Chapter 3

Kaelen’s fists clenched, the anger in his heart barely contained.

When Rhea died, he was the most heartbroken person in the Celestial Realm. For the sake of their child, he had been forced to tolerate another woman taking her place.

He had to admit, for the past hundred years, Corinne had done an excellent job. She cared for him and Lian flawlessly.

Sometimes, looking at Corinne's face, so similar to her sister Rhea's, Kaelen would feel a moment of daze.

But she wasn't Rhea. She wasn't that brilliant, proud woman. Corinne was weaker, more timid, always following the rules.

How could a woman like that ever compare to Rhea?

He had never imagined that this woman, who always appeared so gentle, was secretly plotting to secure her position by bearing a child.

If she had a child, what would become of Lian?

"Corinne, your sister died a hero. Caring for Lian is your highest honor. I married you for Lian's sake. How could you develop such excessive ambitions?"

He gritted his teeth, barely suppressing his fury. "Shameless. To think you'd come to the Matron's temple to pray for a child. If I hadn't caught you today, I would never have known what a manipulative person you are!"

My husband, Lord Kaelen, stood over me, his face a mask of undisguised disgust.

I looked up in shock, frantically trying to hide the blood-scribed scriptures behind my back.

Rhea had been gone for a long time, but she was still a raw wound in Kaelen's heart. Copying these scriptures was my own private wish; I never wanted to give him false hope only to see it shattered.

I wanted to explain, but all I saw were his ink-black eyes, and my heart plunged into an icy abyss.

Kaelen was a paragon of virtue, admired by countless celestial ladies who longed for a single glance from him.

In a hundred years of marriage, I had secretly fallen for him, too. Even though he was cold as ice, he was always polite and gentle with me. Occasionally, when he saw me patiently rocking Lian to sleep, a flicker of softness, a hint of a smile, would touch his lips.

Even though I knew that smile wasn't for me.

He was just seeing someone else's shadow in me.

"Kaelen…" My lips trembled. He gripped my wrist so tightly the old wounds split open, oozing blood. The pain made my brow furrow.

Seeing the blood, Kaelen's anger flared even hotter. He shoved me away. "Stop your pathetic act!"

His cold gaze swept over the corner of the scriptures peeking out. He smirked. "You want a child that badly?"

Before I could speak, the thick stack of papers in his hand disintegrated into dust.

"But I won't give you what you want."

He stormed away, leaving only a final, chilling sentence behind. "Tonight, you will kneel before my chambers as punishment. Let's see if the cold night dew can purge those foolish desires from your heart."

A tremor ran through me. I fought back the tears welling in my eyes.

"I will obey the Lord's command."

The Matron of Life, who had arrived too late, couldn't stand it. "Why don't you just tell him the truth?"

I shook my head with a bitter smile, the light in my scattered gaze completely gone.

"After a hundred years together, he still doesn't know my heart. He doesn't trust me. What's the point of explaining?"

"I have a clear conscience when it comes to Lian, and I've done my best for him."

"Even if he doesn't love me, I thought… I thought he might at least have a shred of pity for me."

I looked up sorrowfully at his departing figure, my heart aching with a bitter sourness.

He knew. He knew I had no spiritual core, that in the Celestial Realm, I was no different from a mortal. How could I withstand the bone-chilling cold of the night dew?

I hadn't been kneeling before the Serene Palace for long before an unbearable stabbing pain shot through my knees. The wind pierced through my body without mercy.

Passing celestials pointed and whispered as if watching a show, making me burn with shame.

As I shivered uncontrollably, Lian walked past me.

He was Rhea’s child, raised by my own hands.

He looked so much like Kaelen, with the same eyes, the same icy demeanor.

The moment I saw him, my eyes stung. I quickly and shamefully lowered my head.

To be punished in front of my own child… I was mortified.

But Lian just sneered. "Corinne, you're a powerless nobody. Raising me, the son of a war goddess, is the greatest honor you'll ever receive. How can you be so shameless as to want a child with my father? You're a disgrace as a sister, a disgrace as a wife, and even more of a disgrace as my mother!"

"You're a low-life. How could you possibly be worthy of bearing my father's child?"

I reached out to him, but he recoiled in disgust and used his magic to place a huge block of ice on my back. "Father wants you to kneel, so you'd better kneel properly. Don't think about taking any shortcuts."

Looking at the child I had raised, my heart twisted in agony. "Lian, from the day you were born, have I ever failed to care for you? How have I wronged you?"

"I wasn't trying to have my own child, I was…"

Lian cut me off impatiently. "Having a powerless mother like you is my greatest humiliation! Corinne, you bring me shame."

He shot me a look of utter disgust and turned to leave.

My eyes widened as two streams of tears fell silently down my cheeks.

So this is what my precious child truly thought of me.

The magical ice dripped constantly but never shrank. The freezing water seeped into my thin clothes, chilling me to the bone.

My pale face was soon slick with cold sweat, a sickly flush coloring my cheeks.

I shifted my aching knees, hugging my arms in a futile attempt to find warmth, but it was no use.