Chapter 3

In the darkness, the cold pierced through my bones like thousands of icy needles.

I had no idea how long I'd been trapped in that unheated room with my eyes squeezed shut, enduring the pain while the laughter from upstairs grew increasingly muffled.

Just as my consciousness was about to completely collapse from the extreme cold and the persistent cramping in my abdomen—

"Click."

The crisp sound of a metal lock turning came from above.

I stiffly raised my head toward the blinding light, a pathetic flicker of hope instinctively rising in my chest.

But it wasn't a remorseful family member standing in the doorway—it was Claire, her cheeks flushed, wearing a pristine white dress.

She rushed down the steps with panic written across her face, clutching a thick jacket in her hands. She quickly wrapped it around my frozen shoulders.

"Get up, now!" she whispered urgently, her face full of concern. "Leonard's gone completely mad—he's calling to have you forcibly committed to a psychiatric hospital! The front entrance is crawling with security. I'll get you out through the back!"

A psychiatric hospital? If they took me there, I'd definitely lose my baby.

Terror wiped away any hesitation. I swallowed the metallic taste of blood in my throat, fighting through the excruciating pain as she half-dragged, half-carried me through the narrow hallway and shoved open the side door at the back of the house.

The moment the door opened, the bone-chilling blizzard swallowed us whole.

I stumbled and staggered as she pulled me into the black night, wading through snowdrifts until we reached the outdoor pool, its surface covered with a thin layer of ice.

But just as we'd completely escaped the view from the main house's windows, Claire suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.

Weak as I was, I stumbled against one of the stone pillars beside the pool.

Before I could catch my breath, she suddenly jerked her arm away from mine with violent force.

The mask of anxious concern vanished from her face in an instant.

The next second, she ripped off the jacket she'd just wrapped around me, throwing it into the muddy, snow-filled ground with undisguised disgust.

"Did you honestly think I'd help you escape?" Claire looked down at me with cold contempt, her lips curving into a malicious sneer. "I just didn't want people to think I'd stoop to competing with someone who's already dying."

Seeing her completely drop her facade, I didn't even have the strength to feel angry.

I could only manage to ask weakly, "Then why... why did you trick me into coming out here?"

Claire let out a soft laugh and stepped closer, leaning down near my pale face.

"You still don't know, do you? When you had your episode earlier, Leonard told me personally that whether you're really sick or just faking it, he finds you absolutely disgusting. He said he wishes he'd never married you at all."

Boom—

Those casual words hit like the sharpest ice pick, instantly piercing through my already shattered heart.

I'd given up chemotherapy to save his child, enduring endless torment alone, and all I got in return was being called "disgusting."

Intense pain and despair flooded my mind simultaneously. My vision went black, and my legs gave out completely.

As my body pitched forward uncontrollably, I instinctively reached out, trying to grab onto something for support.

But the instant my fingertips barely brushed the hem of her dress, the malice in Claire's eyes instantly transformed into extreme terror.

She suddenly let out a piercing shriek: "No! I was just trying to help you—please don't push me!"

My whole body went rigid.

Before my foggy brain could process what was happening, the sound of glass doors being violently thrown open came from behind us.

At the same moment, instead of dodging away, Claire used the barely-there contact from my fingertips to deliberately throw herself backward toward the frozen pool.

"Splash!"

The ice shattered, water spraying everywhere. Claire crashed heavily into the frigid pool.

"Claire!!"

Leonard's anguished roar erupted from behind me.

He charged out like a wild animal that had lost all reason, not even bothering to remove his coat before diving into the icy water to pull her out.

When he lifted the shivering Claire from the water, she curled weakly into his embrace, coughing up pool water while clutching his shirt and sobbing:

"Leonard... don't blame her... I slipped... it wasn't her fault..."

The fury in Leonard's eyes ignited instantly.

He shoved the soaking wet Claire into the arms of the rushing servants, then whirled around.

Radiating murderous energy, he strode toward me and seized my shoulders in a death grip, hurling me backward like a bag of garbage.

I had no strength to resist.

My entire body flew through the air and slammed down hard, my lower abdomen crashing directly into the unforgiving ice at the pool's edge before I rolled into the snow.

Explosive, tearing pain ripped through my abdomen. I immediately vomited a large mouthful of fresh blood, the warm red instantly staining the white snow beneath me.

I curled into a ball, both hands desperately protecting my cramping belly, the pain so intense I couldn't even make a sound.

"It wasn't me..." I gasped through the blood in my mouth, my face deathly pale as I forced out the words in barely a whisper. "She did it... herself..."

Leonard loomed over me, looking down at the blood on the ground. He let out a cold laugh. "Cut the disgusting act. Faking injuries, putting on this pathetic show—you think those tricks can save you today?"

My entire body shook violently as despair crashed down on me like an avalanche.

"You make me sick." He delivered his verdict through gritted teeth. "Drag her to the front yard! Don't let her keep that coat—make her kneel in the snow!"

His voice cut through the storm sharper than any blade:

"She doesn't move until I say so—I don't care if she dies out there!"

The guards moved forward instantly.

"Leonard!"

At those words, I finally broke, screaming out in desperation.

I threw myself forward with what little strength I had left, grabbing desperately at his leg as tears poured down my face.

"Don't... please don't lock me outside... I'm pregnant! I'm really pregnant!"

"It's a blizzard out there... I'll die, and our baby will die too!"

I threw away every shred of dignity, begging on my knees in the freezing snow. I couldn't die. I had to protect my child.

But Leonard remained unmoved. He looked down at me from above, his lips twisting into a cruel, cold smile.

"Pregnant?" He kicked my hand away in disgust, violently jerking his leg back.

I instantly lost my hold and crashed hard back into the bone-chilling snow.

"Briley, if you're going to lie, at least make it convincing." Leonard's eyes were glacial. "You weren't pregnant six months ago when I 'died.' Now suddenly you show up with a belly and tell me you're carrying my child? What, got yourself knocked up by some other guy and now you're trying to pass it off as mine?"

I stared at him, unable to breathe.

Of course he didn't believe me.

Six months ago when he disappeared, I'd only just conceived—I hadn't even known I was pregnant yet. Now that he'd returned, he was accusing me of the most vicious betrayal.

"Get her out of here!" Leonard's patience had completely run out. He turned away coldly, never looking at me again.

The two guards moved in immediately. Following Leonard's orders, they yanked off my remaining wool sweater, leaving me in nothing but a thin nightgown.

They grabbed me by both arms and, ignoring my struggles, brutally dragged me toward the front yard where the blizzard raged.

Finally, the heavy door slammed shut behind me with a thunderous boom, the bolt sliding home with cold finality.