It never crossed Sabrina's mind that Damien Steele would break into her house the night before she could tie the knot.

In November, the cold winds swept through Ravenshade City.

Snowflakes, as large as human hands, blanketed the ground a foot deep, freezing the night sky and chilling the entire surroundings.

In a dim room, a flickering candle barely lit the man’s face, leaving it hidden in shadow.

When Sabrina woke from her dream, she found Damien standing by her bed, reeking of alcohol.

“Damien! What are you doing here? I’m getting married tomorrow!” She exclaimed, oblivious to his presence.

As terrified as she was, she instinctively sat up and diminished back into the bed, her eyes filled with fear as she stared at him.

“Damien?” Damien sneered, lifting his head.

In the dim light, his handsome face held a deadly allure. His sharp eyebrows cut through the shadows, his eyes cold and his thin lips curled in disdain.

“How dare you call me by my name, you worthless hybrid? Does it even matter if you're getting married? Can it really be called a marriage when you're just being sold as someone’s concubine?” Damien mocked.

Damien slapped her across the face without hesitation.

Sabrina's once beautiful features twisted, her complexion turning deathly pale. Moments later, the imprint of his hand emerged, red and swollen.

Damien leaned in, brushing his lips against hers, tasting the blood that trickled out. His eyes burned with deep hatred.

“How is this humiliation? I’ll tire of playing with you and give that puppet to the little emperor as a concubine! Isn’t it fitting for a lowly person to be with a puppet? Listen closely, this isn’t humiliation, it’s an insult!” he exclaimed.

"Damien!” she reacted.

Out of furiousness, Sabrina glared at Damien with tear-filled eyes, struggling to leap off the bed and escape. But he grabbed her, slapping her hard. Her eyes blazed red with fury as she bit into his arm.

"You devil!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

He clarified, "Devil? You kidding! Do you think this is a devil? Sabrina, listen to me. Your mother killed mine and now you'll pay for it with your entire life!”

With their gaze slowly fading, her cries diminished to silence as her throat grew too hoarse to make a sound.

Upon hearing that, Sabrina’s body trembled, her chest heaving as tears filled her eyes, saying, “My mother was not like that! Damien, are you treating me this way just to get back at her?”

All tears that escaped her eyes dried up and despair filled her heart. Life, for her, seemed worse than death.

***

The night passed, giving way to a bright sky. Heavy snow fell, making this winter unusually cold.

Minutes later, Damien stepped outside.

Upon seeing him, Damien's confidant approached, saying, “Master, it’s nearly time for Sabrina to enter the palace. Should we delay it?”

With his eyebrows raised, Damien eyed his confidant with a smirk.

His handsome face was partly lit and shadowed in the dim night light.

“Postpone? Why delay?” he inquired calmly, his voice deep and rough. “She is just a palace maid, nothing important to her. Take her in, drop her straight into the emperor’s bedroom. Do you need me to explain such a simple task?”

Meanwhile, the cold forced Sabrina to be awakened.

It felt as though she was lying in the snow. She opened her eyes with a shiver, touched her skin and realized she was wearing only a thin nightgown, her whole body aching and sore.

Someone gently helped her sit up and cool water flowed into her throat, easing the dryness and pain.

She struggled to open her eyes and saw a handsome young man with a gentle smile supporting her, whispering, "Are you awake?"

He wore a bright yellow robe adorned with dragon embroidery. Still, the respect in his attire couldn’t hide the worry etched between his brows.

Taken aback, Sabrina quickly realized, "Your Majesty?"

Damien had indeed sent her to the palace.

Sabrina stood up for an instant but shrank back in pain. She gritted her teeth and ended up standing once again.

With no clothes prepared in the empty room, she had no choice but to wrap herself in the quilt and stagger toward the door.

The emperor, clearly concerned, said, “You need to lie down immediately! Your injuries are severe and you haven’t had any medicine. Come on, you need to focus on your recovery!”

Upon hearing that, Sabrina had to turn her head in his direction.

Seeing Sabrina in tears, the young emperor immediately panicked.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, too concerned. “Does it hurt? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Her voice hoarse, Sabrina replied, “Your Majesty, do you know who I am? I am just a person with a low status. Why do you have to care and treat me like this?”

With that, the young emperor smiled, his gaze gentle and calm.

In his calm and soothing voice, he replied, “We are all humble people here. Who is nobler than whom?”

He added, “In this palace, even though I am the emperor, I lack a powerful guard commander, let alone compared to a general. However, since you have come to me, we are together. I will do everything to care for you.”

Clouded with confusion, Sabrina almost couldn't grasp what the emperor meant by his words. She allowed the emperor to help her settle onto the low couch. Just then, the palace door burst open with a loud bang.

Out of the blue, the man with a piercing gaze glared sharply at the young emperor, who was still holding her hand.

A cold, harsh voice cut through the room, “Sabrina, are you truly so cheap? Are you so desperate for men that you seduce anyone?”

Snowflakes swirled into the hall with the wind. The tall, sturdy figure in a black robe stood in the snow, framed by the dim, backlit hall.

She couldn’t make out the man’s expression clearly, only the sharp angles of his jaw and the tight line of his lips.

“Damien, I didn’t!” Sabrina tried to explain.

Still, Damien walked in, a chill following him that made Sabrina flinch involuntarily.

The young emperor couldn’t help but frown as he saw the scene.

“General, what you’re saying is too harsh. Sabrina is injured and can’t bear the cold. You burst in like this!” The young emperor explained.

