The Billionaire’s Frozen Betrayal

AVA “I think I’m dying tonight!” My feet ached with each step, and the weight of the grocery bags pulled at my arms. The cold wind bit at my skin as I climbed the stairs to the mansion. I paused, looking up at the house that once felt like a dream, a place I felt I would grow old with happiness. The stone walls towered above me, casting long shadows over the driveway. It looked like a palace, but inside, I felt more like a prisoner because I actually was one. I shifted the bags in my hands, feeling the familiar ache in my lower back. Being eight months pregnant wasn’t easy, but then again, life hadn’t been easy for a while. There was a time when Marcus would rush to the door to greet me, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. We used to be in love—deep, overwhelming love that filled my whole heart. But now, as I opened the door and stepped inside, the silence felt colder than the wind outside. The house was quiet, the only sound being the soft creak of the door closing behind me. It felt too big, too empty. I set the groceries on the kitchen counter and paused, resting a hand on my belly. A soft flutter answered, reminding me that even if everything else was falling apart, I still had one thing worth fighting for. I took a deep breath and headed upstairs. Every step felt heavier than the last. That familiar dread started to settle in my stomach, but I pushed it down. Maybe today would be different. Maybe today, Marcus would look at me like he used to. I held onto that hope, even though I knew it was probably foolish. I reached the bedroom door and paused. It was half-open, and I could hear voices—soft, low murmurs. My heart jumped. Was he finally talking to me again? But then he didn’t know I was home yet. But something in the tone sent a chill through me. I pushed the door open, scanning the room. And my world shattered. There, in our matrimonial bed, the bed we once shared, was Marcus. His bare chest rose and fell with each breath, but he wasn’t alone. Draped across him, her head on his shoulder, was my sister. My heart pounded so hard I thought I might be sick. I froze, trying to process what I was seeing. This couldn’t be happening. Not them. Not my own sister. Something hit the floor, snapping me out of my shock. I looked down to see my phone had slipped from my hands. But I barely noticed. All I could see was them. Marcus stirred, his eyes fluttering open. When he saw me standing there, something shifted in his face. No guilt. No surprise. Just cold indifference. “What are you doing here?!,” he said, his voice icy. I stared at him, my mind struggling to make sense of it all. “Marcus… what… why… what is going on here?” My voice shook, barely more than a whisper. I didn’t even know what I was asking as tears rolled down my cheeks. The betrayal was too much, like a wave crashing over me and a piercing sharp pain to my chest. My legs felt weak, and I had to steady myself on the doorframe. “Why did you do this to me?” My voice cracked, tears choking my throat as I looked at both Marcus and my own sister so naked and unbothered. “We’re having a baby for crying out loud!” He sat up, brushing my sister’s hair off his chest, a gesture more tender than anything he’d given me in months. “This was never about the baby,” he said coldly, barely looking at me. “You and I were done long before you got pregnant.” I couldn’t even speak anymore. Tears just continued rolling out of my eyes. “Christabel, you do this to me? Your own sister? Your family and blood” I gazed at Christabel who rather hissed at me. Marcus let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair. “A family? Don’t be ridiculous. You were always just an obligation.” He finally looked at me, his eyes empty of any warmth. “You were always a mistake.” The weight of his words crushed me. I wanted to scream, to beg him to take it back, but I couldn’t find the strength. My mind raced, trying to understand how the man I loved had become this stranger. “You Poor, pathetic thing,” my sister said, her voice dripping with sweetness and venom. She sat up slowly, pulling the sheets around her. “Still clinging to that fantasy, aren’t you?” I looked at her in disbelief, rage and hurt choking me. “You… ?”my voice trembling and I couldn’t speak more. She slid out of the bed and stood in front of me, a sneer on her lips. “Don’t act so surprised, dear sister. You had everything handed to you. Mom and Dad’s favorite, the perfect wife.” She took a step closer. “I was always the shadow, always forgotten. But not anymore. Marcus and I have always been in love and I am not going to allow you take what is mine just like you have always taken everything from me sing birth and made me the outcast in my own family” Tears streamed down my face. “We’re family. How could you?” “Family?” She laughed, cold and sharp. “Family doesn’t matter when you’re always second best. I’ve hated you my whole life. And now, I’ve taken what was and is mine all along.” I stumbled back, the pain in my chest making it hard to breathe. My hand instinctively went to my belly, trying to protect the only thing I had left. “This isn’t you. This… this is Marcus’s child.” “Do you really think I care?” Her voice was full of malice as she stepped closer. “Thank God our parents are dead. They don’t have to see how pathetic you’ve become.” Before I could even process her words, she spat in my face. Pain shot through me and I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I let out a cry and crumpled to the floor, clutching my belly. My vision blurred as the throbbing ache spread through my body. My sister crouched down beside me, her smile twisted with satisfaction. “You’ve always been weak, always needing someone to save you. But there’s no one left to save you now.” I gasped for air, tears streaming down my face. “Please… not the baby…” She leaned in close, her breath hot against my ear. “It’s too late for that.” I couldn’t move. The pain was too much, and my body felt too heavy. I reached out for Marcus, one last desperate plea for the man I thought I knew. But he just stood there, watching as my sister tore my life apart. Without a word, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down the stairs. My legs were too weak to resist. My mind was screaming, but my body couldn’t fight. Each step took me further away from everything I knew, deeper into despair. He finally stopped, and I realized where we were. The ice cellar. He opened the door, and the freezing air hit me like a slap. I whimpered, trying to break free, but he shoved me inside. I fell to the cold floor as the door slammed shut behind me. Darkness surrounded me. The cold seeped into my bones, and I screamed, pounding on the door with whatever strength I had left. But no one came. No one would come. The cold wrapped around me, and as the darkness closed in, I knew. They had left me to die.