The Golden Cage - S01 E04

Story 3 weeks ago

The Golden Cage - S01 E04

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4

The morning sun was very bright. It came through the big windows of the house. Linda sat on the edge of her soft bed. She did not want to move. Her face still felt very heavy and sore. She went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The purple color was turning a little bit yellow now. It did not look as scary as yesterday, but it still hurt. She put some cool water on her skin. She felt like she was living in a bad dream. She missed the days when she was just a student. She missed the days when she had nothing but her books and her dreams. Now she had a big house and many nice things, but she was not happy. She felt like a bird that had forgotten how to fly.

There was a knock at the front door. Linda jumped. She was worried it was Frank coming back to be mean again. She walked slowly to the door and looked through the small glass hole. It was not Frank. It was her two best friends from the university. Their names were Sarah and Joy. Linda felt a little bit of joy in her heart. She opened the door and let them inside. Sarah and Joy walked into the big living room. They looked at the tall ceilings and the expensive statues. But then, they looked at Linda’s face. They both stopped walking. They did not look at the house anymore. They only looked at their friend.

Sarah moved closer to Linda. She put her hand on Linda’s cheek very gently. Linda winced because it still hurt. Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. She looked at Joy and then back at Linda. Joy was shaking her head. She looked very sad and very angry at the same time. Sarah spoke first. She said, Linda, what happened to your face? Linda tried to look away. She tried to say that she had tripped and fallen down the stairs. She tried to say she was just clumsy. But Sarah and Joy knew her too well. They knew she was lying. Sarah grabbed Linda’s hands and looked into her eyes. She said, Linda, do not lie to us. We are your sisters. Tell us the truth.

Linda started to cry. The tears ran down her face and made her skin sting. She told them everything. She told them about the lady in the red dress at the office. She told them about how Frank had shouted at her. She told them about the night he came home and hit her because she touched his phone. Sarah and Joy listened quietly. When Linda was finished, Sarah took a deep breath. She said, Linda, this is not love. A man who loves you will not use his hands to hurt you. A man who loves you will protect you. He will not make your face turn blue and purple. You must leave him right now. You must pack your bags and come with us.

Linda looked at Sarah. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to run away and never see Frank again. But then, she thought about her life. She thought about her parents back in the village. She sat down on the sofa and put her head in her hands. She cried, Sarah, if I leave, who will pay the bills? My parents are old now. They cannot work on the farms like they used to. Frank sends them money every month. He pays for their medicine. He pays for their food. If I leave him, they will have nothing. I have no job. I have no money of my own. How can I take care of them?

Joy sat down on the other side of Linda. She said, Linda, your life is more important than money. Your parents love you. They would rather be poor than see you getting hurt. They would not want you to stay in a house where you are not safe. You are smart. You can find a job. We will help you. But Linda was very scared. She had become used to the luxury. She liked the soft beds. She liked the nice cars. She liked the expensive food. She remembered what it was like to be very poor. She remembered being hungry. She remembered the hot sun burning her skin in the fields. She did not want to go back to that life. She was trapped in a cage made of gold.

The friends stayed for a few hours. They tried to give Linda courage. They told her that she was strong. But Linda felt very weak. She felt like she was a small leaf being blown by the wind. When it was time for Sarah and Joy to leave, they hugged her tightly. Sarah whispered, please think about what we said. Do not let him hurt you again. Linda watched them walk away. She felt even more alone than before. She looked around the big, empty house. Every beautiful thing in the room felt like a chain holding her down. She was a prisoner of her own fear.

Later that evening, Frank came home. He was carrying a small box and some fruit. He looked at Linda and saw that she had been crying. He did not ask her if she was okay. He did not ask about her friends. Instead, he sat down and started to speak in a very cold voice. He told her that he knew her friends had visited. He told her that Sarah and Joy were just jealous of her life. He said they wanted what she had. Then, he looked her right in the eyes. He said, Linda, you have nothing without me. You are just a poor girl from a small village. If you leave this house, you will be sleeping on the dirt again. Your parents will suffer. Do you want that?

