As soon as I finished speaking, distant wolf howls echoed faintly from the mountains. My heart rate spiked, and I just wanted to escape immediately.
At that moment, Allan finally released my collar and said smugly, “If you dare do this again, I won’t let you off so easily.”
I didn’t dare argue back. I grabbed my backpack and ran, following the route I remembered, climbing over mountains and ridges without daring to stop for a moment.
Meanwhile, the ground began to tremble slightly.
I knew the wolf pack had sharpened their claws and were racing toward the hiking team at full speed.
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