Chapter 1

I was always the unwanted child in my family because I had a younger brother.

When I met my husband, I thought I had finally found my happily ever after.

But when a speeding truck smashed directly into me,

my husband was at a concert with my best friend, annoyed and impatiently hanging up on my dying cries for help.

My mother was busy throwing a lavish birthday yacht party for my brother, ignoring my calls entirely.

And when my family finally learned of my death,

my biological parents signed a settlement agreement and dropped all charges without hesitation.

My husband even held her hand as he stood before my grave and said:

"It’s better that a woman like her is dead."

In that exact moment, I finally realized:

everyone hated me.

So why... why are you the ones weeping for me now?

"Stop with these pathetic little tricks. I’m busy. Don’t bother me."

The icy voice on the other end of the line chilled me to the bone.

"Help me..."

I couldn't even care how irritated he sounded. I was dying.

Just moments ago,

a heavy truck barrelled around the corner, blinding me with its headlights.

Before I could even react, the violent impact sent me flying through the air.

In that split second, it felt like every single bone in my body shattered. The excruciating pain instantly swallowed my consciousness.

I crashed heavily onto the cold asphalt.

Rain mingled with my blood, forming small crimson puddles on the dark pavement.

I struggled to lift my head, but my vision was blurring, fading into dull shades of gray.

I wanted to live...

I didn't even have the strength left to dial a number, clinging only to the hope of my emergency SOS contact.

Even though I knew he despised me.

"I'm not lying... I got hit by a truck. My phone should've sent you my location... Ethan, please... save me."

I gasped weakly, my voice practically drowned out by the pouring night rain.

A cold sneer came from the receiver, followed by the sound of the call disconnecting.

I wanted to live. I wanted to survive so badly.

Desperate, I dialed his number again with trembling fingers.

"Please... real accident. Help..."

I choked on my own blood, tears mixing with the rain streaming down my face, washing away my sight.

"I'm begging you."

"If you call me one more time, I'm blocking you instantly."

His voice was merciless. Then, I heard another woman's hushed whisper in the background.

"Phones aren't allowed in the concert hall, Ethan."

I recognized that voice. It was my best friend, Hailey.

"Right away, sweetheart," he replied, his tone softening instantly. Then, turning back to the call, his voice hardened back into ice:

"Stop bothering me. If you really drop dead, I promise I'll buy you the most expensive plot in the cemetery."

Listening to the dial tone buzzing in my ear, I had never hated him more than I did right then.

Just as I closed my eyes, ready to surrender to death, a passerby finally noticed my crumpled body in the shadows!

I was saved.

Call 911, call an ambulance, please, I begged silently with every fiber of my being.

Yet, the stranger simply stood there, snapped a quick photo of me, and turned around to walk away.

A suffocating, dead silence followed. Despair swallowed me whole.

The rain poured down harder, icy drops stinging my skin.

My consciousness started to slip away, and the world faded into an indistinguishable blur.

In the distance, I heard the faint wail of approaching sirens, but it was already too late.

My breaths grew shallower and shallower until everything turned into pure darkness.

The last thing I felt was bone-chilling cold and an endless, hollow void of loneliness.