I didn’t give up my spot in the overloaded elevator for my husband’s assistant, and later he locked me, six months pregnant, inside a walk-in freezer just to vent his anger for her sake.

At six months pregnant, I went to visit my husband at his company. Feeling some pain in my belly, I left early. His assistant forced her way into the elevator. When the voice prompt warned that it was overloaded, she told me to get out.

“You’ve got an extra body in there, no wonder it’s overloaded. If you don’t get out, who should?”

I argued, “It’s only the third floor. I’m heavily pregnant—it’s hard for me to take the stairs. You can walk up a few steps instead.”

Others pushed her out of the elevator.

After my check-up, my husband asked me to go to the company warehouse. But right at the entrance, I was knocked out. When I woke up, I was inside the freezer.

At the freezer door, my husband, Daniel Miller, stood holding Vivian Lee like a loving couple.

“Do you know how hot it is today? And you made Vivian take the stairs?”

He sneered, “You said it’s just a few steps, right? Then let’s see if you can take a few steps out of here.”

Terrified, I looked down at my bare feet, stuck to the icy floor.

…

The cold wrapped around my limbs like vines. My teeth chattered, my voice shaking uncontrollably. “Daniel Miller, stop joking around… I can’t take it anymore.”

Leaning against the freezer frame, his profile hard as stone, Daniel’s tone carried no warmth. “Who’s joking with you? If you want to get out, walk out yourself—and kneel before Vivian to apologize. If she nods, I’ll let you out.”

Frantically, I pulled out my phone. The screen showed no signal bars. Vivian nestled in Daniel’s arms, smiling smugly yet innocently. “Emma Carter, don’t bother. The freezer blocks cell signals. Want to call for help? Unless you walk out yourself, it’s useless.”

“Daniel Miller!” I gripped my phone so tightly my nails dug into my palm. “I’m carrying your child! You can’t do this to me!”

He laughed coldly, sliding an arm around Vivian’s waist, his fingers brushing her flat stomach. “You think you’re the only one who can carry my child? Vivian has my baby too.”

Vivian playfully smacked him, though her eyes darted toward me like needles. “You’re so bad, saying this now… Unlike Emma, who’s lucky enough to ride the elevator while pregnant, I had to walk the stairs.”

“Emma Carter!” Daniel’s rage flared, his eyes like frozen blades. “Do you realize what you’ve done? You made Vivian walk the stairs while you sat comfortably in the elevator! Her feet are practically raw!”

“You told her it’s just a few steps, didn’t you?” He stepped closer, voice dripping with mockery. “Now it’s your turn. Just a few steps, and you’ll be free.”

The cold smirk on his face pierced my heart like an icicle. The man who once swore to cherish me for life was long gone.

The baby inside me kicked violently, as if in fear. The doctor’s warning echoed in my ears: “You must protect the pregnancy—no stress, no cold.”

Clenching my teeth, I bent down, hands pressed against the frozen ground. Every step I tried to lift tore my skin away from the icy floor, the pain so sharp I nearly blacked out.

“Daniel, please… let me go. I’ll apologize to Vivian…” I begged through tears, my voice hoarse.

He remained unmoved, arms crossed. “I told you—walk out, kneel, and apologize.”

Blood seeped from my torn soles, freezing instantly into tiny crimson crystals.

Step by step, I dragged myself forward, each step leaving behind a shocking trail of blood on the ice.

I clutched my phone so tightly the edges nearly cracked.

At last, I reached him, collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. Tilting my head up, I gasped, “I… I walked out… let me go…”

Daniel looked down at me, lips curling into a cruel smile. “See? You can walk. So why didn’t you let Vivian in the elevator earlier?”

Before I could react, he suddenly kicked me hard in the stomach!

“Ah—!” Agony ripped through my body. Like a ragdoll, I was hurled back into the freezer, crashing against the icy wall.

“Daniel! You bastard! You broke your word!” I clutched my belly, convulsing in pain, tears mingling with cold sweat.

Vivian giggled sweetly in his arms. “Sister, is that all it takes to break you? Your pain is nothing compared to the injustice I’ve suffered.”

Summoning my last strength, I hurled my phone at Daniel.

He dodged easily. The phone skidded onto the floor outside the freezer. Its screen glowed—showing a call had been connected.

Once, someone had told me:

No matter what happens, just call me—I’ll come right away.

The faint glow of the phone flickered in the freezing air like a dying star.

Did you see it? Did you hear me? Please… save me…

The chill stabbed into my bones like countless needles. My body shook like a leaf in the wind.

Daniel glared down at me, his tone as sharp as ice. “Stop pretending to die. Crawl over here right now and bow to Vivian.”

