Chapter 2

I looked at Norman, the man I'd loved for three years, the one I thought I'd spend forever with.

I spoke, each word clear and cold. "Norman Caldwell, it's -4°F. Eight hours. You call this a joke?"

Norman's brows drew together.

He snapped, "So what do you want? Want me to get down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness?

"Or maybe you want Serena to spend a night in the freezer too? Why are you being so unreasonable?"

Serena snickered from the side. "Oh, Norman, listen to you. Amy would never do that to me."

She walked over and crouched down in front of me.

This time, she didn't touch me. She just tilted her head, watching me.

Serena said, "Amy, if you're really mad, just give me a couple of slaps. I swear I won't hit back."

She even leaned in, offering her face.

She shut her eyes, acting like she was totally at my mercy.

The people around us burst out laughing.

"Serena, your acting is on point!"

"Amelia, go ahead and slap her! We're all watching."

"Yeah, if you don't, you're just being petty."

The crowd kept hyping it up, their voices overlapping.

Norman chuckled along with the others. He reached out and took Serena's hand.

"Alright, cut it out," he said.

Serena got up and leaned into him. "Hey, I was just trying to help Amy let off some steam," she said playfully.

Serena blinked and looked at me.

"Amy, have you cooled off yet?" she asked.

I didn't say a word. I slowly pushed myself up off the floor.

My legs were still shaking from the cold, but I forced myself to stand tall.

I brushed off imaginary dust from my skirt.

Then I looked up at Norman. "The ring," I said.

Norman froze for a moment. "What?"

"The engagement ring," I repeated.

I stretched out my left hand.

The three-carat diamond ring on my finger sparkled with an icy light in the morning sun.

"Here. Take it back," I said.

Norman's expression changed dramatically.

"What do you mean, Amelia?" he asked, his voice tense.

"Just what I said," I replied.

I started to take off the ring.

My fingers were so numb from the cold that even after several tries, I couldn't get the ring off.

The metal band dug into my skin, turning it red.

Serena gasped. "Amy, don't do this! Norman, talk to her! Try to stop her!"

Norman grabbed my wrist. "Do you have to make things so ugly?" he said coldly.

His grip was painfully tight. His nails dug into my frostbitten skin. It hurt.

But honestly, that pain was nothing. It couldn't even touch a fraction of what I went through in that freezer for eight hours.

I looked up at him and said, "Norman, what were you doing last night while I was locked in there?"

Norman's eyes flickered. He didn't say a word.

I answered for him, "You were drinking with Serena. Sitting on the couch, drinking the bottle I got you for your birthday. That bottle of '82 Lafite."

I spoke slowly. "I saw it. Through the little window in the freezer, I watched you two toast, saw her feeding you fruit. I saw you smile."

Each word felt like it was scraped out of a block of ice, sharp and painful.

Norman's grip on my wrist loosened.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"Let me explain..." he said.

I cut him short. "No need to explain."

At last, I managed to slip the ring off my finger.

The cold metal rested, heavy and icy, in my palm.

I pressed it into Norman's hand.

"We're done. The engagement is over," I said.

With that, I turned and headed inside the house.

My legs were still shaky, every step wobbly. But I didn't stop.

Norman shouted after me, "Amelia! Stop right there!"

I didn't look back.

Serena's voice followed me, trembling with tears. "Don't, Amy. It's all my fault... Norman, go after her!"

I walked through the front door of the villa.

In the living room, Norman's mother, Tracy Weaver, was coming out of the kitchen, holding a pot of hot chocolate.

When she saw me, she paused for a moment.

Then her brows furrowed.

She asked, "Why do you look like this? Go wash up and take a hot shower. Don't catch a cold."

She made it sound so casual. Like I'd just been caught in a little rainstorm. Not like I'd just stared death in the face.

I stopped in my tracks and said, "Tracy."

Tracy looked up at me.

"We're calling off the engagement," I added.

The pot in Tracy's hands dropped with a loud crash, hitting the floor.

Scalding hot chocolate splattered everywhere. Some of it splashed onto the tops of my feet.

It burned. But I didn't flinch.

Tracy's expression shifted from shock to anger.

"Amelia, do you know what you're saying?" she demanded.

"I know," I said.

I bent down and picked up a shard of porcelain.

The sharp edge cut my fingertip.

The blood looked especially vivid against my frozen, purple skin.

I set the shard down on the cabinet by the door.

I said, "I'll cover the cost of the engagement party. As for everything else..."

I paused and continued, "We're even now."

I turned and headed upstairs.

Tracy's shrill voice rang out behind me. "Amelia! Get down here! Norman! Where the hell are you? Your fiancée is making a scene!"

The stairs seemed endless.

I gripped the railing, pulling myself up one step at a time.

Every step pulled at my frostbitten muscles. My bones creaked with every step.

When I reached the door to the guest room on the second floor, I stopped and glanced back.

Norman had just burst in from outside.

He looked up at me, his eyes blazing with disbelief and fury.

He snapped, "Amelia, are you really going to push it this far?"

I didn't answer. I just pushed the door open and walked inside.

I locked the door. With my back pressed against the door, I slowly slid down to the floor.

Norman was banging on the door outside. "Open the door! Amelia, open up!"

I didn't move. I just pulled out my phone.

The screen was so cold it barely worked. But I still managed to open the browser.

I typed in "body donation form" and pulled up the Red Cross site.

I downloaded the form.

I'd need to head out to a print shop if I wanted a hard copy. But right now, I could just fill it out online.

"Name: Amelia Dawson. ID number: ..."

I filled out each field, one by one.

My frozen fingers kept trembling, so I messed up several times.

But I patiently deleted the mistakes and retyped everything, over and over.

I was just as meticulous as I had been three years ago, when I filled out the marriage registration form.

The banging on the door stopped.

Norman's voice came through the door, low and muffled. "Amy, let's talk. Open the door. I'm sorry, okay?

"I'm apologizing for Serena, and for myself. I went too far last night. It won't ever happen again, I promise."

His voice softened. That familiar gentleness always made me waver.

If it had been before, if it had been just a day ago, I probably would've opened the door. I would've forgiven him.

I would've told myself he just listened to Serena too much, that he never thought it would turn out like this.

But now, things were different.

I lowered my head and kept filling out the form.

"Emergency contact: left empty. Donation wish: every organ."