Are We Still In love?

However, for Cecilia, it was as if one of the pillars of her world had crumbled. The fact that her own man had killed her father was the final threshold of pain she could endure.

She no longer had any attachments to this life. As Cecilia ascended the stairs, only one question lingered in her mind.

“Why did it have to come to this? Why did he have to be so cruel to me…?”

Muttering to herself, Cecilia let out a hollow laugh and shook her head. Whatever Eden thought or felt no longer mattered.

‘I wanted to kill you too.’

Despite it being summer, a chill wind blew. Remembering Eden’s voice, Cecilia clenched her eyes shut.

‘But now, you must live, Cecilia.’

‘So live.’

No. I don’t want to listen to anything you say anymore.

Like a falling flower swept away by the harsh wind, Cecilia smiled with a sorrowful face.

I want to go back. Then I wouldn’t love him again. But she knew it was a futile wish. If that was impossible, then at the very least, let eternal rest await her.

Thud.

With a dull sound, the world surrounding her collapsed. Deep darkness—that was the last of her memory.

“Milady?”

At the sound of someone calling her, Cecilia blinked dazedly. Lady Monte and Evie, who had been helping her not to trip over her long dress, were staring at her with puzzled expressions.

She remembered the searing pain from the moment her body struck the ground. The sound of her neck snapping, her consciousness slipping away, and then—blackness.

But how did I open my eyes again?

“Milady?”

Not only had she returned to life, but her body was perfectly intact, without a single break or injury. Her slender, pale arms were unblemished, the skin as soft as fresh buds. In fact, she looked even more delicate than she remembered.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Moreover, the clothes she was wearing weren’t the thin nightgown from before. Cecilia silently looked down at the dress, adorned with delicate lace and elegant embroidery, seemingly modest yet refined.

It looked familiar—like something she had seen before. Though it was too extravagant for an ordinary gathering…

“Cecilia, are you feeling discomfort anywhere?”

Before she knew it, Curtis had approached and was asking her with concern.

“…Father?”

“Yes. Are you suddenly in pain?”

Curtis placed his large hand on Cecilia’s forehead. She stared blankly at the worried face of her father, a man she never thought she would see again.

“No, I’m fine.”

Cecilia responded with a faint smile. It felt like a dream. Surely, she hadn’t truly come back to life, so she reasoned that this was a grace from God—letting her see her loved ones one last time.

“Let us go inside.”

Two attendants, as if on cue, opened the heavy doors wide. Cecilia, not knowing where she was headed, took her father’s arm and walked beyond the grand threshold.

Now that she thought about it, the dress seemed vaguely familiar. She had requested the most elegant and beautiful design for a once-in-a-lifetime occasion…

“A wedding dress?”

No sooner had the words left her lips than she saw Eden at the end of the red carpet-lined path, dressed in ceremonial attire, standing tall.

With his smooth, glossy brown hair neatly brushed back and eyes bluer than the sky, he was a graceful man radiating a soft and gentle smile.

“Why…?”

Cecilia murmured in confusion. Eden was not someone she longed to meet in her dreams—certainly not in such a beautiful form.

The vibrancy in his eyes, something no longer present in the emperor Eden had become, felt unfamiliar. Because this was the ‘real’ him.

“…!”

In that moment, like a bolt of lightning, realization struck Cecilia.

This is real.

This dream does not end.

No—it had never been a dream to begin with. She had returned from the brink of death. Today, she was Cecilia Rain, twenty years old, marrying Eden Lobana Burnett, Duke of Burnett. A chill ran down her spine like an electric current.

She had come back—from that horrific future.

“Cecilia?”

Startled and overwhelmed, Cecilia froze in place. The bouquet in her hands trembled. Curtis turned to her with a puzzled voice, calling her name.

Why? How? Was such a thing even possible?

A warm breeze rushed through the open doors, gently pushing at her back. As if spurred by that signal, Cecilia’s trembling legs began to move once again.

Thankfully, the long hem of her gown hid her unsteady steps, sparing her the sight of her heels wobbling like the legs of a newborn foal.

“The bride, Cecilia Rain, is the only daughter of House Rain and a faithful child of God.”

