Chapter 3

I don't know how long I stood there.

Until my legs went numb, and the pain from my incision became unbearable, almost numb itself.

The door opened.

Daniel walked out, and when he saw me still standing there, he froze.

"You're still here?" There was a hint of panic in his voice, quickly overshadowed by disgust. "Who are you trying to get sympathy from? Holly has been crying ever since because of you."

I turned my head and looked at him.

"Daniel," I said, "you will regret this."

He scoffed, "Regret? My biggest regret was marrying you. If it wasn't for the pressure from your family back then, I would have already—"

"Married Holly already?" I finished his sentence.

His expression changed.

"Daniel! The car's here!" My mom's voice came from the ward. "Holly said she wants to go home for the holiday, hurry and carry her downstairs!"

Daniel gave me a long, deep look. "Do you want to come back with us?"

I didn't say anything. He took my silence as agreement.

Daniel carefully carried Holly into the back seat, and my mom quickly got in after her.

I stood by the car, looking at the seats, which were already full.

"Audrey," Daniel said, a hint of awkwardness in his voice, "How about... you make do and sit in the trunk? It's only a ten-minute drive."

Before I could answer, Holly softly said, "Audrey, you really should come home with us. We're family."

Family. How ironic.

My mom also said, "Audrey, just make do. Holly is a patient, she can't be out in the cold."

So, on the first day of the New Year, in the freezing ten-degree Fahrenheit night, I, fresh from kidney transplant surgery, was shoved into the car trunk by my husband and mother.

Thud.

The lid slammed shut. Darkness and bone-chilling cold enveloped me.

My incision tore open with every bump, and I curled up in pain, biting my wrist to keep from crying out.

Through the thin car wall, I could hear their cheerful chatter.

"Daniel, drive slower, I feel a little dizzy."

"Okay, I'll drive slower."

"Holly said she wants shrimp," my mom's voice faintly drifted in, "Let's buy some fresh ones."

"You're both so good to me..."

They leisurely picked out items in the market.

I was in the trunk, my body temperature slowly draining away.

Three hours.

I endured three hours in the darkness and cold.

When the trunk finally opened again, I was so frozen I couldn't speak.

Daniel saw my pale face and paused.

"Audrey... I'm sorry, I forgot you were still in here."

He reached out to help me, but my mom called from a distance, "Daniel! Come get the seafood!"

He hesitated for a second. Then turned and walked away.

"Audrey," he said, looking back, "If you're cold, just get out and walk around. We'll call you when we're done shopping."

I dragged my almost rigid body out. I stood by the roadside, watching them, a family of three. My husband, my mother, and the woman who now carried my kidney, walking towards the parking lot, laughing and chatting, loaded with bags of seafood.

I stood there for ten minutes.

Then, I saw that familiar black sedan slowly drive out of the parking lot.

It didn't stop. It didn't look back. It just drove straight away.