Blurb：
Embark on an unforgettable journey through the mystical world of Eldoria, where destiny awaits! Follow the courageous heroine Elara as she uncovers ancient secrets tied to the legendary Dragonstone. Alongside the enigmatic warrior Kaelen, she must navigate treacherous lands filled with magic, mythical beasts, and dark forces. Dive into a tale of bravery, friendship, and epic battles that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Perfect for fans of high fantasy, this novel brings to life unforgettable characters like Elara, Kaelen, and the mysterious Shadow King. Don’t miss out on the adventure that has readers raving about its intricate world-building and heart-pounding action!
Content：
How can there be a perfect choice in this world—one that betrays neither the Sandharan Order nor the one you love?
It’s a romantic line, but it has nothing to do with Rosalie Stone. Her fiance, Bradley Wakefield, is a man revered like Sandhara himself, but it’s not because of her that he leaves the Sandharan Order.
She thinks he will never fall in love. But later, she learns that it’s just her that he won’t fall for.
And so, she gives up on him. She gives herself seven days to forget about Bradley.
Chapter 1
“Rosalie, are you sure you’re willing to take Lola’s place as the Sacred Goddess? Once you’re ordained, you have to remain single for life. That means you have to call off your engagement with Bradley.”
In a monastery filled with golden statues of Sandhara, the abbot, Stanley Brown, was speaking to Rosalie Stone. He had an aged voice, but his tone was kind.
Rosalie kneeled inside the main hall, a spot of cinnabar dotted on her forehead. She placed her hands together and said sincerely, “I’m sure.”
She wasn’t the one Bradley Wakefield loved, anyway. His heart belonged to Lola Lodge. If that were the case, she would give them her blessings and let them have what they wanted.
“I have a request, Abbot Brown.” Rosalie lowered her gaze and continued, “Please don’t tell anyone about this until I’m officially ordained as the Sacred Goddess. That includes Bradley and Lola.”
Stanley agreed and told her she only had seven days to bid her family and friends goodbye. Once those seven days were up, she would no longer be Rosalie Stone. She would be the monastery’s Sacred Goddess.
…
When Rosalie walked out of the main hall, she looked up to see a figure in white. Bradley approached from one end of the corridor, wearing a white monastic robe. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, but she sensed a hint of ice in them.
He frowned slightly at the sight of her. “What are you doing here?”
He didn’t seem happy to see her, even though she was his fiancee. That stung her heart, but she ignored it and forced a casual smile. “I came to pray, of course.”
Bradley’s gaze turned icier, evidently not believing her. Well, it made sense. She’d been his tail for so many years and followed him everywhere he went. She wasn’t interested in scripture at all, yet she’d read thick tomes of them just so they’d have something in common. She’d even hired a Zoltian teacher to teach her the language.
Zoltian was so hard to pick up. She wore herself out trying to memorize all its alphabets before finally attaining some success. Then, she’d run happily to the prayer room to look for Bradley. She’d shyly professed her love for him in Zoltian, yet he’d only responded to her joy with a frosty sentence.
“You’re disrespecting and tainting the religion.”
At that time, Rosalie had been too young to understand what he meant. How were her feelings for him a form of disrespect?
Later, she understood. Bradley had been revered as the reincarnation of Sandhara from the moment he was born. He was a saint placed on a pedestal for worshipping, a symbol of holiness. And so, her selfish love was a disrespect to him.
Just then, a melodic female voice rang out, “Brad!”
Lola, wearing a red and white striped monastic robe, ran toward them from the other end of the corridor. Her footsteps were light and deft. “Good news, Brad! Abbot Brown agreed to let me leave the Sandharan Order!”
She threw herself into Bradley’s arms, her pretty face filled with excitement.
His expression softened when he caught sight of her. “How can that be? You’re the Sacred Goddess, and you’re supposed to be ordained in seven days. Why would Abbot Brown let you leave the order?”
“He said someone born on the exact day as me is willing to take my place as the Sacred Goddess.” She beamed. “He also said I’m not a good fit for spending the rest of my life in a monastery because I still have mortal ties. That’s why he let me go.”
Bradley’s usually calm gaze showed a rare hint of joy. “Really? That’s great.”
