Married to The Ice King: Pampered Princess' Survival Guide-Chapter 187: The Sins

The silence that followed was unbearable.

Jasmine stood there, her eyes red and swollen, her hands holding tight onto the vase trying to steady her trembling heart. "Daisy," she said finally, her voice low and shaking, "what do I have to do for you to let me stay by his side?"

Daisy didn’t answer right away. She was staring at her father’s motionless hand, her brows knitted together. Her emotions were all over the place and she could see from her father’s eyes, he was already forgiving her. When she finally spoke, her voice was calm but cold enough to make the air feel heavier.

"Bring Owen Kennedy to jail." She turned and glared at her, "I don’t care what methods you need to do, bring that old man that is supposed to count on death to the jail!"

Daisy’s words landed like a verdict. The vase trembled in Jasmine’s grip and a single rose petal fell, ghosting to the floor between them.

"You don’t understand," Jasmine whispered, voice breaking as if the words themselves were heavy. "Owen... he’s not just some man you can—"

"Then make him understand," Daisy snapped, sharper than she’d intended. "Make the law understood. Make the people who still owe him favors understand. Put him behind bars, Mom. Don’t come back here with more excuses and pretty words." She leaned forward, the light in her eyes hard and cold. "Do it, or don’t come near him again."

For a long second, Jasmine said nothing. The hum of the hospital machines and the faint shuffle of footsteps in the corridor seemed to stretch time unbearably thin. Her shoulders sagged, and the woman who had once bowed to men like Owen Kennedy looked suddenly small beneath the sterile light. Pride warred with desperation across her face.

"I will try..." Her voice quivered, barely above a whisper. "I will try my best to amend all the wrongdoings I did... and I hope that when the time comes, I can at least hug you and earn your forgiveness."

Daisy’s jaw tightened, but she said nothing. The words forgiveness and mother sounded like poison in her chest, too heavy to swallow, too bitter to speak.

Theo glanced at Daisy, then at Jasmine, sensing the fragility of the moment. He wanted to say something or anything to soften the edge between them, but he believed not saying anything would be the best at this moment.

"Let’s go," Daisy said finally, her tone clipped. She turned toward her father’s bed, adjusting the blanket with a gentleness that contrasted the storm in her voice. "He needs rest. You should leave and don’t come back until you’ve fulfilled your words."

Jasmine’s eyes glistened. Her fingers twitched, aching to reach out, just once to touch her daughter’s shoulder, but she didn’t. Instead, she placed the vase gently on the side table, the flowers trembling slightly in the water as if echoing her own unsteady heart.

She then glanced at Thomas. He looked at her, his eyes soft with the kind of forgiveness she didn’t deserve. When he blinked and gave her a faint nod, it was enough to make her lips tremble into a fragile smile.

"I promise I’ll come back," she whispered, her voice barely holding together. "And honey... Thank you for everything. I love you..."

As she turned away, the tears she’d been holding back finally spilled down her cheeks, falling freely, betraying her calm façade. Each step toward the door felt heavier than the last as though the weight of her sins clung to her heels, begging her not to leave.

The door clicked shut behind her, and for a long moment, silence reigned again.

"Ah..." Daisy’s legs weakened, and she sank down beside her father’s bed, gripping the edge of the blanket as if it could steady her. "Am I doing the right thing, Theo?" she whispered, her voice trembling. She covered her face with both hands, trying to hold back the sob that threatened to break free.

Theo moved closer, lowering himself to her side. He didn’t answer right away, just watched her shoulders tremble. Then, gently, he reached out and pulled her hands away from her face, his touch steady and grounding.

"You did what you had to," he said softly. "You protected your dad. That’s not wrong."

"But..." Daisy’s eyes shimmered with tears as she looked up at him. "She looked so desperate, Theo. For a second, I almost—"

"I know, it’s hard to forget... I don’t have any words to say because I’m not in your position," Theo said, his thumb tracing slow circles over the back of her hand. "Just think wisely. When you’re in a rational state, don’t make the same mistake I did and regret it for the rest of your life."

Daisy lifted her head, eyes rimmed red. For a moment she simply studied his face, the lines at his eyes, the way his jaw held when he was trying to be steady.

Suddenly pulling him for a hug, she muttered, "What should we do? We’ve been through so much that both of our mental health are exhausted."

Theo froze for a heartbeat, caught off guard by the sudden closeness. Then his arms came around her, firm yet gentle, as if he feared she might break if he held her too tightly.

"I know," he murmured against her hair. "We’ve been fighting for so long that we forgot what peace feels like." His voice was low, almost trembling. "Maybe we don’t have to fix everything at once. Maybe... we could just breathe for now."

Daisy’s fingers clutched at the fabric of his shirt. "But how do we start again when everything feels so fragile?" she whispered. "Dad, us... even the way I look at my mom, it’s all—" She broke off, her breath hitching.

Theo leaned back slightly so he could see her face, brushing his thumb across her damp cheek. "One day at a time," he said softly. "We don’t have to have all the answers. We just have to stop running from the questions."