My two childhood friends act like they don't see anything when their assistant locks me in a cold storage. They're filled with regret when I thoroughly vanish.

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.

When Elaine caused trouble by bringing the wrong document to the meeting, I came forward to smooth things over, but Ian took that as a purposeful attempt to stop her from succeeding at her job.

On my birthday, I'd made a meal for the three of us, but Elaine had abruptly shown up with a gift and squeezed into the house uninvited.

She told me to try on the bracelet she brought for me, but when Cameron saw it, he immediately demanded that I take it off.

Only then did she exclaim, "Oh! That's the bracelet Cam bought for me! I'm so sorry, Belle. I brought the wrong box."

She took out a shabby, tacky-looking bracelet and handed it to me, saying, "I think this one suits you better, Belle."

Despite her clear attempt to taunt me, I had to put up with it—for both Cameron and Ian, my closest friends, took her aside.

I forced myself to smile and act like everything was fine. Yet, while we were eating, Elaine got an allergy reaction after eating a peanut.

Her skin turned red, and she had a coughing fit that made it difficult for her to breathe.

Concerned, I tried to help her, but Ian shoved me away and threw the food at me. I froze when I felt the oil and bits of food clinging to me. Soup dripped down from my hair, scalding my skin.

Pointing a finger at me, Elaine choked out, "Belle! I've told you before that I can't eat peanuts."

Cameron and Ian said nothing, but the icy look in their eyes made my heart freeze as well.

Ian scooped Elaine up in his arms and left without hesitation, while Cameron eyed me with a frown and asked, "Why have you become the person you are now?"

His words struck me like a bolt of lightning, sapping all the strength out of me. They didn't even give me a chance to defend myself.

As the door slammed shut, I was left alone, feeling hurt and aggrieved. My throat clammed up. I couldn't even eke out a complete sentence.

That night, I lit my birthday candles myself and let them extinguish on their own. Cameron and Ian never came back again. Instead, I saw Elaine updating her social media.

She was lying on the bed while Cameron fed her some medicine and Ian tucked her in. Compared to her, I was like an abandoned pet left on the sidewalk.

The memory of that filled me with sadness. I instinctively stroked the scar on my arm.

There was no way to erase all the things Cameron and Ian had done to me. Those memories were constant reminders telling me to harden my heart and not give in anymore.

Sneering, Cameron crossed his arms and said, "Who are you putting this act on for, huh? It's not like you were locked inside for long. Why are you being so petty?"

My fingers trembled as I tried to rein in the crushing sense of anguish that stirred from within.

Cameron would never understand the despair I felt as the freezing cold air inside the cold storage chilled me to my bones. The fear and helplessness had seeped into every fiber of my being, leaving me numb and weak.

Desperate, I kept screaming for help. I pounded on the door until my flesh was mangled and my bones were exposed. My skin had frozen and stuck to my clothes. When the doctor took them off, it felt as if my skin had been ripped off too.

The cramps in my abdomen kept intensifying. The blood that flowed out of me froze as well.

I had screamed my lungs out in the hopes of being saved, but Cameron and Ian, my two childhood friends who once treasured me more than anything in the world, ignored my cries.

Even when I'd finally been rescued, they eyed me in disdain and avoided me. They both covered Elaine's eyes instead, as if the sight of me would sully her eyes.

And now, the moment I woke up, they even demanded that I sign an agreement absolving her of all responsibility.

To clear Elaine of any wrongdoing, Cameron and Ian even blamed the whole situation on me—but what they didn't know was that I'd already asked the factory for the surveillance footage from that day.

When Elaine had locked me in the cold storage, Cameron and Ian had been standing right behind her and saw everything.

Ian wanted to open the door for me, but Elaine gripped his sleeve and cried out tearfully, "I really need to get this deal, Ian. Belle is too good at her job. If I continue working for her, I'll always be under her shadow. I'll only be able to prove myself if I get to close this deal."

In the end, his hand paused. Even though he could hear my heart-wrenching pleas for help, he hesitated.

He had always been a caring and meticulous person. He knew when my period was. He also knew my condition. My menstruation cramps were so intense that they would often make me feel faint.

Therefore, whenever my period came around, Ian would always prepare some nourishing food for me and other supplies that would help me feel better.

He once said, "I'll take good care of your health. You're a little klutz who never knows how to look out for herself."

But this time, he abandoned me in a cold storage room without being concerned for my health at all.

Cameron had pulled Ian backward and snapped in annoyance, "We've indulged her far too much. She keeps bullying Elaine. Let this be a lesson for her. In any case, it's just a trade deal. Elaine can have it. Since she's good enough at her job, she won't mind losing the deal."

When I heard those words, I felt as if I had plunged into an icy abyss. Every single word that came out of Cameron's mouth stabbed me like a needle. It was pure agony.

