"Love on the Brink: A Tale of Betrayal"
In the chill of early winter, the nights were biting cold, and the temperature inside was just as frigid.
Even so, Snow Johnson was dressed in a thin garment, kneeling on the cold floor, trying desperately to please the man in front of her.
The rooms temperature slowly rose, but the mans large hand choked her neck, tightening bit by bit, his voice hoarse.
"Is this how you climbed into other mens beds back then?" he asked.
Tears welled up in Snows eyes as she replied, "You promised me."
Emotion flared in the mans eyes, a mix of pain and resentment spreading between them, neither willing to let the other go, as if to entwine in a deadly embrace.
The next day, at ten in the morning.
Snow and Ansen Johnson walked out of the civil affairs bureau, a red booklet in hand – their marriage certificate.
As a price, Snow had to endure three years of imprisonment on behalf of Lynn Johnson.
A single marriage contract ended Snows ten-year-long admiration for Ansen Johnson.
In the car, Ansen rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and spoke with a heavy voice, "Ive done what I promised."
Snow understood his meaning and murmured with her eyes downcast, "Before you take me to the police station, could you take me to the hospital to see Nana? She is your daughter, after all..."
A cold laugh escaped Ansens lips, "My daughter?"
Snow bit her lower lip in silence; Ansen never believed that Nana was his child.
Five years ago, at Ansens birthday party, everyone had too much to drink, but Snow distinctly remembered that night she had been with Ansen.
However, she woke up in another mans arms the next day, with Lynn leading a crowd of reporters to burst in, turning her into the joke of Aspen City and Ansens disgrace overnight.
Ansens grandfather also succumbed to the shock and died, and even more terrifyingly, she became pregnant soon after. The Johnson family, unable to bear the shame, cast her out.
Ansa believed her unfaithful and indirectly responsible for his grandfathers death, harboring a deep hatred for her. No matter how much she tried to explain, he refused to believe that Nana was his child.
After the child was born, Snow took her for a paternity test, which confirmed that she was not Ansens flesh and blood.
All of Snows hopes were shattered; she was certain that Ansen was the one she had been with!
However, fate was unkind, and the child was born with congenital heart disease, requiring long-term hospitalization and exorbitant medical expenses. These life-or-death choices pushed her to the brink.
To gather the high medical costs, Snow sold her dignity and became Ansens plaything, even agreeing to take Lynns place in prison to marry him, just to ensure that Ansen would become Nanas legal guardian.
At least that way, she wouldnt have to worry daily about the hospital balance running out and the medication being cut off abruptly.
The car pulled up by the roadside of the hospital, and Ansen lit another cigarette, his voice cold, "You have ten minutes."
Snow quickly got out of the car and rushed straight to the inpatient department, just to see her child before going to prison.
Inside the ward, Nana, due to her illness, was smaller and thinner than most children, her face no bigger than a palm, as pale as a sheet of paper, but her eyes were bright.
"Mommy, I miss you so much," Nana said.
Snows heart ached terribly as she touched the childs face, her voice nasal, "Mommy misses you too."
"When can I leave the hospital, Mommy? The smell here is awful, and I want to be with you forever," Nana asked.
Thinking of the impending three years in prison, Snow felt choked with emotion, holding her child and unable to speak.