Chapter 4

That night, I went to the walk-in freezer to get some juice as usual. Just as I was about to leave, I realized the door had somehow closed behind me, and no matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn't budge. I was wearing nothing but thin pajamas. Within minutes, exhaustion set in. I wrapped my arms around myself and slid down to the floor, leaning against the icy wall. Christopher had been right about one thing—I got cold easily. Over the years, all the dieting, sleepless nights, and endless training for dance had ruined my body. My health had never been the same. I lost track of how long I sat there, but it was so long that a layer of frost had formed on my eyelashes. Just as I was convinced I would die in there, the door suddenly swung open. A maid gasped in shock. "What are you doing in here, Ms. Juliette?" As I stepped out of the freezer, warmth enveloped me. Still trembling, I started back toward my room. But then I remembered that I'd left something inside, so I turned back. That was when I heard the maid who'd opened the door speaking on the phone. "Mr. Reed, I've let Ms. Juliette out. She was freezing, but she'll be fine." From the other end of the line, Christopher snorted. Then, in a voice utterly devoid of warmth, he said, "Just make sure that she's not dead." And with that, he hung up. Though the words were brief, the voice was unmistakably his. It was Christopher. So, my being locked in wasn't an accident. It was a deliberate move that Christopher had orchestrated. The look he gave me before leaving with Winona hadn't been my imagination. He hated me for hurting the woman he loved, and he couldn't wait to teach me a lesson. It was midsummer, and the temperature indoors was a comfortable 82°F, yet I felt as if I were still trapped in that freezer. I returned to my bedroom and fell into a deep sleep. When I woke again, my head was spinning, and my forehead was burning hot. Sure enough, I was running a fever, and I was parched. As the maid was nowhere to be seen, I dragged myself out of bed to get some water. As I passed one of the bedrooms, I heard the sound of a woman sobbing. "Chris, why are you treating me so well? You actually went this far for my sake…" It was Winona. As Christopher looked at her reddened eyes, he lightly clenched one of his fists, but he only wiped the tears from the corner of her eye with much restraint. "You once told me that dancing was your dream. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you." Winona immediately threw herself into his arms. "Oh, Chris, you're such a fool! How could you marry a woman you don't even love just because of me? I... I don't know how I can ever repay you." Then, she tilted her head up to kiss his lips. But to my surprise, Christopher turned his face away, avoiding the kiss. His lips were pressed into a tight line, a vein bulging on the side of his neck, a clear sign he was holding himself back. "Winnie, don't. I'm an engaged man now, and you're still an unmarried woman. This... It isn't proper for you." My head throbbed even harder, and the world began to spin before my eyes. In my feverish haze, I was transported back to the time I had accepted Christopher's love. The night we officially became a couple, he had taken me with a desperate urgency. When I cried from the pain, he wiped my tears and told me it was because he loved me too much. But now I saw it. When it came to someone he truly cared for, he was capable of such reverence and restraint. Inside the room, Winona was still crying, her tears soaking the front of Christopher's shirt. "You're too nice to me, Chris. But the better you treat me, the more afraid I am. At the end of the day, you're Juliette's fiance. One day, you'll marry her and have your own children, and when that day comes, both of you will become a real family, and you won't care for me like this anymore..." Christopher tapped her nose and said affectionately, "How silly of you to think that, Winnie. I don't love her at all. How could I ever let her carry my child? The day she was attacked, I made sure they ruined her womb. She'll never have children. Not in this lifetime." I couldn't hear anything else he said after that. It felt as if all the blood in my body had frozen solid. So it was no wonder that after all this time, even though he never once took precautions, I had never conceived. I had even once wept to him about it. My mother had passed on early, and my father quickly remarried Winona's mother. Every time I saw them, a happy family of three, I felt like an outsider in what was supposed to be my own home. I had told Christopher how desperately I wanted a child, and how I longed for a family that was truly my own. He had, in turn, held me close, comforting me in a gentle voice. But I had never imagined that I would never be able to have a child anymore. And he was the very one who saw to that! So that was it. That was the truth. My eyes stung, but I had cried so much these past days that no tears would come. Stumbling, I ran back to my room. I found my phone and dialed a number I knew by heart. I wasn't going to let them get away with this.