My husband locked me in the basement for the sake of pure love.

While I was shivering in the cold, damp basement, my husband was knitting a scarf by hand for pure love.

I thought he didn't love me, so I divorced him and walked away.

But later, that proud and self-possessed man went crazy searching for me all over the world.

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"Faye, have you reflected enough?"

Alec's cold voice echoed through the basement.

I raised my head, trembling, and looked at him without saying a word.

New York City's winters are truly frigid.

Especially in a basement without heating.

Seeing me shiver from the cold, Alec stepped forward and picked me up in a princess carry, then wrapped me in his coat, sighing:

"You shouldn't have made a scene at Isadora's birthday party."

The long-missed warmth stopped my shivering, but a familiar scent of perfume wafted to my nose.

It was the gardenia perfume Isadora always wore.

In the past, I would have angrily demanded to know why he smelled like that.

But after being locked in the basement, I no longer had the energy to question, nor did I want to.

A week ago was Isadora's birthday, which was also her first day back in the country.

Alec personally went to the airport to pick her up and rented out a Michelin-starred restaurant to celebrate her birthday.

Alec, worried I might overthink and feel bothered, didn't let me attend.

But I went anyway.

When I arrived, I happened to see Alec down on one knee, presenting Isadora with an exquisite and beautiful bouquet of roses.

The crowd around them cheered, praising Alec for being generous and thoughtful.If I remember correctly, Alec's knees aren't in good shape, so he can't kneel.

When he proposed to me, he didn't get down on one knee, citing his bad knees as the reason.

Later, I realized that his knee problem was real, but so was his preference for Isadora.

He could kneel for Isadora, but not for me.

In the midst of the commotion, Alec caught sight of me from the corner of his eye, a hint of guilt flickering across his face.

"What are you doing here?"

Isadora flashed a radiant smile when she saw me.

She placed the roses on the table and enthusiastically came forward to take my hand.

As she leaned in close to my ear, her smile instantly vanished.

"Now that I'm back, you don't stand a chance."

Her blatant provocation ignited a fire of anger within me, and I instinctively pushed her away.

Though my movement was gentle, she dramatically fell to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, sister. I didn't mean for Alec to throw me a welcome home party. I just..."

She wept, looking on the verge of collapse. Alec immediately crouched down and pulled her into his arms, furiously scolding me:

"What do you think you're doing?"

Alec's protective stance towards her sent a sharp pain through my heart.

At that moment, Isadora, nestled in Alec's embrace, lifted her chin and looked at me, asserting her claim.The laughter and mockery from those around me began to rise.

Memories of everything I had seen on Isadora's social media flashed through my mind.

Unable to contain myself any longer, I stormed forward, snatched up the bouquet of roses from the table, and violently hurled it to the ground.

The once-exquisite rose petals instantly "shattered" across the floor.

Alec's expression immediately turned cold. "Faye, I was just welcoming Isadora with a gift. What on earth are you making such a fuss about?"

A gift?

He had never given me flowers.

Feeling hurt, my eyes gradually welled up with tears.

At that moment, Isadora suddenly burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry,sisterw. I shouldn't have let Alec give me flowers and make you upset. I'm sorry..."

She cried so heartbreakingly that Alec's attention shifted to her.

Nearby, someone whispered:

"So the Carlisle family's wife has such a fiery temper."

"This is so unbecoming, isn't it?"

Because of everyone's mockery of me, Alec lost face, and on top of that, I had made Isadora cry herself into a fain

So after this farce, when I got home, Alec grabbed my wrist and said to me in a teaching tone:

"You were too ignorant today. You don't have the grace of Mrs. Carlisle at all!"

I was about to speak, but Alec dragged me to the basement of another mansion.

He left me in the cold, pitch-black basement, giving me only a blanket and pillow.

"You can reflect on your behavior here."

With that, he walked away, leaving me alone.

I stayed in that basement for an entire week.

During that time, apart from the maid bringing food, Alec never came to check on me once.

Alec carried me out of the basement.

The long-missed sunlight felt warm on my skin.

I squinted my eyes, saying nothing.

Seeing me so calm, Alec furrowed his brow.

"Do you understand what you did wrong?"

"Mm-hmm."

I nodded obediently.

Seeing that I didn't argue like before, Alec felt something was off.

As if trying to make amends, he tightened his arms, holding me close to his chest.

As we walked, he said:

"Making you reflect was for your own good. I've just been too busy lately, that's why I couldn't come see you in the basement."

I knew he was trying to explain himself to me.I also knew that he sensed something was off with me.

For someone like Alec, accustomed to being in a position of power, bowing his head to explain things simply didn't exist. No matter what happened, I was always the first to lower my head.

