On the Eve of the Wedding, First Love Returns

Damien's rage concealed his true feelings.

The imperial physician didn’t dare wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“Sabrina is too weak, lacking vitality and strength. She has been overly active and caught a cold,” he said cautiously.

Sabrina's pulse showed a slight sign of miscarriage, hinting at possible joy. Still, the time was too brief to be certain and the physician dared not say more.

Later on, Sabrina mumbled, her crying slowly subsiding. A faint whisper of “Your Majesty” slipped from her lips. Upon hearing her voice, Damien's expression darkened on her.

It was as if Sabrina was too focused on the emperor.

“Since I can’t die, there’s no need to make a fuss! I’m just a person with a low status, a palace maid! Why are so many people gathered here? Are you all bored? Get out of here!” Sabrina exclaimed out of the blue.

Damien remained too cold, with his eyes starting to darken.

He cast one last glance at Sabrina on the bed, then, with a sleeve sweep, ordered, “Remove her and throw her into the Wintershade Palace! Assign someone to watch and ensure Your Majesty doesn’t come near. The East and West Palaces are for concubines. One palace maid is enough for the Wintershade Palace!”

As time passed by, Sabrina woke up in the Wintershade Palace.

The music of the emperor’s wedding could be heard outside the Wintershade Palace, but inside, it was eerily quiet.

In the lonely hall, only a deaf and mute old woman stood guard. When she noticed Sabrina, she excitedly gestured.

Exhausted and haggard, Sabrina could barely rise and struggled to understand the old woman's gestures. She didn't comprehend what she meant by her gestures.

She had always been physically weak, her health deteriorating at the age of fourteen.

Now seriously ill and failing to care for herself, her body had rapidly withered. When she lifted her arm, her skinniness was striking.

Sabrina smiled bitterly. She feared Damien wouldn’t need to force her; she might not have long to live anyway.

Could it be that until her death, she would remain trapped in Damien's grasp, never genuinely living for herself?

Time dragged on for more than a month.

Damien did not come to see her again. He imprisoned her, forbidding her from going out or allowing the young emperor to visit.

Sabrina felt a deep sadness, finding her situation both ridiculous and pitiful. As soon as she touched her wrist, her heart suddenly raced.

“This pulse,” she mumbled under her breath.

No one knew that her mother had a basic understanding of medicine and Sabrina had learned about it from her mother. She even felt her pulse; it seemed odd, but she was on cloud nine.

Sabrina’s breath caught and an intense sensation spread through her heart; whether sadness or joy, she couldn’t tell. Gradually, an absurd thought began to take shape in her mind.

As days passed, a group of people forcefully smashed the door of the Wintershade Palace.

“How did the young lady end up living in the Wintershade Palace as a palace maid?” one of them sneered. “If it were me, I would have preferred to end my life sooner to avoid such humiliation!”

Lately, Sabrina's head had been growing increasingly dizzy.

Reluctantly, she looked out the window at the sound and saw a beautiful woman dressed as a noble concubine leading the way.

Sabrina slowly sat up, put on her dusty coat and, surprised, asked, “Astrid?”

The visitor was her best friend from the Steele residence, the niece of Martha and the eldest legitimate daughter of the minister’s family, Astrid Smith.

A palace maid shouted, “How dare you! In front of Noble Consort Smith, you don’t even kneel! Someone, drag this palace maid, Sabrina, out and must be punished for being disrespectful!”

The deaf-mute nanny tried to intervene but was roughly shoved aside by the three burly palace maids.

Sabrina was dragged off the low bed in silence and thrown harshly into the cold snow.

Dizzy and disoriented, Sabrina carefully shielded her belly and struggled to rise. However, Astrid stepped forward and cruelly crushed her hand with her embroidered shoes adorned with pearls and gemstones.

“Sabrina, do you still think I’m your good friend?” Astrid asked, with her brows raised in disgust.

With the crisp sound of bone cracking, Sabrina couldn't help but let out a painful cry.

The pain from her fingers was as intense as a broken bone, but she was weak all over and couldn't even escape.