Chapter 2

"Cut!"

"Let's wrap it up for today. Amber is getting hungry."

My blindfold was violently ripped off.

The estate hall was filled with cameras and crew members.

And there they were, sitting behind the monitors—my fiancé, Ethan, and Amber.

I felt like my soul had been sucked out. Even though the ropes were undone, I sat frozen in the chair, unable to move.

Ethan looked at Amber with absolute adoration, then turned to me with a casual smile.

"Chloe, you know Amber is a sociology major. Her senior thesis is about the real-time psychological reactions of kidnap victims."

"You have past experience with this, so you were the perfect fit. Plus, our wedding is tomorrow, so I figured this was a good chance to bring you over and get you familiar with the venue."

Amber turned off her voice changer, bouncing over from behind him.

"Chloe, thank you so much! My thesis is saved! Your crying and begging face just now was so incredibly realistic!"

The memories of when I was eighteen rushed back like a tidal wave.

Back then, I had cried and begged just like this. Actually, it was much worse.

My body was still shivering from being drenched in ice water. I clenched my teeth, trying to stop them from chattering, and stared at Ethan.

"So, for the sake of her college project, you were willing to drag me back to hell?"

A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes.

He quickly draped a dry towel over my shoulders and handed me a mug of hot cocoa.

"I know it was hard on you today, but try to understand the pressure Amber is under to graduate. You're about to be my bride tomorrow. Just think of it as helping out a little sister."

Amber chimed in with a sweet, pouty voice. "Chloe, the person who touched your leg just now was actually a female crew member. We just had a professional male voice actor speak near your ear. Please don't be mad at Ethan."

"And besides, when you were kidnapped back then, didn't Ethan risk his life to save you? Ethan is the hottest luxury designer right now. It's fine if you don't wear his designs, but you don't have to keep picking fights with him..."

Looking at my cold, expressionless face, the guilt in Ethan's eyes faded, replaced by annoyance.

He snatched the hot cocoa I hadn't touched and threw it into the trash can.

"Ethan," I asked, my voice deadly quiet. "Do you honestly think we still need to get married tomorrow?"

He frowned, looking down at me.

"Chloe, don't be so dramatic. Didn't you practically force me into this proposal anyway?"

"Enough is enough. Amber's blood sugar is dropping. Go home by yourself."

He tossed my phone onto the table and led the entire crew out.

The massive estate was suddenly dead quiet. I was left all alone.

Then, I noticed a laptop left open on the table. I walked over.

On the screen was a document titled: Chloe's Kidnapping Simulation Details.

Keep the temperature at 32°F. She is extremely sensitive to the cold.

The voice actor's voice must be disgusting and raspy. That is her biggest trigger.

Use a hand model with rough skin to touch her, to make it feel real.

I stared at the screen for a long, long time. Tears finally spilled over my cheeks.

Ten years ago, Ethan and I were eighteen.

My father, Arthur, who was also a detective back then, had pissed off a dangerous man named Marcus.

Marcus kidnapped me. I was missing for three days and three nights, and no one could find me.

It was Ethan, who I knew from my part-time job, who found me.

He had climbed over the wall into the freezer of an abandoned food factory.

While waiting for rescue, he wrapped all of his clothes around me.

It was below zero. His eyelashes were covered in frost.

I was hallucinating, hearing Marcus's disgusting, raspy voice in my ears.

Ethan gently sang to me. His teeth were chattering so hard he could barely get the words out.

When Marcus returned, Ethan hid me.

Ethan was whipped with a salt-water drenched lash until his back was raw and bleeding, but he never gave up my location.

The memory of the bloody wounds on Ethan's back slowly merged with the Chloe's Kidnapping Simulation Details on the screen.

Since we had survived life and death together, of course he knew exactly where to stab me to make me bleed the most.

I picked up my phone from the floor and dialed a number.

"Dad, cancel the wedding tomorrow."