One week into the "extreme freeze," my husband and son—both obsessed with apocalyptic web novels—were convinced the end of the world had arrived. My husband, Aaron, stopped pretending to be the good guy. Not only did he encourage our son to loot jewelry stores and supermarkets, but he also moved his childhood sweetheart—who was three months pregnant—into the mansion I bought. "The world is ending, Clara. Lily is carrying my child. Can't you be a little more generous?" "In the apocalypse, this isn't looting, it's survival! Mom, your old-fashioned mindset isn't even worth a strand of Aunt Lily's hair." As our supplies dwindled and the temperature outside plummeted to -100°F (or so they thought), Lily, the "sweetheart," kicked me out of my own house. I turned around, climbed into the heavily insulated RV I had prepared in advance, and dialed a number. "Professor Chen? Is the extreme weather emergency drill almost over?" On the surveillance screen, the father and son duo were tearing the house apart looking for me. They were losing their minds. 1 I set the RV's thermostat to a comfortable 75°F and switched on the electric fireplace I’d installed. The biting cold vanished instantly, replaced by a cozy warmth. "Clara, come to the lab. It's not safe for you alone in the RV." The man on the other end of the line sounded panicked when he heard Aaron's mistress, Lily, had thrown me out. "It's almost time to reel in the net. Is there anything more satisfying than watching prey struggle in a trap?" I hung up and looked at the monitor. Aaron's veins were bulging on his forehead. He was gripping Lily's shoulders, shaking her. "You dared to kick Clara out without telling me? Lily, do you want to die?" Lily, shocked, puffed out her pregnant belly defensively. "Aaron! You said you were sick of Clara! You said you could only be yourself with me!" "Isn't this better? Without that eyesore Clara, we're finally a happy family!" My son, Noah, slumped to the floor, his eyes red. "Dad, what do we do? Mom hates the cold..." They all knew that being kicked out in this "weather" meant certain death. Aaron leaned against the doorframe, his face as pale as a sheet. Suddenly, he let out a guttural roar, filled with helplessness and despair. Watching this, I let out a cold laugh. Half a month ago. "Dad, look! The frozen apocalypse is real!" Early in the morning, father and son stood by the window, eyes gleaming with excitement. It should have been a scorching August, but the temperature had dropped by sixty degrees overnight. The city was frozen solid. "Son, can you believe it? Our time has come," Aaron murmured. I stood on the second floor landing, arms crossed, coldly watching this pair of apocalypse-fantasy addicts excitedly list the supplies they needed to hoard. "Lily, don't cry. Don't be scared, I'm coming to get you right now." "...Afraid of her? Baby, you have to understand, in the apocalypse, the strong rule! The weak—women, children, the elderly—step aside. It's a man's world now!" Aaron was on the phone with Lily, his voice booming. He was openly admitting his affair. 2 To the outside world, Aaron was the perfect husband. He would leave business dinners early. "Apologies, gentlemen. My wife made mushroom soup. I have to go home and try it." He would coldly reject any advances from female secretaries. Even a slight cold would make him frown with worry. "Clara, honey, I called Dr. Liu to come over and check on you." He remembered every anniversary. He knew all my habits. Until six months ago. My father died of cancer, and I inherited the family company and fortune. That's when my perfect husband started showing his true colors. He disappeared for a whole night, missing my father's funeral. When he finally rushed in, he smelled of a perfume that wasn't mine. At the same time, my secretary, Jessica, told me that Aaron, the company's vice president, had been embezzling funds. She traced the money to a villa in the suburbs. The deed was in the name of Aaron's childhood friend, Lily. I thought I had been too focused on work and neglected our marriage. So, I cut my business trip to Germany short. But when I got home, my grandmother, who suffered from dementia, grabbed my hand at the door. Her cloudy eyes were filled with terror. "Clara, run!" Before I could comfort her, Lily walked in. "President Wen, Aaron said he left a file at home and asked me to fetch it." Seeing Lily, Grandma fainted. Three days later, while I was in a meeting, Grandma's caretaker called. Grandma had fallen from the third floor of the villa. She was dead. I broke down, screaming at the caretaker. "I told you a thousand times! Even if you leave for a minute, lock her door!" "I'm so sorry, Miss Wen. She wanted hot milk, and