The entire world froze. Overnight, the city plunged to –40 °F.

Yet, in the middle of this frozen apocalypse, my mother, my sister and her son moved into the home I bought for my marriage.

Even my own husband took my sister’s side.

They threw me out into the freezing cold to scavenge for supplies.

I came back frozen half to death, and they had not even saved me a bowl of warm soup.

Then, my sister shoved me straight off the fifth-floor landing. In that bitter cold, my body hit the ground and shattered like glass.

When I woke again, I found myself back in the week before the apocalypse struck.

This time, I resolved to cut them all off. I would make every last one of them pay.

“Athena, Elio, and I will be staying with you for a few days. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

My mother always favored Athena since we were young. Even though this was my home, she treated her like she had every right to be here.

Rage surged within me, and I could barely conceal the hatred in my gaze.

I had returned to a week before the frozen apocalypse began.

My heart pounded when I saw that I was still whole and unharmed.

Without waiting for my reply, my mother walked in as she held her mischievous grandson, Elio, by his hand.

“Amelia, you’ve never cared for the family as much as Athena.

“She has always taken good care of me.

“You’re the one who got married, yet you didn’t even invite your own mother to live in your new house!”

Athena was my younger sister.

She was three years younger than me.

Yet she had a child, Elio, out of wedlock and became a mother far too early.

Athena was always my mother’s favorite. She saved the best things for her every time.

As the elder sister, I was forced to play second fiddle to Athena my whole life because my mother always said, “You’re the elder sister, you have to give in.”

I received hand-me-down clothes as a child. My chance for higher education suffered the same fate.

Athena and I both applied to college and were accepted. I was even accepted to a top-tier university.

My mother forced me to drop out because of the tuition fees. She insisted our family could afford to educate only one of us.

As the elder sister, I had to yield this opportunity to my younger sister.

Attending university became the lifelong regret I could never fulfill.

Fortunately, I met James later.

I always believed he was the greatest blessing in my life.

However, the moment my mother brought Athena into our home, James started making eyes with her instead.

When the frozen apocalypse arrived, he sided with my mother in forcing me to scavenge for supplies.

The already scarce supplies were nearly impossible to find.

When I got back, my mother confiscated the little I had managed to scrape together.

She hoarded everything in a locked stash and granted herself sole control over the distribution.

Meanwhile, Athena and Elio still got to eat very well.

James, her son-in-law, ate decent meals, while I, her own daughter, did not.

Every time I returned shivering from gathering supplies in the cold, she refused to offer me even a sip of warm water.

I was only allowed to eat their leftovers.

By the third day of the frozen apocalypse, I was barely hanging on.

It was then that I discovered Athena and James had long been having an affair.

They brazenly carried out their shameful acts in the study room.

When I caught them red-handed, I stormed in and slapped Athena right across the face.

But she and James backed me up against the window and shoved me out.

In that last second, I saw my mother watching television nearby.

She just glanced over with a look of pure indifference. She did not care if I lived or died.

My body was flung through the window and struck the icy ground below.

I froze solid on the way down, and my body shattered when I landed.

My blood was frozen.

Before I lost consciousness, I saw my own mangled remains scattered across the ice.

In the frozen apocalypse, my own family killed me and ended my miserable life.

This time, I would not make the same mistake twice.

Hatred instantly flooded my heart.

I wanted nothing more than to drive this so-called family out at the moment.

But simply forcing them out would not make them experience true suffering.

“Well? Don’t just stand there silently!

“Amelia, all these years raising you were a total waste!”

My mother’s harsh words hit me. She had done this before, too. She moved in without ever considering my feelings.

“Athena and Elio have nowhere else to go. It’s not such a big deal for you to let them stay awhile.”

Even as she spoke, she was already telling Athena to pick a room.

“I’m taking this one. The extra space will be better for me and Elio.”

Back then, I did not refuse.

This time, too, I let it be.

“Of course. It’s the least we can do.”

The real show had only just begun.

Last time, I genuinely wanted to help them.

But how did they repay me?

They teamed up with James and pushed me to my death.

This time, I did help Athena.

I was going to make her taste my despair. I eagerly anticipated their arrival and waited for them to walk right into their doom.

James returned that evening.

He was quite displeased to hear that my mother had brought Athena over.

“Dear, why didn’t you talk to me first before letting your mother and sister move in? This is my house too!”

James threw his briefcase at me.

