Chapter 2
Tavian sat at Linnea's bedside, carefully tucking the blanket around her.
Linnea nestled in his arms, her face pale and delicate, looking heartbreakingly vulnerable.
"Tavian, I'm feeling much better now. Please don't stay angry," Linnea said softly. "Taryn didn't mean to hurt me.
"Please let her out. The ice cellar is freezing, and she's pregnant. If anything happens to her or the baby, it would be awful."
"Let her out?" Tavian's gaze hardened. "She made you suffer so much. How could I just let her off? She needs to learn her lesson, so she won't dare mess with you again."
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Linnea's eyes, but she kept up her worried act. "But I'm really okay now, and Taryn is carrying your child. If something happens to the baby, you'll regret it someday."
"Regret?" Tavian let out a cold laugh. "If I want a kid, there are plenty of women willing to give me one. As long as you're safe, nothing else matters."
Linnea was secretly delighted, but she still pretended to protest. "Tavian, you can't say that. The baby is innocent. How about this?
"When I'm fully recovered, you let Taryn out and have her apologize to me. Then we can call it even."
Tavian considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, we'll do it your way. Once you're better, I'll bring her to apologize to you."
He had no idea that, right then in the ice cellar, I was barely holding on.
The pain in my stomach was getting worse, like countless knives tearing through my insides.
My body was freezing, and everything around me started to blur as I drifted in and out of consciousness.
I couldn't help but think of my parents. If they knew what I was going through, their hearts would break.
Back then, I stubbornly chose to marry Tavian. Even though they objected, they still respected my decision.
Now, looking back, if I hadn't married him, maybe I wouldn't be suffering like this.
"Baby, I'm so sorry. Mommy couldn't protect you," I cried, tears streaming down my face, drowning in despair. "If there's another life, I swear I won't be so foolish again.
"I'll find someone who truly loves us, someone who will cherish us both."
I don't know how long passed before I felt a sudden warmth spreading beneath me. My water had broken.
Hopelessness crashed over me like a tidal wave. In this freezing hell, there was no way my baby could survive.
I fought with everything I had to keep this tiny life safe, but the cold and agony were overwhelming.
I could feel the baby's life slipping away, and my own senses fading into nothingness.
Right before everything went black, I thought I saw Tavian's face. The icy indifference in his eyes cut through me like a blade, piercing straight into my heart
In my mind, I whispered, "Tavian, I hate you. I will never forgive you."
A week later, Linnea had fully recovered from her cold. She took extra care with her appearance, linked arms with Tavian, and made their way to the ice cellar behind the estate.
"Tavian, let's let Taryn out now," Linnea said softly, her eyes betraying her excitement despite her gentle tone.
Tavian nodded and signaled the bodyguard to open the ice cellar door.
The moment the door swung open, a blast of freezing air carrying a faint trace of blood hit them.
Tavian frowned, a sudden unease creeping over him. He stepped inside and instantly saw me chained to a stone pillar.
I was wearing a flimsy maternity dress, my whole body coated in a thin layer of frost, my face utterly bloodless.
My eyes shut tight. I didn't move a muscle, like an icy statue.
"Taryn!" Tavian's heart skipped a beat as he rushed over.
He reached out to feel for my breath, but the icy chill from my body made him recoil.
That was when he realized my body was stiff, with no warmth left in me at all.
"Taryn, stop playing dead." Tavian's anxiety spiked as he shook me. "I know you're just trying to get out of trouble. Get up and apologize to Linnea."
But no matter how hard he shook me, there was no response from me whatsoever.
Linnea stepped into the ice cellar as well. When she saw me, she covered her mouth in feigned shock. "Tavian, what happened to Taryn?"
Tavian ignored Linnea. He reached out again, his hand trembling as he checked for my breath. There was nothing, not a single breath left in me.
He looked down at my stomach. The gentle curve that had once held our baby was now flat.
His gaze dropped further, and he saw the congealed blood on the floor, and a tiny, cold, lifeless body lying there.
That was our baby. Tavian felt like he'd been struck by lightning, frozen in place, his mind wiped blank.
He just couldn't believe I was really gone, and so was our baby, both of us lost forever in this freezing hell.
"No... no way," Tavian muttered, his eyes wide with shock. "How could she die? She always clung to life. How could she just disappear like this?"
The bodyguard noticed something was seriously wrong and said carefully, "Mr. Sterling, Mrs. Sterling, she really looks like she's gone."
"Shut up," Tavian snapped, his eyes burning red. "I don't believe it. You must be wrong. She's just sleeping. That's all."
He shook me desperately, tears pouring down his face. "Taryn, wake up. I messed up, I never should've locked you in here. Please, wake up, I'm begging you."
But all he got back was the cold, empty silence of the ice cellar.
Linnea watched Tavian break down, a hint of vindictive glee flickering in her eyes.
This was exactly what she wanted. Now she could finally take her place as Mrs. Sterling.
But outwardly, Linnea feigned sorrow, holding onto Tavian's arm. "Tavian, don't be too sad. Taryn only has herself to blame. Let's deal with her body now."
Tavian shoved Linnea away, his eyes blazing with fury. "This is all your fault. If it weren't for you, Taryn wouldn't have died.
"If you hadn't gotten sick, I never would've locked her up in here. She'd still be alive."
Linnea was scared stiff by Tavian's rage, starting to cry, looking pitiful and helpless.
She sobbed, "Tavian, how can you blame me? I didn't want any of this. Taryn was the one who left the window open and got me sick."
"Enough," Tavian snapped, cutting her off, his heart wracked with regret and agony.
He stared at my frozen body and the tiny child lying on the floor, his heart feeling like it was being torn to shreds.