Chapter 50

Winter’s POV

I walked down that lonely path into the woods with no idea why I was there. But there was an inexplicable force guiding me toward an unknown destination. The silence was broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant chirping of birds.

On venturing deeper into the woods, I started to hear groans, faint at first but growing steadily louder. These mournful sounds pulled me forward like an invisible thread was tugging at my heart.

I reached a small clearing, and the source of those agonized groans came into view. There was a man in the midst of the woods, alone and broken. He was lashing himself with a whip, each strike accompanied by a guttural cry.

The sight was horrifying, and my heart ached when I saw his bloodied back crisscrossed with deep welts.

I couldn’t understand what had driven him to this self-inflicted punishment, but I knew I couldn’t stand idly by. I went closer to the man, reached him, and seized the whi