Everyone said a man of the monastery like him didn’t have worldly desires and had a calm inner plane. Matters of the heart couldn’t cause even the slightest ripple in his world.
Rosalie had believed that, but she now felt like a joke when she saw the brightness in Bradley’s gaze. To him, her love was a form of disrespect. What did he think of his own feelings, then?
Chapter 2
Those who were favored had nothing to fear, and those who weren’t wouldn’t even get the chance to voice their grievances.
Rosalie smiled bitterly, deciding to let the matter slide. She was used to it anyway.
“I’ve never left Zolt, Brad. Can you show me the world now that I’ve left the Sandharan Order?” Lola clung to Bradley and shook his arm, turning on the charm.
He looked at her tenderly, his voice oozing affection as he said, “Alright.”
He was supposed to be Rosalie’s fiance…
Rosalie’s heart twisted painfully. She lowered her eyes, not wanting to see them flaunting their love, and turned to leave.
However, Lola stopped her. “Rosie, you and Brad are getting married in a week, right? Where’s the wedding being held? Can I attend?”
Rosalie stopped, unable to take another step forward. Bradley had left the Sandharan Order five years ago, claiming that his inner plane was affected by matters of the heart. He said he could no longer focus on serving Sandhara.
However, she knew for a fact that he hadn’t broken his vows for her sake. He hadn’t left the Sandharan Order because of her. Their engagement was still valid, but she would never have his heart.
“Is there still a need for the wedding?” She turned to look at Bradley with sorrow. There was a second half to that sentence, but she didn’t say it. It was, “It’s not like I’m the one you want to marry.”
He frowned, his usually stoic face showing a hint of anger. “Don’t spout nonsense.”
He didn’t answer her. Instead, he told her to keep her sorrow and resentment to herself. Everyone but her could harbor resentment, purely because she’d fallen for a man of the monastery like him. She’d already sinned by tainting him with her selfish love. What right did she have to resent him?
Rosalie smiled self-deprecatingly. She turned to leave again.
Behind her, Bradley said coldly, “Since you and I have a promise to marry, I will honor it and marry you.”
She’d heard him say that before. When she was younger, she’d cried and asked him, “Are you going to call off our engagement and not marry me? Is that why you’re not leaving the Sandharan Order?”
The monks at the monastery didn’t have to change their appearances while serving Sandhara. At that time, Bradley had only been 12 years old. He’d never left the monastery, and he sat cross-legged underneath a tree with his hair cascading past his shoulders. He’d been so handsome.
“I won’t call anything off,” he’d said. “You and I have mortal ties, and I owe you a marriage. I have to marry you in this lifetime to clear my debt so I can serve Sandhara completely.”
Rosalie had only been ten years old then, so she was innocent and naive. All she’d understood from his words was that he wouldn’t call off their engagement. That had been enough to make her laugh happily. He’d made it clear that he would marry her and that they would be together forever.
How silly. How could she have been so dumb? How could she not tell that Bradley hadn’t wanted to marry her at all? All he wanted to do was cut whatever ties there were between them so that he wouldn’t owe her anything. Then, there would truly be nothing linking them.
…
Rosalie took a flight home that night. She usually spent as much time at the monastery as possible each time she visited—solely because she wanted to see more of Bradley. Even an extra glance would be enough to satisfy her.
But this time, she came and left on the same day.
Bradley called her the following morning, telling her to meet him for her wedding dress fitting. She didn’t want to go—she wouldn’t be his bride in six days. She would return to Zolt and become the new Sacred Goddess.
But after some thought, she still decided to go. He was right about one thing—one could only truly serve Sandhara after severing all mortal ties.
So, she would go through the motions of marrying him, allowing him to repay the debt of love he owed her. Then, they would no longer have anything to do with each other. Neither would owe the other.
Rosalie headed to the wedding dress boutique with that thought in mind. But when she arrived, she saw Lola wearing a pure white wedding dress and twirling happily before a mirror.
The wedding dress looked familiar. Rosalie recognized it to be the one Bradley had had tailored for her.
