told me repeatedly, but I hadn’t believed her.
“She tried to tell me,” I said, my amber eyes darkening with self–loathing. “Olivia tried to tell me
Lily was dead, but I accused her of hiding our daughter.”
I remembered the day I took Emma to Enchanted Kingdom Theme Park. My phone had buzzed
repeatedly with calls from Olivia, but I’d ignored them, assuming they were accusations about
my favoritism toward Emma.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered, my powerful frame seeming to shrink with each word. “I didn’t
know that Lily had been waiting for me at Moonlight Fair, and had died that same day.”
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Ethan, how terrible for you.”
I felt compelled to justify my actions, though I knew nothing could excuse them.
“The healers said Emma’s condition was worsening,” I explained. “I arranged that birthday celebration because I feared it might be her last. I never imagined it would be Lily who
< Chapter 103 Lily’s Death
wouldn’t get another birthday.”
+15 Points
The irony was unbearable. I had devoted so much attention to Emma, fearing for her health,
while my own daughter had been the one truly in danger.
Victoria’s voice broke through my thoughts. “I feel so guilty,” she said, tears streaming down
her face. “If I hadn’t called you that day, begging you to come because Emma was upset… if I
hadn’t pulled you away from your promise to Lily…”
I shook my head, absolving her of blame that was rightfully mine alone.
“You were worried about Emma,” I said. “I can’t blame you for that. The fault is mine. I made
the choice to break my promise to Lily.”
Victoria leaned into my embrace, weeping against my chest. I held her, but my mind was
elsewhere–with a little girl who had died waiting for her father to keep his word.
The next morning, despite my injuries and lingering fever from Olivia’s attack, I returned to Sacred Moonlight Cemetery. My body protested every movement, but I ignored the pain.
I carried Lily’s favorite treats–moonberry cakes, forest fruits, and small carved wooden toys. Things I’d noticed she liked in the Imperial Gardens surveillance videos I’d reviewed
obsessively since learning of her death.
I also brought the Crystal–Embroidered Ice Princess Gown I’d never given her. The moonstone crystals embedded in the fabric caught the morning light, sparkling with a beauty Lily would
never see.
My knees ached from kneeling all night at the cemetery and being submerged in the Moonlit
Reflection Pool searching for Lily’s Ashes Crystal Pendant. Each step up the cemetery path
sent shooting pain through my legs.
As I climbed the steps leading to Lily’s grave, I stumbled. My vision blurred momentarily, and I
had to pause to steady myself.
I carefully set down the items I’d brought, my amber eyes fixed on the Moonstone Tombstone
