All because I opened a window to air out the room, my husband’s childhood sweetheart, Celine Ashcroft, caught a cold.

In a fit of rage, my husband, Ronan Blackwood, had his men bind me and drag me down to the ice cellar despite my being five months pregnant.

"Don’t think that just because you’re carrying my child, you can bully Celine. If even a single hair on her head is harmed, I’ll make you repay it a hundredfold!"

Shivering violently from the cold, I knelt through tears, begging for forgiveness. I promised that from now on I would serve his precious sweetheart well to atone, that I would never again let her suffer even the slightest harm.

He only gave a cold order to seal the cellar, saying I needed to be taught a lesson so it would be burned into my memory.

A week later, when Celine finally recovered from her cold, he finally remembered me in the cellar.

"Vesper, have you truly realized your mistake? As long as you agree to kneel and apologize to Celine immediately, I’ll spare you."

What he didn’t know was that by then, I had already frozen stiff in that ice cellar.

And the child he had treasured so dearly no longer showed even the faintest sign of life.

"What was Vesper thinking? She knew Celine was frail, yet she still opened the window and let her catch a severe cold. She must have done it on purpose to harm her!"

Ronan Blackwood hurled the thermometer onto the expensive cashmere rug. The sharp crack of shattering glass echoed through the living room, matching the violent fury burning in his eyes and dragging the entire space into a suffocating chill.

The servants nearby didn’t dare breathe. They shrank into the corners, trembling.

Old Alfred Reeves, the longtime butler, forced himself to step forward. His voice carried a faint, uncontrollable tremor. "Sir… Madam only felt the room was stuffy and opened the window for some air. The wind wasn’t strong that day, and Miss Celine may have simply kicked off her blanket during the night—"

"Enough!" Ronan cut him off sharply, his gaze colder than ice. "You dare speak for her, too? Celine has been weak since childhood. She can’t handle even the slightest draft. Vesper has lived here this long, and you expect me to believe she didn’t know that? She’s jealous of Celine’s place in my heart. She seized the chance to get back at her."

The Celine he spoke of — Celine Ashcroft — was the girl who had grown up by his side. In Ronan’s heart, she was gentle, kind, fragile, a treasure that needed his protection for the rest of her life.

As for me, Vesper Whitlock, I was nothing more than a wife imposed on him by a family alliance. A woman who occupied the title of Mrs. Blackwood but had no place in his heart.

"Bring her here." His voice did not hold a trace of warmth.

Soon, two bodyguards dragged me into the living room.

At five months pregnant, my belly had already begun to show. Even the loose maternity dress couldn’t hide the soft curve. The moment I heard his words, my face went pale. I struggled, desperate to explain.

"Ronan, I didn’t do it on purpose. I only opened the window to let some air in. I never thought Celine would catch a cold—"

"You never thought?" He let out a cold laugh and stepped closer, looming over me. The disgust in his eyes was naked, undisguised.

"Vesper, don’t think that just because you’re carrying my child, you can do whatever you want. In my eyes, you’re not even worth a single strand of Celine’s hair. She’s lying in bed suffering right now. You will pay for this."

I trembled uncontrollably, instinctively clutching my stomach. Tears spilled down my face.

"Ronan, I know I was wrong. I’ll never open the window again. I’ll take good care of Celine from now on. Please… for the baby’s sake… let me go this once…"

"Let you go?" He sounded as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "You'll repay the pain Celine suffered a hundredfold. Take her to the ice cellar in the back hills. She stays there until Celine recovers."

"No!"

The scream tore out of my throat.

The ice cellar stayed below freezing year-round. At five months pregnant, how could I possibly survive that?

"Ronan, it’s too cold in there. I’ll freeze to death. The baby won’t survive either. Please… punish me some other way. I’ll do anything!"

He didn’t even look at me. "Carry out the order. Anyone who pleads for her will be punished as well."

The bodyguards dragged me away as I struggled desperately, pulling me toward the ice cellar behind the estate.

I looked back at Ronan’s indifferent silhouette, my heart twisting like it was being carved apart.

We had been married for a year. I had believed that if I treated him with sincerity, I could eventually warm his heart.

Only now did I understand that, in his eyes, neither the child I carried, nor I, had ever been worth as much as a single finger of Celine Ashcroft.

Icy iron chains locked around my wrists and ankles, fastening me to a stone pillar in the center of the cellar. The piercing cold surged up from the soles of my feet, spreading through my entire body, cutting through the thin maternity dress and drilling straight into my bones.

The cellar was empty, filled only with the slow drip of melting ice and the uncontrollable chattering of my teeth.

I curled in on myself, arms wrapped tightly around my belly, trying to warm the child inside with what little body heat I had left.

