Dumping Him for His Uncle (Natasha and Zachary)

"You knew the freezer door would lock automatically and didn't think to mention it sooner?"

Natasha's tone still carried a trace of frustration. She instinctively reached for her phone, then remembered that she'd tossed it outside earlier.

"There's no signal in here anyway," Zachary said, pulling out his phone. It was completely dead from the cold. His expression remained unreadable.

"Don't worry. Julian will notice I'm missing and start looking for me," he added. His calmness came from the certainty that someone would eventually come.

With no better option, Natasha sat down beside him. With every passing second, she could feel more warmth slipping from her body.

"Most freezers have some kind of emergency call button-" Zachary began. Hearing that, Natasha immediately started to get up and look around.

"But, this ferry is pretty old. The freezer system was never updated with those features," he continued.

She froze mid-motion. "And you couldn't have led with that?"

With a sigh, she dropped back down beside him. She honestly couldn't believe she'd just risked everything to rescue this guy.

With no way to call for help, silence crept back in. The only sound was the steady hum of the cooling system.

"You don't want to ask me anything?" Zachary glanced over at her, trying to make conversation.

Natasha shook her head. "That's your business. Even if I wanted to know, you'd have to be the one willing to share, especially if it's something personal."

Back in university, she'd done some psychology-related work through her student club. From his rigid posture and the way his thoughts seemed frozen, she could guess the general cause.

"You heard everything between me and Matthew, didn't you?" Zachary asked.

If she hadn't overheard them, there was no way she would've found him so quickly.

"I heard everything. Honestly, I didn't expect you to be helping me. So, now I'm kind of curious. What is it about me that you want, Mr. Foster?" Natasha asked seriously, catching Zachary completely off guard.

"Who says you have to want something to help someone?" he replied.

But the slight hesitation in his voice gave him away.

Natasha couldn't help but laugh. It

was

Zachary look even the slightest bit flustered.

1 St time she'd ever seeme

"What are you laughing at?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

Natasha grabbed a torn piece of cardboard and draped it over him, hoping it

might slow the heat loss, even a little.

"Aren't you cold?" Zachary asked.

She gave him a look. "What do you think? We've been stuck in a freezer for at least half an hour."

She couldn't imagine what they'd be like in

mother 30 minutes. They t even have the strepnet

.

left

As time dragged on, it felt like the world around her was slowly fading away.

It was the middle of summer outside, but here she was-trapped in a freezer, the cold air relentlessly stealing the last bit of warmth from her body.

"Natasha?"noveldrama

She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or awake, but she thought she heard someone calling her name.

The voice was soft and gentle. "Natasha... come with me."

Instinctively, she reached out toward the warmth, drawn toward the sound.

"Stay with me!"

Zachary grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard.

Her eyes were glazed over, unfocused, her gaze slipping farther and farther away.

Panic surged through him as he felt the warmth fading from her fingers.