"Put your boots on, Jennifer," William ordered. He tossed my thermal jacket onto the unmade bed.
I glared at the bright red fabric. "You want to go skiing. After last night."
"I said I would make it up to you," he replied. He strapped his expensive watch to his wrist. "Don't ruin the morning by sulking. We are going to have a good time."
"Sulking?" I asked. "You slept with your secretary."
"And we discussed it," he shot back. "Move on."
Nancy stepped into the doorway. She wore sleek, form-fitting white snow gear.
"I'll take the beginner trails today, William," she said. "You two enjoy your time together."
"Are you sure?" he asked. His voice softened instantly.
"Positive," she smiled sweetly. "I don't want to intrude on your anniversary trip anymore."
The cold air bit my cheeks as we approached the summit lift. I stepped onto the moving platform and sank into the metal bench.
William moved to sit beside me. His phone buzzed.
He pulled it from his pocket and answered. "Nancy? Slow down. What happened?"
The lift operator motioned for William to board.
"William, get on," I said.
He stepped backward, off the platform. "Where does it hurt?" he asked into the receiver.
The safety bar lowered over my lap. The bench lurched forward.
"William!" I shouted.
He didn't even look up at me. "Stop making a fuss, Jennifer. Nancy needs me."
"The lift is moving!"
He turned his back and walked toward the lodge. The machinery carried me higher into the mountains.
The sky darkened within minutes. Thick white flakes turned into a blinding wall of snow.
The metal cable groaned. The bench jerked to a violent halt. Mid-air.
Wind howled. It sliced right through my jacket. I yanked my phone from my pocket with stiff fingers. No signal at first, then one bar.
I dialed his number.
*Call rejected.*
I dialed again. My teeth chattered so hard my jaw ached.
*Call rejected.*
A text popped up on the screen. *Stop calling. I'm busy with the medics.*
"Please," I whispered to the empty air.
The phone slipped from my numb grip. It dropped into the white abyss below.
Darkness crept into the edges of my vision. The brutal cold stopped hurting, replaced by a heavy, fatal sleepiness. My chin fell to my chest.
Beeping. Sharp, rhythmic beeping.
I opened my eyes to a blinding white ceiling. Warmth enveloped me, but my fingers still tingled with phantom frostbite.
"You survived."
I turned my head. Nancy stood next to the IV pole. She wore a walking boot on her left foot, but her posture was perfectly straight.
"Where is he?" I croaked. My throat felt like sandpaper.
Nancy leaned closer. She rested her hands on the metal bed rail. "Why do you always have to imitate my injuries?" she whispered. Her sweet tone was entirely gone.
"What are you talking about?"
"I sprain my ankle, so you pretend to freeze to death on a ski lift?" She tilted her head, mocking me. "Just to steal William back?"
"I was trapped," I rasped. "The lift broke down."
"Did it?" She smirked.
The hospital room door swung open. William marched in, holding two cups of coffee.
Nancy instantly slumped forward. She clutched the bed rail as if struggling to stand. "Jennifer, please don't yell at me. I feel terrible that you got so cold."
"What is going on in here?" William demanded. He set the coffee down on the tray table.
"She's upset," Nancy sniffled. "She thinks you care more about my ankle than her."
"I nearly died," I said. I forced myself to sit up. "I called you twice. You rejected both."
"Because I was dealing with a real emergency!" William yelled. He stepped between me and Nancy. "The medics were taping her foot. You threw a tantrum and refused to get off the lift when it stopped."
"Refused?" I gripped the thin blanket. "I was suspended fifty feet in the air! The blizzard trapped me!"
"The operator said you could have gotten off at the lower station before the storm hit," William snapped. "But you stayed on. You wanted to play the victim."
"He told you that?" I looked at Nancy. She dabbed her dry eyes with a tissue.
"Nancy told me," William corrected. "She spoke to the staff while I was paying her medical bill. You faked this entire ordeal to get my attention."
"You believe her over me?"
"She has no reason to lie," he said coldly. "You, on the other hand, have been acting like a lunatic since last night."
"She is lying to your face!" I shouted.
"Enough!" William slammed his hand on the table. "I am sick of this jealousy, Jennifer. Nancy could barely walk, and you pulled a stunt that wasted hospital resources."
My chest hollowed out. There was no point in screaming. In his eyes, I was exactly what she painted me to be: the unreasonable, hysterical wife.
"Leave," I whispered.
"Excuse me?" William challenged.
"Get out of my room."
He scoffed. "Fine. Let's go, Nancy. I'm done catering to this childish behavior."
He wrapped an arm around her waist. He supported her fake limp as they walked out.
The door clicked shut.
Silence filled the room. The heart monitor beeped at a steady pace.
I stared at the blank wall. The reality of my dead marriage settled over me like the snow on that mountain.