the microwave in her room broke. I thought it would only take a second..." Noah helped me up from the floor. "Mom, it wasn't her fault. I saw it. It happened in the blink of an eye. Great-grandma just ran out and fell." Aaron held me, looking mournful. "The dead are gone, Clara. Grandma wouldn't want to see you like this." At the funeral, Aaron was the picture of a devoted husband-in-law. Everyone envied me. But years in the business world had sharpened my instincts. Something felt wrong about Grandma's death. I hired a private investigator to look into the caretaker. She disappeared right after quitting. And a large sum of money had been transferred into her account. The sender was Lily. 3 The truth was obvious. I wept uncontrollably at Grandma's grave. My mother died giving birth to me. My father was always working. Grandma raised me. I was a timid child, afraid of ghosts and the dark. Grandma would sing nursery rhymes to soothe me to sleep. Even with dementia, her favorite thing was sewing little floral dresses for me. "My Clara has a show at kindergarten. Without a pretty dress, Clara will cry." I clutched the floral dress she made me. Lily, how dare you? But when I confronted Aaron, he didn't believe me. "Clara, I know you don't like Lily, but to say she murdered Grandma? That's impossible." I looked at him coldly. "So it's just a coincidence?" "I grew up with Lily. I know her character. She's like a sister to me. Don't target her." Even my son, the boy I carried for ten months, sided with them. "Mom, don't badmouth Aunt Lily just because you're jealous she's young and pretty!" Looking at the two people I lived with, I felt like I was looking at strangers. I handed the evidence to the police. They summoned Lily. Just as I thought she would pay for her crimes, the police told me there wasn't enough evidence. Lily had a perfect alibi. The day Grandma died was Lily's birthday. And the people celebrating with her were my husband and son. She provided photos. In them, she sat surrounded by flowers, leaning into Aaron's embrace. Noah stood by with a huge gift box. They were smiling, happy. That night, while rain poured down, I sat alone on the doorstep, holding Grandma's cold body, crying until dawn. When I saw Aaron and Noah picking Lily up from the police station, my heart shattered. My two closest relatives were protecting another woman. They testified that Lily couldn't be the murderer. "Clara, I told you Lily didn't do it. Why did you call the police?" Aaron looked at the pale Lily with concern. "Mom, I saw Great-grandma fall myself. Why won't you let Aunt Lily go? You're so toxic!" On the surveillance screen, Aaron suddenly stood up to open the door. "Clara hates the cold. I have to find her!" 4 I've always been afraid of the cold. I have a severe allergy to cold air. In extreme cases, I go into shock. Before my father died, he gripped Aaron's hand tight. "Aaron, Clara is my only daughter. My biggest worry is her." "She's been frail since she was a child. She can't handle cold air. Please, take care of her..." Aaron knelt by the bed, crying genuine tears. Only after Aaron promised repeatedly did my father close his eyes. Not long after, a cold wave hit while I was on a business trip. The allergy triggered. I was delirious, unable to breathe. My emergency medication was missing from my suitcase. It was a rare drug, impossible to buy locally. I struggled to call Aaron. On the tenth try, someone picked up. "Clara? Looking for Aaron?" Lily laughed softly on the other end. "He's in the shower. He promised to spend tonight with me. Don't call again unless it's urgent." "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Aaron brought me to Hokkaido to see the snow. Even if you needed him, he couldn't make it back." When I woke up, a man was sleeping by my bed. "Clara! You're awake!" Seeing me open my eyes, Ethan Chen's exhausted face lit up. "If I hadn't been here for research and heard you were in town... you would have died!" Ethan had known me for years. He knew about my allergy. He tried to call me for dinner, but I was already unconscious. When I didn't answer, he panicked. He used his family's connections to find my hotel. Bang! The door burst open. Aaron rushed in, looking frantic. "Clara!" He hugged me, guilt flashing in his eyes. "I'm sorry I'm late. I got a sudden order from overseas, huge profit margin, so I flew out immediately. I didn't know you were sick..." Watching him lie so easily, I felt exhausted. "Is the snow in Hokkaido beautiful?" I asked softly. "I once told you I could never see snow because of my allergy. Remember what you said?" When Aaron proposed, he created artificial snow for me. "Clara, you said not seeing snow was your biggest regret. You said maybe the snowflakes hated you." "I'm willing to be hated by the snowflakes with you. Marry me, and let me be with you forever. Your joy is my joy, your regret is my regret." Aaron froze for a second. I pushed him away. "Aaron, let's get a divorce." 