Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I handed my husband, Sebastian Lockwood, his pajamas and said, "Maybe you should go for a checkup tomorrow. I've been taking the medicine, but it doesn't seem to be working. The doctor warned me that if I keep taking it, my health's only going to get worse." Sebastian frowned at that. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words followed. He always seemed especially irritable when it came to this topic. Sitting beside him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and spoke gently, "Seb, we've been trying to have a baby for so long. You know how much I've always wanted one, but I—" Before I could finish, Sebastian took my hand. He let out a sigh and said with a hint of reluctance, "Fine. Whatever you want." I knew he couldn't resist me when I acted like this. Tightening my arms around his waist, I rested my head on his shoulder and brushed my cheek against him like a kitten seeking comfort. His body stiffened for a moment at my touch. Puzzled, I glanced up at him. Sebastian reached out his large hand and gently stroked my hair. His voice was weary as he said, "Alright, get some rest now." As we lay down together, I turned on my side to watch him, taking in his eyes, his nose, and his lips. Suddenly, a voice rang in my head, shattering the quiet night like a thunderclap. "That's not the real Sebastian! He died three years ago!" My breath hitched as I bolted upright and scanned the room frantically. "Who said that? Who's there?" There was no response, only Sebastian, who was startled awake by my scream. He reached over and flicked on the bedside lamp. His expression was unreadable under the dim light, but his tone held a trace of concern. "What's wrong, Juliette? Did you have a nightmare?" I stared at him, frozen. I couldn't tell if the voice earlier was real or just my imagination. For a split second, Sebastian's features seemed to shift and blur. I blinked hard, and there he was again—his familiar, cold self. Overwhelmed by a sudden wave of emotion, I buried myself in his arms. "You used to call me Juls." He paused, as if caught off guard, then gently patted my back like soothing a child. "Alright, alright. It's fine. Just a bad dream. Lie down and get some rest." I did as he said, slowly lying down. With Sebastian's comforting touch, I drifted off into a deep sleep filled with strange dreams all night. The next morning, I woke up early to find Sebastian's side of the bed empty. The pillow was still faintly warm. I sat up abruptly and hurried downstairs. From the staircase, I caught sight of him finishing his breakfast and getting ready to leave for work. I immediately ran out the door. Watching his figure as he got into the car, I parted my lips, but no sound came out. As the cold began to seep into the soles of my feet, I realized that in my rush to get downstairs, I hadn't put on any slippers. The early autumn air was already starting to get chilly. As I felt the coldness on my feet, I couldn't help but shiver. Wrapping my arms around myself, I hurried back inside and slipped on a pair of fuzzy slippers before heading to the kitchen. The countertop was spotless except for a sandwich and a cup of soy milk Sebastian had left for me. I remembered telling him before that I hated milk the most in the mornings and that I'd be happy with just a cup of soy milk every day. Sebastian had remembered that clearly. For the past few years since we'd been married, I'd had a cup of soy milk every morning. For some reason, the memory of last night's scream suddenly resurfaced in my mind, leaving me more confused than ever. I couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I decided to just shake that thought off. I grabbed the cup of soy milk and sandwich and headed into the study to get back to my unfinished designs. I was a designer and worked on high-end projects in a variety of styles, so my workload was always steady. Sometimes, I also gave suggestions for designs at Sebastian's company. The project at hand was a wedding dress—though an unusual one, as it was to be black. The client wanted something bold and vibrant, with a youthful feel. After receiving the request, I spent a long time thinking. Only then did I start sketching out rough concepts. I went through a few drafts, but I ended up rejecting them all. The client was strange, too. She only communicated via email and refused to accept messages. Even when she did reply to my email, it would take forever. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration hit me. I quickly grabbed a pen and began sketching the design. It would be an A-line dress with a v-neck to highlight the neckline and collarbones, while the waist would be cinched with three-dimensional tailoring to accentuate the curves. By the time I was done sketching the rough outline, a lot of time had passed. The details still needed some work. As I glanced at the clock, it was already close to noon. The household staff, Agnes Parker, should have prepared lunch by now. I headed downstairs. When I looked at the dining table, I found it completely empty. I was puzzled. Agnes was always on time with meals. Why wasn't she here today? Just then, my phone rang. I followed the sound and found it on the couch where I had left it earlier. It was a call from Sebastian. I picked it up and asked, "Aren't you busy today? Did you get your checkup done this morning?" There was a slight pause before he replied, "I went this morning. The results won't be out for another two days. Anyway, Agnes had an emergency at home. She said she tried calling you several times but couldn't get through. I'll order something for you to eat." I looked at my phone and saw several missed calls from Agnes. