I wasn’t sure how long I’d been in that freezing darkness. My skin was pale and numb, lips cracked, breath shallow. My fingers curled against my chest, trying to preserve even the faintest trace of warmth. But before the cold swallowed me whole… I remembered how I got there.
“I said throw her in there,” Isabel hissed, her voice sharp like broken glass. “Let her cool off since she wants to cause trouble in this house.”
Two maids hesitated by my arms, glancing at each other with uncertainty. “She’s sick, Señora… this isn’t right—”
“I said put her in!” Isabel snapped. “She laid her cursed hands on me and nearly killed me and my grandchild. Layla got hurt, too! Don’t you see it? She’s the ruin of this family. Let the ice drain that poison out.”
“I didn’t mean—please,” I whispered, clutching my blanket, my voice hoarse. “Please, don’t do this. Mateo—get Mateo. He wouldn’t—he wouldn’t allow this…”
But even as I begged, the world around me twisted.
Because I heard the hurried footsteps down the hall. Mateo.
I screamed his name. “Mateo! Mateo, please—I need you!”
He rushed past the hallway—carrying Layla, barking orders, his suit jacket half-on, panic written across his face.
“She’s bleeding again. She fell to the stairs. Keep the car running to the hospital. I can't let something happen to the baby!”
He didn’t even glance at me.
I reached out a shaking hand from the floor. “Mateo…!”
But his back was already turning the corner. Already leaving.
Gone.
“Wait—please…” My knees gave out.
“Do it now,” Isabel said coldly, her voice merciless. “Before she stirs up more drama.”
I snapped on my thoughts when someone entered. It was Mateo.
He wrapped me in a blanket. “Isla, oh god, Isla! I didn’t know. I didn’t know she actually did it, I thought she was joking. You know how my mother is when she’s mad, she says things she doesn’t mean.”
My teeth chattered. I couldn’t even reply.
He rubbed my arms frantically. “I’m sorry… about the necklace too. I know now, it was your mother’s. The only thing you had left of them. I was stupid. I should’ve stopped her.”
I didn’t say anything. My lips curled slightly, but it wasn’t warmth, it was bitterness.
“You’ll feel better soon, alright? Tomorrow… we’ll finalize the contract for the merge. I need you there so you need to be fine. Then, I’ll buy you a dozen necklaces like that one,” he added with a shaky laugh, kissing my forehead like a reward for surviving.
Ah, there it was. The merge.
That’s why I was saved. Because I was still needed.
He scooped me into his arms like a fragile thing, carrying me back to the bedroom. “You’re burning up,” he said suddenly, panic flashing in his voice. “You have a fever. I’m bringing you to the hospital.”
“No.” My voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper. But I forced the word out with all the strength I had.
“No?” he echoed.
I pushed against his chest. “Let’s get a divorce.”
He froze. “What?” His voice was a stunned whisper, like he hadn’t heard me right.
“I want a divorce, Mateo. End it.”
“No, no, wait, Isla. You’re just sick, upset. I said I was sorry. Don’t do this,” he pleaded, eyes wide and desperate. “Okay, okay, I should’ve stopped my mother. I should’ve never believed Layla. But I was worried for the baby, alright? She said she was bleeding, and I panicked. I didn’t think you’d… I didn’t know the truth… that it was an accident.”
I laughed bitterly, coughing as I did. “Of course. The baby.”
His eyes flickered as if he knew what I was thinking. “It’s not mine.”
“Is it?”
He swallowed. “No. Of course not. I just—she had no one. I pitied her.”
Pity. The same pity that made him feed her lies while erasing me.
Mateo moved closer, brushing my hair back. “If you want me to stay away from her, I will. I’ll focus on us. No divorce. Please, let me take care of you now, okay?”
He reached down and gently picked me up again, murmuring apologies.
And then the door creaked open. Layla stood there. Eyes red. Voice trembling.
“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffing. “I didn’t want to be a burden. I didn’t mean to… maybe I should leave. Maybe it’s better if I go away again because you’re gonna dispose of me, right?.”
Mateo turned his head. “Layla—”
“But I’m bleeding again,” she whispered.
Everything stopped.
Layla clutched her stomach. “The baby… maybe it deserves this. Maybe I do.”
Then she turned and ran, sobbing down the hall.
“No! Layla!” Mateo panicked, placing me down so fast my knees buckled.
“Mateo,” I croaked. “You said—”
But he was already halfway out the door.
“I’m sorry!” he called out. “I’ll call someone to help you—Layla needs me!”
“What about me?!” I screamed after him.
He turned once, hesitating. “You’re strong, Isla. You always are. The butler will take care of you.”
And then he was gone.
The door slammed shut.
I waited. Minutes.
Then an hour. But no one came.
The cold of the freezer still clung to my bones. My head was spinning, skin burning, vision blurry. I reached for the wall, dragging myself up. Every step felt like dragging iron chains across my soul.
I made it to the car. Somehow, I drove myself to the nearest hospital. My fingers trembled as I clutched the steering wheel, sweat soaking through my clothes, vision swimming but I made it.
When I woke up, I received a call from Luigi, “I heard what happened! I’m picking you up immediately!”
