“F-fire! Somebody bring water!”

Regina instinctively tried to pass the glass of water she was holding. But whether by accident or design, Grey pulled her hand away, causing the glass to slip and fall.

“There’s a fire, my lady.”

He whispered, his mischievous smile like that of a naughty child as he leaned closer.

“It’s dangerous. You should run.”

Before she could even ask if he meant it, he scooped her up in his arms. Caught off guard and slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain, Regina panicked.

“Grey!”

“You’re even lighter than yesterday.”

It didn’t sound like empty flattery. In the blink of an eye, Grey had left the bedroom and was striding swiftly down the corridor. Regina thought she heard Dain’s desperate cries behind them, their footsteps pounding on the floor.

But by the time they reached his bedroom at the other end of the corridor, all had fallen silent.

“You’re safe now. Nothing to worry about.”

He said, lowering her gently onto the bed-more gently than the dust that settled on the sheets.

“Don’t forget. I just saved your life.”

He even made a show of wiping imaginary sweat from his brow, which made Regina laugh.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Such harsh words for your saviour.”

Some memories don’t stay in the mind – they burn into the heart.

This was one of them.

The time she had shared with Grey was as flawless and beautiful as a perfectly cut gem—and she knew that once they were apart, those memories would slice into her heart like a blade.

And yet, there was no denying how brightly this moment gleamed.

So bright, in fact, that Regina couldn’t help but laugh with him.

“I noticed there was blood on the sheets earlier.”

Grey said, his tone now more serious.

“Did I hurt you last night?”

“N-no, not at all.”

Regina replied honestly, without hiding anything.

“My monthly cycle… it seems to have started again.”

“That’s good news.”

Grey said, nodding briefly.

“They said you were infertile back then.”

“Just because I started menstruating again doesn’t necessarily mean I can get pregnant.”

Regina replied, already nervous.

“It’s been over three years since we got married and I still haven’t gotten pregnant, so maybe…”

“We don’t know yet. If you get pregnant later, that will solve the problem.”

His reply was crisp, almost harsh. It felt more like he was talking to himself than trying to comfort her.

“Grey, let me ask you something.”

“When you start a sentence like that, it’s usually not a pleasant question.”

“It’s about what happened a year ago… Do you still hold a grudge against me?”

The question had weighed heavily on her heart, getting moister with time. Now she finally managed to let it slip out of her chest.

***

When she found out it had been a false pregnancy, Regina fell into deep despair.

If it had been a miscarriage, she might at least have received sympathy. But what she got instead was ridicule and suspicion.

— “Did she really go that far just to get her husband’s attention?”
— “Even so, this is too much.”
— “Poor master. He was so excited, he even decorated the baby’s room…”

Barbara discreetly dismissed several maids who had spoken carelessly.

But Dain, as if she had been waiting for this, ran to Regina and blabbed.

As intended, Regina became not only distraught, but anxious.

— “Surely Grey doesn’t suspect me too, does he?”

Since the truth about the false pregnancy had come to light, Grey had stopped coming to see her altogether.

Not knowing what he was thinking, Regina’s mouth went dry with fear.

When someone is on the verge of dehydration, they’ll drink seawater – even if it kills them, desperation leaves them no choice.

Regina felt the same.

When all her letters were met with silence, she finally went to the construction site where Grey was overseeing the project.

She knew only too well how he would hate to be interrupted – but she went anyway.

— ‘There’s no point in beating around the bush.’

Summoned during a meeting, Grey appeared with an extremely sharp expression.

—”Why are you so desperate, Regina?”

Grey had said that her behaviour – pushing so hard – only made her look more suspicious.

Once again, Regina realised she had played the wrong card.

Though he didn’t show it, Grey had been deeply disappointed.

If Regina had deliberately lied to him, there could be no greater betrayal.

— ‘That’s why I wanted to prove it wasn’t a lie…’

For the first time, she realised that sometimes the more you try to fix something, the more it falls apart.

