Joanna and I sat side by side in the cell, our hands bound by shackles.
I turned my face to look at Joanna, who was lost in thought, and apologized.
Her head shot up in surprise. “Why are you apologizing?”
My lips curved up into a bitter smile. “I got you into trouble.”
When Joanna heard my reply, she looked stunned for a moment before smiling. “Aren’t we mates? Mates share weal and woe, remember?”
Feeling a little dispirited, I whispered, “Haven’t you always refused to admit that you’re my mate and wanted to reject me?”
Joanna’s lips parted slightly and she wore a surprised expression. “You knew about it? I thought you had no idea since you looked like a happy idiot every single day.”
My temper flared a little when I heard her. I had never thought that this was the impression she had of me!
I turned angrily, wanting to say something to refute her, but my words were swallowed by a pair of soft lips.
I was stunned and blinked in disbelief. I was met with a close-up view of Joanna’s face. Her eyelashes were thick, long, and beautiful, and the warmth of her lips reminded me that I was not dreaming.
Joanna’s kiss was gentle and brief. Before I could react, she straightened her spine and studied me with a smile.
The tips of my ears were burning with shyness and my cheeks blazed with embarrassment.
A second later, I was engulfed in a warm embrace. Joanna said in a clear pleasant voice, “I know you’re sad now, but I will always stand by your side. Harry, you are not alone.”
Her comforting words left me misty-eyed.
I sobbed profusely. I had a runny nose and my face was drenched with tears. Joanna patiently sat by me and wiped my tears with a handkerchief. She was so considerate and thoughtful.
The more I cried, the more miserable I felt. Soon, my eyes were swollen and my voice was so hoarse that I couldn’t speak clearly.
“Sylvia died in front of my eyes, but there was nothing I could do. She must have been in so much pain when she was set on fire, and she was still carrying her baby. How will I explain this to Flora when she returns? No… I feel so horrible. Sylvia was such a nice person.”
Joanna wiped my tears with the handkerchief and patted my head. “There, there. Don’t cry. Let’s see what happens next. We have to wait for Rufus to wake up. We can’t let this matter end like this.”
Rufus’ name plunged me further into despair. I opened my mouth wide and let out an agonizing cry. “Rufus will be overwhelmed with pain. She was the person he loves the most in this world! And his unborn child. Now, they are both gone!”
“Don’t cry. You look very ugly when you’re sobbing like this. If you keep this up, I will take back my words.” Joanna felt helpless, but she couldn’t do anything to cheer me up.
I stopped crying and began to hiccup like a sad frog.
“Take back what?” I asked Joanna pitifully, not understanding what she meant at all.
She sighed and looked like she had a headache.
“Don’t sigh. It makes me feel worse. I’m so useless…” I pursed my lips and couldn’t stop myself from sobbing.
At this moment, the prison door was suddenly thrown open and two soldiers entered.
“Harry and Joanna, come with us.”
We were taken away by the soldiers, the tears still drenching my face.
I wanted to hold Joanna’s hand, but the soldiers didn’t allow me to do that. They were worried that we had concocted some evil plan and watched us viciously while they led us away.
I had no choice but to give in and follow them dejectedly.
The soldiers didn’t take us to the main hall, but to a side hall.
After we entered the hall, they shut the door behind us.
Both Joanna and I were bewildered. When we walked further into the room, we spotted someone behind a screen.
It was the silhouette of a pregnant she-wolf with long hair.
At that moment, my heart began racing and my eyes widened in disbelief.
Before I could call out the name, the person behind the screen walked out.
It was Sylvia!
Sylvia’s POV
The look on Harry’s countenance spawned what might have been a chortle from my throat. How amusing! It seemed as though blood was drained from his face, leaving only a soft trail of paleness.
“I assure you, Harry. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you; I’m real.”
My voice seemed to pull his senses back on ground. With haste and reluctance struggling whichever would surface, he rushed to me and eyed me carefully. He exclaimed, “Sylvia! I can’t believe you’re alive! But-well, this is good news!”
“Why do I hear a hint of disappointment from your tone that I didn’t die?” I narrowed my eyes at him as I teased to lighten up the atmosphere.
The bewilderment was momentarily lost as Harry rolled his eyes in return. “Who said anything about me wanting you to die? If any, it was you who scared me to death!”
Only then did I closely see how swollen his eyes were. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that his eyes were stung by bees. I mused, “I remember how your eyes give you away whenever you cry buckets of tears.”
Harry lifted his hands to hide his eyes from my view and tried to defend himself, “Who cried? My eyes are like this because I slept in!”
A chuckle broke out of Joanna’s lips as she snitched on Harry. She was not at all trying to be subtle about it either. “He sure took his time in prison crying his heart out. I couldn’t even do anything to make him stop.” She shrugged her shoulders.” Well, I tried.”
“You’re making things up! I only cried for a short while.” The blood that left Harry’s face rushed back and painted his embarrassed face with a tinge of scarlet. He averted his gaze towards somewhere else, neither landing on Joanna’s eyes nor mine. He was also sporting a faint pout that was almost not there.
Joanna and I stole a glance at each other and laughed at Harry’s antics.
The light ambiance enveloping us reminded me of the good old days in school. Tears began to dampen my eyes as a ghost of a smile forcefully lifted my lips. We couldn’t go back to that time anymore. Looking back, those were fleeting moments.
I uttered my apology to Harry in a low voice.
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