He had no idea I spent over three months slaving away to close this deal. He knew nothing about the countless sleepless nights I spent sorting through the information and researching for the deal.

Even when my eyes were bloodshot from the lack of rest, I didn't dare to stop for breaks.

I knew the owner of the factory liked conducting business deals over dinners and cocktail sessions, so I had to join him.

Like a well-trained robot, I swallowed glass after glass of hard liquor. Despite the excruciating pain of the alcohol burning in my stomach, I forced myself to remain composed.

And yet, they were casually handing over the results of my efforts to someone else.

When I saw the footage of the three of them walking away happily as if nothing happened, I felt every muscle in my body going slack. I was filled with grief and exhaustion.

And, when I saw Elaine turning back with a look of malice on her face, I knew she had planned this from the start.

Staring at the release of the liability agreement, I let out an abrupt chuckle. I looked Cameron and Ian in the eye before slowly ripping the agreement apart.

"If you win, I'll sign this agreement. As the two of you wish, I'll leave for good as well," I informed them coldly.

Cameron kicked the trash can before letting out an angry snort. "Fine! So be it! We'll play this game of yours, but you better not regret it!"

On the other hand, Ian was a little hesitant. "We never thought about wanting you to leave, Belle."

However, I ignored him. My gaze remained cold as I said, "Once the game starts, it won't end."

In this game, the only thing at stake was me.

All of a sudden, the door flew open, and Elaine came rushing over in tears.

She kneeled in front of my bed and bowed, saying, "I'm so sorry, Belle! It's all my fault! I had no clue the door to the cold storage would lock by itself. I was just desperate to get a chance to prove myself. I didn't want to be considered an airhead anymore."

She grabbed my hand and started slapping herself with it. Even more tears streamed down her face as she declared, "Go ahead and hit me! I won't be able to live with my guilt otherwise. You can even lock me in the cold storage if that makes you feel better."

Elaine was gripping my wound. Her nails dug deep into my flesh, and the pain made me push her away. She immediately stumbled backward, but Cameron and Ian both grabbed her before she fell to the floor.

Being quick to anger, Cameron immediately rebuked me, "I already told you that Elaine didn't do it on purpose! What more do you want? You're fine, aren't you?"

Even Ian was eyeing me coldly as he declared, "You've gone too far this time, Belle."

Covering her face, Elaine started running out of the room, declaring, "I'll lock myself in the cold storage right now. I'll do whatever it takes to appease Belle."

Panicked, Cameron and Ian ran after her. In the process, they ended up knocking the IV drip off of me, and the liquid dripped onto the floor instead.

As I stared at my blood filling the tube, I felt my heart turning to stone.

Once upon a time, Cameron, Ian, and I were three children who grew up together in the orphanage. When the older kids bullied me, Cameron fought them off with all his might.

Even when he was locked up in a cold room and forced to starve as punishment, he would still limp over to me and do whatever he could to make me laugh.

He opened his palm to reveal the small bell he was holding. It let out a clear chime in the breeze. He had willingly put himself in harm's way in order to save the only thing left to me by my parents before their demise.

I was moved, of course.

The orphanage director forbade everyone from giving food to Cameron, so I secretly saved my food in a container for him. When I saw him wolfing it down hungrily, I smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside.

At the time, Cameron was a ray of light that lit up the darkness of my life. He was the one who reached out and pulled me back from the abyss.

His presence moved me and gave me hope, reigniting my dried and shriveled soul.

At times like these, Ian would find ways to utilize the orphanage director's fondness for him. To get revenge on our behalf, he would come up with schemes to make sure the mean children were punished.

He was smart and had good grades. Many families who came to the orphanage expressed an interest in adopting him, but he rejected them for Cameron's and my sake.

Nevertheless, there would still be a trace of vulnerability in his eyes—one that he tried his hardest to hide—whenever he saw the other children leaving with their parents.

Therefore, rain or shine, I would always follow Ian to and from school. I would stand at the entrance and look around as I waited for his familiar silhouette to appear.

Ian felt a little exasperated, but he understood why I was doing it. The three of us were each other's salvation, and we relied heavily on each other.

Later on, we got into college together and left the small town we came from.

All of us earned fairly small salaries, but they would spend most of their money on me. We carried on living in this foreign city and worked hard for a living.

Ian was able to rise swiftly through the ranks, eventually becoming a senior executive at a pharmaceutical company. Under his guidance, I became a sales representative for the company as well.

He once pointed at the towering office building and promised me, "Belle, in the future, I'll buy you a house here in this expensive city. It'll be our home. I'll make sure you live a happy life."

Cameron patted me on the shoulder. With an earnest expression on his youthful face, he said, "Don't forget about me. I'll definitely buy us a house before Ian does."

I could still hear their promises echoing in my ear. Alas, everything changed when Elaine showed up half a year ago.