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. I'll make something with what's in the fridge.""Alright," he said before hanging up. I couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by how quickly he ended the call. In the kitchen, I opened the fridge to find it stocked full. I sighed in relief. Thankfully, I always kept extra food on hand. I quickly made some pasta, just enough to satisfy my hunger. When Sebastian returned that evening, I asked him, "What happened to Agnes? Why did she leave in such a hurry?" He took off his coat and handed it to me. "She said her daughter-in-law is having complications with childbirth. She's lost a lot of blood. That's all I know." I was taken aback. I hadn't expected it to be something so serious. "I hope her daughter-in-law is alright. We should let her take as many days off as she needs to look after her." Sebastian nodded. "She mentioned that too. She said she might quit after this, so I'm planning to hire someone else." I felt a pang of disappointment, but there was nothing I could do. Agnes had been with us since we first got married. Not only was she an excellent cook, but she was also someone I had grown used to having around. Suddenly, I remembered Sebastian's checkup earlier that day. I reached out to place a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "Your results won't be out for another two more days, right? Maybe we should try again tonight?" Sebastian glanced at me and gently patted my hand. "It's just two more days. Let's wait and see if there's anything to worry about first, alright?" I looked at him suspiciously. He didn't seem very interested in the whole thing. In fact, every time we went through the motions, I ended up sleeping through the night, forgetting everything by morning. If not for the occasional bruising on my body, I might have convinced myself that nothing had happened at all.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Whenever I confronted Sebastian the next day after that, his expression always seemed a little off. Come to think of it now, he didn't seem very interested in being intimate. Did he already know something was wrong with his body? I felt disgusted with my own thoughts and looked up at Sebastian. Sensing my gaze, he turned to look at me. The moment our eyes locked, the voice from yesterday echoed in my mind. "He's not Sebastian! Sebastian has been dead for three years!" I quickly averted my gaze and forced an unnatural smile as I changed the subject. Unlike yesterday, I didn't scream or react, but my mind was in turmoil. Where was this voice coming from? Wasn't Sebastian in front of me? A few days later, I figured Sebastian's checkup results should be ready. When he came home that evening, I asked him about them. "Everything's normal," he said, handing me his phone so I could look at the report. He then walked off into the bathroom. I looked at the various indicators on the report, all of which seemed normal. A sense of doubt crept into my mind. Both Sebastian and I didn't have any major health issues. My physical condition was weaker, but I had been taking medication to improve it. So why, with everything looking normal, hadn't I been able to get pregnant? Just then, Sebastian's phone buzzed with a new message. The sender was his cousin, Yvonne Westbrook. I had never checked Sebastian's phone, but my eyes instinctively flicked over to the screen. There were two messages. "Do you really plan to keep lying to her?""Are you going to bear all the pain alone?" A sharp pang hit my chest, and my intuition told me it was about me. I glanced toward the bathroom, where the sound of running water still echoed. Without hesitation, I opened the message. It wasn't just these two recent messages in the conversation. There had been a steady stream of them. Yvonne's words seemed to dominate the screen. "You can't keep going on like this. Does she still not know anything? "Do you really plan to have a child?" "Think of your mom. She's gray-haired from worry." There were many messages, one after another, full of accusations, blame, and resentment. Sebastian's replies were always brief—"Yes" or "I know". My fingers felt icy, and my mind went blank. I struggled to process what I was seeing. Only when I heard Sebastian's footsteps from the bathroom did I snap back to reality. I quickly swiped the screen back to the checkup report and placed the phone back on the bed. As soon as Sebastian came out of the bathroom, I rushed inside without speaking to him. I feared that he would notice