"I do."
William Carter's voice rang clearly in front of Thalia.
She blinked once, twice. Then a few more times, just in case this was some kind of stress-induced hallucination.
Nope. Still there.
He was still standing tall, freakishly handsome for a human being, saying vows like a perfectly normal groom who definitely did not threaten the clumsy eight-tailed fox to marry him about six days ago.
So the situation at that very moment raised a very important question.
'What the heck am I doing here?' Thalia thought.
"Miss Thalia Kim, will you—"
The priest kept going, but her brain had already checked out.
Instead, it very helpfully rewound to six days ago.
She slowly turned her head toward the audience and locked eyes with her sister.
"How did I end up here?" she asked.
Let's roll back to six days ago~
Thalia pouted in front of her sister's office desk.
No, correction.
Her very expensive, very intimidating, CEO-level office desk.
The kind that made normal people sit up straight and reconsider their life choices.
Unfortunately, Thalia was not a normal person.
She leaned forward slightly, resting her chin on the edge of the desk like a sulking cat that had been denied food.
Across from her, her sister didn't even look up.
The woman simply flipped another page of the document in her hand, calm, composed, and completely unaffected by the existence of a pouting former nine-tailed fox in her office.
"You're ignoring me," Thalia said.
No response.
Thalia narrowed her eyes.
"You're really ignoring me."
Still nothing.
If this were a drama, this would be the part where the younger sister storms out dramatically. But unfortunately, this was real life.
And real life came with hospital bills.
Also, limited lifespan included this freaking eight tails fox.
Which, frankly, was rude.
"I'm getting married," Thalia announced.
That finally did it. Her sister finally paused.
Slowly, she lowered the document and looked up.
There was no shock and confusion. Just a long, measured silence.
"Again?" her sister asked.
Thalia straightened immediately.
"First of all, wow… very judgmental Mrs. Tiara Kim."
Her sister didn't blink.
"Third time," she corrected calmly.
Thalia opened her mouth then closed it before biting her lip in irritation, "Details aren't important."
"They usually are."
Thalia waved her hand dismissively, like she was brushing away something insignificant instead of her entire marital history.
"Anyway," she continued, "this one is different."
Tiara leaned back slightly in her chair, eyes still on her. "You said that the last two times."
"Okay, but statistically speaking, this one has a higher chance of survival."
"That is not how statistics work." Tiara pushed up her glasses and crossed her arms.
"A week, I swear I would get married in a week and I am damn sure this one would not run away and would survive."
Tiara didn't respond immediately. She just looked at Thalia, long and quiet. The kind of look that made board members nervous during meetings.
It worked just as well on Thalia. Because the look made her straighten a little without realizing it.
Of course in her mind she blamed the chair. Definitely not fear.
"A week," Tiara repeated slowly. Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm. "You plan to find a man, convince him to marry you, and successfully hold a wedding…" she paused, "without him running away?"
Thalia lifted her chin.
"Yes."
A beat passed. Tiara's gaze sharpened slightly, "And survive?"
Thalia hesitated. Just for a fraction of a second. Then she forced a confident smile, "Bonus."
Silence.
Tiara didn't laugh. Didn't sigh and didn't react at all.
Which was worse. Much worse.
Thalia shifted slightly in her seat. Just a little, but obviously noticeable.
"If you didn't—"
"Five days," Tiara cut in smoothly. "Bring the man for a family meeting in five days."
Thalia blinked, "Excuse me?"
Tiara didn't repeat herself. She simply picked up her pen again, like she had just finalized a minor scheduling decision instead of rearranging Thalia's entire life.
"You said a week," Tiara added calmly. "So five days for a family meeting is appropriate right?"
Thalia stared at her, processing her sister's words with her small fox brain.
Thalia stared at her, processing her sister's words with her small fox brain. "That's not appropriate."
Tiara didn't look up. "It is," she replied calmly.
"That's not how time works."
"It is when you're the one running out of it."
Thalia blinked, 'Wow. Okay. That felt—Unnecessarily accurate.'
She straightened slightly, frowning. "I still have time."
Tiara signed another document, "You already lost one tail." Pause. "And wasted your life five years after being born again."
'Ah, does she need to say it out loud?' She rolled her eyes, cursing her sister in his mind. "That was unavoidable." She pressed her lips together.
"Mm."
'That noncommittal response? Highly offensive.'
Thalia leaned forward slightly. "But… Five days is too short."
"Then fail," Tiara said simply.
"Ah, Tiara, do you need to be this strict with me?" Thalia pouted again, this time her whole face scrunching into a frown.
"Do you need me to remind you that our lifespan is only up to a thousand years?" Tiara's eyes sharpened, her expression turning serious. "You only have ninety-five years left, Thalia, and you're asking me not to be strict with you? I only have you…"
Thalia's frown deepened.
"At least I still have ninety-five years left as a fox," she muttered. "If I become human, I might not even have that."
Tiara suddenly snapped. She glared right into Thalia's eyes.
"You know ninety-five years is not guaranteed! You are running out of time. Stop being reckless!"
Thalia froze.
Tiara was not done. Her breath was heavy as she continued, "You are breaking apart. Losing one tail means your core is already damaged."
Thalia's fingers tightened slightly. "That's normal—"
"No, it's not." Tiara cut her off, her voice sharp. "If your core is breaking, even a year is lucky."
Thalia gulped and then pouted. Her head bowed as she was forced to face the truth she had been trying to ignore.
"Madam."
A knock on the door snapped the tension in the office.
Tiara lifted her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly. "What is it?"
"Mr. William Carter is here…"