It happened again. Suggestive sounds once more came from the neighboring hut. The incessant clatter of heavy objects falling proved how intense it was. Covering my ears, I curled up under the animal skin blanket. After what felt like forever, a warm body settled beside me. The moment I felt a touch on my head, I quickly burrowed deeper into the blanket to avoid the approaching hand. "Don't touch me." Kane stiffened. Pursing his lips, he said with a cold voice, "Iris, you're giving me the cold shoulder again." "It was just to have an heir. Why do you make such a fuss?" "You are still my only true woman." Clutching the blanket tightly, I refused to answer. Kane's expression instantly became sombre. He ran a hand through his hair in irritation. "Once Liana gives birth next spring, I will send her away." "In this way, the tribe will be satisfied." "Don't be stubborn. We'll raise the child together, and he will only call you mother." With that, Kane rose and walked out. Not wanting to face my coldness, he went back to Liana. Such scenes repeated daily since he had brought Liana home. I touched the tear stains on my face and sat up. The bonfire still radiated residual warmth, yet my body felt utterly cold. I had lived three years in this unfamiliar world. Backward and cold, it was scarcely fit for habitation. Had I not met Kane, I would not have missed the full moon and stayed here. As the tribe's most valiant warrior, Kane offered me his sincerest vow. Pulling off the tiger-tooth necklace around my neck, I had the impulse to cry. However, he broke his vow and betrayed me. I remembered the day I chose to stay, he handed me this necklace. "Iris, thank you." "Whether you have a fertility mark or not, I will have only you in this lifetime." "Even without children, I accept that." Yet after just three years, he brought home his father's woman. The tribe had a custom. Sons could inherit their fathers' women, except their biological mother. Liana Reeves, Kane's stepmother, rightfully became his possession. Kane had to care for her. And Liana had to bear him offspring in return. I once believed Kane had severed ties with those tribal customs for me. But it seemed he hadn't changed at all. I snorted derisively and tossed the necklace into the bonfire. In the flickering glow, the tiger-tooth gradually turned to powder, merging with the dark ash on the ground. I no longer wanted his tainted love. Liana's soft and seductive laughter drifted faintly from the next hut. I rubbed the bone ring on my right hand, and then looked at a corner of the stone wall. There were marks drawn in animal blood only I could understand. The next full moon was almost there.
Staring at the drowned seedlings in the fields, I trembled with rage. Beside me, Liana, still holding a wooden bucket, flinched in fright. With tears welling in her eyes, she looked pitiable. "Iris, I didn't mean to." "I just wanted to help you. I didn't know that just a little extra water would kill them all..." She began to sob. Her uncovered neck was dotted with swollen red kiss marks. I averted my gaze, feeling sad and angry. When I was about to open my mouth, I didn't know what to say. The seedlings were already drowned. What use were more words? Slowly unclenching my fists, I stepped forward to see if any seedlings could be saved. Suddenly, Liana's expression changed. She swayed and collapsed to the ground. Before I could react, I was shoved. My knee struck a stone, and the pain sent a cold sweat in an instant. Looking up, I saw Kane in hunting attire. He seemed just returned to the tribe. His eyes were frighteningly red. Wrapping his arms around crying Liana, he looked at me with reproach. "Iris, can't you accept Liana?" My lips trembled, then I offered him a disappointed smile. "Did you see me do anything to her?" "Or do your eyes only see what you choose to believe?" Kane froze. He looked up at the flooded field and fell silent. "They were just seedlings. Liana meant well. Don't make this a big deal." "Just seedlings." The thought drew a sarcastic laugh from me. With this sentence, he dismissed all my efforts. Before I came, the tribe subsisted only on hunting. Eating the meat without proper preparation led them to suffer from diarrhea and sickness. Over time, children grew weak, and the mortality rate remained high. It was I who found vegetable seeds and taught them farming. Gradually, this situation changed. That was why Kane was acclaimed by the people as their chieftain. Yet just now he said they were just seedlings, constantly making excuses for Liana's mistake. "Kane, my belly hurts a bit." Liana whimpered and buried her head into his chest, clinging to him tightly. She pressed against him, her eyes red and swimming with tears—a delicate, clinging thing playing the victim. Kane was indeed drawn to this scene. Without a word, he gently placed his large hand on Liana's belly and then softly rubbed. He moved with careful tenderness, like she might break. Kane was never an attentive man. He learned all these details bit by bit after we were together. Whenever I felt unwell, he stayed close to me and refused to leave. However, I was watching him giving his care to another woman. Suddenly, I felt a pang of sadness. A dull ache throbbed from my injured knee. Lowering my gaze, I dug my nails into the soil. Their intimate moment stretched on. Liana continued to whimper weakly about the pain. Hearing this, Kane scooped her into his arms. Then he turned to me with a complex expression. "Iris, I'm taking Liana to the medicine woman. You..." "I'm in pain too," I told him. Kane paused. I stared at him stubbornly, and my hand pressing the wound trembled slightly. "I'm in pain too, Kane." Silence hung in the air. Kane hesitated, his mouth opening then closing. He took a step toward me. The next moment, Liana wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Blood..." Fresh blood trickled down Liana's thigh. Kane's face changed instantly. Without further hesitation, he hurried towards the medicine woman's hut with Liana in his arms. Watching their receding figures, the ghost of a smile tugged at my lips, leaving only a vast emptiness behind. My last feelings towards Kane vanished in this instant.
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