After 99 Times

The next morning, Zoey got ready for work like she always did.

Just as she was about to leave, Adrian wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind.

While holding her close, he opened an elegant gift box in his hands—inside was a pair of dazzling earrings, sparkling under the light.

He gently picked them up and carefully fastened them onto Zoey’s ears, his touch light, almost reverent, like she was something rare and fragile.

“I’ve been spending all my time with Claire these past few days,” he murmured. “I know I’ve been neglecting you… please don’t take it to heart.”

Zoey forced a faint smile. “Okay.”

Maybe it was because she was getting ready to leave—for good—that she found herself being unusually generous.

After he put the earrings on her, she said goodbye and headed out the door.

But as she left, she had the strange feeling someone was watching her.

She brushed it off and drove to the office, just like always.

During her usual walk-through of the company’s cold storage area, Zoey was startled to see someone who absolutely shouldn’t have been there—Claire.

Claire stormed toward her, grabbed her arm, and yanked her inside the cold room. Her voice was low, but wild.

“What the hell did you do to Adrian? Huh?! Even I’ve never gotten a gift from him, so why would he give you earrings like those?!”

Zoey stayed calm. “It’s just a pair of earrings. If you want them, I’ll give them to you.”

But Claire wasn’t listening. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she suddenly lunged, clawing at Zoey’s ears.

The earring hooks tore at Zoey’s earlobes, sending a sharp jolt of pain through her. Her ears turned red and swollen in seconds, with streaks of blood seeping out before the earrings were finally ripped off.

Claire clutched them in her fist, her voice shaking with venom.

“Why is it always you? Why do you get to take everything away from me so easily? I was here first! Adrian belongs to me! If I see you trying to seduce him again, I swear, I’ll kill you.”

Zoey opened her mouth to speak, but Claire suddenly kicked her hard, knocking her to the ground.

As Claire stormed off, Zoey’s heart dropped.

She knew exactly what Claire was about to do.

“No!” Zoey screamed after her, panic rising in her throat.

But the door slammed shut.

No matter how hard she pounded on it, no one came.

She yelled for help until her voice went hoarse, but the thick, insulated walls swallowed every sound.

Ten minutes passed. Her fingers felt frozen solid, like ice was growing under her skin.

Twenty minutes passed. Her body started to shut down. She couldn’t speak anymore—her jaw just wouldn’t move.

Her temperature kept dropping. Curling up on the floor, Zoey squeezed her eyes shut.

There was only one key to the walk-in freezer, and Claire had it.

Which meant Zoey’s chances of getting out alive were close to zero.

She truly hadn't expected Claire's obsession to reach such a disturbing level.

All over a pair of earrings—just earrings—and Claire had tried to kill her.

An hour passed. Zoey’s body had gone numb. She couldn’t even lift her arms anymore.

Her vision dimmed.

And then, just as everything was going dark—

She felt a pair of strong arms grab her.

---

The next time Zoey opened her eyes, it was already the following day.

Blinding white walls came into view first. Then the sharp sting of disinfectant hit her nose.

She was… in a hospital?

She wasn’t dead?

Before she could react, someone pulled her into a firm embrace.

“Zoey, you’re awake! Thank God—how are you feeling?”