All Chapters of HIS BEAUTIFUL CAGE : Chapter 101 - Chapter 103

Zara’s POV The northern wind arrived just as the last twilight purple faded from the western sky, driving the new snow across the Ramapo ridge in fine, wind-swept curtains that hissed against the leaded glass windows. Outside, the temperature plunged rapidly toward zero, turning the world into an unbroken, howling expanse of white. Inside the main room of the farmhouse, however, the heavy timber walls remained completely impervious to the blizzard. The hearth was packed with four-foot logs of dry split hickory and white oak that burned with an intense, steady roar, sending a wave of dry, golden heat into every corner of the room. The scent of pine resin, beeswax, and slow-simmered cinnamon filled the air, thick and comforting. I sat on the thick polar-bear skin rug before the hearth, my back resting against the front of the wide leather sofa. I wore a soft, oversized dark green wool sweater tha

Zara’s POV The sky turned a heavy, slate-gray by noon, dropping a thick, silent blanket of dry, powdery snow that accumulated two inches every hour across the Ramapo Valley. The wind had died down completely, leaving the mountain in a stillness so absolute that the only sound for miles was the muffled, metallic ring of iron striking iron echoing out from the stone blacksmith shop near the timber barn. I wore my dark canvas coat buttoned to the throat, a heavy wool scarf wrapped tightly around my neck, and insulated leather boots as I crossed the yard. The snow crunched softly under my feet, the cold, crisp air burning sweet in my lungs. Through the open double timber doors of the shop, the red-orange glow of the coal forge spilled out across the fresh white drifts, casting long, dancing shadows onto the snow-covered pine logs stacked along the wall. I stepped inside, pulling off my heavy mittens and shaking the white powder