something was off with me. I turned on the shower, letting the warm water cascade over my skin. I closed my eyes and replayed the messages I had just seen. I knew something was wrong. Why hadn't Sebastian refuted any of the accusations? His mother had already passed away, so why did Yvonne claim that she was gray-haired from worry? The puzzle pieces were spinning around me, and the pain in my head was getting worse. I crouched down to relieve the sharp ache in my mind, but the world around me began to blur. When I opened my eyes, everything was white. I raised my arm, only to pull on the IV line. The sharp pain made me gasp. The sound echoed loudly in the quiet room, waking the person beside me. Sebastian sprang out of his chair and rushed to my side. He gently held down my arm, which I couldn't lower due to the pain, and softly placed it back down. "You're awake. Don't move around. You've been asleep for a whole day." As I looked out the window at the dark night, I was shocked. Was it already the next evening? Sebastian picked up a bowl of soup from the bedside table. He blew on it to cool it before bringing it to my lips. "You haven't eaten for a whole day, so you're probably starving. Here, have some soup." I parted my lips slightly, letting the warm soup slide down my throat. It soothed the dryness and discomfort. After a few spoonfuls, I motioned for Sebastian to stop. He placed the bowl down and sat beside my bed.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

Sebastian gently touched my forehead and then checked my IV line before looking visibly relieved. I stared at him, and my voice came out hoarse. "What happened to me? How did I end up in the hospital?" Frowning, Sebastian replied in displeasure, "A while after you went into the bathroom yesterday, I heard some noise from inside. When I went in, I found you collapsed on the floor." I froze at his words. I recalled the piercing headache I had while showering yesterday before I lost consciousness. I hadn't realized I'd passed out for a whole day. Seeing Sebastian's angry and frustrated expression, I felt a pang of guilt. I squeezed his hand and tried to comfort him, saying, "I'm fine now, see? And I have you here with me." But Sebastian's expression darkened. He placed my hand under the covers and tucked the blanket tightly around me. Gazing out the window, he muttered, "I'm here with you…" I didn't fully understand his words, but I could tell he was feeling down. Smiling, I said, "Yeah, I'm not afraid as long as you're with me." Sebastian gently ruffled my hair, then urged me to rest more. He said he'd be in the next room, handling some work. If I needed anything, I could use the call button next to my bed. With that, he left the room. After he left, I stared out at the night, feeling a strange sense of confusion and despair rise within me. I had known Sebastian since we were young. Back then, my parents got divorced. They each remarried and formed new families. Neither wanted me, so I ended up living with my grandma, Tessa Anderson. In my youth, I was determined to study hard, succeed, and make my parents regret abandoning me. I wanted to ensure Grandma would live a good life. But that winter, the snow fell heavily, and the roads became treacherous. Grandma, who was over 50 at that time, heard from the villagers that I had caused trouble at school and was being punished in the freezing cold. In a hurry, she rushed over, but she stepped into a deep pit in the snow and fell. That snowstorm was unforgiving. By the time I heard the news, an entire night had passed. I dropped everything and ran home, only to see her frozen, lifeless body in the coffin. I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. I didn't cry when I was abandoned or when I was bullied and forced to stand in punishment. But at this moment, looking at Grandma, who had always been by my side, I felt like my heart had been ripped apart. The tears blurred my vision, and my voice became hoarse. Seeing my distress, the village chief, Jeremiah Foster, helped me to my feet. He patted me on the shoulder and sighed deeply. "Don't be too upset, Juliette. Life goes on. If you ever need anything, we will help you out as much as we can." I had no energy to answer. I stared out the window at the endless snowfall, then at Grandma lying in the coffin. Without thinking, I walked outside, wanting to blend into the vast, frozen world around me. The weight on my shoulders grew heavier, my breathing became more labored, and my limbs began to lose sensation. I walked on numbly. The vast world around me offered no place of belonging. In the haze of my consciousness, a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of me. The person was panting as he reached out a pair of trembling arms to catch me before I fell. Though my body was weak, I still had some weight to me. In the icy cold, the frail arms struggled to carry me. Then, I heard a familiar murmuring in my ears, saying, "You can't die… You can't die…" I mustered all my strength to turn my head, trying to see who it was. A face, red from the cold but determined, met my eyes. It was Sebastian.