Chapter 4

The next day, Courtney's voice drifted in through the window to the second floor. "Why do you still have the oil painting that I did? If you really like it, I can paint you a new one tomorrow. How about that? "The weather's lovely today. Come and take a walk with me. My doctor says I need to move around more to recover faster. "I'm a bit hungry now, Spencer. Will you make me something to eat? It's been so long since I've had your cooking." Spencer rarely replied to her, yet he fulfilled each of her requests without fail. For two hours, he sat motionless in the living room, serving as a life model while she painted. For 30 minutes, he accompanied her on the walk outside. Then, he personally prepared a table full of exquisite dishes for her. Elizabeth watched everything unfold from afar. Through the subtle cues—his gaze, the ease of his movements—she could sense his sincerity. Perhaps this was the everlasting future he had longed for. … When Elizabeth went downstairs that night to get a glass of water, she returned to find Courtney leaving her room, holding the keepsake her father had left for her. Her entire body instantly went rigid. She rushed forward in an attempt to snatch the watch back. Courtney, who was taller by a few inches, raised the watch out of reach as she smirked at Elizabeth. "Why are you so worked up over a worn-out watch? It must be something important, huh?" Elizabeth replied without hesitation, "Yes, it means a lot to me. Now give it back!" "I might. If you beg on your knees, maybe I'll be kind enough to return it." Courtney chuckled. Elizabeth stared at her in disbelief and said, "I've already agreed to leave. And the person Mr. Cooper loves is you. I've never once tried to compete with you, Ms. Gallagher. Why are you still doing this to me?" "Why?" Courtney repeated. "Because I hate you. You might've promised to go, but the thought of you clinging to him all these years makes my skin crawl. I need to vent somehow." She waved the watch slightly. "Now it's in my hands. You've got ten seconds. If you don't do what I say, then say goodbye to it forever." Confronted with Courtney's obvious arrogance, Elizabeth felt a wave of helplessness and grief crash over her. As Courtney's countdown rang from ten to one, she raised her hand in a gesture to toss the watch away. Elizabeth no longer had any alternative choices. Forcing herself to her knees, she lowered her head and said, "Are you happy now, Ms. Gallagher?" Upon witnessing the humiliation on Elizabeth's face, Courtney finally smiled in satisfaction. Yet instead of handing the watch back to her, she lifted her arms higher and hurled it down the stairs. Elizabeth's breath hitched as she lunged forward in a frantic attempt to save the watch. But in her haste, she accidentally collided with Courtney, who lost her balance and tumbled down the stairs. It was a horrifying sight as blood instantly bloomed across Courtney's head. Coincidentally, Spencer was there to witness the tumbling and rushed forward in panic. "What happened?" Courtney leaned into his embrace, her eyes reddened as she distorted the truth, claiming that she had accidentally damaged Elizabeth's watch, and the latter, in a fit of anger, pushed her down the stairs. A thin veil of anger darkened Spencer's usually impassive face. "You raised a hand against her over a watch? Have I spoiled you too much all these years, Elizabeth?" he questioned. That frigid look in his eyes pierced her, filling her with wrenching sorrow. Clenching her chest against the ache, she tried to clarify. "Mr. Cooper, she was the one who forced me—" "That's enough!" Spencer didn't let her finish her thought. His fury snapped through the air as he cut her off with a voice that brooked no protest. He summoned his bodyguards on the spot and ordered them to lock her in the freezer as punishment. Then, without giving her another glance, he carried Courtney away. With her hands and feet secured by several bodyguards, Elizabeth was forcibly escorted directly to the walk-in freezer. In the freezer's subzero temperatures, Elizabeth huddled in a corner as layers of hoarfrost crystallized on her body. Her body was shivering uncontrollably as if her blood had already begun to congeal in her veins. Each second felt like an eternity of agony. Clutching the worn-out watch in her frozen hands, Elizabeth's mind was flooded with memories of the happiness she once shared with her parents. From the swirling depths of her subconscious, the faint creak of a door drifted in, stirring her just enough to force her heavy lids open to a blurred gaze. A figure approached through the frost-laced air. Instinctively, she called out to her mother. Her voice trembled as she murmured, "I fell in love with the wrong person, Mom… I regret it…."