Freezed

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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"Edmund, you have been married to Chelsea for three years. It's high time you had a child. I want to meet my great-grandchildren before death comes for me."

An old man's earnest voice came from the study through the slightly opened door.

A young man replied coldly, "Why should I have a baby with a woman I don't love?"

Chelsea Williams was about to knock on the door to inform them that dinner was ready. But when she heard their conversation, she froze. Her face turned pale in a split second.

The young man's voice sounded again. This time it was firmer and dismissive. "Grandpa, just so we are on the same page, you'll not be getting any great-grandchildren from me as long as I'm married to Chelsea. I don't want her to be the mother of my children. So, don't pester me about this issue again!"

"You brat!" the old man shouted angrily. The next second, the sound of a cup being shattered on the floor was heard. This was followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.

Chelsea hurriedly went into the bathroom next door to hide. In the process, the sharp edge of the wash-hand basin scratched her waist.

An intense pain shot from her waist to her heart. It then swept through her entire body. She trembled and bit her lower lip hard. Tears of agony soon welled up in her eyes.

Only a few days ago, she had received a pregnancy test result from Diane Stevenson, the mistress of her husband, Edmund Nelson.

Along with the test result came harsh mockery.

"Chelsea, what a miserable woman you are! Although you have been married to Edmund for three long years, he still hasn't fallen in love with you.

You live under the same roof with him, but he hates you with every fiber of his being. Don't you have any shame? How could you stick with a man whose heart belongs to someone else? Gosh! If I were you, I would have died of shame long ago."

Chelsea didn't know of Diane's existence before she got married to Edmund.

On their wedding night, Edmund didn't stay at home. He left her as soon as the ceremony came to an end. The next morning, Chelsea woke up to a piece of shocking news. Her husband was sighted entering and leaving a hotel with a popular female star the night before. The news was the talk of the town.

It was on that day that Chelsea realized that her husband's heart belonged to someone else.

Not willing to give up on her new marriage, Chelsea decided to stay. She hoped that Edmund would fall in love with her someday. She resigned from her job and became a full-time housewife.

Unfortunately for her, nothing changed even after three years.

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