Chapter 3
Bradley had changed out of his monastic robe. He wore a black suit as he stood beside Lola, his gaze affectionate and doting. They were the very embodiment of love and tenderness.
Even Rosalie felt like they were the ones who were about to get married, let alone others. She felt like she wasn’t even needed.
“Rosie, you’re here!” Lola spotted Rosalie and stuck out her tongue, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Rosie. I’ve never seen the wedding dresses that you guys wear here. I couldn’t resist trying this one on because it was so pretty.”
She blinked innocently, looking uneasy. “You won’t be mad at me, will you?”
Rosalie smiled. “Of course not. You can have the wedding dress if you like it so much.”
“You’re talking nonsense again.” Bradley glared at her. “Is this something to joke about?”
She looked at him, wanting to tell him she wasn’t joking. As long as he and Lola were willing, she could let them have her wedding, let alone her wedding dress.
However, Bradley had an ugly look on his face. She didn’t want to provoke him further, so she held her tongue and kept her words to herself.
“It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have tried anything on,” Lola said, looking apologetic. “Don’t be mad, Rosie. I’ll take the wedding dress off and return it to you right now.”
Then, she hurried to the dressing room.
“Do you have to be so forceful?” Bradley shot Rosalie an icy look. He looked at her like she was a sinner he was judging and punishing on behalf of the gods.
She shut her eyes, feeling tired. Her intention had been to step down so Lola could take her place, yet he said she was being forceful. Sure enough, a person who wasn’t loved and favored would be in the wrong, no matter what they did.
Whatever. She didn’t want to explain anything—she would be joining the Sandharan Order in six days anyway. For those who renounced the world, all joy and sorrow would turn to nothingness. All in the world was emptiness. So, what was there to explain?
Soon, Lola was done changing out of the wedding dress. To stop herself from appearing “forceful”, Rosalie entered the dressing room without saying anything. She tried on the dress Lola had just taken off to find that it was a size too big for her.
She was taller than Lola but much skinnier. The wedding dress had looked perfect on Lola, yet it was too short and wide on her. It wasn’t meant for her, no matter how she tried to adjust it.
Rosalie laughed inwardly. It was normal for the dress not to fit her—she wasn’t the one Bradley wanted to marry, after all. That was why he’d remembered the wrong size and inadvertently had the designer tailor a dress for Lola. It made perfect sense, didn’t it?
Rosalie took off the dress and changed back into her own clothes. Then, she walked out of the dressing room.
“Rosie, why did you come out without the wedding dress?” Lola furrowed her brows and asked nervously, “Are you still mad at me?”
“No.” Rosalie smiled faintly. “I tried it on, and it fits perfectly.”
“Then why—” Lola started.
Rosalie cut her off, “Because there’s a saying that there will be bad luck if a groom sees his bride in her wedding dress before the wedding. That’s why I didn’t show you guys what I looked like in the dress—it’s fine as long as it fits.”
Lola believed her and nodded as the realization dawned on her. “Oh, I see.”
Meanwhile, Bradley gave Rosalie a pointed look. His face was devoid of emotion, so she couldn’t tell how he felt. Then again, who could read the mind of a man of the monastery?
…
After the dress fitting, Rosalie headed home and retrieved the scripture Stanley had given her. She sat down in the study and started reading it.
Her study was filled with scripture, and all the texts were written in Zoltian. Many of them were priceless collectibles.
She’d initially started collecting them to close the distance between herself and Bradley. She’d wanted to understand his inner world and ensure they had something in common. She’d even desired to have their souls resonate with each other.
However, he’d told her off for being insincere, even saying that she was disrespecting his religion.
Rosalie had been indignant, and she’d started learning about the Sandharan Order on willpower alone. Gradually, she found herself truly falling in love with the religion. Whenever she read scripture, it would calm and save her shattered heart.
She’d agreed to be the Sacred Goddess not only because she wanted to forget about Bradley. It was also because she believed the Sandharan Order was where her soul would finally find peace.
She was so engrossed in studying the scripture that she didn’t notice Bradley entering the study. She was reading a text when it was taken from her hands.
“Why are you reading this?” Bradley looked at her imperiously, his gaze cold. “Didn’t I warn you about this? The Sandharan Order won’t accept people with impure senses and lingering emotions. Why bother putting on an act for me when you can’t cast aside your worldly desires?”
