Chapter 1

Just because my emergency call interrupted my fiancée while she was lighting her first love's birthday candles, she had her men lock me in a walk-in freezer as punishment.

"Stay in there and think about what you did," she said. "When Caspian isn't mad anymore, I'll let you out."

The butler tried to reason with her, telling her I wouldn't survive more than a couple of hours in that kind of cold.

She just sneered. "She ruined Caspian's birthday. If she dies, she deserves it."

Thankfully, the kind-hearted butler rescued me. The doctor said another ten minutes and I would have been dead from heart and lung failure.

After I was discharged, I canceled our wedding and called my mother.

"Mom," I said, my voice firm, "I've made up my mind. I'm coming to join you and Dad."

Hearing my decision, my mother's voice was filled with an almost tearful joy.

"Oh, that's wonderful! You have no idea how long your father and I have been waiting for this day."

Her voice was so full of love and warmth, it made my eyes burn.

Ever since I got together with Sienna, all I'd ever received were cold shoulders and colder words.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be cherished.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I said, "I was so blind before, Mom. But I see things clearly now."

She sighed. "Now that you see the truth, don't look back. Your father has already booked you a flight for three days from now. We'll be waiting for you at the airport."

"It just so happens that the Reynolds family is here in France too. You can see Celine when you get here."

Three days. That was enough.

"Okay," I whispered.

Just as I hung up, Sienna walked into the room.

She frowned. "What was that about a flight? Are you going on a business trip?"

I didn't want to explain. "It's nothing," I said without looking up. "My mom wants to take a trip, I was just booking her ticket."

She must have noticed the change in my tone. She looked down at me, rubbing her temples.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you come and apologize to Caspian as soon as you got out of the freezer?"

The freezer.

The memory sent a shiver down my spine.

Ten days ago, a chronic condition flared up in the middle of the night. I called Sienna for help, but she hung up on me, again and again.

In the end, I had to call an ambulance myself.

The next day, as soon as I was discharged, she had her men lock me in the freezer behind the main house.

She claimed my emergency call had distracted her and made her miss the perfect moment to light Caspian's birthday candles.

I was still weak from my illness. I begged her to let me out.

She just stared at me, her eyes completely devoid of warmth.

Even when the butler warned her that I could die, she just said, "He deserves it for ruining Caspian's party."

In that moment, my heart turned to ice. Something inside me shattered.

It was the butler who, fearing for my life, finally let me out and called an ambulance.

Otherwise, I would be lying in a morgue right now.

And now, here she was, not a single word of concern, not a single apology, demanding to know why I hadn't apologized to Caspian.

It was pathetic. And laughable.

I took a deep breath, not wanting to engage. I stood up to leave, but she grabbed my arm.

"What? You run away for a few days and suddenly you have an attitude?"

"Caspian has been so worried about you, and this is how you act? The butler got you to the hospital, didn't he? What are you being so dramatic about?"

There was no love in her eyes, only contempt. Her words were like needles, piercing my heart.

The doctor had told me that the hypothermia had severely damaged my heart.

I had been in surgery for eight hours, and it was a miracle I survived.

During that time, they had called Sienna countless times, but she never answered. Eventually, she just turned off her phone.

I spent the next nine days recovering in the hospital, alone.

And during those nine days, my fiancée, Sienna, was busy helping Caspian complete his ridiculous "bucket list."

I was the only one who knew that his supposed leukemia was a lie.

The bucket list was just a ploy to monopolize her attention.

I had tried to tell her more than once, but she always just screamed at me, accusing me of being jealous of a dying man.

I pushed the thoughts away and forced a bitter laugh. "Sienna, isn't there anything you want to say to me?"

She looked down at me with disdain.

"Say to you? This was your fault. You don't actually expect me to apologize, do you?"

Her answer was exactly what I expected. And I was relieved.

I had made the right decision.