Buried Alive in His Hatred

Olivia's POV

I died in the tenth year of our marriage. Not from illness, but from thirty-six hundred days of silent cruelty and penance.

Ten years ago, during that avalanche, he grabbed my hand at the last second. The girl he loved got buried under all that snow.

After that, even breathing felt like a crime.

He drank himself into oblivion, stayed out all night, and on the anniversary of her death, he'd wrap his hands around my throat and ask, "Why wasn't it you?"

I loved him for fifteen years, from childhood sweethearts to bitter strangers. I gave everything for even a hint of warmth from him. What I got instead was him shoving me down the stairs for her little sister.

When I open my eyes again, wind cuts through me and snow fills the air. I'm ten years in the past, back to that afternoon in the Alps.

This time, I'll give you what you want.

"Olivia! Hold on!"

A shout snaps me awake.

The bone-deep cold jolts me into focus. I open my eyes to nothing but white. The scene is sickeningly familiar.

I'm back. Back to where the nightmare began.

My body dangles in midair. One hand claws into a crack in the rock, and the other wrist is locked in someone's warm, strong grip.

Dylan Westwood, my fiancé.

His face is twisted with terror. His goggles are gone, and those usually arrogant eyes are bloodshot. Next to him, Elena screams.

"Dylan! Dylan! Please! I don't wanna die!"

Half her body has already slipped over the edge. She's only holding on by a ski pole hooked around a root.

When she says that, hesitation flickers across Dylan's face.

His eyes dart between Elena and me. His arm shakes.

The memories flood back.

It was supposed to be just a ski trip for Dylan and me, but he brought Elena along. I didn't think much of it at the time. She was a childhood friend, someone we'd all grown up with.

After the avalanche hit, the three of us ended up on this steep cliff face. We were all exhausted. Dylan could only take one person up.

He hesitated the same way back then. In the end, he chose me.

He promised he'd go straight back to camp, get help, and save Elena.

But by the time the rescue team made it back, a second avalanche had buried everything.

That choice became Dylan's lifelong pain and my lifelong guilt.

But back then, I didn't know.

After the avalanche, Dylan seemed oddly calm. He handled Elena's funeral, took me back to the city, and we continued with our engagement plans. He was gentle and attentive. I thought going through that together had made him cherish me more.

Then came our wedding night. That's when the mask came off.

Turns out he hated himself for choosing me. Hated me even more for "taking" Elena's chance to live.

He didn't marry me out of love. He married me to make me spend the rest of my life paying for it.

From that day on, it was nothing but emotional abuse. He never came home, partied every night, and every year on the anniversary, he'd drag me back to this mountain and wrap his hands around my neck, demanding to know why I was still breathing.

Later, Elena's little sister came back from abroad. She looked almost exactly like Elena. Dylan flaunted his relationship with her right in front of me and ignored me every time I brought up divorce.

Ten years. Ten whole years.

I was trapped in that prison he called home until he pushed me down the stairs for that woman.

Looking back now, I was pathetic.

The wind and snow pick up. I can feel the cliff shaking beneath me. The second avalanche is coming.

I look at Dylan. There's nothing in my eyes but empty calm.

"Dylan."

My voice gets shredded by the wind, but it's steady.

He blinks. Clearly, he didn't expect me to sound this calm right now.

I don't give him time to react. I use every bit of strength I have to pry his fingers off my wrist, one by one.

"Save Elena."

"Are you crazy?!" Dylan shouts. "You'll die if you let go!"

I let out a bitter laugh. "I know. But this time, I don't want to owe you anything."

Before he can process what I said, I yank my hand free from his grip.

For a second I'm weightless, then my foot finds a ledge jutting out from the cliff. I catch my balance.

Shock flashes across Dylan's face. Then relief. Pure, unmistakable relief.

He doesn't hesitate. He turns, grabs Elena's hand, and starts climbing.

"Stay where you are! I'll come back for you!"

He shouts it once, then never looks back.

I watch them disappear over the top of the cliff. Something almost like satisfaction rises in my chest.

Finally, I won't have to carry someone else's death on my shoulders for another ten years.

The vibrations get stronger. A low rumble echoes in the distance.

The second avalanche is close.

I take a deep breath and force myself to think clearly.

Will Dylan actually come back with help?

Maybe not.

Last time, he rushed back to camp because the person he loved was stuck here. This time, she's right there with him. He's probably already forgotten about me.

Besides, by the time any rescue team gets back here, the wave will have swept me away.

So this time, I'm on my own.

Fortunately, he'd dragged me back here more than once in my past life. I know this terrain by heart.

If I can just survive the second avalanche, I'll have a shot at getting out of here.

With that thought, I start inching my way across the cliff face.

My fingers grip one handhold after another. My toes find every crack and crevice. Slowly, I climb down.