For an instant, his cold gaze darted into the emperor.

“Oh? And then what?” Damien questioned, his tone dripping with contempt. “Do you still want to control her?”

Damien, a towering and fierce general with a bloodied battlefield history, made the young emperor, still a teenager, look pale under his cold, sharp gaze.

Yet, the young emperor stepped before Sabrina and shouted, “General, you are being rude! Since Sabrina entered the palace, she has belonged to me. Do you think I can’t control her?”

Meanwhile, Damien's deep, clear eyes darkened. He scrutinized Sabrina inch by inch.

Terrified, Sabrina clutched the young emperor’s clothes hem and whispered, “Don’t say anything. He’s in a fit of rage.”

Since Sabrina's mother’s departure, she had never been cared for like this. She couldn’t bear the thought of Damien punishing the young emperor because of her.

But as soon as she spoke, Damien's anger flared even more. He took several steps forward and yanked Sabrina to her feet.

“So what if you’ve been sent to the palace? Do you intend to seduce His Majesty and have him turn against me? Sabrina, your tactics are not small!” Damien said as if he had uncovered all the secrets she longed to hide.

Sabrina’s face went deathly pale and she stared at Damien in disbelief. “Damien, that doesn't cross my mind! I never had an intention like that!”

Damien ignored her and taunted, “Why don’t you do it again in front of His Majesty? Let him see if he’ll still protect you while you cry out like this!”

“Damien! What do you think of me? How could you do this?” Sabrina trembled in pain, biting her lip as tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing Sabrina’s desperate tears, Damien felt a twisted satisfaction.

He raised his hand and pinched her chin, forcing her to tilt her head and look at him, asking, “What do you think I take you for?”

Sabrina was stunned. The pain felt her heart crumble into pieces, making her tremble all over.

Damien's smile grew increasingly cold and they asked again, "You wanted to marry and leave the Steele Family that simple? I won't give you what you want!”

He added, “You're now the lowest palace maid, vulnerable to anyone who wishes to trample on you or torture you. Until you're driven to despair and forced to end your own life!”

Sabrina cried so intensely that she struggled to catch her breath. Glaring at Damien with anger, she declared, “I won't give up! I promised my mother that I would live my life to the fullest and never commit suicide! It never crossed my mind!”

As soon as the time came, she would clear her mother's name from the sin she never committed, escape Damien's trap and find true happiness elsewhere.

Sabrina couldn’t believe her mother had indeed poisoned Martha Steele, Damien's late mother.

Her mother had been gentle, wanting to raise her well and marry her into a good family.

It was hard to believe that her mother had murdered Martha out of jealousy.

In one blink, Damien laughed out loud and said, “This is not something you can decide.”

Outside the window, the cold snow drifted again, slowly covering the gloomy and oppressive palace.

The vermilion walls and blue tiles stood stark against the white snow, creating a bleak and hopeless scene.

Meanwhile, Sabrina had a long dream.

Back then, it was on her fourteenth birthday.

Martha didn’t like her mother but wouldn’t deliberately make things difficult for her.

She even asked the butler to allocate funds for her birthday banquet and invited many close friends as guests.

Steele’s mansion was filled with laughter and joy before.

He tenderly combed her hair, teasing that he’d kiss her in two years.

Sabrina’s cheeks flushed, though his thoughts were on Damien, who was thousands of miles away.

Years ago, Sabrina had always thought that it would only be Damien if she ever wanted to marry. She had no one in mind that could level him.

The birthday banquet started on a joyous occasion, laughter echoing in the four corners of the wall.

When Sabrina was about to speak with her best friend, Astrid Smith, a tragedy destroyed everyone's night.

The Steele Family’s secret guards burst in that moment, seizing her amid the crowd’s screams. They dragged her roughly to the main hall and threw her to the ground.

“Murder!”

“Poison! Jealousy!”

“That wretched person committed suicide out of guilt! This is her suicide note!”

"Yes, this is her handwriting! It's really similar to how she writes and no one can replicate it. Only her! Such a despicable person; she actually dared to poison and murder Martha!”

“And this wretched Sabrina! Which lady in the capital would let a concubine bring in a proper lady to befriend the wealthy? The lady was so kind, hosting her birthday banquet and inviting guests. How could her mother do this? It’s madness!”

Mockery, curses and contempt filled the air.

Bound to a stool and beaten mercilessly, Sabrina cried out, "My mother didn’t... please! Don’t accuse her falsely! My mother didn’t do it!”

With no evidence to clear her name, Sabrina was helpless. No one supported her mother, only her.

Damien, whom she had admired so deeply, tortured her to death as soon as he returned home, turning all her admiration into endless fear and hatred.

Sabrina sobbed uncontrollably and tried desperately to escape. Still, when Damien caught her, he was like a cold, ruthless devil, inflicting unimaginable cruelty.

“Sabrina, this is what you owe me. You will never escape from my grasp, not in this lifetime!” Damien roared.

Once again, Sabrina was lost in despair in her dream. She struggled but couldn’t move. She wanted to sob in pain but couldn’t shed a tear. All she could do was curl up in a ball.

The warm pavilion felt as comforting as spring. A nurse replaced the wet cloth on Sabrina’s forehead, but she stayed unconscious, crying and mumbling, “Don’t let me go.”

With that, Damien's face darkened. Sabrina’s body burned hot in his hands, making his eyes heavy with worry.

He felt a surge of irritation and angrily demanded of the imperial physician, “Why isn’t she awake yet? How did you prepare the medicine? I want answers!”