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.