Chapter 3
She froze – just for a second then turned toward me with a smug, taunting smile.
Clinging tighter to Sebastian’s waist, she cooed deliberately, “Easy, my lord… careful, for the sake of our child.”
At her words, Sebastian’s movements stilled.
He pulled her into his arms, the way he held her suddenly softer, more delicate.
His hand brushed gently over the slight swell of her belly, his eyes filled with a warmth I hadn’t seen in so long–tender, reverent, as though she carried
the heir to the throne itself.
I couldn’t bear to watch any longer. I turned and walked away.
The sky was just beginning to brighten when one of the maids burst into the room in a panic.
“My lady–my lady, please! You have to stop him, or Lord Sebastian will be beaten to death!”
I hadn’t slept all night. My head throbbed like it was splitting in two, but I rushed out anyway.
Before I even reached the courtyard, I heard it— the sharp crack of a whip slicing through the cold morning air.
Sebastian knelt shirtless on the grounds. His face was pale, his forehead slick with sweat, and his back… his back was torn open, bleeding from lash after
lash.
One of the stable hands stood behind him, wielding a horsewhip without mercy.
“Stop it!” I shouted.
He looked up, stunned to see me there, then turned sharply and shot the maid a glare.
He rushed over, trying to steady me. “Grace, why did you come out here?”
The stench of blood was suffocating. My knees nearly buckled.
And then I saw her.
Seraphina,
She had changed into a fine gown, hair neatly done, eyes wide with worry.
☺ mult in it Hall
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She stood a few steps away, watching Sebastian’s punishment with trembling lips and flushed cheeks.
I stared at her blankly. “What is this?”
Sebastian answered with a heavy voice. “I made a mistake. I deserve to be punished.”
His face twisted in regret. My heart sank like a stone.
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I looked at Seraphina again, Her cheeks were pink, her eyes glistening, and on her exposed neck were the dark remains of kisses
I swallowed my bitterness. What mistake, exactly?”
“Yesterday… when you lost the baby,” he said hoarsely, “I promised I’d stay by your side. But I left you alone. I didn’t do well. That child died because of
me,”
“I broke my word.” His voice cracked with remorse.
I stared at the open wounds his back.
A memory surfaced
–
of him once telling me, “If I ever betray you or hurt you, I’ll punish myself with the whip.”
If this had happened before, I might have rushed into his arms and begged him to stop. I would have cried and forgiven him, just like always.
But not today.
Today, I saw past the bleeding welts.
Past the show of guilt.
There, beneath the lashes, were the faint red marks left by another woman’s kiss – bright as winter roses
blooming in the snow.
Sebastian noticed the way I was staring.
Chapter 3
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He looked panicked, like he might lose me for real this time.
He clutched my cold hand. “Grace, don’t cry. Your health is more important than anything.”
“Forget that child. He wasn’t meant for us.”
His tone was light. Dismissive. As if he were talking about some broken trinket
I almost screamed. Almost asked him why.
–
not the baby that had shared our blood.
But before I could speak, the system’s cold voice rang in my mind: [Host, please be advised
I turned to leave.
Sebastian gently caught my hand.
–
twelve hours remain until world departure.]
He brought Seraphina to stand before me and said softly, “Grace… she’s a poor orphan I took in.”
“She was abandoned by her husband the moment he found out she was carrying his child.”
“You’ve suffered through miscarriage after miscarriage. Every time, I was terrified something would happen to you.”
“Grace,” he whispered, arms slipping around me, “Let’s not try for a child anymore, alright? I’ve already spoken with her. When her baby is born, we’ll adopt him raise him as our own.”
–
“He’ll be our child. Just as if he were ours from the start.”
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