Because I made Sam Whitaker's "perfect girl" take a cold shower, he threw me inside a freezer and locked the door.

"Nancy caught a cold, so now I'm going to make you suffer with her!"

I desperately clawed at the freezer door, screaming for help, but all I could see was Nancy Bullocks' lips moving.

"Sam cares too much about me, so there's nothing I can do to plead on your behalf. I'm afraid you'll just have to endure this one."

She set the temperature to the lowest possible setting, and the last sliver of my vision faded as the dust cover slipped into place.

When Sam returned from his honeymoon, he finally showed some mercy and said he would let me out.

"I'll let it slide this time, but let's see if you dare target Nancy again."

'I won't dare to target her again because I have already become a massive block of ice. One touch and I will shatter into a thousand pieces,' I said to myself.

Locked in The Freezer

On the twelfth day after my death, Sam Whitaker finally brought Nancy Bullocks home.

Word had it they had gone to Nathlis to see the auroras. It was a spontaneous trip, which was filled with romance.

Nancy curled up as if she still hadn't shaken off the cold from Nathlis.

Sam frowned at her, a hint of reproach in his voice. "You were already weak, but you insisted on going to Nathlis. Do you know how worried I was about you?"

"Achoo!" Nancy, gentle and lovely, nestled closer into his arms as she sneezed. Her face was a mix of sweetness and stubborn pride. "It's not bad at all! I'm really strong!"

He affectionately tapped the tip of her nose, and his expression softened. "Stop pretending. Have you forgotten how you got sick from that cold shower?"

Just two weeks ago, I had turned off the water heater while Nancy was in the shower, leaving her to endure an ice-cold bath. She ended up with a fever that spiked to over 40 degrees, and she almost died that night.

His expression hardened as the memory surfaced, and impatience flickered across his face.

He turned to his assistant and said, "Nancy will be staying here tonight. Go and tell that other woman not to try any more tricks."

The assistant, who had also accompanied them on their trip, was busy at that moment, gathering their scattered luggage.

Upon hearing this, the assistant paused what he was doing and looked up in surprise. "Mr. Whitaker, isn't your wife still locked in the freezer?"

Nancy jumped up from the couch, her eyes wide with shock as her hands flew to cover her mouth. "It's been this long, and she's still in there? Won't she be dead by now?" she exclaimed.

He seemed to have completely forgotten about locking me in the basement freezer. The brief flash of surprise that crossed his face was quickly replaced by an amused smile at Nancy's words.

With a cold laugh, he said, "She's too cunning to just sit back and take her punishment. Do you really think she'd stay put like that? I'm sure she found a way to sneak out long ago."

'Is that so?' I said inwardly with disdain.

I glanced at my own translucent shadow hovering in the air, and a bitter smile tugged at my lips.

If he hadn't ordered his men to seal the freezer shut with chains, maybe I would have found a way to escape. After all, I did want to live.

Yet, back then, he was more interested in pissing me off. He had taken all the villa staff along with him and Nancy on their honeymoon.

"Katerina Sawyer, I want you to understand your place. You don't even rank above the servants in my heart. Stay home and accept your punishment. Maybe, once you've realized the difference between you and Nancy, you can come out."

It was laughable, really. How was I supposed to come out when no one was there to help me?

They seemed to quickly forget this minor incident and were soon back to cuddling on the couch.

That was, until the assistant came rushing down the stairs frantically and nervously uttered my name.

"Mr. Whitaker, it's Miss Sawyer. She appears to have run away. There's no sign of her in the house, and she didn't take anything from her room."

Sam waved him off dismissively.

"She thinks I'm still the fool who'd chase after her like before? If she doesn't want to come home, then she should never come back! The things she left behind will be perfect for Nancy anyway."

Pregnancy Kit

Nancy was clearly displeased. She acted like a spoiled child and began to whine for Sam to buy her new ones.

With a helpless smile, Sam reached out and gently patted her head. "Alright, alright, I'll buy you all new ones! How could I say no to my favorite little darling?"

Immediately, her mood shifted. Her eyes lit up, and she eagerly dashed into my room to smash all my belongings.

"I've hated these things for so long! Smash them all! I want everything replaced with new ones!"

I trailed behind them, struggling to keep up. Perhaps my body had been frozen for too long, and the calcium in my bones had been lost. I was sore all over, and my bones scattered all over the floor with every step I took.

At first, I panicked whenever I felt my bones scattering behind me. I would turn around, frantically trying to gather them up, only to remember I had been dead for a long time. What was the point of picking up the bones? All that remained of me was a hollow consciousness.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips, and I stopped bothering about it.

"Sam, if I ever run away, would you come looking for me?" Nancy asked.

"Of course, I would, Nancy," he replied gently. "Why compare yourself to Katerina? She's nothing but a liar. You would never deceive me."

I leaned in the corner, listening to their idle chatter while I fixed my gaze on Nancy. She then mysteriously pulled out a pregnancy test kit.

"Since that's the case, I have some good news for you! I'm pregnant!" she announced.

I sat up straighter, my interest piqued. That pregnancy test looked oddly familiar.

And then it hit me. It was the exact same one I had used before I died.

Curious, I moved closer to them. The drop of blood from when I accidentally cut myself while tearing open the packaging was still dried on the strip, and Nancy hadn't even bothered to replace it.

Yet, Sam didn't seem to doubt her at all. Overwhelmed with joy, he swept her into his arms.

"Really? Are you really carrying my child? Nancy, you're the best!"

After his excited outburst, he gently lowered her onto my bed, treating her as if she were a piece of fragile porcelain.

