Chapter 4

Suddenly, the door was pounded so hard it echoed through the room, cutting William off mid-action.

William jerked his head up and marched straight to the door, a cold smirk on his lips.

He said, "Winnie, you finally bothered to show up!"

As soon as William opened the door, Rita White, my best friend, grabbed him by the throat and pinned him hard against the wall, her eyes bloodshot with anger.

Rita demanded, "Where's Winnie? What the hell did you do with her?"

William grimaced in pain, desperately clawing at Rita's hands, her fingers digging in and veins bulging with fury.

Hearing the commotion, Yara stormed over, clutching a painting that was half burned by the fire.

Yara snapped, "Who are you? Get your hands off him! I'm calling the cops!"

Rita's face darkened the moment she saw the painting. She shoved William out of the way, eyes wild with fury, and landed a vicious kick on Yara, knocking her to the floor.

Without missing a beat, Rita jumped on top of Yara, raining slap after slap down on her face, each one merciless and full of rage.

"You're dead today! How dare you burn my best friend's painting? You must have a death wish!" Rita shouted.

William scrambled to his feet and tried to pull Rita off Yara, but Rita, furious, shoved him aside with a burst of strength.

William staggered and crashed to the floor, his face pale with shock. He cried out, desperate, "Rita, are you out of your mind? What the hell are you trying to do?"

Rita stopped, her face contorted with fury, veins standing out on her forehead.

She demanded, "Where's Winnie? I'm asking you! Where did you take her?"

I watched the scene unfold, a whirlwind of emotions swirling inside me.

I was deeply moved that Rita would go this far for me.

But at the same time, I was worried that William would take revenge on her.

"I told you, I don't know! Are you deaf or what? Let Yara go, right now!" William shouted, his voice shaking with anger.

"Oh, so you don't know, huh?" Rita shot back, yanking Yara, whose face was covered in blood, and slamming her straight into the wall.

William was shaking with rage. He barreled forward, shoved Rita aside, and planted himself in front of Yara, shooting Rita a murderous glare.

He snapped, "Can you freaking stop already?

"I told you, I have no clue where Winnie ended up. She—"

Suddenly, his face froze, his pupils contracting sharply, and a flash of panic flickered in his eyes.

Then he snatched up his coat and stumbled out, barely keeping his balance as he rushed away.

It wasn't until three days after my death that William finally remembered I ever existed.

I was curious what his face would look like when he finally saw my corpse.

*****

William rushed all the way to the club, stopping in front of the suite. His hand shook as he hovered over the handle, but he hesitated, unable to bring himself to open the door.

Rita was hot on his heels, and she instantly caught on that something was off. Her face drained of color as she slammed her foot into the door, kicking it open.

A wave of putrid, rotting stench hit them like a wall.

My corpse was still lying face-down on the floor, my face contorted in unbearable pain.

William went white as a sheet, as if someone had just pulled the plug on him. He slumped to the ground, eyes locked on my corpse like he couldn't look away, and couldn't stop trembling.

Rita's eyes were bloodshot, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. Her fists clenched so hard her knuckles cracked, and she forced herself forward, each step faltering with anguish, her voice trembling as she called out, "Winnie."

She crashed to her knees beside me and, with stiff, mechanical movements, turned my body over.

For a split second, disgust overwhelmed me, and I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

Half my face had rotted away, exposing bare bone underneath, leaving me looking hideous and terrifying.

Rita was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling. The iron-willed woman who never shed a tear was now letting her tears fall, one after another, onto the back of my hand.

Suddenly, she jerked her head up. Her eyes were bloodshot and glowed a demonic red, staring at the stunned William with pure hatred.

She rushed over, clamped her hand around his throat, dragged him right next to my corpse, shoved his face toward it, and forced him to look. Her furious scream echoed through the room.

Rita demanded, "What the hell did you do? Why is Winnie dead? Why?

"Where were you when she died? Speak up! Where were you?"

William's hair was all over the place, and the cool, calm face he always had was now twisted with hopelessness. Tears kept pouring down as he muttered under his breath, barely holding it together, "I thought..."

He was so choked up that he couldn't even finish his sentence.

He thought I was strong enough to walk out of that suite by myself.

He thought it was all just my stunt to make him notice me.

He thought I'd never really die, that it was impossible.