In the past, he would punish me when I did something wrong, but it was never like this time, punishing me for Isadora's sake.

So my heart had already died the moment he locked me in the basement for Isadora.

Carrying me back to the room, Alec wanted to bathe me himself, but I refused.

After finishing my shower and walking out of the bathroom, I found Alec was still there.

Seeing me come out, he took out a luxury scarf and handed it to me, saying it was a gift to compensate me.

To make up for his physical punishment.

Looking at the scarf in Alec's hand, I recognized it as a limited edition from a certain brand.

But my eyes gradually welled up with tears.

Because this scarf was something Isadora had posted about on social media, saying she didn't want it anymore.

"I've long stopped liking luxury goods. They're so thoughtless. Might as well give them to the homeless!"

"Now I prefer everything handmade. It's not only cute but also full of sentiment. Look, this is the half-finished scarf my boyfriend is knitting for me. I believe it'll be done soon!"Because Isadora didn't like it, Alec took it back and gave it to me.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed a pink handmade knitted scarf on the nearby table, nearly finished.

This scarf was the same half-finished one Isadora had posted on her social media.

Just because Isadora mentioned she liked it, Alec, that high-and-mighty man, was knitting this cute, childish scarf for her with his own hands.

Because of knitting the scarf, Alec didn't have time to see me in the basement.

Suddenly, I remembered that during my time with Alec, I would often share handmade gift ideas I was interested in on WhatsApp, clearly hinting that I wanted them too.

However, every time I made such a request, Alec would refuse.

He said I was childish and immature, asking why I wanted something just because I saw others wanting it.

Back then, not only did I not get angry, but I even understood that he couldn't do such childish things.

It's only now that I realize, he didn't actually think these things were childish, he just didn't want to do them for me.

In front of someone you truly love, you'll go out of your way to fulfill their smallest requests.

So Alec loves Isadora, but not me.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"

I took the scarf from his hand and forced a smile:

"I do."

Hearing that I liked it, Alec finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling alright?"

Just as I was about to respond, we were interrupted by the sound of a ringing phone.

"Alec, I want to see the new horror movie. Can you come over and watch it with me?"

"I'll be right there."

It was Isadora's voice.

Alec thought I hadn't heard, and went on lying.

"Faye, something's come up at the office. I need to head over there."

He picked up his jacket, ready to leave.

I quickly spoke up: "I think I have a fever."

I thought telling him I wasn't feeling well would make him stay, but Alec didn't hesitate for a moment, just tossing out a response.

"Have the driver take you to the hospital."

With that, he hurriedly left.

Watching his silhouette disappear through the doorway, I felt a lump in my throat.

Hiding the sorrow in my eyes, I didn't hesitate any longer. I took out my phone and sent a message to my dad.

"Dad, I've decided not to get married."Dad seemed surprised by my sudden change of heart about getting married at the last minute, and asked with concern what had happened.

I didn't say anything, just that I was tired.

Dad guessed a little of what was going on and sighed.

"Honey, when you first said you wanted to marry into the Carlisle family, I agreed because I only want you to be happy. But if you're not happy, then come back home."

My eyes welled up with tears and I began to cry silently.

Dad eventually arranged for a driver to take me back to Frost Manor a week later.

Because I had caught a cold, I developed a high fever that night.

In my feverish haze, the fresh scent of gardenias wafted around my nose.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed.

The first thing I saw was Alec's worried face.

"Are you feeling any better?"

He frowned, his palm naturally coming to rest on my forehead.

"Still a bit warm."

Seeing the concern in his eyes, I turned my head away.

Realizing I might be blaming him for not caring about me, Alec began to explain:

"I'm sorry, Faye. I've been so busy with work that I didn't notice you weren't feeling well."

Right, busy meeting Isadora, busy watching horror movies with her.Seeing that I didn't respond to him, Alec felt an inexplicable sense of unease rising in his heart.

He wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by the sound of a ringtone.

It was Isadora calling again.

This time she was crying, saying she had scraped her hand. Although it wasn't bleeding, it really hurt.

Her whiny voice immediately caused Alec's expression to change to one of panic.

He patiently comforted Isadora on the other end of the phone, saying he'd be right over.

"Faye, I..."

"Go ahead."

I still didn't turn to look at him, and felt no emotional response whatsoever.

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

Getting my confirmation, Alec immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Faye, you know, Isadora's health isn't good and she just got back to the country..."

"I'm feeling dizzy. You should hurry and go."

I cut off his words, not wanting to hear his pointless explanations.

Alec was taken aback.

Maybe I was too calm, making him feel strange.

After all, in this kind of situation before, I definitely would have interrogated him about where he was going and why he wasn't staying with me.

But why was I suddenly like this today?