Chapter 4

The cold had crept into my bones, and I came down with a chill. When Cyrus came in that night, the winter air still clung to him.

He climbed into bed, and for once, I didn't make some excuse to curl into his arms the way I always had before. Instead, I stayed curled up in a distant corner, my back to him.

He looked at me, irritation and displeasure written plain on his face, and tossed the blanket over me without ceremony. "Genevieve, if you're upset, say so now. If something's bothering you, tell me outright. Don't sit here sulking at me — you'll only make us both a laughingstock if this gets out."

All he got in return was a simple, "It's late. Let's just sleep."

Silence followed, dead and heavy. I could feel his eyes fixed on me for a long while before he finally drifted off.

Moonlight spilled in through the window, and without meaning to, I found myself thinking of the child I hadn't yet given birth to, in this new life. Tears slid down silently, soaking into the sheets.

By the time I woke the next morning, Cyrus had already left for court. I dragged my tired body out of bed and went about my usual work, checking the household accounts.

That was when Marilyn showed up at my door, eyes brimming with tears. "My lady, I know this is forward of me, but the bracelet I once wore for my late child — it's gone missing. I think it might have fallen into the lake on the estate. Could someone help me search for it?"

I gave the servants a look, and a few went with her down to the water.

Less than an hour later, Cyrus came storming toward me, supporting a pale, shaking Marilyn. "Genevieve! The wind off that lake cuts like a knife in this cold — how could you let Marilyn stand out there in it?"

Before I could get a word in, Marilyn spoke up, weak and pitiful. "It's not my lady's fault. My health has always been poor. My child has been gone for years now, and that bracelet was the only thing he ever wore. My lady already knows this — I just missed him too much to leave the lakeside."

Cyrus's face darkened further. He turned on me, eyes burning with barely-contained fury. "Genevieve, you've grown far too jealous for your own good. Marilyn lost her husband, and then her child right after. I only brought her back so she could find some peace. Genevieve, do you even understand what it's like to lose a child?"

The words hit something in me, and every hair on my body stood on end, like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. I struck him across the face without a second's hesitation, my eyes burning red. "That's right! I don't understand! Why should her grief become my burden to carry?"

He grabbed a fistful of my hair with a furious shout and dragged me across the ground, straight toward the lake. The icy water closed over me, mixing with the wind off the shore until the cold nearly swallowed me whole. Shivering, I forced my eyes open and looked up at the two of them standing on the bank.

The servants around me were shouting, desperate to pull me out, but Cyrus only stared down at me, his mouth working. "No one moves to help her without my order!"

The freezing water dragged me under. In the haze, I thought I saw my child again — reaching for me, guilt and grief written on my own face, and just as my hand stretched toward him, he reached back, as if to hold me.

Through the blur, I thought I saw a figure dive into the lake.