"Baby… I’m sorry. Mommy did this to you." My voice broke as tears fell onto the frozen floor, instantly turning into tiny beads of ice. "You have to be strong. I will protect you. We’ll get out of here… we will…"

The cold was like a greedy beast, devouring what little warmth remained. My hands and feet went numb. My thoughts began to blur.

I remembered the first time I met him. Back then, he had been distant, but not cruel like this.

Our marriage had been arranged between families. His family needed mine, and I had loved him in secret since I was young. I thought marrying him would be the beginning of happiness.

I never imagined it would become a nightmare.

Celine's existence had always been a thorn between us. She would constantly play weak in front of him, hinting that I bullied her. He never once gave me a chance to explain. Every time, he blamed me without question.

Once, she shattered an antique vase his mother had bequeathed to him, then cried and claimed I had pushed her. Without hesitation, he slapped me and locked me in my room without food for two days.

This time, all because I opened a window, he was willing to condemn both our child and me to death.

I didn’t know how long had passed when the cellar door cracked open, letting in a thin beam of light.

For one desperate moment, I thought he had changed his mind. I struggled to stand…

Only to see Celine, wrapped in a thick down coat, looking down at me from above, a smug smile playing on her lips.

"Vesper, how did you end up like this?" she said in feigned surprise. "He was just too worried about me and acted impulsively when he punished you. Please don’t blame him."

Rage surged through me at her performance. Summoning every last bit of strength, I screamed hoarsely, "You did this on purpose! Your cold was never that serious. You just wanted him to punish me!"

"Vesper, how can you say that?" Her eyes reddened with practiced grievance. "I only came to check on you out of concern, and you’re accusing me like this. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come at all."

She turned to leave, then deliberately raised her voice, "It’s so cold in here. Take care of yourself. Don’t make him worry."

The door shut again, plunging the cellar back into lifeless silence.

I knew she had come only to provoke me. She wanted to watch me suffer.

The cold intensified. A dull pain began to twist in my abdomen.

I knew what it meant.

My child was crying for help.

I struggled frantically, trying to break free from the chains, but they were too strong. No matter how hard I fought, they didn’t budge.

"Ronan… save me… save our child…"

I used the last of my strength to scream. My voice came out raw and broken, echoing through the empty cellar and reaching no one.

Ronan sat at Celine’s bedside, carefully tucking the blanket around her. She leaned weakly against his chest, her pale face delicate and pitiful.

"Ronan, I’m feeling much better. Please don’t be angry anymore," she said softly. "Vesper didn’t mean it. You should let her out. It’s so cold in the cellar, and she’s pregnant. If something happens, it wouldn’t be good."

"Let her out?" His expression turned cold. "She made you suffer like this. How could I let her off so easily? She needs to reflect properly. Otherwise she’ll dare to bully you again."

A flicker of satisfaction passed through her eyes, though she quickly masked it with concern.

"But I really am fine now. And she’s carrying your child. If anything happens to the baby, you might regret it later."

"Regret?" He let out a scornful laugh. "If I want a child, there are plenty of women willing to give me one. As long as you’re fine, nothing else matters."

Inside, she was overjoyed, yet she continued to feign reluctance.

"You shouldn’t say that. The child is innocent. How about this — once I’m completely recovered, you can let her out and have her kneel and apologize to me. Then we’ll consider the matter settled."

He thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. We’ll do as you say. Once you’re fully recovered, I’ll bring her to apologize to you."

He had no idea that, at that very moment, inside the ice cellar, I was on the verge of collapse.

The pain in my abdomen grew sharper and sharper, like countless knives twisting through my insides. My body felt colder with every passing second. My thoughts blurred.

I thought of my parents. If they knew what was happening to me now, they would be heartbroken. Back then, when I insisted on marrying him, they had opposed it but ultimately respected my choice. Looking back now, if I hadn’t married him, perhaps I wouldn’t have ended up like this.

"Baby… I’m sorry. Mommy couldn’t protect you." Tears streamed down my face, despair filling every corner of my heart. "If there is another life, I won’t be this foolish again. I’ll take you somewhere safe… to someone who will love us."

After an unknown amount of time, I felt a sudden warmth spreading beneath me.

My water had broken.

Despair crashed over me like a tidal wave. In such freezing conditions, there was no way the baby could survive.

I tried with everything I had left to hold on to that tiny life, but the cold and the unbearable pain made me powerless. I could feel the child’s presence fading bit by bit, and my own consciousness slipping away with it.

In the final second before darkness swallowed me, I thought I saw his face — the cold indifference in his eyes like a blade piercing straight through my heart.

Ronan Blackwood… I hate you.

I will never forgive you.