Dumping The Ice King His Mini-Tyrant novel Chapter 284

Harrison rewound the security footage, setting the timestamp back seven years.

Their first year of marriage played out on the screen. Selene always cooked his meals herself. She would sit in the dining room, keeping the food warm, waiting patiently for him to come home. She picked out his clothes, chose his ties and cufflinks, tended to every detail of his life.

One evening, Harrison saw himself cancel dinner at the last minute. Selene quietly dumped the meal she’d prepared into the trash, then stood there, head bowed, staring into the bin for a long time.

So, it was true—love, even when it burns bright, can be worn away in the blink of an eye.

She could have left the Vaughn family much earlier. But instead, she chose to stay, bearing his child, building a life around him.

Leo’s voice echoed in his ear:

“She stayed in the Vaughn family for seven years. She must have had her sights set on something bigger.”

But what was that goal? Harrison felt a suspicion taking shape in his mind, but he refused to name it.

He pulled out Felicity’s old phone and pressed play on a voice recording.

“Felicity, do you know where Selene is? I can’t find her. She said she’d meet me here, but I’ve looked everywhere. Can you help me get in touch with her?”

He remembered that night. Natalie had gone into the old district, lured there by someone she trusted. Instead, she’d been chased through the building by a pack of thugs. She put up a fight, but in the end, she was driven to the rooftop.

She never wanted to die. But that night, she fell from the roof.

The gang was caught, and the ringleader turned out to be the heir of a wealthy family who’d been obsessed with Natalie for years. But what Harrison never expected was that it was Selene who’d asked Natalie out that night.

That same night, Selene had lain beside him, gentle and warm. He’d been wrapped in her arms, lost in her softness, and only realized too late that Natalie had called him for help.

The ringleader responsible for Natalie’s death had a long history of violent crimes. Under pressure from the Vaughn family, he was executed last year—an eye for an eye. But Natalie was still gone, and nothing could bring her back.

Harrison gripped the old phone, knuckles white, and called his assistant. "Get me the police. I have a new lead on Natalie’s case—a voice recording. I need a forensic analysis."

He set the phone aside and returned to the surveillance footage. It was almost an addiction now—he had to watch every second of Selene’s past, searching for any sign she’d been deceiving him all along.

He didn’t sleep that night. By morning, Harrison sat slumped in his armchair, handsome features set in a mask of frost.

He forced himself to wash up, joints aching with the chill that seemed to settle in his bones. When he emerged from the bathroom, his phone was already ringing.

He answered to the sound of Gemma’s frantic voice.

“Harrison, something’s happened! Dames ran away from the hospital again! Oh God, what do we do?”

Daph hopped up and waved to the cats. “Bye, guys! I’ll come see you after school!”

From his hiding place, Dames watched them walk away. He felt like a little mouse skulking in a corner, unnoticed and unwanted.

He stepped out from the bushes. He knew Selene had seen him, but she pretended not to.

His own mother really didn’t want him anymore.

The sting of being ignored cut deep; he felt like a lost spirit, wandering the world with nowhere to go.

Hot tears streamed down his cheeks.

Since the accident, his taste buds had changed—nothing tasted right anymore. He missed Selene’s soup with an ache that wouldn’t go away.

But he’d never get to taste it again.

He sobbed, shoulders shaking.

Mom, I’m so sorry. I really am.