1 Prologue

Cold draft spread through the gloomy room and the lady at the center shivered. She looked at the fireplace and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the embers glowed and lit the darkness in the room but the heat didn't do her any good, it didn't touch the creeping cold that slowly hardened her heart, the result of a struggling fate.

She heard soft footfalls in the room, the kind of sound that wants their presence to be heard. She didn't dare throw a glance. She can't bear to see his smiling face, at this time. She had a pretty good guess on who the person was.

"We shouldn't have been together at all," She said once she felt his presence behind her. Her being quaked with anxiety, for the first time losing her renowned edge that she struggled to put on. Her sturdy wall crushing down as she imagined what the future may hold.

"Don't tell me it's about our child again because if it is, we can't do anything about it now. The best we can do is hope for a good future for her and wait," He said, exasperation marred his tone because of repeated arguments. He hates seeing her like this. She looks so lost and vulnerable, losing the string that held her for a long time, making her so unstable.

For a moment, neither of them spoke refusing to end the stubborn silence that is always eager to surround them for the past few days.

"You know that it would be impossible, right? A good future for her I mean," she said, emotion drained from her voice. She can't allow herself to put her faith to the unpredictable.

"Are you giving up on her already?" His expressive green eyes, normally so kind, had this silvery glint in it that starts to show his heritage. He was in one of his deathly calm states. His face looked serene but it hid the fact that he's tense and itching for a fight.

"It's not that I'm giving up on her. You must understand. I just can't stand there and watch while my daughter suffers. I can't do that," Her voice cracked, feeling bitter and helpless all the time.

He stood up and put his arms around her, wishing he could help ease her feelings but cannot do so. This is beyond their powers now like that time when they met and fell hopelessly in love with each other. Their sin is now being carried by their daughter.

The fire in the hearth crackled, illuminating the couple in the room, looking at each other. Completely oblivious to the child in the corner, watching them with understanding and maturity in her eyes that look so unusual on her young face.