Chapter 5

"Did you even think about Amy when you locked her in the freezer?" Hazel snapped.

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end.

Norman finally said, "It was an accident. Serena was drunk and talking nonsense. I was drunk too, and I didn't think it through. I know I messed up. Put Amy on the phone, let me explain to her."

Hazel scoffed coldly and said, "Explain? Explain how you locked her in there for eight hours?

"Explain how you were drinking with Serena in the living room while Amy was left alone in the freezer, freezing like an ice block?

"Norman, did you even know it was minus five degrees outside last night?"

Hazel yelled, "It was -4°F in the freezer! Amy was just wearing a dress! Were you trying to kill her or what?"

Norman suddenly raised his voice. "I didn't! Why would I ever want to hurt her? I just... I just wanted her to cool off..."

He added, "She and Serena were fighting at the engagement party last night, and I was caught between them..."

Hazel laughed angrily. "Norman, do you even hear yourself right now? Amy is your fiancée! Who even is Serena to you?

"You locked your own fiancée in the freezer for some outsider? And you still think you're in the right, huh?"

Norman's voice grew weaker. "That's not what I meant... Hazel, please, just let me say something to Amy. Just one sentence. I'm begging you. Please."

Hazel looked over at me, but I shook my head.

Hazel glanced at me, then said into the phone, "Amy doesn't want to see you. Don't ever try to see her again. The engagement is off. Go be with whoever you want."

"No!" Norman blurted out, his voice trembling with urgency.

He continued, "We can't break off the engagement! Amy and I have been together for three years. We can't just end it like this!

"Hazel, tell Amy I'm waiting for her outside her building. I'll wait until she's ready to see me."

With that, the call ended.

Hazel put down her phone and looked at me.

"He's downstairs," Hazel said.

"Okay," I replied.

"Do you want to see him?" Hazel asked.

"No," I replied.

I walked to the window and lifted the curtain slightly.

Downstairs, Norman's car was parked by the curb. He was leaning against the car door, his head bowed, smoking a cigarette.

He was still wearing the same cashmere coat he'd had on that morning.

It was pretty rumpled now. His hair was a mess too. He looked pretty rough. But even that wasn't enough.

I dropped the curtain. I said, "Hazel, stay here tonight, okay? I'm worried he'll come up and knock."

Hazel nodded. "Okay. I'll keep you company."

By seven o'clock, Norman was still downstairs.

Hazel ordered takeout. We ate together in the living room.

Neither of us said a word. The only sound was the canned laughter from the variety show on TV. It felt jarring and out of place.

At eight, the doorbell rang. Hazel and I exchanged a look.

"I'll go check." Hazel walked over to the door and looked through the peephole.

"It's Serena," Hazel said. She turned back to me, her face twisted in disgust.

"Should I open it?" Hazel asked.

I thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, open it."

Hazel opened the door. Serena was standing outside, holding an insulated food container.

She froze for a second when she saw Hazel.

"Hazel, you're here too," Serena said. Her smile was a little forced.

She said, "I cooked some soup for Amy. She was freezing last night, so I thought some hot soup might help her warm up."

Hazel didn't take the container and asked coldly, "Serena, what do you want?"

"I... I just wanted to see Amy," Serena stammered, trying to peek inside. "Is she okay?"

Hazel replied, "Thanks to you, she hasn't died yet."

Serena's smile stiffened.

"Why would you say that, Hazel?" Serena muttered, looking hurt.

Hazel crossed her arms and shot back, "Oh? Then what do you want me to say? Should I thank you for suggesting locking Amy in the freezer?

"Should I thank you for making her freeze all night? Or should I thank you for bringing soup and acting like you care?"

Serena's eyes welled up with tears.

She muttered, "I didn't mean to... I was just drunk and blurted it out... How was I supposed to know Norman would actually do it..."

Tears streamed down Serena's face as she spoke. "I'm really sorry, Amy... I had no idea it would get this bad..."

I walked over to the door. When Serena saw me, she broke down even more, her tears flowing harder.

She pleaded, "Amy, will you forgive me? I promise I won't say anything reckless ever again... I swear..."

I looked at her for a long time. Then I asked calmly, "Serena, how long have we known each other?"

Serena froze and said, "Three years..."

I nodded and said, "That's right, three years. For three years, you knew Norman was my boyfriend. You knew we were getting engaged."

I continued, "But every time we hung out, you always ended up sitting right next to him. Whenever we drank, you always insisted on doing those intimate toasts with him.

"Whenever I argued with him, you'd say, 'That's just how Norman is. I know him better than anyone.' Whenever I got upset, you'd say, 'I was just joking, Amy, don't take it so seriously.'"

I paused for a moment and added, "Now you locked me in a freezer and left me to freeze all night. "Is that still just a 'joke' to you?

"Serena. Don't you think your so-called jokes are costing way too much?"

Serena's face turned pale. She bit her lip, her eyes swimming with tears.

She stammered, "Maybe you've got it all wrong, Amy, Norman and I are just buddies. I never tried to steal him from you..."

I let out a cold laugh. "Is that so? Then go downstairs right now and tell Norman to get lost. And don't ever come looking for me again. Can you do that?"

Serena opened her mouth, but stayed silent.

I said softly, "See? You can't do it. You don't really want him to leave. You love the messy, complicated thing between you two.

