Betrayal's Embrace: Frozen in Love

. I remembered the day she wrote it. We were seventeen, on a high school trip to the coast. We' d bought two bottles, written our hopes for the future, an

small, yellowed piece of paper. Her tee

rchitect, and I hope I get to live in a house he designed just for me. I promise I will always take care of him

o longer recognized. My eyes scanned the rest of the letter, and then I saw it. A line at the

is not good to you, leav

tter nod was my only response. It was as if the ghost of the girl I fell in lo

o the fire and watched

Olivia, and Mark was with her. He was carrying an a

e coffee table. He started pulling out expensive watches, designer sho

fts, then at him, my face

d tried to smooth things over.

reached into his jacket and pulled out a document. I knew what it

cond longer, his gaze pointed. He was send

, looked between us. "What

ng," I said quickly, folding it and putting it in my

with false emotion. "Olivia, Ethan... he' s being so generous. He agreed to t

d everything, that it was a sign of my forgiveness. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me. It was a de

you wouldn' t abandon me!" s

ed for her. "Mark is still feeling a little weak," she said to me. "Co

could only stare at her. She wanted me to cook for the man who had destroyed

pocket. My freedom. I just needed to get through

said, my v

ded it on my desk. There it was. Her signature, right next to Mark' s. A wave of relief, so powerful it almost made m

hen carefully lifted a loose floorboard beneath my desk, a hid

the kitchen to

maids. A few minutes later, I heard a panic

just as Mark stumbled out of

pointing a shaking finger

ked from Mark to me, and her expression shifted from shock to a

ward the stairs. As they passed, I saw a large, dark s

oo

ilence. I realized what was h