"Didn’t you always pester me about going on a date? Well, Ayden wants to go to the amusement park, so let’s all go together."
She thought this token gesture would erase everything unpleasant that had happened.
Just as I was about to refuse, she dragged me downstairs and shoved me into the car.
Shortly after, we arrived at the amusement park. As we alighted from the car, Ayden excitedly pointed to the drop tower.
"Minton, let’s ride it together!" he beamed.
"No." I refused firmly.
Ayden feigned disappointment. "If Minton doesn’t want to play with me, I won’t force it."
But Valerie erupted at his words.
"Minton, can’t you stop ruining the mood?" she snapped.
"Ayden is trying to get closer to you, but you keep rejecting him. Does making others feel bad make you happy?"
Without waiting for my reply, she grabbed my arm and tried to drag me to the ride.
"If you don’t do this, then forget about getting married!"
She always used this line to control me.
But this time, I pushed her hand away.
Her gaze hardened. She called over a bodyguard, who forcibly strapped me into the seat.
"I have acrophobia! I’ve told you that!" I shouted.
It wasn’t a secret; I had told her about my fear of heights many times. However, as if she didn't hear me, she ignored me.
As I struggled desperately against the restraints, Valerie dismissed my fear with a careless remark, “So what? It’s not like you’re going to die.”
One person was no match for a group of bodyguards.
Without further ado, Valerie had me tied securely to the drop tower seat. The ride operator, seeing that all the safety checks were complete, pressed the start button.
No matter how much I fought, it was futile.
As the ride ascended to its highest point, my face turned ashen, my legs trembling uncontrollably. Those few minutes felt like an eternity.
When the ride finally ended, I stumbled off, my entire body shaking. A wave of dizziness hit me like a freight train, and I crouched down, barely able to keep upright.
Valerie looked at me with a fleeting moment of guilt, nervously touching her nose as if debating whether to check on me.
But before she could say a word, Ayden tugged at her sleeve.
“Valerie, let’s go ride the Ferris wheel together!”
This time, she hesitated briefly.
Yet the moment Ayden pouted, she immediately gave in, abandoning me where I stood.
The dizziness worsened until I collapsed on the ground.