Chapter 4

“Open the door!” I screamed hysterically, my hoarse voice shattering the suffocating silence of the stuffy warehouse. My hands pounded against the cold iron door until my palms bruised and bled, yet no one came to open it.

The darkness inside felt suffocating. Every time I heard the squeaking of rats or the scraping of something in the corner, my heart dropped. I curled up in a corner, hugging my knees tightly as shadows seemed to creep closer. Cold sweat poured down my body, soaking my now dust-covered work shirt. My mind drifted to Bastian—the man who last night had promised a “fake marriage,” yet today had the heart to throw me into this little hell.

My body trembled uncontrollably from overwhelming fear. The oxygen in the cramped space seemed to run out, making my vision blur. My head felt unbearably heavy, and before my consciousness completely faded, I could only think of how miserable my fate was in the hands of the man I once adored. I collapsed unconscious onto the cold concrete floor.

After five hours trapped in that agonizing darkness, the creaking sound of a door finally broke the silence. The light from the hallway streamed in, painfully bright to my eyes.

“Madam President Director! Wake up, Madam! I’m sorry, I’m late!” The panicked voice belonged to Levia.

She immediately knelt beside me, resting my head on her shoulder. She rubbed my ice-cold hands, trying to warm me. My body jolted slightly as life slowly returned to me. I opened my eyes, and it was indeed someone else who had saved me.

My husband had even forgotten that he locked me in the warehouse. He didn’t come to check whether I was still alive or had died from fear. He truly left me there, as if I were nothing more than a worthless piece of scrap.

“Madam, come… let me help you stand,” Levia said, her voice trembling as she held back tears.

She supported me as we walked down the long corridor of the dimming office. My steps were unsteady, my head still throbbing. But we stopped when we passed Bastian’s office. The door was slightly ajar, leaving a small gap that revealed a heartbreaking scene.

I heard laughter from inside. A laugh I knew so well—a laugh that once comforted me, now sounding like the voice of a devil.

“Really, Bastian? You locked Casandra in that rat-filled warehouse just to defend me?” Vivian’s coquettish voice rang clearly.

I peeked through the gap. Vivian was sitting on Bastian’s lap, her arms wrapped possessively around his neck. Bastian stroked her hair affectionately, a gaze he had long stopped giving me.

“Yes, darling, of course I did. If I didn’t love you more, how could I possibly hurt her?” Bastian replied without the slightest hint of regret.

He even kissed Vivian’s forehead gently, as if locking me away had been some great achievement. “Casandra is stubborn. She needs a lesson to understand that in this company and in my life, you are my top priority now.”

“Thank you, love… for standing up for me. I was afraid she’d report me to the board for resigning suddenly,” Vivian said, burying her face in his chest.

Bastian chuckled, his laughter piercing straight through my chest. “Don’t worry. You’ll soon be my wife, and I’ll discard Casandra. Let her enjoy the rest of her time as a lonely housewife before the divorce papers finally end everything.”

Hearing those words shattered me even more. My chest tightened, as if an invisible hand was crushing my heart into pieces. He laughed at me after locking me up. He had no idea how terrified I was in that warehouse, fighting my own phobia while he celebrated my suffering.

My grip on Levia’s arm tightened. I could feel my nails digging into her skin, yet she didn’t complain. Instead, she gently pulled me away from the door, not wanting me to break further from their cruel words.

“Let’s go, Madam… not here,” Levia whispered painfully.

We reached my office. Levia quickly brought me warm water and draped a spare blazer over my shoulders. She looked at me with deep sympathy.

“Madam… don’t listen to them. You are far better than that woman. Vivian is nothing but a destroyer—she won’t last long here. People like her will face their consequences,” Levia said, trying to comfort me.

I stared blankly at my desk. The desk that once witnessed how Bastian and I built strategies together to grow this company. Now, it felt like nothing more than a corpse of the past.

“You heard it yourself, Levia. My husband no longer cares about his wife. He chose to lock me up with rats just to please his mistress,” I said, my voice hollow, like a ghost’s whisper.

I turned to her, my eyes now reddened with the anger rising from the depths of my devastation. “He called me something to be discarded… after five years of me giving my entire life to him.”

“Madam, you must stay strong. Don’t let them hurt you,” Levia said firmly.

I nodded slowly, wiping away the dried tears on my cheeks.

“You’re right, Levia. My husband no longer cares about his wife—so is it even worth it for me to stay?” I paused, my sharp gaze fixed on the door. “It’s time I stop being his shield. Let’s see how high he can fly without the wings I’ve been lending him all this time.”