Chapter 3

Doctors and nurses rushed in to try and revive me, but my body had already grown cold. In the end, the doctor had no choice but to call my time of death.

Mom and Dad hurried in shortly after hearing the news.

Floating in midair, I watched them sprint toward the front desk, frantically asking the nurse which room Owen was in. Once they got their answer, they bolted down the corridor toward his room.

They didn't ask about me once, as if they had completely forgotten they had another son.

I watched them run right past the ICU, completely fixated on getting to Owen.

When I first arrived in this world, Mom and Dad were the very first people I saw, and I had inherited all of the memories of the body's original owner.

Before Owen was found, my life with the Winslows had been pretty happy. But the moment he came back, Mom and Dad started pouring all their affection into him, probably feeling guilty for all the years he was missing.

I could understand why, but Owen wasn't a good person. He was constantly putting on a pitiful act in front of Mom and Dad.

"I was gone for so long, and you guys owe me for that," he'd snap. "Don't you think I deserve this?"

Faced with the harsh reality of their past mistake, Mom and Dad did everything they could to make it up to him.

On top of that, Owen never stopped driving a wedge between us, constantly making up lies that I was bullying him. Mom and Dad believed him without question, and over time, the way they looked at me grew colder and more irritated.

At that moment, I had the sudden urge to see what Audrey was up to, so I drifted into Owen's room.

Audrey, who was usually so busy, was sitting quietly by Owen's bedside, holding a bowl of mushroom soup.

"Audrey, it hurts so bad," Owen whined, his face a picture of feigned agony. "Are you sure my leg isn't broken?"

Audrey flashed him a helpless smile, gently blowing on the soup to cool it down before carefully feeding him a spoonful.

"Don't worry. I'm a doctor, remember? I looked at the X-rays myself. You just have a sprained ankle and a tiny scratch. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

Ethan was right there by the bed, too.

"Uncle Owen, you have to get better fast. You promised to take me to the aquarium, so you can't back out now!"

Mom and Dad were also fussing over him, with one peeling fruit and the other pouring him a glass of water.

Watching the five of them sharing such a warm, happy family moment, I felt like a knife had been driven straight through my chest all over again.

As it turned out, the happiness I had lived with for more than ten years had never belonged to me in the first place.

Maybe fate had always intended for me to grow old alone, and everything happening now was just my punishment for being greedy enough to want a family.

Owen soaked up all the attention and comfort before he finally deigned to bring me up, asking, "By the way, does anyone know how Noah's doing?"

"Honestly, it's all my fault," he said, putting on an innocent expression. "I bumped into him on the street, but for some reason, he looked furious the second he saw me. I was just trying to explain things to him when that car came out of nowhere and hit us both."

I knitted my brows.

It was a shame I was just a spirit now, for I couldn't march over and punch him in the face.

His knack for twisting the facts was as sharp as ever.

The truth was, I was just about to cross the street when he suddenly lunged from behind and shoved me into traffic. I had instinctively grabbed onto him, but he managed to shake me off.

That was how I ended up taking the full force of the impact while he walked away with barely a scratch.

Just then, a female doctor threw the door open and rushed in, shattering the heart-warming moment.

"Are Noah Winslow's relatives in here? Where's Noah's family?"

"What's the matter?" Mom grumbled, furrowing her brows in annoyance. "Can't you see we have a patient trying to rest here?"

The doctor's face hardened.

"Are all of you related to Noah? He was lying in the ICU, so how do you people have the heart to sit in here laughing? Noah passed away five minutes ago after we failed to revive him. I'm sorry for your loss."