Steadying herself with a composed face, Cecilia stepped beside Eden. Observers likely assumed she had simply stepped on something or paused from discomfort. The training she had undergone as an empress—how to conceal emotions and suppress every flicker of expression—was now bearing fruit.

But Eden, perceptive as ever, seemed to sense her anxiety. Though his head remained facing forward, his eyes occasionally flicked sideways, watching for any change in her expression. Cecilia, wary of revealing her thoughts, lowered her gaze to the floor. He was a man quick to notice everything.

“First, we give thanks to God, who has bestowed upon us the honor of blessing the union between the noble Duke of Burnett and the illustrious House Rain.”

The High Priest offered a solemn prayer. The guests clasped their hands, murmuring brief blessings.

“Lord, today two of Your children begin anew. They are Eden Lobana Burnett, second prince of the Wyatt Empire and Duke of Burnett, and Cecilia Rain, only daughter of House Rain.”

As the guests solemnly vowed to witness the union before God, Cecilia’s thoughts drifted, elusive and scattered.

She had fallen from a tower, her neck broken—she had died. So she thought this must be a dream. But her stunned mind refused to function properly, as though her thoughts had ceased altogether.

Cecilia Rain had undoubtedly died. Then what was this moment? Could one truly defy time?

“All present here today shall bear witness to this marriage.”

Cecilia adjusted her grip on the bouquet and gently clasped her hands together. Her palms, damp with sweat, felt clammy, and her heart pounded so violently it seemed it might burst from her chest. She worried Eden might hear it.

“The couple must now take their vows.”

The High Priest’s voice, reciting the sacred duties, obligations, and responsibilities of marriage, flowed past her without meaning. Even setting aside the fact that she had already experienced this once before, she simply could not focus. Swallowing her own saliva felt like an ordeal as she struggled to suppress every sound and tremble.

Could she run away?

Cecilia’s green eyes darted toward the door over her shoulder, as if seeking escape among the gathered guests.

“Lastly, the couple will sign this marriage contract. I, the High Priest, will officiate and certify the union.”

At that moment, the High Priest presented the marriage contract to Cecilia and Eden. She accepted the quill and signed her name beneath Eden’s signature.

“With this…”

As Cecilia completed her signature, a priest handed the contract back to the High Priest.

“I hereby proclaim, in the name of the Lord, that a new couple, blessed by God, has been united in the Wyatt Empire.”

Confirming the signatures, the High Priest declared the marriage solemnized. Cecilia closed her eyes, her face drained of all color.

“Now, seal your eternal vow of love before God and all witnesses with a kiss.”

It was as if the High Priest could sense Cecilia’s overwhelming urge to flee. The moment his words ended, Eden reached out without hesitation and grasped the edge of her veil.

The white veil, trailing from the crown of her head and veiling her eyes, was slowly lifted. Cecilia exhaled a shaky breath, then closed and opened her eyes.

As the pale veil was cast aside and the full color of the world returned, Eden came into sharp focus—her husband once again. Eden Lobana Burnett.

“You don’t need to be nervous. It will be over soon.”

Beneath the stained-glass ceiling, Cecilia was surrounded by cascading light, and she vividly recalled this beautiful moment—a moment she had once believed would bring her happiness, the brilliant and heart-fluttering beginning. Eden’s face, drawing closer, was exactly as it had been then, like a perfect picture.

But happiness had not lasted. Especially not when the memory of ending her own life was far more akin to hell than any dream.

“You are beautiful, Cecilia.”

The moment his warm lips gently touched hers, blood surged wildly to her ears, her heart pounding in her chest, shattering the illusion. It was as if a stone had smashed through glass—the sound of breaking shards, scattering debris, bringing Cecilia fully back to reality.

Eden slowly pulled away, stepping back with a gentle grace. Cecilia stared at him—her husband once more—without blinking. Eden, seemingly unfazed by her gaze, offered a soft smile.

“Ah…”

Cecilia let out a faint sigh. Amid the roaring applause, she thought she heard the sharp click of metal. It was as if heavy chains of fate had once again wrapped around them, and a firm lock had sealed them together.

God had bound their destinies once more and sealed it shut—a declaration that it could not be undone.