Frozen in the Glass Cage, The Billionaire's Regret

The night before our engagement gala, my fiancé’s childhood best friend told me she had a surprise for the bride. She lured me to the hotel’s penthouse glass conservatory, locked the heavy doors from the outside, and activated the full industrial sprinkler system. It was a freezing December night. Ice-cold water rained down on me from above. Surrounded by transparent glass on all four sides, I was trapped in a showcase of misery. Down below on the terrace, guests raised their phones, recording me as I trembled. She laughed, looking pure yet utterly vicious. "Doesn’t Victoria love acting so proud and untouchable? Let's show everyone what she looks like when she's frozen and begging for mercy." My fiancé, Julian Montgomery, stood down on the terrace. Looking up at me through the pouring mist, his voice was chillingly detached. "Just make sure she doesn't die." "A girl from a small town needs to suffer a bit to realize the Montgomery family isn't an easy door to walk through." Later, I shattered the glass and climbed down from the terrace. Wiping the blood from my face, I dialed my legal team. "Notify the board. Divest all capital, freeze the escrow accounts, and cut off all project funding for Montgomery Enterprises first thing tomorrow morning." "And send tonight’s footage straight to the police." "Unlawful imprisonment, intentional assault, violation of privacy. Don't leave out a single charge." The moment the ice-cold water drenched me, the breath was knocked clean out of my lungs. The conservatory door was locked from the outside. With glass walls on every side, the harsh lights illuminated my humiliation with nowhere to hide. On the terrace of the banquet hall below, a crowd had gathered. Holding champagne flutes, they watched as if enjoying a well-orchestrated performance. Some laughed. Some whistled. Others raised their phones, zooming in on my soaked, shivering face. "Now this is wild." "Julian really knows how to throw a party. Quite the surprise for his bride-to-be the night before the engagement." "Surprise? Didn't you hear Celeste? It’s a test." "A test to see if she's worthy of becoming a Montgomery!" Taunts drifted through the sound of rushing water, cutting straight into my ears. My fingers clutched the door handle desperately. It wouldn't budge. Outside, an electronic padlock glowed with a mocking red light. Celeste Hayes stood on the other side, wearing an immaculate evening gown, her makeup flawless like a pure gardenia. Holding a white umbrella, she smiled brightly and shook the remote in her hand at me. "Victoria, don't look at me like that." "Everyone just wants to see how much you really love Julian." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clear enough for the spectators around her to hear. Another wave of laughter erupted from the crowd. I wiped the stinging water from my face, my voice shaking with cold. "Celeste, open the door." She tilted her head, as if she had just heard the funniest joke. "But the game just started." "We took bets on how long you can last before begging for help." She stepped closer, staring at me through the glass. "Haven't you always claimed to be so independent, so tough, so capable?" "Prove it to us, then." Looking at her innocent facade, my heart turned to ice. Tonight was the eve of my engagement party with Julian Montgomery. The Montgomery family had booked the entire mountaintop luxury resort. Tomorrow morning, all major business press outlets would arrive. Julian had told me this was the grand celebration he owed me. He said I had stayed by his side through Montgomery Enterprises’ hardest three years, helping him rise from an illegitimate son marginalized by the board to the undisputed head of the company. He said I deserved this title. For a time, I genuinely thought I was happy. For this engagement party, I pushed back three critical board meetings and personally verified every guest list and funding transaction. Yet now, the man who promised me dignity was standing right in the center of the terrace below. He didn't come up. He didn't order the door opened. Sheltered beneath the dry awning, Julian stood bathed in warm, elegant light, clad in a crisp black suit, looking on coldly as I shivered under the freezing cascade. I shouted his name through the glass. "Julian!" "Tell her to open the door!" I thought he would at least frown. Instead, he casually flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Victoria, Celeste is just having fun." "You're older and more mature than her. Don't be so petty."In that moment, the icy water pierced straight through my bones like daggers. I glared down at him, my eyes burning red. "You know I'm terrified of this!" When I was eight, I was trapped in a collapsed warehouse. Torrential rain poured outside as water rose past my knees, surrounding me with pitch-black darkness and splintered timber. My mother gave her life to save me, pinned down by a collapsing support beam. She pushed me out to safety, but she never made it out herself. Ever since, I had suffered from severe claustrophobia, a terror of rushing water, and a dread of any dark night from which there was no escape. All these years, I had never told another soul. Only Julian knew. Back when debt collectors trapped him in an underground garage during Montgomery Enterprises' crisis, he had locked himself inside a car all night to protect the project files. When I sat beside him through his trauma therapy, he held my hand and promised, "Victoria, from now on, I'll shield you from all your fears." And now, he stood below, letting my deepest trauma become a public circus. Celeste chimed in with a sweet laugh. "See? Julian said I'm just playing around." "Victoria, don't be such a buzzkill." She turned toward the guests below, raising her voice. "Ladies and gentlemen, the bet is officially on!" "If she cries and begs Julian