Rosalie bit her lip hard. She didn’t want to argue with him, but she couldn’t hold herself back this time. She looked up stubbornly and retorted, “What about you, then? Can you cast aside your worldly desires?”
Could he let go of Lola? He wouldn’t have left the Sandharan Order if he could!
Chapter 4
Bradley was furious. He was a man of the monastery, and they weren’t supposed to be influenced by worldly desires and emotions. Everything in life was supposed to be empty to him. Suffering and joy alike were meant to pass him by without leaving a trace.
Rosalie had never seen him get mad before. He was always calm and stoic, almost as if he wouldn’t even bat an eye if the sky crashed down on him.
Yet that night, he flew into a rage. He emptied Rosalie’s study of all the scriptures and tossed them carelessly into the yard.
“What are you doing, Bradley? Stop it! Stop it right now!” She tried to stop him, but to no avail.
He looked crazed as he threw all her precious scriptures onto the ground, as if they were trash. He even forbade her from picking them up. The sacred texts lay strewn across the ground as he got a lighter from the living room.
Rosalie’s eyes widened as she realized what he was going to do. Her breathing turned ragged, and she cried, “What are you doing, Bradley?”
She didn’t even have time to stop him. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he ignited the lighter and threw it onto the scriptures.
They instantly started burning. The sacred texts she’d treasured for years went up in flames just like that.
Rosalie couldn’t stop herself from slapping Bradley hard across the face as she screamed, “Have you lost your mind? Why did you do this?”
The flames illuminated her face, which was streaked with tears. Did Bradley hate her so much? Did he despise her to the point that he felt it was an insult for her to read scripture? Was that why he’d burned her texts to her face?
“You and I both have impure senses and lingering emotions. Neither of us can genuinely serve Sandhara.” Bradley calmed down after a long silence. He put his hands together before clutching the rosary around his wrist.
Then, he shut his eyes and said, “What’s done is done. Neither of us is destined to serve Sandhara, so don’t read scripture anymore.”
With that, he turned and left.
The flames continued burning. Rosalie stared at them before abruptly bursting into laughter.
Bradley had admitted it—that his senses were impure and that he had lingering emotions. He was supposed to be a man of the monastery, yet he could renounce the Sandharan Order for Lola’s sake.
He claimed he wasn’t destined to serve Sandhara, yet he still kept a rosary with him at all times. How could there be a perfect choice in this world—one that betrayed neither the Sandharan Order nor the one he loved?
He couldn’t find that perfect choice, so he’d chosen to disappoint Sandhara rather than let Lola down.
Rosalie kept laughing as she reached up to wipe the tears at the corners of her eyes. This was fine. She kept telling herself that even though Bradley had disappointed Sandhara, she wouldn’t.
She only had five days left. Once the time was up, she would cease to be Rosalie Stone. She would become the Sacred Goddess, who only thought of serving Sandhara.
She told herself not to be sad. Women of the monastery had pure senses. They wouldn’t cry over matters of the heart.
…
When Rosalie saw Bradley the following day, he’d already taken off his rosary. In its place was a bracelet woven from fine red and blue cords, colors that symbolized love in local tradition.
The red cord represented the woman, and the blue cord represented the man. They were intertwined tightly, symbolizing that they would never be separated. Threaded between the cords were a sapphire and a red agate.
Rosalie remembered that red agate stood for eternal love.
“I have to go out to deal with something,” Bradley said. “Would you mind looking after Lola for me? She’s not familiar with this place, so don’t let her run off by herself.”
Women of the monastery should be kind and always willing to help. Rosalie tried not to let her emotions influence her, and she smiled while saying, “I don’t mind.”
Bradley took a closer look at her, perhaps not expecting her to agree so readily. However, he didn’t say anything while staring at her. After a while, he turned and left.
Lola soon woke up. She stretched endearingly and yawned while greeting Rosalie. “Morning, Rosie!”
Her sleeves slipped down as she stretched, revealing a woven bracelet on her wrist. It wasn’t hard to tell from the design that it was a matching pair with Bradley’s.
