"Lyra, you're so naive, thinking everyone in the world is good-hearted. What will you do when I'm not around to look after you?
"Once you eat my candy, you're mine. Lyra, grow up quickly. When you do, I'll marry you."
When did Sebastian, who had worried about my innocence and simplicity and promised to cherish me for a lifetime, start to distance himself from me?
It was after Selena suddenly barged into our world with her frequent unexplained bruises and her evasive, ambiguous words.
It was her "coincidental" encounters with Sebastian, her tears of grievance, the feigned horror when she looked at me and my parents, and her affected loneliness and pitiful state.
In the end, Sebastian was utterly drawn to her side.
And I transformed in his mind from an innocent girl to a malicious and jealous woman.
Sebastian took out his phone, scrolled to my number, and his finger lingered on the call button for a long time.
Just as he was about to dial my number, Selena wheeled herself in.
She glared at my number on his phone, her expression ferocious, but when Sebastian looked at her, it softened into a look of understanding.