Chapter 2

Audrey POV:

The instant my pulse stopped beating, my soul detached from my broken and battered body.

I can no longer feel any pain.

I floated more than a meter above the pebbly stream bed, looking down at my own corpse.

My limbs were twisted at an extremely bizarre angle.

My favorite white trench coat has been soaked in blood and turned dark red.

My eyes remained wide open, staring blankly at the empty night sky.

A strange pull came from the air, drawing my soul upwards.

In an instant, my gaze shifted from the dark ravine to the open-air terrace of the "Viewpoint Villa" five kilometers away, where a heater was lit.

Evan was sitting at a wooden table, with string lights casting a warm glow overhead.

A bottle of expensive Pinot Noir was chilled in an ice bucket beside him.

He stared intently at his phone, his brow furrowed and his face grim.

“She turned off her phone,” Evan muttered under his breath, slamming his phone down on the table with a loud “thud.”

"She's always like this. Whenever things don't go her way, she disappears and acts like a victim."

Bianca was standing right next to him, Evan's heavy leather jacket draped over her bare shoulders.

She reached out her hand, which had been meticulously manicured, and gently placed it on Evan's forearm.

“Evan, why don’t you drive back and go see her?” Bianca said softly, her voice full of affected gentleness and guilt.

"I feel so bad. If I hadn't had such a bad headache, you wouldn't have left her up there all alone. It's all my fault..."

Carla scoffed and waved her fork dismissively.

"Bianca, don't take all the blame on yourself. Audrey did this on purpose to upset you."

Kara took a sip of her cocktail and leaned back comfortably in her chair.

"She's used night blindness as an excuse a hundred times. Remember last Thanksgiving? Just because it was getting dark, she refused to help clean the backyard. She's just using her illness as leverage to keep Evan by her side."

Evan nodded slowly, his expression turning cold and hard.

“You’re right,” Evan said.

“I’ve spoiled her too much over the past three years. Every time she feels insecure, I have to drop everything to comfort her. Tonight, I’m not going to indulge her like that.”

I floated beside their dining table, gazing indifferently at everything before me.

My thoughts drifted back to half a year ago.

That evening, I tripped over a broken curb near our townhouse and severely sprained my ankle.

I sat on the cold sidewalk, tears streaming down my face, calling Evan, feeling lost and unable to see the road signs because of my night blindness.

Evan was playing tennis with his friends at the time.

He told me not to be so dramatic and not to make a big deal out of it, and promised to come over after playing ball, but he left me alone on the cold, hard road for two whole hours until a kind neighbor helped me home.

At that time, because I loved him, I chose to forgive him.

I thought he was just careless.

But now I finally understand the truth.

He wasn't careless at all.

He simply doesn't care whether I live or die.

Evan picked up his phone again and dialed my number once more.

A cold, mechanical voice immediately came through the receiver: "The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable."

Evan gave a cold laugh at the screen.

"Fine, let her freeze up there and reflect on just how ridiculous she is."

"I reckon in another hour, she'll be crying and sobbing as she walks down the mountain, hoping you'll apologize to her," Kara laughed.

“Evan, you absolutely must not give in this time and let her take a taxi home by herself.”

I looked down at Kara's gloating face.

Two years ago, Kara was dumped by her scumbag boyfriend and abandoned in a neighborhood with extremely poor security at two in the morning.

Evan was away on a business trip at the time.

Kara called me hysterically for help.

Although I'm afraid of walking alone at night, and even more afraid of driving at night, I still spent three hundred dollars to call an emergency car and accompanied the driver all the way to find her and take her back to my apartment.

I cooked her a hot meal, did her laundry, and held her as she sobbed uncontrollably, gently comforting her.

I treat her like my own sister.

And now, she sits here leisurely, drinking her wine, mocking my death.

“Let’s go set off fireworks,” Bianca said, tilting her head back, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, and giving Evan a sweet smile.

"Evan, you promised me you'd set off sparklers with me before midnight."

The cold expression on Evan's face melted instantly, turning into a gentle and doting smile.

"Okay, Bianca. Whatever makes you happy."

Evan stood up, paid the bill, and led Bianca and Kara to the open observation deck at the back of the restaurant.

He took a box of sparklers and fireworks out of the trunk.

He lit a long, handheld sparkler and handed it to Bianca.

Brilliant sparks burst and bloomed in the night sky, illuminating their smiling faces.

Evan embraced Bianca from behind, resting his chin gently on her shoulder, as they watched together as the magnificent fireworks burst forth in the dark canyon sky.

Five kilometers away, deep in the pitch-black ravine, the same firelight flickered faintly, casting a weak and swaying afterimage on my dead, blood-stained face.