He Watched Me Freeze Now He Begs For My Return Chapter 05
The moment my parents heard I’d prepared a surprise, their faces lit up, just as I’d expected.
“You’re finally learning,” my father said.
That night, Caleb came to my room, his tone like he was bestowing an award.
“To be honest, I was in on the jokes. Before a wedding, you have to test if a person can fit into the family’s sense of humor. A wife who can’t get along with her own in-laws would make my future very difficult.”
I looked at him. “So the blizzard was a test, too?”
He avoided my eyes, then smiled. “It’s over now. The fact that you’re willing to cooperate means you passed. We’re going to be very happy.”
On the day of the gala, Paige reminded me three separate times, “We have to walk in through the main entrance together. The media will be taking family photos.”
My mother adjusted my dress. “You’re part of a model family. You can’t be absent.”
My father added, “Caleb’s parents will be there. Don’t let them think you can’t fit in.”
I smiled and agreed to everything.
Once they and Caleb left for the hotel to set up, I took off the dress, dragged the packed suitcase out from under my bed, and called an Uber.
As the car headed for Denver’s Union Station, I kept hearing that line from the video—
*Slip Caleb a sedative. Put Paige beside him. Take pictures.*
Even if the video switch failed, they had another execution planned for me: force me to witness a “betrayal,” then make me back down the way I always had.
This had never been a joke.
It was a carefully planned demolition of my life.
If I had actually shown up at that gala, my life really would have been over.