Chapter 2
Ethan was driving his Maybach like it was an F1 race car.
He lost count of how many red lights he blew through, and he nearly crashed into two guardrails.
He was heading to Grace's rented place.
It was the only spot she could go after he kicked her out of the villa.
He could still remember exactly what he'd said to her back then.
Ethan had told her coldly, "Emily's back. She's too frail for any drama. You shouldn't be here.
"Take this card and disappear. I don't ever want to see you again."
Grace didn't cry or throw a fit. She stared at him in silence, all that love in her eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, lifeless gray.
She left the card behind. The only thing she took was that cheap hairpin he once gave her, its paint already peeling.
Ethan's hands were shaking so hard on the steering wheel that he could barely keep a grip.
He couldn't figure out why it hurt so much.
He'd always hated how Grace clung to him. He was supposed to love Emily, but it felt like his whole world was falling apart the moment he heard Grace was dead.
He slammed the brakes at the foot of the rundown apartment building.
Ethan nearly tripped over himself as he rushed up the stairs, pounding hard on the battered iron door.
"Grace, open up!" Ethan shouted. "What kind of game are you playing now? Trying to use your death to threaten me? I'm not buying it."
There was no answer.
The wind whistled through the hallway, sounding eerily like a woman crying.
Ethan stepped back and kicked the door open.
The door crashed to the floor, sending up a cloud of dust.
The room was empty.
No furniture, no personal belongings, not even a trace that anyone had ever lived there.
The air carried a faint whiff of ozone, like the lingering scent after a storm.
It was the smell of something wiped clean.
Ethan burst into the bedroom.
The bed was stripped bare, not even a sheet to suggest anyone had ever been here.
The only thing left was a slight indentation in the pillow, proof that someone had once rested here.
"Erasing: 30% complete." The system spoke up again.
Ethan could only watch as Grace's favorite old stuffed animal in the corner disintegrated into countless motes of light, then disappeared without a trace.
It was as if it had never existed at all.
"Stop. Stop!" Ethan shouted into the empty air, reaching out to grab the motes of light.
The light passed through his fingers, bringing with it a bone-chilling cold.
He rushed around the room like a lunatic, hoping to find even a single thing that belonged to Grace.
Her cup was gone.
Her slippers were gone.
Even the cactus she'd lovingly tended on the windowsill had disappeared without a trace.
Finally, his gaze fell on a gap between the floorboards.
There was a Polaroid photo wedged in so tightly that it hadn't vanished yet.
It was a snapshot of them from their sophomore year, taken at an amusement park.
Grace was wearing a headband, her smile bright and her eyes curved as she held a nearly melted ice cream cone.
Ethan looked at the camera with an impatient expression, but his body was honestly leaning toward her.
Ethan lunged forward, clawing at the gap between the floorboards. He ignored the blood streaming from his fingers. He had to pry that photo free.
But as soon as his fingers brushed the photo, Grace's face in the photo started to fade.
"Don't you dare..." Ethan's voice shook with desperation.
Ethan fell to the floor, hugging the photo to his heart as tears streamed down his face. "Grace, I'm not getting married anymore. Please, come back. I was wrong. I'm sorry."