Lost in the Snow

"Find Emily and get her down here, now. She still owes Susan an apology."

Shawn demanded an answer from the colleagues who had gone up the mountain to look for me.

Susan, wrapped in thick layers, stayed close by his side.

"Emily doesn't owe me an apology. She's your wife. I've already forgiven her. She'll only get upset again if she hears what you say.

"She already misunderstood you last time. Don't argue because of me again."

Shawn's expression darkened with displeasure, but he gently held Susan's hands in his own to warm them.

"So she's getting bold, huh? You wouldn't have suffered from oxygen deprivation if she had not dragged her feet. You're always forgiving, and that's why she keeps pushing her luck."

He clenched as he spoke, but he quickly adjusted his expression, not wanting to scare Susan.

His words were laughable to me.

When we started our climb, Susan had whispered in my ear, "I'm not going with you. You disgust me."

Then, she pulled Shawn away, leaving me to carry the heavy supply pack by myself.

Later, when she experienced altitude sickness, she told Shawn that I had withheld her supplies purposely to humiliate her.

Two weeks ago, she furiously barged into my home and accused me of selling my blood just to marry Shawn.

"Even if you turn yourself into his mother's personal blood bank, Shawn will never love you. You and your blood are both worthless."

I was not bothered, so I pushed her out the door.

She turned around and tripped over nothing, collapsing at my doorstep.

Just before losing consciousness, she called Shawn to bid farewell as if it were her dying breath.

Shawn abandoned the tourists on the mountain and ran home immediately when he received the call from Susan.

I stood inside the house and listened as he screamed, "Please don't leave me, Susan! I can't live without you!"

I thought Shawn was just being dramatic. She had barely fallen—how could it be that serious?

When he came back from the hospital, though, he shoved my head into the toilet, kicking me repeatedly in the back.

I realized I was the real fool.

"Don't forget your place, Emily. The only reason you're still here is because your blood is useful, yet you dared to lay a hand on Susan? I've been too lenient with you."

Even at this moment, he wanted me to kneel and apologize to Susan.

Unless he could bring me back to life, that would never happen.

…

"Shawn, Emily was caught in an avalanche. She's in danger!"

The voice on the phone sent a shock through Shawn's eyes.

I stared at him, waiting to see even a flicker of sorrow.

Instead, his lips curled into a mocking smile.

"How much did she pay you to lie for her? She would've done it ten years ago if she wanted to.

"Don't bother digging her out if she's really dead. Let her stay there and atone for what she did to Susan."

His rage burned so fiercely that it was practically seeping through his eyes.

The colleague on the phone tried to explain, but Shawn cut them off coldly.

"Tell her that if she's still playing games and refuses to come down, she can stay up there forever."

Without waiting for a reply, he hung up.

He turned to Susan and spoke with the utmost tenderness, "Don't go easy on her later, Susan. Make her apologize to you in front of everyone. Otherwise, she'll never learn her place."

"I'm fine, Shawn. Don't worry about me. After all, we're family, and I don't want Emily to be embarrassed."

For a brief moment, Susan disgusted me.

However, for some unknown reason, I was trapped with them, forced to watch them flirting right in front of me.

I had loved Shawn deeply—so much that I had willingly lowered myself for him.

Alas, to him, I had only ever been a tool.