His Wedding Day, My Frozen Fate

The dinner on the table grew cold, its steam fading into the air.

Celeste Monroe sat alone, her heart sinking with the passing minutes.

At 2:30 a.m., the silence was broken by the front door swinging open.

Damien Sterling walked in, his presence as icy as the winter night outside.

“Why are you still awake?” he asked sharply, his frown deepening when he saw her.

“Didn’t I tell you I’d be with Isolde tonight? I said I’d be late.”

Celeste dropped her eyes to her lap, her fingers curling against the edge of the table.

After a long pause, she finally muttered, “Happy birthday.”

It was already past midnight. His birthday had ended.

“Celeste, what’s the point?”

Damien’s tone dripped with irritation.

“Isolde is my girlfriend. She has every right to celebrate with me. You, on the other hand–what are you doing? I’m your uncle. Do you even understand what that means?”

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s disgusting. Get it through your head that there’s no possibility of anything between us. Just the idea of it makes me sick.”

He turned and slammed the door behind him, leaving Celeste alone with the stinging echo of his words.

She stared at her feet, her voice barely audible as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Uncle Damien. It won’t happen again.”

“This is the last birthday I’ll ever spend with you,” she thought.

The room felt unbearably cold, colder than the cryogenic chamber she had read about earlier.

Celeste shivered at the thought.

She had always hated the cold.