After tucking her in, he scolded her playfully. "You should've told me sooner! If I'd known, I wouldn't have taken you all the way to Nathlis to see the auroras. That's far too dangerous for your health."

"I'm fine, Sam. This is your child, and he will be just as healthy as you," she said.

I couldn't listen to their sweet nothings any longer, so I turned away, feeling bored. After all, I was nothing more than a pawn in Sam's marriage of convenience. I knew he didn't love me.

Even though I had loved him for ten years, I never had a place in his heart. There was always someone else, whether it was the secretaries who came and went each year or Nancy, his perfect match who had returned from abroad. He had always kept someone in his heart, but it was never me.

I had grown used to it long ago.

What could I do? My grandmother was still in the hospital, and I needed Sam. I needed his money.

The thought of Grandma sent a sharp pain through my chest. Was she still unaware that I had died? Probably. Her illness made her memories slip away so often that she likely wouldn't even notice my absence.

I wandered aimlessly, my feet carrying me back to the basement, where I was locked up for half a month.

I pressed my face up against the freezer, its surface wrapped tightly in a dust cover, completely obscuring whatever lay inside.

My blood had seeped from the drainpipe below, soaking through the base of the cover, making it stick firmly to the freezer like glue.

It had been two weeks since Sam locked me inside this soon-to-be abandoned freezer.

All because I had turned off the water heater while Nancy was in the shower. For that, he decided I needed to suffer alongside her.

He called in seven or eight bodyguards, and together, they lifted me like a piece of meat and shoved me into the cold, cramped space before slamming the door shut himself.

My wrists and ankles were bound tightly, and a filthy rag had been stuffed into my mouth, leaving me helpless.

"Katerina, you deliberately targeted Nancy and were jealous of her. Do you admit your mistake?" he sneered.

The Ordeal I Went Through in a Freezer

My eyes were bloodshot as I shook my head and repeatedly slammed my elbows against the freezer door over and over, desperate to break free on my own.

Above me, Sam's expression darkened with fury. He loomed over the freezer where I was trapped and looked down at me with disdain. "Then stay in there until you know what you've done wrong. Don't call for me until you've learned your lesson."

Beside him, Nancy stood with a small, satisfied smile playing on her lips, though her voice trembled with false innocence. "Sam, I'm afraid… What if she tries to hurt me again tonight? Maybe I shouldn't stay here. I'll just go back home."

Sam glanced at her with visible concern. He called for his men, and soon, two heavy iron chains were brought in to secure the freezer. They seemed to be guarding against an extremely ferocious beast.

"Even if she dies in there tonight, she won't get out," he reassured Nancy. "You'll be safe. Sleep here, and tomorrow, after you leave, I'll let her out. Alright?"

That night, while Sam threw a lavish banquet to welcome Nancy back, everyone gathered on the first floor in celebration, their laughter drowning out my frantic cries for help.

Desperation fueled my strength as I pushed harder, and I finally toppled the freezer over with a loud crash. The sound echoed through the house, abruptly interrupting the party. Sam's face twisted with irritation.

"Katerina, it appears you have yet to realize you were wrong. Is this more of a cry for help here?

"You knew full well Nancy can't stand the cold, yet you made her take a cold shower. Did you ever stop to think about her? She's running a fever of nearly 40 degrees! Do you even care? If something happens to her, you'll be the murderer!

"Just stay here and reflect on yourself. When Nancy's fever goes down, you'll come out."

Without sparing me another glance, he turned away. Hence, he couldn't see the freezer had been switched to freezing mode, nor the scratches left from my desperate struggle inside.

My hands and feet were a mess of torn flesh, a mixture of blood and shredded skin quickly freezing to the wounds. I didn't even have time to feel the pain. I struggled to get Sam to look at me and kept making sounds.

"I'm sorry... I was wrong... Please, save me. I don't want to die."

However, he neither looked at me nor acknowledged my cries. He dismissed everyone else and retreated to the room, where he tended to Nancy.

By the next morning, her fever had subsided. She was full of energy and insisted they go out to celebrate.

At that time, I could no longer make a sound. All I could do was think of my grandmother repeatedly while summoning every bit of strength I had left to force my eyes to stay open.

Naturally, no one noticed me.

They joyfully packed their bags and booked flights to Nathlis.

Before leaving, Sam used the intercom to shout out to me in the basement. "We're going on a trip to Nathlis. You stay here and reflect on yourself.

"Do you see that? In my heart, you're not even worth as much as a servant. Don't even dream of competing with Nancy for my attention," he added disdainfully.

I couldn't even remember when I died. I just know that I held on for as long as I could, for what felt like forever, but in the end, no one came to check on me.

Flies began to gather as they were drawn to the blood stains on the dust cover. Their buzzing filled the air in a sickening hum.

The cleaning staff, after gathering their equipment and starting their shift, were hit by a foul odor the moment they stepped into the basement, causing them to cough uncontrollably.

It didn't even smell that bad, really. I was just a slab of frozen meat. Without fresh blood, there wasn't much of a stench at all.

One of the cleaners tried to unzip the dust cover but found that the zipper had slipped beneath the bottom of the freezer, which was caked in layers of sticky, congealed blood.

"This freezer's definitely broken, and the pork's gone completely rancid!" one of them said.

"Don't bother with it," another cleaner replied. "Didn't Mr. Whitaker say he was going to replace it anyway? Let's just take it out and throw it away."

One of them pulled out their phone and called Sam.

The intercom in the basement crackled to life shortly after.

"Just throw the damn freezer out if it's broken! Do you really need to ask me about something so trivial? And letting the meat rot like that, what are you all doing down there? Don't even bother coming to work tomorrow!"