Chapter 1
I died the year before Carlier Guilbert found fame and fortune.
A year later, he appeared triumphantly on a nationwide TV variety show with his new lover by his side.
The host asked if he had any regrets.
Looking straight into the camera, Carlier replied with great deliberation, "I want to know how Roshelle Sorin, the woman who abandoned me for money all those years ago, is doing.”
The host turned pale and replied haltingly, "She... she wasn't doing well at all.”
Carlier guffawed with satisfaction when he heard that. "That's very good."
"But..." The host hesitated again before continuing, "Mr. Guilbert, Ms. Roshelle Sorin… passed away from illness a year ago. This is the keepsake she left for you..."
The whole place went dead silent.
Carlier's smile slowly crumpled into a grotesquely comical expression.
He remained motionless like some weathered statue while still holding Idalie Soby in his arms. However, the sparkle in his eyes was gone.
"What did you say?" Carlier's voice was so hoarse it sounded like sandpaper scraping against each other. However, the incredulous tone was unmistakable.
The host couldn't bring himself to meet Carlier's eyes and instead looked toward the director below the stage.
The director's expression was grim as he nodded.
After receiving confirmation from the director, the host took a deep breath as if about to deliver a verdict.
He then stated with great deliberation, "Ms. Roshelle Sorin passed away a year ago from late-stage stomach cancer, despite all attempts to save her.
"Her life before she died... was very miserable. She left instructions for the hospital to hand this to you on the day you achieved success."
Another TV crew held an old wooden box as he carefully made his way onto the stage with his head bowed.
The surface of the small box was scratched, and it looked somewhat cheap and shabby.
It looked utterly out of place amid the dazzling stage lights and Carlier's stature, which was now boosted by a fortune exceeding a hundred million.
Idalie felt Carlier's discomfit at once. The smile on her face was replaced by the horrified realization that her own dream was about to crumble.
She spoke up cautiously, "Carl, is this... some kind of prank by the producers?"
Carlier didn't answer her. His eyes were glued to that wooden box.
That box was like a double-edged blade that simultaneously struck immense terror and elicited lethal fascination from him.
"Late-stage stomach cancer… Death… Keepsake..."
Those words rammed into his skull like sledgehammers, pounding him until his ears began buzzing and his limbs felt as heavy as icy lead bars.
'How can it be? That woman who ditched me for money without hesitation is dead? She should be off somewhere, enjoying herself with the break-up money she received!' These thoughts swirled madly in Carlier's mind right now.
"I don't believe it!" Carlier shoved Idalie away and glared at the host like an enraged beast with bloodshot eyes.
"Who came up with such a trashy script? Is this some sick publicity stunt to boost ratings? How can someone like Roshelle die? She values her life more than anyone else!"
His roar reverberated through the silent studio in a jarring manner that indicated his imminent loss of control.
On the variety show's screen, the live chat erupted with comments.
[WTF? What just happened? His ex died?]
[This twist... gives me the chills. Carlier's reaction looks authentic!]
[So this is not some gold-digger drama? It's some tearjerker with a tragic ending?]
The host backed away fearfully. "Mr. Guilbert, we have official proof that Ms. Roshelle Sorin passed away. This is the hospital's number if you want to check for yourself…"
"Enough!" Carlier cut him off brusquely as his breathing quickened.
His eyes were still fixed warily on the wooden box, as if it were some cursed object. In his eyes, inexplicable fear and repulsion combined in a roiling chaos.
The business empire he had built from scratch, all the awards he had won, and the glory of standing at the summit now felt like nothing but a cruel joke.
The effort he had put in and the burning hatred he had harbored were all for the sake of one day standing before her and making her see how foolish her choice had been.
He wanted her to regret her decision. But now, someone was telling him that the woman he despised to his very core was already dead.
She didn't even have the chance to regret it anymore.
Carlier looked like he had lost his mind. He stumbled off the stage, and after shoving people aside, he bolted out of the studio like a lunatic.
Behind him, Idalie's frantic cries and the chaos of the crowd filled the air.
But Carlier couldn't hear a thing. All that echoed in his mind was that one sentence. "Ms. Roshelle Sorin passed away a year ago from late-stage stomach cancer, despite all attempts to save her…"
*****
My name is Roshelle Sorin.
Carlier, by the time you see this tape, you should be standing at the peak in the limelight.
You should have achieved great success and won every award you've ever dreamed of.
You should... have completely forgotten me and moved on with your life.
That's great, because that is exactly the ending I wanted…
*****
Carlier locked himself away in his mansion for three days straight.
That old wooden box was left abandoned in the corner of the living room, like some kind of ill luck. He didn't touch it at all.