5 "What's your plan?" Ethan walked with me outside the hospital room. "Clara, if you really want a divorce, I can talk to Aaron." I shook my head. "He's stubborn. My father left him 30% of the company shares to ensure he'd take care of me. His influence is almost equal to mine." "Divorcing him would bleed the Wen Group dry. My father's life work is in that company. I can't risk it." "Plus, everyone sees him as the perfect husband. A sudden divorce would cause rumors that could hurt the stock price." Ethan nodded. An idea flashed in my mind. "Ethan, I heard your lab is looking for investors for an extreme weather simulation project?" "Your dad really treated me like a son. He told you everything." I smiled. "Clara, you're not thinking of investing, are you?" Ethan looked at me in surprise. "Humans are animals. Social order keeps the beast in check. Once that order breaks, true nature reveals itself." "Even a 'perfect' man like Aaron won't be able to hide. Once the mask is ripped off, he won't be able to put it back on." And then there was Lily. The murderer. For Grandma. I had to take revenge. 6 Day 7 of the "Extreme Freeze." "Aaron, I thought you abandoned us." Aaron had braved the "blizzard" to bring Lily to the mansion my father left me. "The apocalypse is here. How could I leave you?" I watched them cuddling, arms crossed. Seeing me, Aaron looked slightly guilty. "Clara, this is an emergency..." His excuse was that because I asked for a divorce, he got drunk and Lily comforted him. "Clara, I know you're mad, but the world is ending! Lily and the baby are innocent. I swore I'd protect you all!" "Innocent? If she were innocent, she wouldn't wreck a home. Cheating is cheating. Don't sugarcoat it." Suddenly, Noah ran downstairs wearing a ski mask. "Dad, I'm going out for supplies! Wish me luck!" "Stop!" I grabbed Noah. "Noah, what are you doing?" He shook me off like I was toxic. "It's the apocalypse! Staying home means death. I'm going out to find a way to survive!" "You're not going anywhere! You're a child! Stop reading those stupid web novels!" "Clara, Noah is brave. You should be happy for him," Lily said, putting an arm around him. "Young people like Noah will thrive in this new world. This is their era." "See? Aunt Lily understands! Mom, you're brainwashed by making money. Open your eyes! It's the end of the world! Don't force your old ideas on me. Just watch, I'm going to be a king!" Noah looked me up and down. "No wonder Dad likes Aunt Lily. You think divorce threats will bring him back? Dream on." I stared at him in disbelief. "Is that really how you see me?" Noah scoffed. "Always controlling me. Now you care what I think? Mom, aren't you tired of living like this?" I wanted to use this drill to expose Aaron. I didn't expect my own son to reveal his true colors so soon. To him, I was just a nagging, absent mother who only cared about money. Before he was ten, I was a full-time housewife. I gave him everything. That's why Aaron got power in the company. Now that Noah was thirteen, I started working. Strangers gave him a little kindness, and he remembered it forever. I disciplined him once, and he hated me for life. I watched him leave. I didn't stop him. My heart was colder than the weather. Hours later. "Dad! Aunt Lily! The people in the supermarket were terrified! My squad and I got supplies!" Noah pulled out a bag. He unzipped it. It was full of gold bars. "Noah! Are you insane? You robbed a bank?!" I grabbed his arm. "Let's go. We're turning ourselves in!" "Get off me!" Noah looked at me coldly. "I told you, it's the apocalypse! Civilization is gone! Laws are gone! You have to be ruthless to survive!" "Mom, I've had enough. Stop judging me with your narrow mind!" "Actually, it makes sense. Someone who would frame an innocent woman for murder is naturally unreasonable." Hearing this, my heart turned to ice. Slap! I slapped Noah hard. "Clara Wen! What did he say wrong? If you can't see reality, get out of this house!" Aaron shouted. "Noah, does it hurt? Aunt Lily will get some ice. Your mom is so cruel..." Hatred flashed in Noah's eyes. "I don't have a mom like her. She's not my mom!" I turned and walked back to my room. Ding. A text message. "Clara, the surveillance cameras caught Noah robbing the store. Take him to the police station now. Let's end the drill early." I typed back with trembling fingers. "No need. He has to pay for his actions."
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