Chapter 5

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Once I’m gone, Chloe will be there to accompany him. That was what I wanted to see anyway.”

The voice in my head sounded even more frustrated and disappointed in me. “Don’t you have a mouth? Why don’t you just tell him what happened back then, and what you’ve been going through for the last ten years? I only forbade you from telling him that you’re dead. I never said you couldn’t clear up the misunderstandings from when you were alive!”

I simply shook my head and remained silent.

After having two vials of blood drawn from me, my body was visibly deteriorating, and even breathing was becoming difficult for me.

Over on the hospital bed, Chloe finally opened her eyes. The moment she saw me standing by the door, hatred immediately filled her eyes.

“Greg, why are you still keeping her here? I don’t want to see her. Tell her to get out!”

Greg didn’t even look at me.

He carefully wiped away the bloodstains from Chloe’s forehead and then said in a deep voice, “Get over here and apologize right now!”

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly tried to explain myself. “Greg, I didn’t do it.”

Greg suddenly rose to his feet. He grabbed my arm and kicked me hard right in the back of my knee. The brutal force forced me to drop to my knees in front of Chloe.

“You walked through that door claiming you weren’t here to cling to me, that you only came to wish me a happy birthday and say you were sorry. Fine, then show some sincerity right now. Luanne, I want you to apologize to Chloe and me on the group chat.

“I want you to say that you’re a slut, that you cheated on me, that you’re a malicious b*tch, and that you hurt people. If you say it, I’ll forgive you. We will let bygones be bygones for what happened in the past and what happened today. From now on, we’ll go our separate ways!”

A chill suddenly traveled through my body as I stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

Greg snickered. “What, you can’t do it? If that’s the case, don’t you ever say you’re sorry again. I will never forgive you. Luanne, remember that. Now, get out!”

I forced my tears back and flashed him a numb, hollow smile.

“Fine.”

Swallowing the blood rising in my throat, I forced the words out through gritted teeth. “I, Luanne, am a slut. I cheated on Greg when we were dating, and I am sorry to him. I, Luanne, am a malicious b*tch. On Greg’s twenty-eighth birthday, I maliciously harmed his fiancée, Chloe, and I am sorry to her.”

After that, I forced myself up to my feet.

“Greg, you got exactly what you wanted. No matter what kind of news you receive in the future, please remember that we have gone our separate ways.”

By the time I walked out of the hospital, I could already smell the scent of death on my own body.

Inside my mind, that same voice echoed once more. “Luanne, the countdown to your death has begun. You have exactly three seconds left. If you have any last words, I can deliver them for you.”

I lifted my head, looking up at the endless expanse of the pitch-black sky, and smiled.

“Then… May we never see each other again, for all eternity.”

Three seconds later, a cloud of white ash drifted up into the sky.

At that exact moment, an official FBI bulletin printed in stark white text on a black background sent the group chat into an uproar once again.

[Our bureau’s officer, Luanne Lee, heroically sacrificed her life on August 25, 2024, during the successful crackdown of a major organized crime case.]