Chapter 5
Rosalie forced herself to look away from Lola’s bracelet.
“Where’s Brad?” Lola looked around for Bradley. “Yesterday, he promised he would take me to the amusement park today!”
Bradley had always preferred the quiet. He was a bit of a clean freak and hated going to crowded places. He refused to even accompany Rosalie on a shopping trip, yet he was willing to go to an amusement park with Lola, despite the crowd.
Rosalie lowered her gaze, concealing her sorrow. “He went out to deal with something.”
“What?” Lola looked disappointed. “How could he? We agreed to go to the amusement park today. I’ve never been to one, and I’ve been looking forward to this since last night!”
Rosalie figured she’d be better off taking Lola out than rotting at home, so she said, “I can take you if you’re willing to go.”
“Really?” Lola’s eyes lit up. She pounced on Rosalie and hugged her. “You’re the best, Rosie!”
And so, Rosalie drove Lola to the amusement park. It was the latter’s first time there, so she was as happy as a lark. She wanted to go on every single ride—roller coasters, spinning teacups, the log flume, the drop tower… She enjoyed each one.
Rosalie was actually a little scared of heights, but she was also afraid of being separated from Lola. So, she forced herself to accompany Lola on all the rides she wanted to go on.
The final ride was the drop tower. Rosalie was ashen when she got off, and her legs were like jelly. Her head spun, too. Yet it was right at that moment that the amusement park’s grand parade began.
“Look at that mouse!” Lola exclaimed. She ran after the parade floats.
Rosalie didn’t manage to catch her. Just like that, they were separated. She panicked and shoved her way into the throng, forgetting about her dizziness. “Lola! Don’t just run off like that!”
Unfortunately, there were too many people watching the parade. The parade’s cheery music soon drowned out her cries, and Lola was nowhere to be seen.
The parade floats soon passed, and the crowd dispersed. Rosalie still couldn’t find Lola, though. She stood there, ashen-faced. They were in the middle of summer, and the sweltering sun hung high in the air. However, she felt cold all over and began to tremble.
She’d lost Lola! Bradley had explicitly told her not to let Lola run off by herself, yet she’d lost the latter in a matter of hours!
She had to calm down. She pinched herself hard, using the pain to force herself to focus. Lola couldn’t have gone far—she had to still be in the amusement park. She just needed to search the place, and she would find Lola…
However, Rosalie bumped into Bradley before finding Lola. The sky had already turned dark, and the amusement park’s staff members were helping her in her search. Lola’s name was even being blared over the PA system, but she seemed to have disappeared into thin air. No one managed to track her down.
Bradley’s gaze was cold enough to freeze the midsummer sun. “Do you hate Lola that much, Rosalie? I can’t believe you pulled something like this just to get rid of her.”
Rosalie was stunned. She looked at him as tears welled in her eyes. “Is that what you think of me?”
He actually thought she’d lost Lola on purpose to make her suffer, give up, and go back to Zolt.
Bradley didn’t spare her another glance. He turned and left with a staff member to continue looking for Lola.
A drop of moisture landed on the back of Rosalie’s hand. She looked up at the dark sky and realized it was starting to rain. Women of the monastery didn’t shed tears, so it had to be a raindrop.
Rosalie spent the rest of the night braving the downpour while searching for Lola. When she finally dragged herself home, soaked to the bone, she found Lola bundled up in a thick blanket on the couch. Bradley was in the kitchen, making her a cup of hot tea to chase away the cold.
Neither of them looked like they’d gotten caught in the rain. That meant they’d returned ages ago, but neither of them had bothered taking even a minute to call her and tell her Lola had been found.
Chapter 6
Rosalie’s hair was still dripping, and her clothes were soaked through. The heels of her shoes had snapped because she’d run around searching for Lola all night, rendering her unable to walk in them anymore.
She wouldn’t have returned if not for that. She would’ve continued searching in the rain.
“Why have you only just gotten back, Rosie?” Lola asked in surprise. She ran over with her feet bare and draped the blanket she was bundled up in over Rosalie’s shoulders. “Oh, my God! You’re soaked! Where were you? How did you end up like this?”