I stared at the sight of him holding Vivian, lips pressed into a rigid line.

My heart was already frozen. Every word out of his mouth was a cruel joke. I would never believe him again.

Vivian wrapped her arm around Daniel’s, shooting me a smug glance as she spoke in a falsely kind tone. “Mr. Miller, let it go. People might say I’m abusing your wife.”

“No.” Daniel patted her hand, his voice terrifyingly firm. “I have to get justice for you.”

Vivian’s face lit up, rubbing against him affectionately. “Darling, you’re so good to me.”

The sight seared my eyes, my trembling only growing worse.

I didn’t know if it was the cold, or my heart breaking completely.

Forcing myself up from the ground, my lower body numb as if chained by iron, every move weighed a thousand pounds.

Instinctively, I stroked my swollen belly, trying to share warmth with my baby. But the chill had long stolen the heat from my hands.

“Emma Carter, stop putting on that pitiful act.” Daniel’s voice lashed out like a whip.

“Don’t think you can win sympathy with that look. Not from me. Get on your knees, apologize to Vivian, and maybe I’ll let you live.”

I lifted my head, eyes frozen over with cold fury, and spat out two words: “Dream on.”

“You dare!” Fire blazed in Daniel’s eyes. He shouted, “Men!”

Two security guards in suits entered, each carrying a heavy bucket dripping with condensation.

“Make sure she learns her lesson!” Daniel barked.

They seized me—one pinning my arms, the other lifting the bucket—then dumped the icy water straight over my head.

The freezing torrent drenched me, seeping through my thin clothes, pressing against my skin like blocks of ice.

I shuddered violently, nearly suffocating from the cold.

That moment shattered the last trace of hope in my heart.

To him, I was never a wife—only a tool to please Vivian.

Vivian covered her mouth in feigned concern. “Darling, let it go. She’s already like a drowned rat.”

Daniel squeezed her hand, his eyes dripping with indulgence. “You’re just too soft-hearted. That’s why she bullies you. Did she think about you climbing the stairs in this heat while she sat in the elevator?”

Water streamed off my clothes, pooling at my feet before freezing into a thin sheet of ice.

My body shook uncontrollably, my jaw aching from the chattering of my teeth.

Suddenly, sharp pain twisted in my belly. The baby inside thrashed desperately, each contraction so intense my vision blurred.

“Daniel…” I begged with the last of my strength, my voice breaking. “The doctor said the baby isn’t stable… please… let me go to the hospital…”

Vivian’s eyes filled with tears as she tugged Daniel’s sleeve. “She’s still the wife of the chairman. She should see a doctor if she feels unwell. Not like me—I stumbled and hurt myself on the stairs and didn’t dare tell you.”

“Wife of the chairman?” Daniel sneered, his eyes slicing into me like knives.

“Without me, Emma Carter is nothing! I acknowledge her, she’s my wife. If I don’t, she’s just trash!”

The words stabbed into my chest like an icicle.

Back when he was just a poor graduate, I had defied my family, taken our marriage license, and married him.

In the early days of his startup, when he struggled with orders, I ran across the city negotiating deals, helping him build his company step by step.

On the day the company went public, he hugged me in tears, swearing I was the one he’d always be most grateful to.

And now?

He was tired of the wife who shared his hardships, and showered affection on his assistant instead.

Yet I still carried his child!

“Daniel… please…” I clutched my belly, barely able to stand, tears streaming down with the icy water.

“Baby Sam… he can’t hold on much longer…”

One of the guards glanced at my pale face and hesitated. “Mr. Miller, she really looks bad. And the baby is yours—”

Smack! Daniel’s slap cracked across the guard’s face.

“You care about her so much? You sleeping with her too?!”

The guard bowed his head quickly. “No, sir.”

Daniel roared louder, glaring at me. “Stop using the baby to threaten me! Who knows if that child is even mine!”

“What did you say?” I jerked my head up, stunned.

“Vivian told me,” Daniel scoffed. “You’ve been going to a hotel every week with the driver dropping you off. Who knows what you were doing there!”

“I didn’t!” I shook all over.

“I was negotiating deals for you! Mr. Brown only meets clients at the hotel café—don’t you remember?”

“Stop lying!” he cut me off violently. “Apologize to Vivian right now, or I’ll never let you go to the hospital.”

Vivian rubbed her eyes, pretending to cry. “Don’t be so hard on her, darling. I can endure a little injustice. I only nearly fell on the stairs—that’s all…”

Daniel immediately took off his coat, wrapping it around her, then turned his murderous glare back to me. “I gave you a chance. You chose to waste it.”