Chapter 1

The first thing I felt was the cold. It was a deep, biting cold that went straight through my thin shirt and into my bones. My teeth chattered, and my body shook uncontrollably. I was in the walk-in freezer, the same one Chloe had installed for her extravagant parties. It was the dead of winter, and the air inside was a weapon.

This was my punishment.

Hours earlier, I had been rushing to get ready for a meeting, my mind filled with blueprints and building codes. I tripped. In my hands was a small, elegant box. It flew through the air and hit the hard tile floor with a sickening crack. Inside was a Patek Philippe watch, a ridiculously expensive timepiece. It was a gift Chloe had meticulously chosen. Not for me, of course. It was for Liam O'Connell, her "soulmate," who was returning to the US today.

Chloe didn't scream. She didn' t have to. Her face went blank, her eyes turning to ice. "You clumsy fool," she said, her voice dangerously quiet. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the kitchen, her grip like steel. She shoved me into the freezer. "Two hours," she snarled. "Think about what you did." The heavy door slammed shut, and the lock clicked.

I had been married to Chloe Davis for five years. Five years of what I thought was building a life together. I was an architect, talented but always struggling to make a name for myself. She was already a CEO, a shining star in the business world. We met when she was at her lowest, drowning in gambling debts from a past she tried to hide. I loved her. So I sold the small firm I had just started, cashed in my inheritance from my grandparents, and gave her every penny to set her free.

She was so grateful. She cried in my arms and said, "Ethan, no one has ever done this for me. Marry me. Please."

I thought it was a dream come true. I thought my selfless love had won her heart. I was a fool.

The wedding was beautiful. Our son, Leo, was born a year later. I thought we were a family. But the cracks started to show. I found her journal hidden in a shoebox at the back of her closet. I shouldn't have read it, but I couldn't help myself.

The pages were filled with rage and resentment, all directed at me. She wrote about Liam, the man she truly loved. "Ethan trapped me with his money," one entry read. "He pulled me away from Liam, my soulmate, and now I'm stuck in this gilded cage with a man I can't stand."

I saw her showing Leo pictures, not of me, his father, but of Liam. "This is your real dad," she would whisper to him. "He's just away for a while."

My heart broke, but I clung to hope. I told myself she was just hurt, that she would eventually see my devotion, that our family would heal. I worked harder, I loved her more, I gave her everything she wanted. It was never enough.

Now, locked in this freezing box, hope was finally dying. My body was getting numb. I huddled in a corner, trying to preserve what little warmth I had left. A small, muffled thud came from the other side of the door.

Then another. And another.

"Get out!" a small voice screamed. It was Leo. My son. "You made Mom unhappy! Get out of here!"

A harder kick hit the door, right at head level. "I don't want you as my dad anymore!"

That was it. That was the sound of my spirit shattering into a million tiny pieces. The cold from the freezer was nothing compared to the chill that spread through my soul. My son, my own flesh and blood, was on the other side of a locked door, kicking it, wishing I would disappear, all because I broke a gift for another man.

My breathing became shallow. My head was spinning. A fever was taking hold, a fire burning inside my frozen body. I slumped against the wall, the world fading to black.

I don't know how much time passed. I was drifting in and out of consciousness when I heard a faint, frantic ringing. It wasn't in the freezer with me. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. It rang and rang, a persistent, annoying sound.

Then, a new voice. Faint, but clear. "Hello? Chloe? Is Ethan there? This is Ms. Evans, Leo's teacher. I've been trying to reach you both. Leo left his project at school, and he seemed very upset... Hello?"

There was a pause. Then I heard Chloe's annoyed voice. "He's busy. We'll get it tomorrow."

"Oh," Ms. Evans said, a hint of concern in her tone. "It's just that I called his cell phone first, and I could hear it ringing from your end just now. It sounded very close. Is everything alright?"

A long silence. Then, the sound of the freezer door being unlatched. The door swung open, and the kitchen light blinded me. Chloe stood there, her face a mask of irritation. She saw me collapsed on the floor, shivering violently, my face flushed with fever. She didn't look concerned. She looked annoyed that she'd been caught.

Behind her, I could hear her on the phone with Liam, her voice instantly changing to a sweet, apologetic tone. "Liam, honey, I'm so sorry. Something came up. Yes, my idiot husband broke the watch... No, it's fine, I'm handling it. Leo? Oh, he's wonderful. He calls you 'Dad' all the time now. He can't wait to see you."

I lay on the cold floor, the words washing over me like acid. She wasn't talking to Ms. Evans anymore. She was talking to him. And Leo was right there, listening, beaming with pride.

My son looked down at me, his face twisted in disgust. "You're pathetic," he spat.

That was the moment I knew it was over. All the hope, all the love, all the sacrifices-they were a joke. I had built my life around a woman who despised me and a son she had poisoned against me.

I managed to pull myself up, my body screaming in protest. I stumbled past them, ignoring Chloe's sharp "Where do you think you're going?"

I locked myself in the guest room. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. I ignored the missed calls from Ms. Evans. I opened a browser. My fingers, numb and clumsy, typed in the airline's website.

One-way ticket. Anywhere. The first international flight out.

I clicked "confirm."

A single tear, hot from my fever, rolled down my cheek. I vowed in that moment that I would never come back. I would never see these people again.