Rosalie didn’t answer. All she did was look at Lola as tears stung her eyes. She asked, “When did you get back?”
“Me? Ages ago,” Lola answered. “Brad found me! I had no idea where I was, and my phone’s battery was flat. The sky was getting darker, and it started raining. I almost had the living daylights scared out of me.
“Luckily, Brad found me just as it started raining. It’s almost like he can sense where I am—he was also the first to find me when I lost my way in the grasslands…”
Rosalie couldn’t help laughing. It turned out Bradley had found Lola just as it started raining. This was the power of true love—he’d found her so quickly.
It was a heartfelt tale—no matter the distance and the storms they had to weather, their hearts linked them to each other. That was why he could find Lola faster than anyone else.
Rosalie felt like a joke. She’d braved the rain throughout the night for nothing. It was laughable.
“Rosie, are you mad at me?” Lola lowered her head uneasily when she saw that Rosalie didn’t look too happy. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off like that…”
Rosalie shut her eyes tiredly. “Forget it.”
Yes, she would forget about it. They wouldn’t see each other anymore anyway.
“You don’t need to apologize to her,” Bradley said, his voice as cold as always. “Evil deeds reap evil outcomes. She’s the one who sowed these evil seeds, so she has to reap them.”
And so, Rosalie knew what had happened. He’d done this on purpose—he’d deliberately avoided calling her after finding Lola because he wanted to punish her on Sandhara’s behalf. He wanted to punish her for losing Lola out of jealousy.
Rosalie looked at him calmly. Her eyes were wet, but maybe the moisture was from being out in the rain all night. She said, “I hope you remember what you just said, Bradley. ‘Evil deeds reap evil outcomes.’
“If one day you find yourself choking on the consequences of your actions, don’t forget that you sowed those evil seeds.”
With that, she turned and left without another look back.
…
For the next few days, Rosalie and Bradley settled into a cold war. They didn’t see or speak to each other.
On the day before the wedding, she received the monastic robe that the Sacred Goddess needed to wear during the ordination ceremony. Stanley had mailed it to her.
It was pure white with red and gold embroidery on the sleeves and hem. The red cosmos was in full bloom along the trim, and the gold scriptures shimmered with quiet reverence.
She only had one day to go. After that day, she would fly to Zolt and be ordained as the Sandharan Order’s Sacred Goddess. She would join the monastery and cut all mortal ties.
Rosalie sat in a daze with the robe in her arms for a long time. Ultimately, she decided to seek Bradley out and end the cold war.
She figured she would say her goodbyes properly and ask him to cancel the wedding. He didn’t owe her anything, nor did he need to repay her. She would soon join the Sandharan Order, so whatever love, resentment, and regrets lay between them would cease to exist.
She headed to Bradley’s study with that thought in mind. However, it was empty. All she saw was a piece of paper on the desk. The ink had yet to dry, which meant Bradley had just left.
Out of curiosity, Rosalie looked down to see what he’d written. On the paper, written in bold brushstrokes, was a single sentence.
“I would willingly transform into a stone bridge, enduring 500 years of wind, rain, and the scorching sun, just for the chance that you might walk across me in your next lifetime.”
Chapter 7
Rosalie felt like countless needles were slowly but surely piercing her heart as she looked at the romantic line Bradley had written on the paper.
It came from one of the most beloved tales of love in the Sandharan Order’s lore. The story talked about how a man, before joining the monastery, had met a young woman on a bridge. He’d fallen for her at first sight, and the longing had consumed him until he’d wasted away.
Sandhara had asked him, “How deep is your love for that woman?”
The man had answered, “I would willingly transform into a stone bridge, enduring 500 years of wind, rain, and the scorching sun, just for the chance that she might walk across me in her next lifetime.”
Rosalie still remembered that she’d been moved to tears when she first read this fable. She’d sought Bradley out with the scripture in her hand, and she’d told him that that was the sort of love she wanted.
Years had passed since then. She was surprised Bradley still remembered the line from that tale. It was too bad he hadn’t written it for her.
She’d given it her all but had still failed to get the love she wanted.