I had to wait on him hand and foot. I had to help him take off his coat every time, too.

This was typical behavior for him. He never treated me like a wife. I was just a maid to him instead.

Back then, I loved him so much that I would have done anything for him. I eagerly took care of his every need.

Yet, he had an affair with Athena and conspired with her to frame me.

All my affection for him had long since vanished.

“Athena is a single mother, James. She’s struggling. I couldn’t just turn my back on her.”

James only felt more disdainful when I said that.

To him, I had just invited some deadbeat relatives to mooch off him.

But his attitude shifted the second he realized Athena was beautiful.

She was not just prettier than me. She was stunning.

I was so foolish back then. I failed to see the desire in James’s eyes the moment he first looked at Athena.

Athena also took a liking to James. The two of them hit it off instantly.

I pretended not to notice the chemistry between them.

“It’s not easy for Athena. Being a single mother is tough… You should look out for her, Dear.”

His eyes gleamed with lust whenever he looked at Athena.

I had been too naive to notice their suspicious behavior before.

This time, if the despicable pair wanted to get together, I would be more than happy to give them a push.

James might be a cheater, but he had one redeeming quality. He would still let me manage most of his money.

In the past, he took it all back the second he set his sights on Athena.

He would not get that chance this time. I made an excuse to leave the house for supplies.

My mother kept bossing me around and demanded that I buy crab and beef for Elio.

She said her precious grandson could not stomach cheap food.

I did not argue and agreed to every demand.

It made no difference to me. They would not be enjoying this for long.

The frozen apocalypse would arrive in one week.

I must prepare myself.

To avoid raising suspicion, I secretly went to the neighboring residential area and bought an unwanted top-floor apartment.

Rumor had that someone had jumped to their death in this unit and that vengeful spirits lingered inside.

Even though this penthouse had been on the market for a long time, no one wanted it, so the price kept dropping.

I spent only $100,000 to acquire this nearly 2,000-square-foot apartment!

I refused to wait for death with them in the frozen apocalypse, much less let them kill me again.

I had already died once. The fact that someone had died here did not frighten me at all.

After all, the living could be far more terrifying than the dead.

The penthouse was on the eighth floor. The location was ideal. It would not be submerged by the snowdrifts from the endless winter storms, and it offered easier access for foraging during utility blackouts.

Even so, these advantages were still not enough.

This house could not withstand temperatures like –40 °F.

I could still remember the despair I had felt.

I recalled vividly the searing pain, the sound of agonized cries, and the relentless hunger.

The memory alone was enough to make me shudder.

The apartment had three small rooms.

I planned to use one of the smaller rooms as a storage space.

In order to survive, I had to store supplies properly.

I knew the power grid would be the first thing to fail when the frozen apocalypse hit.

Little by little, I stocked the room with frozen produce and packaged meats.

These were the supplies that would save my life once the frozen apocalypse arrived.

Water meant survival, so I also stocked up on plenty of drinking water.

Once the two-year frozen apocalypse began, it would be impossible to buy drinking water from supermarkets.

By that time, all lake water, river water, and even seawater would freeze solid.

With no power and no way to make fire, everyone would be plunged into utter despair.

Before, they never cared about my well-being. They made me scramble all over town to buy supplies, which was what barely sustained them for over a month.

Deep down, I understood that even if Athena had not pushed me off the building, I would have eventually frozen to death in that relentlessly frigid environment.

But the real problem was that they did not treat me like a fellow human being.

They used me until I was no longer useful, then they kicked me to the curb.

These thoughts made my heart ache.

I worried that someone would notice my frantic shopping for supplies, so I always split my purchases between different supermarkets.

Yet, someone still noticed me one day.

“Amelia, why are you buying so much bread?”

It was Mrs. Smith from my residential complex. “I thought it was just you and James at home?”

Thankfully, I reacted quickly and brushed it off with a laugh.

“Oh, Mrs. Smith, my family’s visiting!

“They don’t go bad easily, so I thought I’d make them some sandwiches. If they turn out to be good enough, I might even try selling them at a market stall and earn some money.”

Mrs. Smith was very interested when she heard that.

“You have to take me with you if you do! I’m so bored with nothing to do around the house.”

I agreed with a little laugh.

Mrs. Smith was the neighborhood’s biggest gossip.

If I were to say no, she would have told everyone in the neighborhood about it.

But the good thing was, I had already gotten everything I needed.