Chapter 4

“Fianna! Fianna—wake up! Talk to me!”

I recognized Adrian Holt’s voice instantly.

My heart lurched. I threw on a coat and rushed outside.

The sight in the courtyard stopped me cold.

Snow still covered the ground. Fianna was curled against the stone wall, wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. Her skin was waxy pale, her lips already turning blue—like someone who had been left out in the cold far too long.

Adrian was kneeling beside her, his jaw clenched tight, veins standing out at his temples as he tried to wrap his own overcoat around her shaking body, calling her name over and over.

When he saw me, his head snapped up.

The look in his eyes—shock, fury, accusation—hit me like a gunshot.

“Frost,” he barked, “look at what you’ve done.”

Fianna’s eyes fluttered open. Her voice was weak, trembling, soaked in tears.

“Adrian… I was so cold… I couldn’t sleep last night. I put some music on—maybe it was too loud. Frost got angry… she made me leave… It was dark… I was scared to bother you… so I stayed by the wall…”

Her words broke off. Her head lolled to the side.

“Fianna!” Adrian shouted.

He scooped her into his arms and turned on me, eyes blazing.

“What are you standing there for? Get a car. Now. We’re going to the hospital.”

My blood rushed to my head.

I ran toward him. “Adrian—listen to me. That’s not what happened. I didn’t even know—”

“Enough.” His voice cut through me like steel. “Save it until she’s safe.”

He was already moving.

I chased after them, but I couldn’t keep up. I could only watch as he carried her into the waiting SUV and disappeared down the road.

I stood there in the snow, shaking.

No.

I couldn’t let this stand.

I went to the hospital.

Adrian was pacing outside the emergency room when I arrived. When he saw me, his expression hardened.

I opened my mouth to speak.

He didn’t let me.

“You’ve become vicious, Frost,” he said coldly. “Her husband was just killed for this family. She’s unstable, grieving. She plays some music at night, and you throw her out into the cold? Were you trying to kill her?”

“I didn’t force her out!” I shouted. “I didn’t even hear the music. I went to bed. Adrian—how many times has Fianna lied about me since we were kids? Why won’t you believe me?”

“Evidence?” His gaze was merciless. “She’s inside fighting frostbite. And you’re standing here unharmed. Tell me—who should I believe?”

I had no answer.

The ER doors opened.

Adrian rushed forward. “Doctor?”

“She has severe frostbite,” the doctor said grimly. “You got her here just in time. Another hour, and we would’ve been talking about amputation.”

Adrian sucked in a sharp breath, his hands clenching into fists.

“The damage to her nerves and blood vessels is permanent,” the doctor continued. “From now on, cold and damp weather will cause chronic pain. Her mobility will never fully recover.”

Adrian turned to me slowly.

The disappointment and rage in his eyes burned deeper than any slap.

“You hear that?” he said. “Because of you, she’ll suffer for the rest of her life. Her husband who died protecting this family. And you—my future Donna—treated his widow like this?”

“I didn’t do it!” My voice broke. “Why won’t you investigate? Why won’t you even question her story?”

“Investigate?” He laughed without humor. “The facts are clear.”

His tone shifted—cold, official.

“As Don—and as your fiancé—I’m enforcing discipline.”

He turned to his guard. “Remove her coat. Take her to the rear courtyard. She stays outside until morning.”

The guard froze. “Don… it’s below freezing.”

“Do it.”

I stared at Adrian, disbelief crashing over me.

He was really going to do this.

The guard approached me, voice low. “I’m sorry, Frost…”

I stepped back, clutching my coat. “Adrian Holt,” I said hoarsely. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“I dare,” he said, closing the distance between us. “You broke discipline. This is consequence. If I don’t make an example of you, what kind of Don am I?”

My coat was ripped away.

Moments later, I was standing in the open snow behind the hospital.

The wind cut into me like knives. My body shook uncontrollably. My hands stiffened, refusing to obey me.

The guard lingered, miserable. “Frost… maybe apologize. I’ll speak to him—”

I shook my head.

I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Tears streamed down my face.

Growing up, my parents’ love was never divided equally.

Fianna was the one they protected, the one they shielded.

Adrian was the only one who ever stood between me and that neglect.

He stayed by my side when no one else did.

He told me that when I grew up, I would be his Donna—his wife, his future.

Every time I was scolded for something Fianna had done,

he would reach for my hand, squeeze it tight, and tell me not to cry.

He promised me—swore to me—that he would love me for the rest of his life.

I believed him.

But now, he doesn’t protect me anymore.

He doesn’t trust me.

He doesn’t choose me.

Second by second, the cold seeps deeper, finding every crack in my body.

My fingers go numb.

My legs stop responding.

The world blurs at the edges as sensation drains away—

—and just as darkness overtakes me, I feel strong arms wrap around me.

Adrian’s voice cuts through the haze, sharp and panicked:

“Frost! Hold on! Somebody call a doctor! Hurry!”

And everything else fades into the sound of his frantic, desperate care.