Linda felt very small. Frank’s words were like heavy stones. He was making her feel like she was not worth anything. He was making her feel like she could not survive without him. This is what he wanted. He wanted her to be too scared to leave. He wanted her to think that he was the only thing keeping her alive. Linda stayed silent. She did not know what to say. She just looked at her feet. Frank stood up and walked over to her. He touched her hair. It was a soft touch, but it made Linda feel very uneasy. He was acting like he owned her.

The night became very dark. The house was quiet. Frank told Linda to get dressed in her best clothes. He said he had a surprise for her. Linda was tired, but she did not want to make him angry again. She put on a beautiful white dress. She fixed her hair so it covered the side of her face that was still a little bit swollen. She walked down the stairs. Frank was standing in the middle of the room. There were candles lit everywhere. The room looked very romantic. It looked like a scene from a movie. But Linda did not feel romantic. She felt like she was waiting for something bad to happen.

Frank took her hands. He looked very serious. He told her that he had been thinking a lot. He said he knew he had made mistakes. He said he wanted to make everything right. He said he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her happy. Then, slowly, Frank knelt down on one knee. He reached into his pocket and brought out a small black box. He opened it. Inside was the most beautiful diamond ring Linda had ever seen. The diamond was huge. It caught the light of the candles and sparkled with many colors. It looked like a tiny star.

Frank looked up at her and said, Linda, will you marry me? He asked her to be his wife. He promised to give her everything she ever wanted. He promised that the hit was just a one-time thing. He promised to be a good husband. Linda looked at the ring. It was a symbol of all the wealth and luxury she had always dreamed of. It was the key to staying rich. But then, she felt the sting on her cheek. She thought about the bruises. She thought about the cold look in his eyes when he hit her. She looked at the ring, and then she looked at her bruises in the reflection of a nearby mirror.

Her heart was torn in two. One part of her wanted the safety of the money. She wanted to make sure her parents were okay. She wanted the gold. But the other part of her was screaming to run. She was about to open her mouth to answer him. She did not know if she was going to say yes or no. The air in the room was very thick. It felt like time had stopped moving. Frank was waiting. The ring was shining. The silence was very loud.

Linda took a deep breath and opened her lips to speak.

But just as she was about to say the first word, a loud noise broke the silence. It was the sound of someone banging on the front door. It was not a gentle knock. It was a loud, angry pounding. Boom, boom, boom! The whole house seemed to shake. Linda jumped in fear. Frank looked very surprised and very angry. He stood up quickly and closed the ring box. The banging did not stop. It got louder and faster.

Then, they heard a voice. It was a woman’s voice. She was outside the house, and she was screaming. She was calling Frank’s name over and over again. She sounded very upset. She was shouting, Frank! Frank, come out here right now! I know you are in there! You cannot hide from me! The woman began to kick the door. She was screaming about secrets and lies. She was screaming that Frank was a monster.

Linda looked at Frank. His face had turned very pale again, just like it did on the day of the graduation party. He looked like he was going to be sick. He did not move toward the door. He just stood there, looking terrified. The woman outside was still screaming his name. She was banging so hard that it sounded like the door might break open at any moment. Linda felt a new kind of fear. Who was this woman? What did she know about Frank? The episode ends with the sound of the banging door and the screams of the strange woman filling the house. The golden cage was shaking, and the secrets were finally coming to the light.

Do you think Linda was going to say "yes" to the marriage proposal before the banging started?

Who do you think the strange woman at the door is? Is she the woman from the office?

Why is Frank so scared of the woman outside? What secret is he hiding?

Should Linda open the door to see who the woman is, or should she let Frank handle it?

Do you think Sarah and Joy were right to tell Linda to leave, even if she becomes poor again?

The secrets are finally coming out! Who is the woman at the door and what does she want with Frank? Will this be the end of Linda's golden cage? You cannot miss the next episode!