to save her within thirty minutes, I lose." "If she holds out without begging, I'll Venmo everyone ten thousand dollars!" The crowd went wild. "Miss Hayes is generous!" "Put me down for her breaking! No way she lasts." "A nobody from a small town really thought putting on a couture dress made her high society?" "Is Julian actually going to marry her? I always thought she was just a placeholder." My fingertips went numb. Water streamed into my eyes, burning like acid. I pounded on the glass with all my strength. "Julian, I'm warning you one last time. Open this door!" Julian finally glanced up at me. There was no remorse in his eyes—only irritation at being challenged in public. "Victoria, do you really have to make such a scene?" "Celeste has been spoiled by all of us since childhood. Why make a fuss over her games?" "Besides, aren't you the expert at crisis management? You can't even handle a little prank?" I froze in place. Suddenly, my lips curved into a bitter, broken smile. To him, the sheer terror of being locked in a freezing downpour was just a "little prank." All the crises I had weathered for him over the past three years had ultimately become his justification to humiliate me. Seeing me smile, Celeste’s expression flickered with annoyance. She hated this look on my face. She hated that even when brought to my knees in utter misery, I still refused to bow my head. She clicked the remote in her hand. The next second, the overhead sprinklers roared, doubling their output. A deluge of ice-cold water slammed onto my head. My knees buckled, and I nearly hit the floor. Gasps rose from the crowd below. Not out of concern, but pure excitement. "She's about to break!" "Film it, get closer! This is going viral tomorrow!" "Julian’s fiancée is stubborn, I'll give her that..." Celeste leaned in close to the glass, her voice dropped to a whisper meant only for me. "Drop the act, Victoria." "I know you're terrified of places like this." "Julian told me everything."My heart plummeted into an abyss. Her smile grew sickeningly sweet. "Did you think he kept your scars a secret?" "Sorry to break it to you, but when he tucks me into bed, he tells me everything." "He told me you got trapped as a kid, and that you can't sleep whenever it rains." "He said you look tough on the outside, but deep down, you're still that pathetic little girl who's scared of the dark and water." A loud ringing filled my ears. Her words were far colder than the storm crashing over me. Three years with Julian. I had shielded him from hostile board takeovers, secured international venture capital for him, and stayed up until 4:00 AM revising acquisition proposals. The night he suffered a bleeding stomach ulcer, I stayed by his hospital bed until dawn. When his older half-brother framed him for embezzlement, I personally combed through three years of audits, finding the loopholes that pulled him out of the mud. He had knelt before me and said, "Victoria, without you, I wouldn't be standing here today." "Once I take full control of Montgomery Enterprises, I will marry you." I thought that was a vow. Instead, in his eyes, I was merely a remarkably useful tool. Someone who would bleed for him as long as he tossed her a crumb of tenderness. Celeste tapped on the glass. "Don't blame me, Victoria." "I just wanted you to know your place." She glanced down at Julian, her tone instantly softening into a whimper. "Julian, you're not mad at me, are you?" Julian stubbed out his cigarette. "Don't take it too far." Celeste immediately pouted. "How am I taking it too far? You promised me tonight was all about making me happy." "You said this engagement was just a temporary arrangement anyway." A temporary arrangement. Those four words felt like a serrated blade tearing through my chest. I lifted my head and looked down at Julian. "Is what she said true?" Julian frowned. He clearly hadn't expected Celeste to blurt that out in front of everyone. Yet within seconds, he regained his aloof, detached composure. "Now that you've heard it, there's no need to hide it." Soaked to the skin, standing in freezing water, I stared at him. "So tomorrow's engagement party is a sham, too?" He answered flatly, "It's not a sham." "It's an engagement, Victoria, not a marriage certificate." "You should know better than anyone that a Montgomery marriage cannot be based purely on sentiment." "Celeste has the Hayes family empire behind her. She's the one who truly belongs by my side." My nails dug deep into my palms. "Then what was I to you?" A flash of genuine impatience crossed Julian’s eyes. "Do you have to make this sound so ugly?" "I haven't mistreated you these past three years." "You wanted authority? I made you Executive Vice President." "You wanted respect? Who in Montgomery Enterprises dared look down on you?" "As for marriage—I can't give you that, and I don't see the point in lying to you forever." He spoke with total calm. As if three years of my blood, sweat, and devotion were fairly compensated by a corporate title. Celeste leaned affectionately against his shoulder, smiling up at me. "Know when to be satisfied, Victoria." "A girl with no family, no pedigree, and no one to back her up? Getting this close to Julian is already the jackpot of your miserable life." Someone in the crowd chimed in, "Seriously." "If Julian actually married her, the Montgomery family would be the laughingstock of high society." "Who cares how smart she is? High-society wives are chosen by bloodline." "She needs a reality check. At best, she was a foot soldier helping Julian take the throne. Foot soldiers don't get crowned queen." I looked at the familiar faces below—executives and partners who used to bow and scrape in my boardroom. When they respected me, they called me Vice President Sterling. Now, seeing Julian discard me, they couldn't wait to bare their fangs. A man in a gray suit waved his phone with a