Chapter 101: Redemption in Icy Waters
Chapter 101: Redemption in Icy Waters
(Ethan’s POV)
The moment I plunged into the Moonlit Reflection Pool, my body revolted against the decision. The icy water felt like a thousand needles piercing my skin simultaneously, stealing my breath and sending violent tremors through my muscles.
Winter had turned the once–pleasant pool into a frigid hell. My exposed flesh immediately.
turned an angry red, stinging painfully as I forced myself deeper.
Despite my Alpha strength, the bitter cold threatened to overwhelm me. My lungs burned,
demanding air, while my limbs grew heavier with each passing second.
None of it mattered. All I could think about was Lily–my daughter whom I’d failed in life and
continued to fail in death. The crystal pendant containing her ashes was somewhere in this
murky water, discarded by my own hand in a moment of blind rage.
I pushed forward, my amber eyes straining to see through the cloudy depths. The thought of leaving without the pendant was unthinkable. This was my penance, my desperate attempt at
redemption.
My fingers scraped along the bottom, feeling through mud and debris. Each second underwater was agony, but I deserved this pain. I deserved far worse for what I’d done to Lily..
The cold began to numb my extremities, making my search more difficult. Still, I persisted, surfacing only when my lungs screamed for air before diving again immediately.
“Alpha King!” Maxwell’s voice reached me during one of my brief moments above water. “You need to come out! Your body can’t withstand this temperature much longer!”
I ignored him and dove again. Maxwell didn’t understand. No one could understand the depth of my failure, the magnitude of my guilt.
My hands methodically searched through the mud and debris at the bottom of the pool. I refused to leave until I found what I was looking for–the last physical connection to my
daughter.
Maxwell’s voice grew more urgent each time I surfaced. “Mr. Stone, please reconsider. Your body temperature is dropping dangerously low.”
I could hear the concern cracking his usually composed demeanor, but I couldn’t stop. Not
1/5
< Chapter 101: Redemption in I…
until I found Lily.
+15 Points>
The cold was becoming dangerous. My movements grew sluggish, my thoughts foggy. But somewhere in this pool was my daughter’s remains, and I would not abandon her again.
My hand caught on something sharp–an abandoned fishing line that sliced into my palm. Blood clouded the water around me, but even this fresh pain couldn’t deter me from my mission.
Then, miraculously, my fingers closed around a small, familiar object. The moment I felt it, I knew. Lily’s Ashes Crystal Pendant.
I clutched it to my chest with a reverence I’d never shown in life, protecting it as I should have protected her. With the last of my strength, I kicked toward the surface, breaking through with a desperate gasp.
Maxwell rushed forward as I struggled toward the edge of the pool. “Alpha King! Thank the moon you’re alright!”
He helped pull me from the water, his face pale with worry. My body was numb, my lips blue from cold, but in my bleeding hand I held the most precious thing in the world.
“Dry clothes, quickly,” Maxwell said, already wrapping my Black Alpha Overcoat around my shoulders.
I changed with trembling hands, never letting go of the pendant. Once dressed, I carefully opened my bleeding palm to examine my prize.
The crystal pendant gleamed despite its time underwater. Inside, I could see the fine gray ash -all that remained of my beautiful daughter.
Unshed tears filled my eyes as I stared at it. “I need to return this to Olivia,” I said, my voice barely recognizable.
Maxwell nodded, already moving toward the car. “I’ll drive you to Maple Grove immediately.”
The journey passed in silence, my mind consumed with what I would say to Olivia. What words could possibly convey my remorse, my shame, my desperate need for forgiveness?
As we pulled up to Olivia’s Maple Grove Cottage, I clutched the pendant tightly. This small token wouldn’t bring Lily back or erase my failures, but it was all I had to offer.
“Wait here,” I told Maxwell as I stepped from the car.
Each step toward Olivia’s door felt heavier than the last. When I finally reached it, I hesitated before knocking, gathering what little courage I had left.
C
< Chapter 101: Redemption in L
My knuckles rapped against the wood, the sound echoing in the quiet morning air.
(Olivia’s POV)
$15 Points>
The sudden pounding at my cottage entrance startled me from my grief. I’d spent the night in
tearful vigil, clutching Lily’s Moonwood Ceremonial Urn and wondering how I would go on
without the pendant that had kept a part of her close to my heart.
When I opened the door, I found Ethan Stone standing there. The sight of him sent a fresh
wave of anger through me.
He looked terrible–pale and haggard, his usually dominating presence diminished by
exhaustion. His amber eyes, normally so confident, now held a haunted look I’d never seen
before.
None of it moved me. This man had thrown away our daughter’s ashes as if they were
nothing.
“How can you even stand after what you did?” I asked coldly, my voice carrying the bitter chill
of winter.
Maxwell Chen stepped forward from behind his boss, his tone respectful despite my icy
reception.
“Ms. Winters, Mr. Stone spent the night kneeling at Lily’s grave at Sacred Moonlight Cemetery.
Then he spent hours in the Moonlit Reflection Pool retrieving the pendant,” he explained, his
words careful and measured.
Ethan silenced his assistant with a sharp gesture, his amber eyes never leaving my face.
Without a word, he extended his hand, opening his palm to reveal Lily’s Ashes Crystal
Pendant.
It was still damp from the pool, but intact. My heart leaped at the sight of it.
“I brought Lily back to you,” he said simply, his voice rough with emotion.
My hands trembled as I reached for the pendant. The moment my fingers closed around it, tears began streaming down my face. I clutched it to my chest, feeling as though I could
breathe again for the first time since learning it was gone.
“Thank you,” I whispered, the words escaping before I could stop them.
For a moment, we stood in silence, united in our grief for the daughter we had both lost-
though in very different ways.
Ethan reached out, his hand moving toward my shoulder in what appeared to be a gesture of
3/8
< Chapter 101: Redemption in I…
comfort. I recoiled instantly, stepping back from his touch.
The brief moment of connection shattered. His hand fell back to his side, his expression pained but understanding.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice thick with regret. “I didn’t know what the pendant contained. If I
had known…”
“If you had known, you wouldn’t have thrown away our daughter’s remains?” I finished for him, my grief transforming into rage. “That doesn’t change the fact that you did it, Ethan. Just like it doesn’t change the fact that you abandoned her when she needed you most.”
His face contorted with shame, but I wasn’t finished. If he truly wanted redemption, there was more he needed to do.
“If you truly want to make amends,” I demanded, my emerald eyes flashing with fury, “then seek justice for Lily! Punish Victoria Frost, who stole the kidney donor meant for our daughter!”
Ethan’s expression hardened immediately, his amber eyes narrowing. “Victoria had nothing to do with Lily’s death,” he insisted, his tone leaving no room for argument. “She would never harm a child.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Even now, after everything, he was still defending her.
“Are you blind?” I snarled. “Or just willfully ignorant? Victoria manipulated the donor list to ensure Emma received the kidney meant for Lily. Our daughter died because of her!”
Ethan shook his head firmly. “You’re wrong, Olivia. Victoria isn’t capable of such cruelty.”
His unwavering trust in Victoria despite all evidence to the contrary infuriated me beyond reason. My control snapped completely.
“Get out!” I shouted, my voice breaking with rage and grief.
In a swift motion, I grabbed the Antique Moonstone Decorative Vase from beside my door and hurled it at him with all my strength. I wasn’t thinking clearly–I just wanted him gone, wanted to hurt him as he had hurt me.
The vase struck him squarely in the temple, catching him off guard. Already weakened by his night–long vigil and hours in the freezing water, Ethan swayed momentarily before collapsing unconscious on my doorstep, blood trickling from the wound.
Comments
