Chapter 1
I broke up with James Perry when he hit rock bottom.
Shortly after, I died.
One day after I passed, Mom suddenly called James. "James, can you bring Emily home sometime? I haven't seen her for so long, and I miss her so much..."
*****
I was Mom's only child. Losing me shattered her completely—her mind would slip in and out, one moment clear, the next completely gone.
I never expected that during one of her episodes today, she'd accidentally dial James.
The second Mom picked up her phone and called him, my heart lurched—I wanted to fly over and hang up for her.
But as a soul, I could only watch helplessly, frantically worried.
Thankfully, Mom came back to herself just in time and hung up.
She'd remembered I was dead.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
After hanging up, Mom sat frozen on the couch, eyes distant. Finally, she dragged herself to the kitchen and started cooking all my favorite foods.
When she finished, she packed everything carefully and headed out.
My soul followed instinctively, trailing her to the cemetery just down the street.
The caretaker recognized Mom. He waved her in after a brief greeting.
It was 11 PM. The graveyard was pitch black—just rows of silent headstones under the night sky. Not another soul around.
When I was alive, Mom was terrified of ghosts. Leave her alone in the dark for even a minute and she'd be in tears.
But now she walked the cemetery alone, her phone's beam slicing the night. Undeterred by the biting wind or the gloom, she made her steady way to my grave.
She laid out the food, then wiped down my tombstone, silent tears falling as she stayed beside me until sunrise.
Three years gone, and seeing this still tore me apart. I couldn't stop blaming myself for dying first, for making my mother bury her own child.
*****
A few days later, I was following Mom through the supermarket when a news report on the TV caught my eye: [Financial Tycoon James Perry Returns Home Tomorrow.]
James Perry?
He was coming back?
My chest tightened with a rush of excitement and disbelief. Why was James suddenly returning?
I'd hurt him badly. With nothing left for him here, he'd left five years ago and never came back.
While I was still trying to make sense of it, Mom had another episode. Her face lit up as she pointed at the TV. "Look, that's my future son-in-law! He's bringing my daughter home to see me!"
She genuinely believed that phone call had worked.
People nearby exchanged uncomfortable glances. They could tell Mom wasn't well, so no one took her seriously.
Back home from the supermarket, I couldn't settle down. I was desperate to see James—nearly losing my mind over it.
But I had no idea where to find him.
James wasn't the same person anymore. I didn't know which city he'd be in or where he'd stay.
Just when I was at my wit's end, luck finally struck.
My neighbor mentioned she went to high school with James. He was coming back for their class reunion in three days at a local farm not far from me.
I could barely contain myself—I counted down every minute, day to night, night to day. By the time the reunion arrived, I was bursting with anticipation.
That morning, my soul camped outside my neighbor's door, desperate to tag along—just to catch a glimpse of James.
At the farm, I floated around scanning faces, but James hadn't arrived yet.
Disappointed, I drifted to a corner, quietly hoping he'd show up soon.
I waited and waited, counting every second, until finally—just as everyone was sitting down for dinner—James appeared.
He strode through the door.
Five years later, and he was still devastatingly handsome. That suit fit him perfectly—the awkward boy I remembered was gone. Now he was confident, polished, total heartthrob material.
Seeing him again made my long-dormant heart suddenly spiral into a frenzy, skipping beats.
A gorgeous girl clung to his arm. They looked tight—like a couple.
That stung.
Even though I was dead and we could never be together, seeing him with another woman hit me hard. The jealousy caught me completely off guard.
"Woof! Woof! Woof..."
Just then, loud barking snapped me out of it. Dogs had always freaked me out—alive or dead, apparently.
Since I arrived at the farm with my neighbor, this dog had been barking at me nonstop.
Wherever I floated, it followed, teeth bared, growling constantly.
If it weren't for James, I would've bolted ages ago.
The dog was so loud that James noticed immediately. He frowned, scanned the room, and motioned to a waiter. "Can you take the dog outside?"
The waiter rushed over, apologizing to everyone as he dragged the dog out
As he left, he muttered, "That's weird. This dog is usually so calm. What's with it today?"
I'd always been terrified of dogs, while James adored them. When we were dating, he would avoid them for my sake, even if it meant setting aside his own joy.
Maybe after all those years together, my fear rubbed off on him. He didn't seem as into dogs anymore, either.