When the Ice Refused to Melt Chapter 01

When the Ice Refused to Melt Chapter 01

“Kael… you bastard…”

I stood by the sink, completely naked, tears welling up in my eyes.

He was breathing hard, gripping my unsteady body. His voice came out rough and low.

“Baby, don’t yell at me.”

“Hold still, stand straight…”

The year I was the wildest, my father forced me to marry a man seven years older than me.

Kael Varyn, a Major General in the Valleria military district, was known throughout the capital for being cold, distant, and impossibly disciplined.

They said he wasn’t into women, hadn’t even touched one.

Just the thought of marrying a man like that made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.

To wreck the engagement, I tried everything I could think of.

I spent three nights in a row hanging out with male models at a bar. He showed up in his crisp military uniform, picked me up like it was nothing, and carried me home.

I crashed through the General’s garden fence on purpose. He went over to apologize in person and smoothed it over without a sound getting out.

Every time I stirred up trouble, he was the one silently cleaning up behind me.

Then, one time I got into another fight and was detained. He rushed over in his combat uniform, not even having time to change.

As he gently placed a bandage on me, he said softly, “I don’t care how big of a mess you’ve made or how much trouble you’re in. I can handle all that. The only thing I care about… is if it hurts here.”

My heart felt like it had been struck. No one had ever really cared about me like that.

In a hoarse voice, I asked, “Have you ever… loved someone you couldn’t be with? Because my man can only belong to me.”

Kael looked deep into my eyes and said, “No. There’s only you.”

So I married him.

After the wedding, people in Valleria started saying one thing, “You can mess with anyone, just don’t mess with Mr. Varyn’s wife, Arden Wynter.”

Because no matter how big of a disaster I caused, that cold-faced, grim reaper of a man would stand behind me, shielding me from everything.

And I thought I had really melted the ice around his heart with my fire.

Until the day I brought him a document he left behind and overheard his comrades joking around.

“Come on, General, tell us. What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?”

Kael was quiet for a few seconds, then spoke slowly, “Someone once asked me if I’d ever loved someone I couldn’t be with.”

“I lied and told her no.”

…

Boom.

It felt like lightning exploded in my mind, freezing me on the spot. He had someone he couldn’t have?

Then why did he lie to me?

I was just about to confront him when a soldier ran up and whispered something in his ear.

Kael’s usually composed face changed, and he rushed out without saying a word.

I quickly flagged down a car and followed him.

We ended up outside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Inside, a kidnapper was holding a girl at knifepoint.

The moment Kael saw her, a subtle tremble crept into his voice.

“Let her go.”

The kidnapper laughed darkly. “Kael. Everyone says you love Arden, but I know the truth. The one you really keep in your heart… is her, Serene Vale. You got my brothers killed, Kael. Dead or crippled. Today, I’m going to make you feel what it’s like to lose the one you love.”

Kael tried to stay calm. “You want revenge, take it out on me. Let her go.”

“Let her go? Sure,” the man sneered, kicking a dagger over. “Stab yourself. Right in the heart. Then I’ll think about it.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Kael bent down, picked up the dagger, and plunged it into his own chest.

Hidden in the back, I dug my nails deep into my palm just to keep myself from screaming.

He actually… stabbed himself without hesitation, for another woman?

The kidnapper laughed maniacally. “Wow, you really do love her. That just makes me want to kill her even more!”

Just as he raised his knife, security forces burst in from every corner and tackled him to the ground.

The ambulance arrived, taking Kael away.

The whole time, no one noticed me standing behind the warehouse, face pale and frozen.

That’s when Serene walked up to me.

I stared at her and demanded, “What’s going on between you and Kael?”

Serene gave me a sorrowful, bitter smile and laid out the so-called truth.