Chapter 3
"How is this possible?" Jacob muttered, his voice barely above a whisper, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Wow, Alison's little martyr act almost looked real. I nearly fell for it," Rosalind said, her tone thick with fake sympathy.
Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Jacob, acting all frightened.
"Jacob, can we please leave? There's blood everywhere. This place frightens me," she pouted, her voice soft and trembling.
"Of course, it's just another one of her games." Jacob's voice turned cold and resolute.
All hesitation vanished from his eyes, replaced by that icy, ruthless stare.
"Alison, I don't care what kind of trick you're playing. If you want my forgiveness, then get over here and apologize," he barked, his words slicing through the silence.
"If Rosalind is willing to forgive you, maybe I'll let all your dirty deeds slide," he added with a sneer.
The Divine Culling Altar fell dead silent. No response.
Jacob stood his ground. "Hiding won't save you."
"If you still refuse to admit your guilt, you won't even get the scraps from the dogs!" he snarled.
The scraps from the dogs?
Guess he knew all along. Figures.
Even as the wind brushed past my spirit, I couldn't feel a thing anymore.
It was almost laughable, really. Even before I ascended to the Celestial Realm, I already knew I was pregnant.
The doctor told me it was a rare set of twins, and that I must take care to nourish myself for them.
I just smiled and promised I would, secretly planning to tell Jacob once we arrived.
I wanted to surprise him.
But after I offended Rosalind, Jacob ripped my eyes out with his own hands, leaving me blind and helpless.
Rosalind couldn't stand the thought of using a mortal's eyes. She saw me as filthy, unworthy of forgiveness.
So Jacob made sure I was fed only scraps from the kitchen.
The servants just went along with whatever was easiest for them. Even the scraps they tossed my way were moldy and reeked.
To survive, I ate what I could find—even fighting dogs for leftovers.
But within days, the pain in my stomach grew unbearable. I felt I was dying.
I begged, my voice shaking with desperation, "Please, Jacob. I'm pregnant. The doctor said I'm having twins. If this keeps up, I'll lose them.
"At least for the babies' sake, please, just give me something to eat."
I knelt there, pleading for mercy, but Jacob just saw it as another one of my pathetic schemes.
"Our family has only ever had one heir in three generations. How could a lowly mortal like you possibly be carrying twins?" he sneered.
He tilted my chin up, staring down at me, like I was some filthy mutt.
"Alison, enough with your dirty tricks. You make me sick!" he snarled.
From then on, not even a single scrap was left for me.
To stay alive, I fought the chained dog outside for whatever miserable leftovers I could snatch.
I didn't care if I lived or died, but I had to survive for my babies.
They were Jacob's children too. If he ever learned the truth, he'd regret everything.
So even if I had to snatch scraps from a dog's mouth, I'd eat them anyway.
I thought Jacob was just clueless about what I was going through.
But turns out, he'd been watching the whole time.
"Lord Sterling, it looks like Lady Lowell really did jump," Moira said, her voice trembling with fear.
She had found a bracelet lying at the foot of the Divine Culling Altar.
Hanging from it was a pendant, and engraved clearly on its surface was Jacob's name.