Alice's POV
"Shameless wretch, daring to fancy Alpha Robert," she sneered.
Within the confines of the Repentance Sanctuary, the nun's whip relentlessly lashed across my body. She grasped my hair and thrust me against the wall.
"Take a good look at yourself. Do you really think you're worthy?"
My white dress had already been stained a vivid red by my own blood. I knelt on the ground, everything before me awash in crimson.
"Take care of her until her illness is cured!" This was Robert's order when he sent me to the Repentance Sanctuary.
"All of this cruelty, Robert won't spare you!" I shouted.
"You dare mention Alpha Robert's name? Do you still consider yourself a noble princess within the pack? I'm only 'taking good care of you' as per Alpha Robert's command."
The whip in the director's hand arched high before continuing to strike my body.
Crack, crack, crack. The rhythmic sound of the whip filled the dim dungeon, echoing continuously.
Indeed, why would they defy Robert's order? He was simply unwilling to harm me personally. This was his true intention, to make me relinquish my thoughts of him. He aimed to cure my "fantasy ailment."
How could I have been so foolish to realize this only now?
"Ah, I'm exhausted," the director said, shaking her wrist. The whip was now covered in blood, and droplets incessantly fell to the ground.
"Alice, it seems you're quite stubborn," she said with a malevolent smile. "It appears that you won't learn your lesson without leaving some marks."
Several nuns tore my clothes apart, revealing the mangled mess that was once my back.
The director approached me with a crimson branding iron in her hand. "Only when you bear the shameful mark will you understand that you were wrong."
"Ah!" I was in so much pain that I was on the verge of losing consciousness, trembling on the ground.
Impatiently, the director kicked my back. "Stop pretending and go confess your sins to the Moon Goddess now!"
I dragged my battered body to the confession room and knelt before the Moon Goddess.
"I confess, I should never have harbored improper thoughts about Alpha Robert."
"Louder," a nun splashed me with water.
My wounds had long gone numb, but I shouted, "I should not have fallen in love with Robert; I was wrong."
"I will never dare again!"
The pain had overtaken my entire body, and I could bear it no longer. I closed my eyes.
"Alice! Alice! What are you thinking?" I opened my eyes, only to meet Kay's charming gaze.
"Alice, you look stunning in this dress. You must be the most beautiful bride in the entire New Moon pack."
I stared at myself in the mirror, the red roses adorning the hem of my white dress, resembling the bloodstains left from that year of abuse.
It had been a year since I had escaped that hell, yet the memories continued to torment me relentlessly.
"Alice, I envy your figure; you look good in anything," Kay continued.
She entered the dressing room, her eyes twinkling as she admired me. Her hands covered her mouth in exaggeration. Her extravagant compliments managed to lift my somber mood a little.
"It's only you who would praise me like that."
"Hmph, I'm speaking the truth."
Kay pouted, "Remember that we vowed to never marry or have children, to remain free and surrounded by handsome men? But who's the first among us to get married?"
I forced a big smile, heavy with flattery. "Well, it's because Jesse is your brother."
Kay, Jesse's sister, had been my good friend from childhood.
"Huh, you and your sweet talk."
"Who else but you as my sister-in-law?"
Kay raised her head proudly, took my arm, and clung to me with glee.
The pure white wedding gown sparkled brilliantly in the revolving light, and Kay quickly sent the photo to Jesse.
"Bro, isn't Alice beautiful?"
"Beautiful," he replied. A simple word, straightforward and to the point.
I couldn't decide if he was being perfunctory or simply efficient.
"Ugh, Jesse is so unromantic."
Kay pursed her lips, her face taking on a cheerful expression as she turned back to me.
"Darling Alice, you look the best. From now on, you're with me. If my brother dares not to spoil you, I'll make him regret it."
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you."
As Kay and I laughed and played around, I unexpectedly caught sight of someone I hadn't anticipated.