A Heart Buried by His Coldness

Adrian showed no signs of hesitation. He said, "Keep going."

His cold eyes fixed on me, a brief flicker of inner conflict flashing before it vanished.

His voice dropped to a near whisper. I didn't know if it was for him or for me. "You hurt Peggy first. That was cruel, and now you have no one to blame but yourself."

I couldn't hold on any longer. Darkness overtook me.

When I woke up, I found myself in the hospital. The room was empty as Adrian had already left with Peggy.

My steps were unsteady as I went to handle the discharge papers. At the counter, the nurse stopped me and said, "Miss, your card doesn't work. Would you like to call your family to cover the bill?"

Stunned, I tried several other bank cards, but they were all frozen.

I called Adrian and demanded, "Was it you? Did you freeze my cards? How could you?"

He replied mockingly, "You're still pretending that you're not after my money? Everything you wear, eat, and use comes from me. Isn't it fair for me to freeze your card? If you want money, crawl back here from the hospital on your knees. If Peggy's happy, I'll unfreeze it."

I stood in shock, a cold numbness spreading from my feet all the way to my fingertips.

"Adrian, do you really hate me that much?" I murmured.

On the other end of the line, I could hear a woman's gasp mingled with a man's sounds of passion. My tears hit the floor as I hung up.

Adrian sent his bodyguards to settle the hospital bill. Under their watchful gaze, I dropped to my knees and began crawling out of the hospital. My skin split and bled, but I kept going, numb to the pain as I mechanically made my way toward the Sadler residence.

By the time I reached the villa, I looked like a beggar, with unkempt hair and clothes smeared with dirt and debris.

The moment I pushed open the door, a bucket of ice water crashed down over me. My body, already weakened from the miscarriage and loss of blood, shuddered as the cold tore through me.

Peggy stood with her arms crossed. She smirked and asked, "You aren't mad at me, right? It was Adrian's idea to play a trick on you so that I can feel better soon."

It felt like I was trapped in a block of ice, my body shivering uncontrollably. All I wanted was to get out of there as quickly as possible. "Are you done yet? Can I go upstairs?"

I walked past Peggy and made my way up the stairs. When I entered my room, I realized that my belongings were gone, and my empty suitcase sat on the floor. My heart hammered in my chest, and my throat tightened with panic.

"Where are my things?" I asked.

I had the last keepsake my mother ever gave me—an emerald hairpin she had crafted by hand—and my baby's ashes.

Peggy smirked when she saw my horrified expression. "Feeling anxious?"

She waved her hand dismissively and continued, her expression cruel, "This room is going to be the nursery for Adrian's and my baby. So I threw out all your stuff. Garbage belongs in the trash bin. A slut like you should've been gone long ago."