Cold was not merely the absence of warmth.It was a presence.A living, breathing thing that crept beneath skin, coiled around bone, and whispered of endings.Lian Yue learned that in the dark.The prison cell reeked of damp stone and forgotten lives.Water dripped somewhere in the distance—slow, rhythmic, like a clock counting down the last moments of a dying soul.Her soul.She could no longer feel her fingers.At some point, the pain had vanished.Replaced by something worse.Numbness.Her body lay curled on the ground, thin robes offering no protection against the merciless winter that seeped through the walls.Chains hung loosely from her wrists.Not tight.Not necessary.She no longer had the strength to move.“…Water…”The word barely formed on her lips.No one answered.No one ever did.Once—That would have been unthinkable.Once, she had lived in halls of gold.Once, servants bowed at her presence.Once, she had believed herself loved.A weak laugh escaped her throat, dry and broken.Loved.The memory burned hotter than any fire.Lanterns glowing.Music echoing.Laughter.Her husband standing before a crowd—Elegant.Perfect.Untouchable.Raising a cup of wine.“To the one who understands me.”Not her.Never her.Her gaze had followed his.Had found—Su Meilin.The sister she chose.The friend she trusted.The woman who smiled as she accepted everything Lian Yue had once called hers.A violent cough tore through her chest.Blood stained her lips.“So foolish…” she whispered.She had mistaken kindness for loyalty.Gentleness for truth.And love—For something that had never existed.Her vision dimmed.The cold tightened.If there is another life…Her fingers twitched.Just once.I will not love him.I will not trust her.Her breath slowed.Faded.And this time—I will win.Darkness claimed her.