Chapter 3

I had real feelings for Zane. As he said, I was there with him when we were eating street food and living in a basement. When we couldn't pay the heating bill in winter, I got sick from the cold, and he held me through the night without sleep. When he drank too much at work events, I would stay up past midnight to make him some soup, just so he could have something warm to drink when he got home. My heart ached when he lowered himself just to land a contract. That was why I secretly asked my relatives to discreetly send some orders to him. I mistook his pride for character, and I thought there was something real between us. What I didn't see was that it was one-sided. After the proposal, Zane became even more attentive toward me. He had flown out of town for a week just to learn a regional dish I loved. He surprised me with something different every day. He even dabbed face wash on my cheek, like we were still college kids messing around. Sometimes, he held me close and imagined our married future together. In the most intimate moments, he would softly ask me to give him a baby. As soon as Joyce found out that Zane had proposed to me, she jumped on a video call right away. "Are you really going to marry him?" I replied, "Why would I?" Though Joyce trusted me, she was also worried that I was being deceived. She started nagging, "If I'm mistaken, and it really wasn't him behind the post, I'll apologize to him. "But what if he really did post something that heartless? Looking at how he's throwing money at you like it's nothing, I dread to think what he might actually want from you in the end. You have to protect yourself, Liz." I looked at Joyce on the screen and gently responded, "Okay. Don't worry. Even if he's plotting something, he won't get anything from me." … The next morning, I was on my way to work as usual when a black car sped up behind me and rammed my car into the roadside bushes. Before I could react, someone pressed a cloth on my mouth and nose. "Help! Who are you? Let me go!" I kicked and fought with everything I had, but I eventually blacked out as they hauled me into the black car. Just before everything went dark, I saw one of them on a call, speaking to someone with deference. When I came to, I was tightly bound and lying on a warehouse floor. A sharp knife rested on my cheek. The blade was icy and unnervingly smooth, like a snake against my skin. Every hair on my body stood on end, snapping me fully awake. I recoiled, but a kidnapper yanked my hair. "Are you Eliza? We heard your boyfriend is loaded. Do you think he cares enough to save you?" The kidnapper called Zane's number and demanded a ransom far beyond his means. "We have your girlfriend, Mr. Holt. 50 million dollars, and she walks free. Do we have a deal?" In that moment, a few seconds of silence stretched into what felt like an eternity. "Fine. Just leave her alone." "Good choice, Mr. Holt. Keep it that way, and keep the police out of it," the kidnapper warned. Seconds ticked by. "Let's move." When the kidnappers heard the payment alert for 50 million dollars, they dropped me and fled. Shortly after, Zane rushed in with his bodyguards, his eyes rimmed red as he pulled me into a frantic embrace. "Are you hurt, Liz?" He nervously checked me over, looking more terrified than I felt. The sudden relief washed over me. Before collapsing into his arms, I murmured, "Zane." His panic seemed genuine. Maybe he still cared for me in some way. As everything went dark, I thought to myself, "If he turns back now and stops there, I can pretend none of this ever happened." … I woke up in the hospital as evening fell. The moment I opened my eyes, Zane quickly grabbed my hand. "You're awake, Liz. I'm sorry—this is all my fault. I failed to protect you. All because I didn't give you a ride today, this happened." His expression was filled with guilt. After a long silence, I finally asked the question I knew he wanted to hear. "Where did you get that kind of money?" He seemed taken aback by how readily I asked, as if he hadn't expected things to be so easy. Then, he produced two documents, looking troubled. "They asked for 50 million dollars, Liz. I didn't have a choice but to put the company up as collateral. But they want your signature as well." Things were just as I had expected. After hearing him out, I felt a heavy, complicated weight sink inside me. Every moment of his panic was an act. What he really wanted was to keep extracting whatever worth I had left. A few seconds later, I crafted a convincingly touched look and signed the documents without hesitation. Seeing how I signed without missing a beat, he then tried talking me into signing an exorbitant accident insurance plan with the excuse of my safety. Five years of us had come to this. This was the moment everything unraveled. With my last hope shattered, the deep cold settled in my chest, leaving only exhaustion behind. "I hope you won't regret this, Zane."