"You like seeing him hurt me because of you. You like that I keep giving in, and you keep crossing the line every time."

Serena's tears finally spilled over. "I didn't... I really didn't," she cried. She was trembling all over from how hard she was crying. Acting like she was the victim here.

I turned, picked up a tissue from the coffee table, and handed it to her.

I said, "Stop crying. You'll ruin your makeup."

Serena took the tissue and looked at me blankly. "Amy..."

I interrupted her. "Just take the soup back. I don't want it. And don't come back. You're not welcome here."

With that, I shut the door in her face.

Outside, Serena's stifled sobs drifted through the door. And the sound of her footsteps going downstairs followed.

Hazel looked at me, her expression complicated.

"Amy, you've changed," Hazel said quietly.

"Have I?" I asked.

I walked back to the living room and resumed eating my takeout.

The food was cold now. But I ate it carefully, one bite at a time, focused and deliberate.

Hazel sat down and said, "You never used to talk to Serena like that. You always gave in. You thought since she was Norman's friend, you couldn't stir things up."

I ate the last bite and set down my fork.

I said, "Hazel, once you've faced death, nothing scares you anymore."

Hazel's eyes welled up again. She hugged me.

Hazel whispered, "I'm sorry. If I'd known Norman was like this, I never would've encouraged you to be with him..."

I patted her back and said, "It's not your fault. I was the one who couldn't see through him."

By ten o'clock, Norman was still downstairs. Hazel glanced out the window.

"He's still there. Should we call the cops?" Hazel asked.

I shook my head. "No need. Let him wait. When he gets tired, he'll leave on his own."

But Norman didn't leave.

By one in the morning, Hazel was asleep. I couldn't sleep.

I walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain.

Norman's car was still parked outside. He sat in the driver's seat, window down, the tip of his cigarette flickering in and out of the darkness. It was like a firefly in the night.

I watched him for a long time until the cigarette went out.

Norman slumped back in the driver's seat with his eyes shut. He looked exhausted, like he'd been drained of everything.

But inside, I felt nothing at all. It was as if I were watching a stranger. No. He was worse than a stranger.

A stranger wouldn't have locked me in a freezer. A stranger wouldn't have made me stare death in the face.

A stranger wouldn't have made me stare death in the face.

A stranger wouldn't have just shrugged it off as "just a joke."

I let the curtain fall and went back to my bedroom.

I grabbed a photo album from the nightstand. I flipped it open.

On the very first page, there was a picture of Norman and me together. It was from three years ago, back when we had just started dating.

We were at the amusement park, his arm around my shoulders, and I was grinning so wide my eyes curved like crescent moons.

Back then, everything felt perfect. I really thought it'd last forever.

I kept flipping through the album, photo after photo. In every single one, I was smiling. Every smile in those photos felt like it was mocking who I am now.

At the very end, there was a single photo. It was just Norman, by himself.

He was standing by the ocean, looking back at me. His gaze was so gentle, it was almost enough to drown in.

Back then, he told me, "Amy, I'll always be good to you. I'll take care of you forever. I'll never betray you."

I stared at that photo for ages. I just couldn't look away.

Then I grabbed a pair of scissors. Slowly, I cut along the edges of the photo into pieces. I threw the scraps into the trash.

And with them, every memory from the last three years was thrown in the trash.

Once I was done, I went back to bed and closed my eyes.

This time, I didn't have any nightmares. I slept straight through until morning.

When I woke up, Hazel had already left.

Breakfast was waiting for me on the table, along with a note. "I'm heading to work. There's mushroom soup in the pot. Don't forget to eat. If you need anything, just call."

I got ready and ate breakfast.

Then I opened my laptop and started drafting my resignation letter.

I work at Caldwell Group. Norman was the vice president.

He got me the job when I first joined. But now, it was time to leave.

I kept the resignation letter simple. It read: [I am resigning due to personal reasons.]

I hit send.

Less than five minutes later, my phone rang. It was Norman. I hung up.

He called again, and I hung up again.

The third time, I picked up. "Amy!" Norman called out.

His voice was frantic. "You're quitting? Why? Is it just because of what happened yesterday..."

I cut him off. "Mr. Caldwell, it's office hours now. Please address me as Amelia."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

Norman took a deep breath and replied, "Alright, Amelia. I can't accept your resignation letter. You signed a three-year contract. If you quit now, you'll have to pay the breach fee."

I replied, "I know. Just tell me the penalty. I'll pay whatever it is."

"It's not about the money!" Norman's voice rose sharply. "Do you really have to do this? Do you have to cut ties with me?"

He continued, "I messed up last night. I'm sorry. If you want, I'll kneel and apologize! Please, don't quit your job, don't call off the engagement. Can't we just sit down and talk this out?"

His voice was shaking. He really did sound scared. But all I could do was laugh at how pathetic it was.

I said flatly, "Norman, if I had died last night, where do you think you'd be right now?"

He went silent. All I could hear was him breathing hard.

I continued, "Would you cry at my funeral? Or would you be down there with Serena, celebrating finally getting rid of me?"

Norman snapped, "Amelia! Can you not talk like that? You didn't die, right? You're okay now, aren't you?"

I laughed, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

"Norman," I said, my voice laced with cold sarcasm.