Chapter 6

Stella POV

I looked into his hateful eyes and suddenly grew quiet.

I turned my head, staring at the bottomless cliff ahead.

Die?

Actually, I should have died long ago.

If it had been me who died in that fire three years ago, wouldn’t I have been spared these three years of excruciating pain? Wouldn’t Ethan have turned into this monster?

Anyway, I only had three months left.

Might as well be today.

A faint, relieved smile suddenly played on my lips.

I no longer hesitated, and floored the gas pedal!

“Vroom—!”

The sports car roared like a beast, shooting forward like an arrow!

The needle on the speedometer climbed frantically.

Sixty, seventy, ninety, one hundred and ten!

The car sped wildly along the narrow mountain road, tires screeching against the pavement. With every turn, the wheels almost scraped the edge of the cliff; one wrong move and we’d plummet.

Ethan had originally just wanted to scare me, to see me cry and beg for mercy.

But he saw no fear on my face.

I stared intently ahead, my eyes hollow and resolute. My foot on the gas didn’t ease up; instead, I pressed down even harder!

Ahead was a sharp, almost ninety-degree turn, beyond which lay a sheer drop into the abyss!

“Slow down!” Ethan yelled, a hint of fear in his voice.

I ignored him. The speed was already nearing one hundred and twenty!

“Stella! I said hit the brakes!” Ethan finally panicked. He lunged, trying to grab the steering wheel.

But it was too fast.

The car had already reached the edge of the curve, half of it suspended in the air by the sheer force!

“Go to hell, Ethan.”

I whispered, closing my eyes.

Just as the car was about to plunge off the cliff, in that incredibly dangerous moment, Ethan exploded with astonishing strength. He violently wrenched the steering wheel to the left, simultaneously stomping hard on my foot on the gas, forcefully slamming on the brakes!

“Bang—!”

The sports car spun violently in place, its rear end smashing into the mountain wall with a deafening crash.

The airbags instantly deployed.

The car cabin filled with the pungent smell of burning rubber and white smoke.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Ethan gasped for air, veins bulging on his forehead, cold sweat soaking his shirt. His hands were still trembling violently.

He must have thought I was insane, that I really wanted to take him with me to die.

He violently turned, tore away the airbag, and gripped my neck, his eyes so red they seemed to drip blood.

“Stella! Are you out of your mind?! You want to die?!”

I gasped for air under his grip, a sickly flush appearing on my pale face.

I didn’t struggle, just quietly looked at him. My once bright eyes now held only a dead ash.

“Yes,” I struggled to manage a twisted smile, my voice broken. “I haven’t wanted to live for a long time. Ethan, you wanted my life, didn’t you? I gave it to you, so why did you stop me?”

Ethan stared at my lifeless expression, his heart feeling as if it had been cruelly ripped open, stopping his breath with pain.

He abruptly let go, looking at me as if I were a monster.

“You want to die?” He gritted his teeth, his voice tinged with a fear he didn’t even realize. “You haven’t repaid what you owe Chloe. You have no right to die! Without my permission, you don’t even have the right to die!”

I leaned back against the seat, and suddenly began to laugh softly.

I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

“Ethan, you can’t keep me.”

I looked at the cliff outside the window, my voice as light as a sigh. “I’m just so tired.”