He Abandoned Me, I Cut Him Off Cold

Chapter 7

From as long as she could remember, Sienna had always had an intense, irrational fear of snakes.

There was an incident years ago when, while hiking, she had accidentally fallen into a pit filled with them.

Terrified, her limbs had turned icy cold and began to spasm uncontrollably. Back then, Nikolai had not hesitated for a moment. He had slashed his own wrist, using the scent of his blood to distract and draw the snakes away, saving her life.

After that day, he had sworn that he would never let a single snake come near her again. It became such a reflex that even when a serpent motif appeared on a Bulgari engagement ring, he had instinctively covered her eyes, ordered the piece taken away, and had it discarded immediately.

Now, seeing the pure fear and helplessness reflected in her eyes, Nikolai frowned and stepped forward, intending to intervene.

But Lucie quickly stepped in his path, blocking him.

Tears still streaked her face, her voice trembled with intense emotion as she spoke, "My parents are lying in the emergency room right now, fighting for their lives. All I did was teach Sienna a lesson. I used snakes that had their venom glands removed. They couldn’t hurt her. And yet, here you are, already distressed on her behalf?"

Nikolai glanced down and confirmed the snakes were indeed harmless. He curled his fingers into a fist and pulled back, his expression turning cold and distant. "Keep her confined here. Do not let her leave under any circumstances until I say so."

With that, he turned and walked away with Lucie, leaving Sienna behind.

No matter how much Sienna called out or begged, he never once looked back.

She was instantly swarmed and tangled by dozens of cold, scaly creatures. Their fangs pricked and broke her skin all over her body, leaving her soaked in blood until the pain eventually turned into a dull, numbing ache.

All those promises he had made over the years. Every vow, every sweet word. Now it felt like nothing more than cruel jokes.

Sienna was on the edge of a total breakdown. Fighting against her biological instinct to panic and the overwhelming despair rising in her chest, she frantically tore the cold reptiles out of her arms, feeling as though she might faint from terror at any second.

Just then, her phone rang. It was the family housekeeper, his voice frantic and urgent.

"Miss Moretti! The family estate is on fire! Your mother is still trapped inside! Someone deliberately blocked all the emergency exits and escape routes. The fire extinguishers and rescue ladders have all vanished, and they even cut off the water supply to the building! We called every fire station in the area, but we were told that Mr. Lennox gave strict orders. He forbade anyone from coming to rescue us!"

The moment she heard those words, the color drained completely from Sienna’s face.

Her hands shaking, she immediately dialed Nikolai’s number.

Seconds dragged by like hours. When he finally answered, the sounds that came through the line made her blood run cold. She heard soft, breathless gasps, and then Nikolai’s voice, low and husky.

"Easy now… just relax…"

She froze completely, her body turning to ice.

Her mother was facing death in a burning building, and her fiancé was not only refusing to help, he was lying with another woman.

It felt as if an invisible hand had reached inside her chest and squeezed her heart until she could barely breathe.

"Nikolai Lennox! My mother is trapped in a fire! Why did you order them not to save her?!"

There was a long silence on the other end. Finally, Nikolai spoke, sounding tired and thoroughly annoyed.

"Sienna, I finally managed to calm Lucie down. Are you going to start making trouble again? I told you, you need to stay in the isolation room for a full day, and then you’ll be free to go. Why do you invent such pathetic lies just to try and make me feel sorry for you?"

Sienna gasped for air, her chest heaving. "No, listen to me! My mother is really..."

"Enough!" Nikolai cut her off sharply, his tone dripping with impatience. "If something had truly happened to Mrs. Moretti, do you really think there would be absolutely no news about it anywhere? You need to reflect on your behavior and stop coming up with these ridiculous schemes."

The line went dead.

When she tried to call back, she found she had already been blocked.

A crushing sense of helplessness washed over her. She pounded on the heavy door with her fists, screaming and weeping.

"I’m not lying! Please, somebody, help my mother… please!"

Her face streamed with tears as she looked up in total despair. Suddenly, her eyes locked onto the ventilation grille high up near the ceiling.

No… she refused to give up.

Sienna summoned every ounce of strength she had left. She climbed up the wall and clawed at the metal covering with her bare hands, scraping and prying at the edges. The sharp steel sliced deep into her fingers, leaving them bloody and mangled, her fingernails splitting and tearing away, but she didn’t stop.

She fought through the agony, pulling and hitting the metal plate over and over again. It seemed like hours before she managed to bend it enough to create a small opening.

She peered through the gap and her heart sank. She was on the third floor, and the ground below was nothing but hard concrete. A fall from that height would likely kill her, or leave her crippled at best.

But her mother was waiting for her… surrounded by flames, trapped, and completely alone.

Sienna dared not think about the consequences any longer. She clenched her bleeding hands, threw her weight backward, and then lunged forward, crashing hard against the metal.

CRASH!

The plate gave way completely and fell away. Carried by her own momentum, she tumbled out into the open air, weightless for a terrifying second before slamming violently onto the pavement below.

The sound of bone snapping was clear and sharp.

Sienna felt as though her ribs had shattered. Her limbs went limp, refusing to obey her commands, and her whole body shook from the intensity of the pain.

She clung desperately to the last thread of consciousness she had left, forcing herself to her feet, stumbling and swaying.

Every movement felt like being pierced by thousands of needles.

But even with all her effort, she was too late.

Her mother lay amidst the ruins, her features burned away beyond recognition. The woman who had been alive and vibrant was now nothing more than a charred, unrecognizable corpse.

The sight was devastating. Sienna stood frozen, her mind going blank.

Staring at the body, her heart felt as though it was being ground apart by a dull blade. The pain was so great she could scarcely draw breath. Large, hot tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Seeing her reaction, Lucie stepped close and leaned in right beside her ear, a wicked, triumphant smile playing on her lips.

"I was the one who ordered the fire. Surprised? And that’s not all. Before your mother died, I made sure to call her. I held the phone up so she could hear exactly how much fun I was having with Nikolai in bed. Look at her… the poor old thing burned to death, and she still hasn’t closed her eyes. She died knowing everything."