While I was inspecting the factory before signing the contract, Elaine Stone, the new assistant the company hired for me, locked me in the cold storage.
By the time I was rescued, my clothes were stuck to my skin. I was on my period, and my blood had soaked through my skirt.
My hands were also bruised and bloodied from the way I’d pounded on the door. Parts of my knuckle bones could even be seen. It was a gruesome sight.
Cameron Hodge and Ian Nash were two of my closest childhood friends who had always cared deeply about me, but when they saw that, they swiftly covered Elaine’s eyes. Both sported looks of disdain.
When I regained consciousness, I found out that the business deal I had worked so hard to close had been handed over to Elaine while I was unconscious.
Cameron and Ian even handed me a pre-prepared release of liability agreement and asked me to sign it.
“Thanks to the incident with the cold storage, you’ve damaged the company’s image,” Cameron declared icily. “Since you were unconscious as well, to avoid causing further delays for the company, I made the decision to let Elaine sign the contract on your behalf.”
“Stop causing a scene. Hurry up and sign the release of liability agreement,” Ian commanded impatiently. “Don’t blame Elaine for what happened either. She just wanted to play a game of hide-and-seek with you. She didn’t know the entrance to the cold storage would be automatically locked from the inside once it’s closed.”
Keeping my tone calm, I replied, “In that case, I shall play a game with you guys too. If you fail to find me within the allotted time, I’ll vanish for good.”
Both Cameron and Ian frowned when they heard that. Cameron bent down and gripped my wrist tightly, but all I could see in his eyes was annoyance and disgust.
“What the hell are you trying to do now, Belle? Have we been too tolerant with you that you think you can keep crossing the line?”
I felt a stinging pain shooting up from my wrist. My blood soaked through the bandage—even Cameron felt the dampness against his hand.
Startled, he looked down and finally noticed that his tight grip had made my wound split open again.
He instinctively released my hand and stepped backward. After using a wet tissue to clean his hand, he eyed me in contempt.
“Are you trying to make me pity you? You sure know how to resort to tricks to gain sympathy for yourself,” Cameron snapped.
Pale in the face, I couldn’t resist letting out a self-mocking laugh once I heard his accusations. In the past, even the slightest scratch on my finger would’ve made Cameron run to the pharmacy late at night just to get me a plaster.
But now, he could completely ignore my pain and bleeding wound.
The fickleness of the heart was not an exaggeration.
Ian had remained quiet the whole time, but it was clear he had run out of patience now.
“Sign the agreement, Belle, and we can carry on as if nothing ever happened. As long as you don’t make life difficult for Elaine, I’ll still be the same Ian you’ve always known.”
I met Ian’s indifferent gaze. Throughout this whole time, his lips had been pursed, and his eyes were filled with a cold distance.
I had never picked on Elaine in any way, but neither one of them had ever been willing to listen to my explanations.