smirk. "Hey, Victoria, want me to snap a few portraits for your memory book?" "After tomorrow, Miss Hayes will be standing next to Julian." "Consider tonight your grand finale as the leading lady." I didn't utter another word. The paralyzing fear had passed its peak. When agony reaches its absolute limit, a terrifying clarity takes over. I reached up and touched my right ear. The stud was still there. It wasn't ordinary jewelry. Three months ago, when I first noticed discrepancies in Montgomery Enterprises' accounts, I had my personal security team build me an emergency transponder. Pressing it three times consecutively would instantly transmit my GPS coordinates and a high-priority distress alert to my personal attorneys, assistant, and private security firm. Julian had no clue. He thought I had handed him every card in my deck. He forgot that someone who clawed her way out of the rubble would never entrust her life entirely to anyone else. I lowered my head, pretending to choke on the water, and brought my hand to my ear. One. Two. Three. The earring vibrated faintly against my skin. The signal was out.Thinking I was finally breaking down, Celeste’s eyes lit up with malicious glee. "Julian, look! Is she crying?" "I knew she couldn't keep up the tough girl act." She pulled out her phone and aimed the camera straight at me. "Come on, Victoria. Look into the lens and admit you were wrong." "Just admit you aren't worthy of Julian, and I'll unlock the door." I raised my head and locked eyes with her. "Celeste, are you sure you want to keep pushing this?" She paused, caught off guard, then sneered. "You're in that state and you're still threatening me?" "Victoria, you don't actually think you're still that fearsome corporate executive, do you?" "Your power came from Julian." "What he gives, he can take away." I slowly straightened my spine. "Then ask him if he still has the power to take anything from me." Julian’s eyes darkened with irritation. "Victoria, what is that supposed to mean?" Through the sheet of water, I locked eyes with him. "It means you'd better pray I walk out of here alive tonight." "Because if I do, tomorrow won't be Montgomery Enterprises' engagement party. It will be your liquidation hearing." The crowd laughed again, assuming I was grasping at straws. Celeste nearly doubled over in amusement. "A liquidation hearing? Who are you going to liquidate? The Montgomery family?" "Has the cold water frozen your brain, Victoria?" Julian’s face hardened completely. "Enough." He looked up at me, his voice dropping into a stern command. "Victoria, stop overestimating your worth." "Every project in your hands belongs to Montgomery Enterprises." "Every connection you have was made through our platform." "Without the Montgomery name, you are nothing." I looked at him, and the very last ember of pain in my heart turned to ash. "Fine." "Julian, let's see tomorrow." "Let's see who is truly nothing without whom." Celeste despised the look in my eyes. She wanted tears, she wanted desperate begging, she wanted me stripped of all dignity before the elite crowd. Yet I gave her none of it. The smug smile vanished from her face. "Still playing tough, huh?" She handed her umbrella to an attendant and walked over to the electronic control pad. "Since you refuse to apologize, let's raise the stakes." She slammed another button. The motorized blackout shades surrounding the conservatory suddenly deployed. Heavy, impenetrable black fabric slowly rolled down, sealing off the transparent glass. Light was extinguished. My breathing hitched instantly. Enclosure. Darkness. The deafening roar of water. All three horrors crashed down on my senses at once. My vision spun black. Outside the closing seam, Celeste threw me one last venomous glance. "Didn't you say you were going to liquidate us?" "Go ahead." "Try walking out of there first." The shades shut completely, plunging the conservatory into pitch darkness. Only a malfunctioning white strobe light on the ceiling flickered erratically. Water continued to slam down, every drop echoing like the storm leaking through the collapsed warehouse beams of my childhood. I could hear my mother’s voice in the dark. *Victoria, keep crawling out.* *Don't look back.* I bit down hard on my lower lip until the metallic taste of blood burst in my mouth. I cannot fall. Not here. Not tonight. Outside, a crowd was waiting to laugh at my corpse. Julian was waiting out there, waiting for me to break and crawl to his feet. Groping through the darkness, I moved toward the corner. There was a heavy wrought-iron planter stand used for floral displays. Summoning every ounce of adrenaline left in my body, I hoisted the heavy iron stand and slammed it brutally against the glass door. *Crack!* The first blow only spider-webbed the surface. Outside, gasps rippled through the onlookers. Someone yelled, "Is she insane?!" "That's reinforced safety glass! She can't break that!" "Victoria, stop humiliating yourself! Just apologize and be done with it!" I didn't stop. A second blow. A third. The violent vibration jarred through my wrists. The skin between my thumbs and index fingers tore open, blood mixing with water and splattering onto the tiles. The fractures spread rapidly across the pane. Panic finally crept onto Celeste’s face outside. She banged on the door frame, yelling, "Victoria, stop it!" "If that glass shatters, you're going to get hurt!" I let out a cold, breathless laugh. "Now you care if I get hurt?" Celeste turned pale and frantically looked back at Julian. "Julian, she's actually trying to smash it!" Julian stepped forward, scowling deeply. "Victoria, stand down!" "You're only making this more humiliating for yourself!" I swung the iron stand with everything I had left. With a deafening crash, a corner of the glass door gave way. Freezing mountain air rushed in. I lunged forward and kicked violently at the shattered opening.