Regina felt violated, suffocated, as if something heavy was crushing her chest.

She’d been a victim too – but in the end, she’d lost not only the child, but her husband as well.

How had it happened?

She hadn’t understood at the time – that even a mistake made without malice could hurt someone deeply.

Blinded by her own pain and sense of injustice, she couldn’t see how Grey might have felt.

She had said she loved him. Said she was ready to understand, to endure anything.

But in the end, her love hadn’t gone that far.

So it was no surprise that their marriage fell apart.

***

“You asked if I still held a grudge against you for what happened a year ago.”

Grey said, repeating her words slowly, as if turning them around in his mouth.

At least he looked better now than he did then.

“And what if I do?”

Had she misunderstood again?

A wave of despair washed over Regina, so heavy it almost took her breath away.

They were husband and wife in name, but Grey’s heart remained a closed door.

And because he refused to open it, all she could do was stand on the outside – guessing, hoping and hurting. Over and over again.

“I told you. No good will come from talking about this.”

Grey turned away from her, stiff and distant, like a wax figure frozen in time.

This wasn’t just a wound that hurt Regina – it was one that scratched raw at Grey’s frozen heart as well.

“You don’t look well. You should rest – I’ll let you use my bed.”

He gently guided her pale wrist and laid her on the bed as he changed the subject.

“More importantly, your bedding seems to be all burnt.”

“There should be some spare ones. If I ask a maid…”

“That maid seemed rather impertinent. Is she always like that?”

“…? Don’t you know Dain?”

“Is that your maid’s name? My mother is in charge of the household staff.”

Grey replied indifferently. His disinterested look wasn’t fake. It was genuine.

Regina felt both a flicker of pleasure and a slight irritation.

From the moment she had entered this house, Dain had been territorial. How ridiculous that a maid would dare treat the mistress of the house like an intruder.

— “The Cabil house is structured around a central staircase that divides the front and back wings. The master’s office is on the second floor, at the front. But I suggest you don’t look for him first. He hates to be disturbed.”

It had all started there.

Dain had been talking about Grey for some time – what he liked and didn’t like, his habits and routines – as if she knew him better than anyone.

For a wife already unsure of her husband’s feelings, Regina found it impossible to ignore her.

— “Have you been working here long?”
— “I’ve been here my whole life.”

Sensing Regina’s attempt to probe, Dain had smiled like a cat that had stolen cream.

— “When it comes to the master, I know everything.”

That knowing smile and lingering gaze had stirred uneasy thoughts in Regina’s mind.

Perhaps… something had happened between Grey and the beautiful maid.

Looking back now, she was almost embarrassed by the suspicion – how absurd it seemed.

“If you don’t like her, fire her.”

Grey said casually, brushing aside the unspoken doubt.

“Why keep a maid I don’t even recognise?”

“Then I will. Darling.”

His words soothed her, like a remedy for a persistent pain in her chest.

Regina decided to reassign Dain to menial tasks.

If she enjoyed doing laundry so much, she should scrub until her arms gave out.

Grey glanced at the faint smile tugging at Regina’s lips, as if quietly savouring it.

“So you’re finally smiling for me.”

“Ah…”

She felt a blush of embarrassment – both for smiling so easily in front of him, and for secretly taking pleasure in such a petty thought.

Even after her smile had faded, Grey looked at her for a moment.

“Finley came across a decent furniture store while redecorating the estate, I’ll have them make you a new bed. Try to bear with the discomfort until then.”

“Thank you… for taking care of it. Are you going back to work now?”

“I should. I can’t afford to go bankrupt over a ruined shee.”

Grey repeated Dain’s words in a mocking tone as he prepared to leave.

Regina watched his familiar back and waved.

“Have a good day.”

“Ah, I almost forgot.”

Grey pulled a crumpled invitation from the inside pocket of his coat.

“That’s actually why I came to your room earlier – to give you this.”