Maeve struck the window five times. Her arms, frozen stiff, ached so badly she could barely raise them. She only managed to crack the window slightly. Kneeling on the shelf, teeth clenched, jaw aching, she bent forward.

It was incredibly cold. "How can it be so cold?" she thought. She couldn't hold on much longer.

"Maeve, get down!" Lynn shouted urgently. "You'll freeze to death!"

Maeve didn't want to move. A reckless desire to freeze to death consumed her. Then, Theo's face—his adorable, mischievous expressions—popped into her mind. If I died, Theo would cry his heart out, she thought.

Gritting her teeth, Maeve climbed down, collapsing to the ground, barely clinging to life. Lynn's eyes reddened. Images flashed through her mind:

"Let's bring him home. He looks so pitiful." "I like him! I want to marry him when I grow up!" "I'm sorry, I will be leaving first. You need to carry on living for both of us."

A child's sweet voice echoed, triggering a sharp headache and eye pain. Just as Lynn felt herself breaking down, Maeve's groan brought her back.

Lynn rushed to help, wrapping Maeve in her coat and holding her tight. "Don't die. You can't die. I won't let anything happen to you," she muttered, seemingly talking to Maeve while looking at someone else.

"I'm not dead yet," Maeve said with difficulty. "But if you continue to strangle me like this, I'll make sure you die first."

Damn it. Is she afraid I won't die quickly enough? I can barely breathe, Maeve thought.

Lynn wouldn't—Maeve loosened her grip and shoved her away, checking the area hurt by the hug to find her cell phone.

"Why didn't you say you had your phone?" Maeve glared.

Lynn, slightly dazed, stammered, "I-I forgot..."

Maeve was speechless. She's not a spoiled princess. She's just an innocent, naive girl, she thought.

"I-I'm a little uncomfortable like this. Why can't we sit separately?" Lynn asked.

"Suit yourself. If you want to freeze to death, crawl out from under my coat," Maeve retorted.

Lynn fell silent. Though in a cold storage room, her body felt on fire—hot, tense, and uncomfortable. Maeve sensed the heat but didn't understand.

She looked at Lynn in confusion. "Don't tell me you have a fever?"

"N-no," Lynn stuttered.

"Then why is your temperature so high?" Maeve asked.

"I... I'm naturally hot, but it wasn't obvious just now," Lynn finally said.

Normally, Maeve wouldn't believe it, but the cold was affecting her judgment, so she let it go. As Lynn's temperature rose, Maeve unconsciously moved closer, seeking warmth.

Lynn froze, sneaking glances at Maeve.

"There's a ventilation window," Maeve pointed to a high window. "This wouldn't be a cold storage room if there wasn't a window. The temperature fluctuates—someone's controlling it."

Lynn looked skeptical. "It's too high. Even with the shelves, we can't climb out. And the windows are sealed."

"How would we know if we don't try?" Maeve unzipped her jacket. "I'd rather fight for a slim chance than wait to die. Whether you help or not is up to you." She moved to get her blood flowing.

Maeve dragged a shelf to the window and climbed onto it, using a broken three-legged stool to smash the window. The shelf creaked, but held. She glanced down, surprised to see Lynn watching silently.

Maybe this spoiled princess isn't so unbearable after all, Maeve thought. When she isn't talking, she is somewhat tolerable.

The passage has been cleaned up for grammar, punctuation, and flow. The inconsistent use of italics for internal thoughts has been standardized. Some awkwardly phrased sentences have been rewritten for clarity. The extraneous internet reference has been removed.