MasukI drifted in midair, watching Ronan's body being carried away. My heart was utterly still. There was no hatred or resentment. It felt like watching the end of a stranger’s story.Once, I thought I would hate him for the rest of my life for his coldness in that cellar, for causing our child’s death, and for letting himself be blinded and hurting me again and again. Yet standing here now, no longer bound by flesh, watching him spend the rest of his life in penance, watching the powerful man he once was turn into a frail, exhausted old man, the hatred had scattered like smoke in the wind until nothing remained.It wasn’t forgiveness.It was that none of it mattered anymore.I had loved him with everything I had. I gave him all of myself, and he repaid me by crushing my love beneath his feet and shattering my dignity beyond repair. That love had frozen into fragments in the cellar’s cold and despair, like broken pieces that could never be put back together.Then I heard voices I knew.
Autumn wind swept dry yellow leaves into a small spiral before my headstone, then scattered them across Ronan's shoulders.He leaned on a polished wooden cane, its once-ornate handle worn dull with time, just like him—aged and fragile after years of grinding remorse.In recent years, he had all but made his home at the gravesite. A faded wool blanket lay beside the stone, and on it sat a jasmine incense burner I had loved in life. Now the ash inside had long gone cold. Only occasionally, when something stirred his memory, would he strike a trembling match and light a cheap stick of incense, letting the thin ribbon of smoke dissolve into nothing in the wind.His hair was completely white, sparse against his scalp, revealing dull gray skin beneath. Deep wrinkles carved through his face like ravines, squeezing his once-sharp eyes into narrow slits of cloudy light.Every time he sat down, he had to brace himself against the headstone, catching his breath. The cough that tore from his c
Celine was locked inside the ice cellar, suffering endless torment.Cold, hunger, and fear devoured her will piece by piece. At last, she experienced the agony I had endured there.She began to regret everything she had done. If she hadn’t been jealous of me and framed me again and again, she would not have ended up like this.However, regret meant nothing now.Ronan had no intention of sparing her. Each day, servants delivered only a meager amount of food and water, just enough to keep her barely alive in the freezing darkness.She tried to beg for mercy, but he refused to see her. His heart held nothing but guilt toward me and hatred toward her.Several days later, a servant discovered she was no longer breathing. Her body was rigid, her face still frozen in an expression of terror.When Ronan heard the news, he showed no reaction. Her death only eased his hatred slightly. It could never atone for what he had done to me.He continued to keep vigil at my grave, day after day,
Ronan visited my grave.On the headstone, my photograph wore a gentle smile, a smile that cut into him like a blade.Ronan had buried the baby’s tiny body with me. The child had never even been given a name, never had the chance to feel the warmth of this world, yet he was still Ronan's child."Vesper, I’m sorry."He knelt before the grave, tears falling without end."I know it’s too late to say anything now. I shouldn’t have let Celine blind me. I shouldn’t have treated you so cruelly. I shouldn’t have caused our child’s death."I’ve locked Celine in the ice cellar. She’ll pay with her life for what she did to you and the baby. I know it can never make up for the harm I caused, but it’s all I can do."Vesper, if you can hear me, can you forgive me? I truly regret everything. I miss you. I miss our child."He remained there on his knees from sunrise to sunset, confessing over and over again.No matter what he said, there was no answer.After a while, Mr. Reeves approached and
Ronan began investigating Celine obsessively. He needed to know what kind of person she truly was and why she had framed me again and again.What he uncovered left him shaken.Celine had never been the gentle, fragile childhood sweetheart she pretended to be. From a young age, she had envied me for my family’s wealth, my looks, and most of all, the fact that his parents had once hoped for a marriage alliance between us.She had always loved him. To win him, she would stop at nothing.She deliberately played weak and pitiful in front of him so he would protect her and feel sorry for her. Every scheme against me had been carefully orchestrated to make him despise me, abandon me, and leave her to take my place as Mrs. Blackwood.The shattered antique vase had been intentional.The cold had been staged as well.Knowing her body was sensitive to drafts, Celine had deliberately stood by the open window after I aired out the room, letting herself fall ill. Then, she made sure Ronan wit
Ronan had my body and the baby’s body carried back to the Blackwood estate.He sat on the living room sofa, eyes hollow, completely motionless, like a walking corpse without a soul.Mr. Reeves watched him for a long time, heart aching at the sight. After much hesitation, he stepped forward and spoke softly."Sir, Madam truly loved you. Ever since she married you, she woke early every day to prepare your breakfast. No matter how late you came home at night, she waited for you. When you were sick, she stayed by your bedside all night, taking care of you."She knew you cared for Miss Celine, yet she never complained. She simply fulfilled her duties as a wife in silence. After she became pregnant, she was overjoyed. She played music for the baby every day, told stories, and looked forward to the child’s birth."That day, she only opened the window because the room felt stuffy. She was worried it might affect the baby, so she cracked it open for a bit of fresh air. She never imagined i







