Chapter 4

Chloe didn't answer.

She dragged her feet toward my father's headstone and fell hard to her knees.

"I'm sorry."

Her forehead slammed against the cold granite, over and over, until blood began smearing across the stone.

A rush of hot fury ignited in my chest.

"What good is your apology now?!"

I lunged forward, yanking her up by her arm. "My dad is dead!"

"He's never coming back!"

"You're the one who killed him! You took him away from me!"

Chloe looked up, her hollow eyes suddenly filling with tears.

"I know... I see him every night in my dreams."

My entire body stiffened.

"What did you just say?"

Suddenly, Chloe’s eyes widened in sheer terror, looking past my shoulder.

I turned around.

Ethan was standing just a few feet away, his face devoid of any emotion.

"Chloe."

He walked over slowly, his voice sickeningly gentle.

"It's time for your medication."

Chloe stumbled backward in panic. "I'm not taking it!"

"Be a good girl."

"That's not medicine!" she shrieked hysterically.

Ethan lunged forward, grabbing her wrist with an iron grip. "You're having another episode."

"I am not!"

She fought wildly, her fingernails clawing deep bloody gouges across the back of Ethan's hand.

Using every ounce of strength left in her frail body, she whipped her head toward me and screamed at the top of her lungs,

"Evelyn, you can't marry him!"

"I won't let you, and your dad would never allow it! Because—"

Ethan’s face twisted into pure fury. He raised his hand and slapped her across the face with brutal force.

The sharp crack echoed through the silent cemetery.

Chloe collapsed beside my father’s tombstone, blood trickling from the corner of her split lip.

"Ethan!"

I shoved him back with all my might, throwing myself between him and Chloe.

"Why did you hit her?!"

Ethan’s chest heaved violently.

After a few suffocating seconds, he seemed to pull his mask back on, rubbing his temples as if exhausted.

"Eve, you don't understand. Her paranoia has gotten worse. She’s completely delusional now."

His intense gaze locked onto mine.

"She's sick. Every word coming out of her mouth right now is a lie designed to sabotage our wedding."

"Don't let her get inside your head, okay?"

I stood there, completely numb.

Right at that moment, a trembling, bloody hand reached out from behind me, grabbing my fingers and shoving a small, hard object into my palm.

Then, Chloe’s shrill scream ripped through the air like a bolt of lightning, shattering my entire reality.

"Evelyn! I wasn't the one who hit your dad!"

"Ethan was the one driving that night!"

"Don't marry him! If you do, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

Chapter Five