Alan's childhood friend, Sierra, was staying with us when she came down with a bad chill and developed a high fever after being locked out in the cold, having forgotten her keys.
His anger turned on me, and he forced me into the basement, still wearing just my underwear.
"You know Sierra's delicate and can't handle the cold. Why didn't you come home earlier to let her in?"
I tried repeatedly to explain that I was at the hospital and didn't hear my phone, but he refused to listen.
He even doubled up the locks on the basement door.
"You can't stand her being well, so now you can feel what it's like to freeze!"
Panicking, I banged desperately on the door, begging him to let me out. "Alan, I just got my pregnancy results today! I'm carrying our child!"
He thought I was lying, showed no mercy, and walked away.
He forgot the basement had been turned into a cold wine cellar with low-temperature settings.
I clawed until all my nails broke, yet there was no rescue.
A week later, when he finally remembered me, I was frozen stiff, along with the baby in my womb.
...
"Dr. Jenkins, Ms. Rice has recovered from her fever and can be discharged. You know the hospital is short on beds..."
The nurse glanced between them, hesitating to speak further.
Sierra's body temperature had stabilized overnight, but Alan insisted she stay for three more days.
"Check her thoroughly again; she's been delicate since childhood. I don't want her to develop any complications."
The nurse walked away annoyed, muttering under her breath.
"He's a doctor himself; can't he see it's just a common cold?"
Sierra slightly leaned forward, and Alan quickly supported her.
"Alan, I should be discharged. I don't want people gossiping about us, but..."
She lowered her head, her eyes reddening. "I don't have anywhere to go. Elowyn doesn’t welcome me."
Mentioning me made Alan’s face harden, his jaw clenching.
"My home is your home. Why care about her opinion? If she hadn’t come back late, how could you have caught a chill?"
Sierra shed a few tears, and Alan immediately reached out to gently wipe them away.
"I don't want you two arguing because of me. I'm always an unwelcome presence; people don't like me wherever I go."
Since she knocked on our door after her divorce, I've heard this too often.
With a deeper pang of compassion, Alan hugged her, gently patting her back.
"Don't worry. You don't need to go anywhere. Stay with me, and once Elowyn realizes her mistake, I’ll make sure she gives you a proper apology."
Sierra bit her lip lightly. "Can she really apologize to me? She seemed quite defiant yesterday."
"Ha, once she's frozen for a couple of days, she’ll have to give in."
In his eyes, there was not the slightest hint of regret.
"Didn't she say she was pregnant?"
"You heard her nonsense! We’ve been married for years without a pregnancy, and coincidentally, she claims she's pregnant when I'm disciplining her?"
He was impatient. "Enough about her. I know her temperament well enough—once this is over, she’ll fall into line."
As if reassuring himself. "I converted the basement into a wine cellar; it has cooling features."
Normally, the temperature should be between 46°F and 64°F.
But he didn't realize that after years of neglect, the system had failed, keeping the basement constantly between 14°F and -4°F.
By the second day he locked me inside, I succumbed to hypothermia and froze to death.
Until my last breath, I held my unborn child protectively.
In my nearby purse was the hospital's ultrasound scan.
12 weeks pregnant, the fetal heartbeat already present.
