Chapter 3
I was shaking all over with rage, and I snatched my hand away from hers.
"Get out! You poisonous snake!" I shouted.
Isabelle dramatically flung herself backward, crashing to the floor with a loud, theatrical scream.
"Ah, Autumn, I came to check on you out of kindness. Why did you push me..." she wailed.
Before she could finish, someone burst through the door.
It was Aaron.
When he saw Isabelle sprawled on the floor, his eyes were blazing with murderous rage. He stormed over and kicked me square in the chest.
"You poisonous witch! How dare you hurt her!" Aaron roared.
The kick landed with brutal force.
I was thrown across the room, my back crashing against the hard edge of the bed.
Agony swept over me, and a dreadful sinking feeling hit my lower belly.
"Ugh..." I groaned in pain.
I curled up in agony, cold sweat instantly soaking through my clothes.
Isabelle huddled in Aaron's arms, crying her eyes out.
"Aaron, please don't blame Autumn. It's my fault. I shouldn't have taken her jade pendant... She had every right to be upset..." Isabelle whimpered.
Aaron's eyes landed on the shattered jade pendant, and his rage boiled over.
"It's just a stupid piece of jade. Who cares if it's broken! And she actually went after you over something so trivial?" Aaron snapped.
"Autumn, you're completely unreasonable! You've been spoiled rotten by the Miller family. You don't even know how to behave, huh?"
He scooped Isabelle into his arms, glaring at me with utter contempt.
He snapped, "Since you've got so much fight in you, go reflect on yourself in the snow.
"You can get back when you've finally erased all that hostility out of your system!
"Someone, drag her outside!"
Two burly servants immediately stepped forward, grabbed me, and hauled me out.
"Let go of me... My belly hurts... Aaron, it hurts so much..." I cried out.
My face turned deathly pale, and I could feel warm blood beginning to trickle down between my legs.
But Aaron didn't even look at me. He was too busy comforting Isabelle, holding her close in his arms.
"There, there, sweetheart. I'll take you back to get your medicine," Aaron said. "As for her, she brought this on herself.
I was thrown out into the snow-covered courtyard.
Thick snowflakes fell all around me, the cold cutting straight to the bone.
I knelt in the icy snow, dressed only in a thin robe, and my knees went numb almost instantly.
The pain in my belly grew sharper and sharper, like a knife twisting inside me.
I knew my baby was slipping away, and a grief so deep that I couldn't even speak swallowed my heart.
I managed a weak glance at the main house, its windows glowing with light.
From inside, I could just make out Isabelle's giggles and Aaron's soft murmurs.
"Aaron, this soup tastes amazing," Isabelle cooed.
"You like it? Let me get you some more. I had it made especially for you to help you get your strength back," Aaron said.
"But Aaron, Autumn's still outside. The snow's coming down so hard. Aren't you worried something might happen to her?" Isabelle asked.
"Forget her. She's not made of glass. This won't kill her," Aaron replied.
This wouldn't kill me, huh?
I laughed bitterly.
Yeah, I was born into a military family, built to endure, strong as steel.
So I was meant to be tossed aside, left to freeze out here in the snow.
But Isabelle? If she so much as scratched her finger, the whole manor would go into a frenzy.
The snow beneath me was gradually stained crimson, spreading out in a chilling bloom.
Warm blood pooled around me, draining away the last traces of life and warmth from my body.
I could feel the tiny life I'd carried for five months slipping away, fading with every heartbeat.
And I was powerless to do anything.