She would still be the most beautiful butterfly on this grassland.

"June Rivers doesn't belong to anyone. She belongs to herself."

Chapter 17

The weather on the grassland was fickle; clear skies during the day turned into a violent storm by night.

The camp was only a temporary structure and was now leaking heavily. Julian and the other man worked to reinforce the stakes in the ground while June and Chloe used basins to bail out the rain.

With her leg already injured, June fell hard to the ground in her haste.

Julian was anxious but had to watch her pull herself up.

"June! Stop what you're doing and go inside to hide!"

Another gust of wind nearly tore the roof off the shelter. The man pulling the ropes suffered a deep cut on his hand.

"We can't stay here. Let’s get into the car and see how it goes, okay?"

Looking at June’s leg, Julian didn't want to risk staying. Without a word, he dropped his work and carried her to the car. But once they were inside, Chloe realized something was wrong.

"How is the tire flat? It was fine when we were driving earlier. We can't leave like this."

Rain hammered against the windows. Just as everyone was falling into despair, headlights pierced the darkness, blinding them.

Xavier Thorne hadn't left; his timing was impeccable.

He stepped out of his car and knocked on their window with practiced calm.

"My car is fine. Get in, and let's leave this place."

Everyone understood what was happening.

"To use such a tactic at a time like this... you are despicable!" Julian shouted.

In the past, Xavier would have looked down on such opportunistic behavior. But now, to get June back, he was capable of anything.

Seeing their hesitation, he feigned a tone of kind persuasion.

"Life and death are at stake. I am merely asking for a chance to speak with my wife. Anything else can wait until we are safe."

Forced by the circumstances, Chloe and the others had to give in and move to Xavier’s car.

But as Julian carefully placed June inside, Xavier immediately slammed the door, locking Julian out.

June grew frantic, unable to turn the locked handle.

"Xavier! What are you doing? Julian hasn't gotten in yet!"

He gripped the steering wheel, looking at the man struggling in the storm through the rearview mirror, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

"I’m sorry, but my car only seats four. Besides, he grew up here; he’s seen plenty of bad weather. This bit of wind and rain shouldn't be anything to him."

"Hey! How can you be like this? We can clearly fit if we squeeze! You're just being petty! You’re going to kill someone!" Chloe yelled.

The man beside her stopped her. "Enough. Saving our lives is what matters right now."

June knew Xavier was intentionally abandoning Julian. He was petty and his jealousy had always been this small-minded. But the storm outside was getting worse; if Julian couldn't find a suitable cave for shelter, he would be in grave danger.

She stopped looking at Xavier and said coldly:

"Is this the 'etiquette and upbringing' of the Thorne family? Xavier, you lack the basic decency of being a human being."

In his eyes, June’s anger and mockery were all for Julian’s sake.

The veins on his wrists bulged as he gripped the wheel, forcing down his rage.

"Say what you want. I won't save him, and I certainly won't save a rival."

The vehicle sped forward, everything outside blurring past—just as it had when she first left with Xavier, as if he were driving her toward another bottomless abyss.

But this time, she didn't want to repeat her mistakes or be manipulated at will. If Xavier wouldn't listen, she had a way to make him.

She moved her injured leg and, while Xavier was turning the wheel, lunged forward to grab his arm.

The car swerved out of control, the passengers thrown about by the momentum. She gripped the handle, hit the unlock button, and jumped from the moving car without hesitation.

"June!"

By the time Xavier reacted, she was already gone. He slammed on the brakes and jumped out to save her before the car even came to a full stop.

He tumbled across the coarse gravel several times before stopping. Despite his dizziness, he rushed to June’s side.

She was unconscious, her forehead bleeding from a gash, her face covered in a mixture of rain and blood. He pulled his "recovered" lover into his arms, unable to endure the heartache.

"June? June? Wake up..."

The sound of the car engine starting up ahead reached his ears, but he didn't give chase.

He tried to transfer his body heat to the soaking-wet June, attempting to wake her.

After a moment, she opened her eyes, and her first word was a rejection:

"Let go of me!"

He ignored her struggles, his arms only tightening around her.

"I won't let go. Not even if I die. How can you risk your life for him!"

June’s consciousness began to fade.

In the past, she couldn't protect her father and had to watch his final remains vanish. Even if Xavier paid with his life, what was gone was gone and could never return.

Now, she wanted to live, but she refused to abandon the person and principles she held dear ever again. She couldn't live with that regret, so this was her only choice.

The sound of the storm faded, replaced by the clear voice of her father in her ear.

"It’s okay, Little June. I’ve always been by your side. I have never blamed you."

Chapter 18

When June Rivers woke again, the storm had passed.

She looked around and found herself inside a mountain cave.

"June!"

"June!"

Xavier and Julian both spoke at once, their voices thick with emotion.

As she regained her senses, she felt a delayed, sharp pain radiating through her limbs.

"You fell quite hard when you jumped from the car. You likely have some internal bruising. Fortunately, Chloe and her husband made it to the city last night. The rescue team will be here soon. Just endure it a little longer."

Julian spoke to her while intentionally turning his body away, which sparked her suspicion.

Combined with the way Xavier was avoiding her gaze, she insisted that Julian turn around. When he did, she saw a shocking, gruesome wound on his arm.

"Xavier Thorne, the person with the least right to be here is you. If not for the conditions last night, Julian wouldn't have been injured by your sneak attack."

Xavier had stayed awake all night, nearly going mad with worry, yet the first thing she did was defend another man! His dissatisfaction burst out instinctively:

"Julian! Julian! Julian! Can you stop saying his name in front of me? You are my wife; you should consider my feelings!"

He regretted the words immediately.

"I’m sorry... I... I was just too worried about you..."

How small must a person’s heart be to harm others in the name of jealousy?

June felt that her past self must have been incredibly blind to love such a scumbag.

"You claim it’s because of jealousy, but you were committing murder! In that situation last night, Julian could have died! Don't use the name of love as an excuse for your selfishness. It’s disgusting."

She was right.

His selfishness had nearly killed her.

Xavier’s outstretched hand hung in the air before he withdrew it in shame.

The rescue team arrived shortly after. Julian helped June onto the vehicle, with Xavier following closely behind. Just as Xavier was about to board, he realized the necklace containing the bone ash was missing from his pocket. He rushed back into the cave to search for it.

"Sir, don't delay the rescue mission. Please get on the vehicle."

He searched the small cave for a long time but found no trace of the necklace. He distinctly remembered feeling it in his pocket before he boarded.

"How can it be gone? How..."

He overturned every stone, but there was nothing. Eventually, he was forced onto the vehicle by the rescue team.

But after the car had traveled some distance, the morning sun hit a specific spot, and he saw the necklace lying on a rock.

"Stop the car! I need to get out now!"

"Sir, please stop interfering with the mission."

As he watched the necklace grow distant until it vanished from sight, his heart sank to the bottom.

The necklace that carried his promise was gone.

It felt like an omen that his love with June could never be recovered.

This seemingly "deeply emotional" gesture didn't move June in the slightest.

"Even if you find the necklace, I don't want it anymore. We are finished."

At the hospital, the doctor scheduled emergency surgery for June. She had Julian sign as the family member.

Xavier’s face turned from pale to ashen, his eyes burning with rage.