78
Twenty–four hours had passed, and Carrie had not touched a single drop of water. Exhaustion weighed her down completely.
The blood on her body had dried, and the wounds scabbed over.
The last time she had felt this hopeless was when she found out that Art had fallen into a coma and might never wake up.
A bodyguard entered the room, his voice emotionless, “Ms. Dean, Mr. Dalton wants to know–are you ready to apologize to Miss Karin? If you apologize, you’ll immediately receive food, water, and medical treatment.”
Camie shifted slightly, and pain tore through her forcing cold sweat to bead on her forehead.
“I did nothing wrong” she gritted out. “I won’t apologize.”
She refused to be falsely accused. That was her bottom line.ä
The bodyguard held a phone to her ear Karin’s voice came through first l
“Brother Jared, why don’t you just let Carrie go? I’m fine now“X
She sighed pitifully. “Your mother never liked me to begin with, and Carrie is still your fiancée. If she stays locked up like this, Auntie will blame me for it. Won’t that be bad for me??
Jared’s tone turned gentle, reassuring. “Don’t worry. My mother used to meddle in my affairs, but this time, she won’t dare interfere. Soon, you’ll be the one with the title of fiancée. Carrie? She’s not important.”
But the moment he addressed Carrie, the gentleness vanished.
“I gave you a chance,” he said coldly. “Since you’re so ungrateful, I’ll just have to make the punishment worse. Let’s see if you’ll learn your lesson this time.”
Before Carrie could react, a group of bodyguards grabbed her and dragged her upstairs.
They shoved her into an abandoned utility room–no more than five square meters in size. There were no vents, no windows, just stagnant, humid air pressing down on her Within seconds, her breath tumed shallow.
So this was his plan?!
Jared was really cruel enough to lock her up in here!
She grabbed the phone and screamed, “Jared! I don’t want to be your fiancée! If you want to be with Karin, fine! Just let me go! Don’t lock me up!”
She wouldn’t stand in their way–she had no reason to. The only thing that mattered to her was bringing Art back to a normal life.
Jared’s voice was cold and indifferent. “That’s not for you to decide.”
The bodyguards shut the door and left
Carrie pounded on it, shouting for help, but her voice only echoed in the suffocating space. No one answered
She had claustrophobia. If this went on for too long, things would get dangerous.
Jared knew about her fear–he knew how much she dreaded confined spaces. That’s exactly why he chose this punishment.
Her mind drifted back to a memory from the past, one of the rare moments when she had truly believed in him.
She had gone to his office to deliver lunch. On the way down, the elevator malfunctioned, trapping her inside.!
Panic took hold of her, her breath coming in short gasps as she pounded on the steel walls.
When she was on the verge of losing consciousness, the doors were suddenly pried open–by Jared himself! His arms had trembled as he lifted her out, his voice despemte as he held her closel
“Carrie! Open your eyes! Look at me!” His voice had cracked with fear, Tm here! Don’t fall asleep!“2
“I swear,” he had whispered against her hair, “I will never let you be trapped in a small space alone again.”
She had seen it then–the raw terror in his eyes, the unmasked anxiety, the pain written all over his face 3 For a moment, she had been foolish enough to believe he truly loved her.
But the same man who had once bloodied his hands for her was now using her greatest fear to break her All for the sake of making her bow to that woman.
Curled up on the cold floor, Carrie’s body trembled as her mind slipped deeper into the dark void of fearl She hated him.)
She would never forget this despair!
If only Art were here
Art would never let her suffer like this
He would never let her cry.!!
He would never let her live a life worse than death