Rosalie put the paper down and turned around, leaving the room without making a sound. She wondered whether Bradley was aware that she’d once felt the same as the man in the story. She was also willing to transform into a stone bridge and endure everything just for the chance that he would walk across her in this lifetime.
…
Rosalie had a sleepless night. The following morning, she put on the Sacred Goddess’ monastic robe instead of the wedding dress that had been delivered to her home. Then, she put on the red monastic scarf that came with the robe and picked up her rosary.
After that, she made her way to the church where her wedding was being held.
She didn’t want to disappear without a word and leave a mess behind for Bradley to deal with alone. That was why she was going to the church to explain the situation to the wedding guests. She would call off their engagement in public before leaving.
However, she was stunned the moment she entered the church. There was already a bride inside. Lola was a vision in white, and she smiled sweetly as she chatted excitedly with the bridesmaids.
The guests were also happy and lighthearted. None of them noticed anything was wrong.
Rosalie’s eyes widened in shock. What was going on?
She was supposed to be in the wedding dress, yet she wore the monastic robe of the Sacred Goddess. Meanwhile, Lola, who should’ve been the Sacred Goddess, wore her wedding dress.
Their roles and identities had been swapped, but no one could tell that something was amiss.
Rosalie staggered backward, trembling all over. She and Bradley hadn’t spoken in days. Could it be he’d unilaterally ended their engagement and planned to marry Lola that day?
The skies were clear, but a cold droplet rolled down her face. She thought she wouldn’t shed tears for Bradley anymore, but her eyes weren’t listening to her. They were the ones letting her tears flow.
She couldn’t believe he hadn’t even bothered to text her and inform her that the wedding was off. He’d switched brides without a word!
If she hadn’t agreed to take Lola’s place as the Sacred Goddess and if she’d arrived at the church in her wedding dress, happy to walk down the aisle…
Had Bradley even stopped to think how much despair she would be in if she’d come joyfully to find that another bride was taking her place? How humiliated would she have been if all the guests were there to witness this?
There was a saying that people wouldn’t cry when they descended into extreme sorrow. Instead, they would laugh hysterically.
Rosalie figured the saying was right because she couldn’t stop herself from bursting into laughter. Once the laughter subsided, she dried her tears and turned around, leaving without another look back.
One of Sandhara’s teachings was that people of the monastic order had to be compassionate. They had to forgive all sins in the world. However, she would never forgive Bradley.
…
Rosalie’s phone started buzzing like crazy when she arrived at the airport. She checked it to see that Bradley was calling her. It tickled her. Why was he calling? Did he want to invite her to his and Lola’s wedding?
She would’ve been able to accept the change of bridges if he’d just bothered telling her the day before that he wanted to marry Lola instead. She would’ve even smiled and given them her blessings.
But now… she refused to accept this, and she wouldn’t bless them.
Rosalie rejected the call without hesitation. However, he rang her again almost instantly. She rejected it again, and he called her again.
This went on for a while. Bradley refused to stop even after Rosalie had rejected his call seven times. Annoyed, she threw her phone into the trash can before boarding her flight. And so, she didn’t see the countless texts he’d sent her, asking where she was.
The plane took off and flew thousands of miles to bring Rosalie to where her heart and soul belonged. A red-walled monastery perched atop high mountains. Stanley and several other monks stood at the entrance, awaiting Rosalie’s arrival.
She put her hands together and greeted them. Then, she entered the monastery as they surrounded her.
Stanley dotted a spot of cinnabar on her forehead. “All things in this world rise and fall by cause and effect. Nothing escapes this truth. Let go of your attachments, and your heart will become as calm as still waters.
“Are you truly willing to leave behind your past life and abandon all earthly desires to join our order and sever the cycle of reincarnation?”
Rosalie brought her palms together and shut her eyes. “I am.”
“Then, the rite is complete,” Stanley said. “From this day forth, your monastic name shall be Lyra Jewel in honor of the 12 Sacred Goddesses.”
The monks started chanting as his words fell. Rosalie prostrated herself on the floor as a thin trail of incense curled into the air.
Her last thought was that this was farewell for her and Bradley. The rite was complete, and Rosalie Stone would cease to exist in this world.
There would only be Lyra Jewel.
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