Sealed in Ice, Bound by His Madness

"Think about what you've done, Sherry."

With that, Nathan turned and walked out of the wine cellar.

Inside the fridge, the cold was unbearable. I was still in my pajamas, shaking so violently that I could barely hold myself together. A sharp, tearing pain radiated from my abdomen, and blood had begun to seep out beneath me, spreading until it stained everything red.

I could feel the baby slipping away. Desperate, I threw myself against the walls of the fridge, thrashing and clawing, but the bleeding wouldn't stop, and neither did the pain.

"Please, someone save our baby. Let me out. Please."

But my mouth was sealed shut. The words never left my throat. All I could do was scream them in silence.

I had never imagined Nathan could be this cruel. No matter how I fought, no matter how I begged, nothing reached him. In the end, I died alone in the dark, trapped between agony and despair.

In the last moments before I closed my eyes, I kept telling myself he would come and throw open that door and pull me out.

He never did. He had already left for Arci with Annie to watch penguins and go skiing.

After I died, my soul drifted free of the fridge. Even now, the smallest memory of those final moments sent pain crashing through me like it was happening all over again.

…

After dinner, Nathan took a phone call in the living room, while Annie headed upstairs. When he finally hung up and pushed himself to his feet, his shoe caught on something. He bent down to pick it up. It was a paper gift bag, and inside was a men's dress shirt.

"Wanda, whose shirt is this?"

Wanda glanced over. "Mrs. Grayson bought it for you when she was out shopping a while back, sir."

Nathan pulled the white shirt out of the bag and stood there holding it.

The first time I ever saw him, he had been wearing a white shirt just like that one. He was tall, sharp-featured, and effortlessly put-together. He chased off two men who had been giving me trouble, and something about him stayed with me long after he walked away.

But I knew he loved Annie. So I buried my feelings and kept things simple between us—just friends, nothing more. Every time she broke his heart, I was the one who sat with him through it.

Our families had known each other for years, and his parents had always been fond of me. They wanted him to marry me. I expected him to refuse, but he didn't.

Annie was already out of the picture by then, and for a brief, foolish moment, I let myself be happy about it.

The happiness didn't last long. After the wedding, I understood that his parents had pressured him into it. He didn't love me.

I didn't give up. I thought if I was patient and genuine enough, I could reach him.

He had a chronic stomach condition, so I learned to cook around it and even studied physical therapy to help manage his flare-ups.

Slowly, his coldness toward me began to thaw. Things between us felt like they were finally changing.

Then Annie came back, and everything I had built quietly fell apart.

Nathan set the shirt back in the bag. "She's been in there long enough. She should've learned her lesson by now. Go ahead and let her out, Wanda."

Wanda nearly lit up with relief. "Right away!"

She was back within minutes, her face completely drained of color. "Mr. Grayson, something's wrong. You need to come quickly. Mrs. Grayson… She's… I don't think she's okay."

Nathan's body went still for just a moment, but he shook it off so quickly that it might have been nothing at all.

"Don't be dramatic," he said. "She's too clever to die. Go tell her the act isn't fooling anyone. If she wants out of this, she can bring that letter and get on her knees in front of Annie. She does that, and I'll let it go."

A bitter smile pulled at my lips. I had been naive enough to believe he felt something for me, even if just a little.

Clearly, I had been wrong. Annie was all he had ever seen. The idea that I would fake my own death for his attention was almost funny.

"It's not an act, Mr. Grayson. I called out to her over and over, and she didn't respond. There's blood everywhere…"

"Enough." Nathan's voice cut sharp.

"Did she pay you to do this? Is that what's happening? Get out of this house. Now!"

Wanda left.

Nathan went upstairs, walked straight into the bedroom, and kissed Annie. I turned away. I was already thinking about leaving when he pulled back, his voice soft in a way it never was for anyone else.

"Get some sleep, Annie. I've still got some work to get through. I'll come back when I'm done."

Annie nodded and settled in without a word.

I looked at her for a long moment. She wore innocence like a costume, but I had seen what lived underneath it.

Before she and Nathan had left for Arci, she had slipped down to the wine cellar and blocked the fridge's vent. If she hadn't done that, I might not have died so quickly.

Nathan went to his study and lowered himself into the chair behind his desk, opening a folder. But his hands wouldn't stop trembling.

He sat with it for a moment, then threw the papers down and stood up. "Fine. Let's see what you're playing at."

He made his way down to the wine cellar and pushed the door open. The silence in there at that hour felt heavier than usual, the kind that pressed against one's ears.

Nathan walked up to the fridge. "Sherry, is that letter done?

"Actually, forget the letter. Just come out. If you apologize to Annie sincerely, that's enough. We'll put this behind us."

There was nothing. The cellar stayed silent.

When I didn't appear, something snapped in him. He drew his foot back and kicked the fridge, hard, more than once.

"Sherry, I'm not a patient man. I'll count to three, and you'd better be standing in front of me."

I watched him through my tears. I was dead. How did he expect me to move, to just walk out?

Then he reached for the handle and opened the fridge door.