Chapter 236: Chapter 236

I woke up slowly. My eyelids felt heavy, like they were glued shut. When I finally managed to open them, the ceiling above me was the same cracked stone of the prison cell. The faint smell of damp walls and iron hit my nose.

For a moment, I didn’t understand where I was. Everything from before came back in flashes, the chains, the blows, the pain in my stomach, the blood.

"My baby..." My voice cracked.

I forced myself to sit up. My body ached everywhere, but someone had cleaned me. My torn dress had been replaced with a plain, rough tunic. The dried blood was gone from my hands and legs. My hair had been brushed back loosely.

Confusion spread through me. "Why... why would they clean me?"

My hands flew to my stomach. It felt strange, empty. I pressed my palms against it, panic rising.

"My baby..." I whispered again, tears starting to sting my eyes. "Baby, please... tell me you’re still there."

I clutched my stomach, rocking slightly. My throat burned. My heart raced.

A voice came from outside the cell. "Are you awake?"

I flinched, my head snapping up. Through the iron bars, I saw him, Fridolf. He stood there with his arms crossed, his eyes like burning coals. His expression was dark, angry.

"You..." My voice trembled.

He stepped closer. "Finally. You’re awake."

I tried to scoot back against the wall. "Stay away from me."

He ignored that. His voice rose, full of frustration. "I have never come across someone as stubborn as you! Never!"

I blinked at him through tears. "W-what?"

"You heard me." He slammed a hand against the bars, making the cell rattle. "You were ordered to do something simple. Simple! And you refused. Do you even know what you’ve done?"

I felt my stomach tighten again. "I don’t... I don’t understand," I whispered.

Fridolf’s eyes narrowed. "If you had just listened, I wouldn’t have had to push so far. I wouldn’t have..." He stopped himself, jaw clenching. "I wouldn’t have killed your baby."

My world tilted. My ears rang. "W-what?" My voice broke.

"I said," he repeated, slower, "the doctor confirmed it. You lost the child. It’s over."

I shook my head violently. "No. No, no, no!"

"Yes," he said. His tone was flat, but his eyes glittered with some dark satisfaction. "You should have listened to me. This didn’t have to happen."

Tears spilled down my cheeks. "That... that can’t be true. You’re lying!"

He tilted his head. "Why would I lie about this?"

I wrapped my arms around my stomach, rocking. "No... no..."

Fridolf sighed, almost like he was bored. "I told you. I warned you. You thought you could resist. And now look at you."

"Stop!" I screamed, the sound raw and broken. "You’re lying!"

"I’m not," he said simply. "It’s done."

I clawed at my hair, shaking my head like I could shake his words out of it. "No! My baby... my baby..."

The cell spun. My breath came in gasps. I started hitting myself, my fists slamming weakly into my chest and stomach. "I couldn’t even protect my baby! I couldn’t protect you!"

"Lisa, stop," Fridolf said, but there was a small, cruel smile on his lips.

"I’m a bad mother," I cried, striking myself again and again. "I let them hurt you, baby. I let them hurt you!"

Fridolf’s smile grew a little. "Enough," he said softly, like he was savoring the moment. "You’ll hurt yourself worse."

"I don’t care!" I screamed, my voice hoarse. "I should have died with my baby! I should have died!"

"Lisa." His voice cut through my sobs like a knife.

I looked up at him through blurry eyes. "Why?" My voice was just a whisper. "Why are you doing this?"

He didn’t answer right away. He just stared at me, his hands clasped behind his back. Then he said, "Because I had to give you bad news. But maybe..." He paused, tilting his head. "Maybe I’ll give you something good now."

I blinked at him, trembling. "G-good?"

"Yes," he said. "Damon has regained consciousness."

My heart stopped for a second. "D-Damon?"

"Yes," Fridolf said. "He’s awake. Weak, but awake. He can’t talk yet, but he’s alive."

I felt a sob break out of me. My hands flew to my mouth. "He’s alive..."

"He is." Fridolf’s voice was almost gentle now, but the coldness never left his eyes. "But he’s weak. Very weak."

I pressed my palms against the bars, tears running down my face. "I need to see him!"

Fridolf smirked faintly. "No. Not yet."

"Please," I begged. "Please, I need to see him! Please!"

"You’ll see him when I decide." His voice hardened again. "Here’s the deal, Lisa. I’m giving you twenty-four hours. One day."

"For what?" My voice trembled.

"To think," he said. "To decide. Do what I asked you to do, and maybe you’ll see Damon again. Maybe you’ll survive."

I stared at him. "And if I don’t?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵※𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮※𝓷𝓮𝓽

He smiled then, a dark, cold smile. "Then you’ll end up just like your baby."

I watched him leave, each step echoing in my ears, every inch he put between us twisting the knife in my heart. My hands flew to the bars, gripping them tightly, nails digging into the cold metal.

"No! You... you have no right!" I screamed, my voice cracking. "You had no right to kill my baby!"

The words left my mouth raw and trembling. My chest heaved as sobs wracked my body. I pounded the bars weakly, tears streaming down my face. "No! No! My poor baby... my baby..."

I fell to the floor, curling into myself, clutching my stomach as if I could somehow hold the life that had been taken from me. "Why? Why did you do this?" I cried, my voice barely more than a whisper now.

The cell felt smaller, darker, suffocating. Every memory of the pain, the screams, the blows, it all came back in waves. I rocked back and forth, my tears soaking my hands and the rough fabric of my tunic.

"You can’t do this!" I shouted again, my voice hoarse, echoing off the walls. "You can’t take what isn’t yours! You... you monster!"

My sobs turned into shaky, broken gasps. I pressed my face into my knees, rocking violently. "I... I’m so sorry....I couldn’t protect you... I couldn’t protect my sweetheart,"

I stayed like that for what felt like hours, crying, trembling, whispering my baby’s name over and over, wishing, praying, hating, hurting, and feeling utterly helpless.

Every part of me ached, not just my body, but my heart, my soul. The weight of loss, fear, and anger pressed down on me. Fridolf had taken everything, and all I could do was cry.