chapter 1

The water was about to swallow my head. I screamed into the intercom, calling Julian Stone’s name again and again.

“Julian, please. Help me. I’m drowning.”

There was no response. All I could hear was the sound of a man and a woman kissing. Loud, wet, and shameless.

Then came Emily Ward’s lazy, hoarse voice.

“Julian, I think something’s wrong with Clara.”

Julian replied, his voice cold and emotionless. I could even hear a trace of mockery.

“You're too soft, Emily. She’s just pretending.”

Ever since Emily fell into the river, Julian had looked at me with nothing but suspicion and disgust.

To make her feel better, he tied me up above the river for three whole days and nights.

And he knew. He knew water terrified me more than anything.

Trying to ignore the pain crushing my chest, I struggled to stay alive. The water kept rising, closer every second.

Maybe I was moving too much. After a while, I heard Julian again.

“Ready to confess?”

Emily’s accident had nothing to do with me. But to survive, I had no choice but to admit guilt I didn’t carry.

As soon as I opened my mouth, water rushed in. I couldn’t say anything—just choked and gurgled.

“If you still have the strength to drink water, you’re not dying yet.”

Julian said it so casually, and I even heard him laugh.

Water kept flooding into my mouth. I couldn’t breathe.

Still, I kept fighting. Somehow, I managed to loosen the rope around my wrists.

Just when I started swimming upward, something dragged me back. My foot was chained.

No matter how hard I kicked, the chain wouldn’t break. Panic crashed over me.

“Julian, I’m scared.”

My mind was slipping when Emily’s sobs echoed through the intercom.

Then Julian cut the line.

He didn’t just hang up. He ended my only chance to live.

Even with death so close, I didn’t give up. I kept thrashing, even when the chain tore through my skin and blood spilled out.

The fish in the river smelled it. They came for me.

They bit into my wounds.

I couldn’t take it anymore. My nerves snapped. I screamed.

“Help me, Julian!

“I’m pregnant!”

Another mouthful of water poured in.

All I got back was freezing river water and the sound of relentless rain.

For ten long minutes, I drifted. My skin turned pale, my lips turned blue, and my body stopped moving.

I drowned.

The hatred in my heart was so strong, I couldn’t move on.

So I stayed behind, haunting the ones who caused my death—Julian and Emily.

Far away, in a villa overseas, the lights were soft and warm.

Compared to the icy river, the place felt unreal.

My body trembled. The cold from that night still lingered deep in my bones.

Julian was lying in bed with Emily, holding her gently.

He whispered sweet things until she fell asleep.

Meanwhile, my corpse was still tied up at the riverbank, soaked by rain and beaten by the wind. And he was cuddling his new lover, completely at ease.

I reached out and tried to strangle him with everything I had.

But I was only a ghost.

He couldn’t see me. He couldn’t feel me.

Julian carefully laid Emily down and walked out of the room.

I didn’t know what was on his mind, but after a few minutes, he picked up the intercom.

“Clara Reed. Say something.”

It was the first time he had ever reached out to me.

Too bad I was already dead.

He seemed impatient.

“Clara, stop pretending. I’m not in the mood for games.”

His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, but his fingers twitched nervously.

I rolled my eyes at him.

He tortured me while I was alive. Now he was still threatening me after I was dead.

Julian, trusting you with my heart was the worst decision I'd ever made.

The silence on the other end stretched on. His face darkened.

“Clara, looks like you still haven’t learned anything.

“Guess I was too easy on you.”

He stepped forward and connected the intercom to the TV.

His expression shifted, full of hesitation. Even his hands were trembling.

Was he planning to watch me drown again, just to satisfy whatever sick thrill he was chasing?

Too bad I wasn’t alive anymore.

Still, I wondered. What kind of face would he make when he saw my corpse on that screen?

Watching my own death with the man I once loved... I couldn’t help feeling a deep, bitter sadness.

I shut my eyes. I didn’t want to see it again. I didn’t want to feel that pain once more.

Julian turned on the TV. I looked at his face.

It was blank. Emotionless. Maybe even a little annoyed.

I thought he would be calm. But not this calm.