chapter 4

I could hear Julian muttering to himself.

“No. Clara isn’t dead. This is all fake. She’s trying to fool me again.

“I’m going back. I’ll expose her lie.”

As soon as he landed, Julian rushed straight to the police station.

I followed him to where my body was being kept.

He hadn’t stopped once the entire way. But now, standing at the door, he froze.

“No. That’s not my wife.

“My wife could swim. She even won first place in a swim competition.

“She wouldn’t...”

His voice had been firm, even loud, but it faltered. Something clicked in his head, and he went silent.

I could see it. He remembered.

He remembered how, after losing everything—after going bankrupt and getting dumped by Emily—he lost the will to live and tried to drown himself.

I was the one who jumped in after him.

I threw myself into the freezing sea and fought to keep him alive.

I managed to hold onto him and tried to pull him back to shore.

But he had already given up. He kept struggling, wasting my strength, refusing to survive.

I held on until the rescue team arrived. I pushed him toward them, but I went under.

Barely made it out alive. After that, I became terrified of water.

Back then, he cried and held my hand.

“Clara, from now on, my life belongs to you.

“I’ll protect you for the rest of your life.”

This was the same man who promised to protect me.

He knew I was afraid of water, yet still said yes when Emily asked me to go to the water park.

Then, when she fell in, he didn’t even listen to my side of the story. He tied me to the river for three whole days.

Now, as Julian walked up to my body, he looked completely crushed. His hands were shaking as he reached for the white cloth.

Right before he saw what was left of me, I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself.

But the moment he pulled back the sheet, and I saw my pale, bloated face—cheeks torn by fish, eyes wide open—I couldn’t help but tremble.

Julian, however, looked relieved.

“This isn’t my wife. Clara loved looking good.

“She would never let her face get ruined like that. She would’ve escaped.”

Escape?

I wanted to escape more than anything.

But my ankle was chained tight. There was no getting out.

Even in my last moment, I was still fighting.

Julian kept trying to find something, anything, that proved the body wasn’t mine.

Then he saw the dress.

It was my favorite one. I wore it that day because it was our anniversary.

I was going to tell him I was pregnant.

But all he cared about was Emily. He had completely forgotten our anniversary.

Worse, he threw me into the river that very day.

The water I once loved, and feared the most, became my grave.

Even in death, I found no peace.

“No. This isn’t real.”

Julian’s voice lost all its strength. Panic was written all over his face.

“You’re messing with me again, right? Just like last time?”

His hands shook. His eyes were bloodshot.

Watching him fall apart didn’t feel like justice. It just made me feel more hollow.

I never lied to him. Not once.

But he never trusted me.

Then suddenly, Julian grabbed my right hand. A twisted smile crept across his face.

“The ring. She’s not wearing the wedding ring.

“I gave Clara that ring myself. She never took it off.”

As if to prove it, he pulled out the ring from his pocket.

He had been carrying it all along.

How funny. He wore that ring while spending three nights with Emily.

So he did remember he was married.

I should be thankful the ring slipped off while I was struggling.

I wanted nothing to do with Julian. Not now, not ever.

He tried to lift my arm to show everyone, but it wouldn’t budge.

My hand stayed firmly pressed over my stomach, like I was shielding something precious.

Because I was.

That was my baby.

But I failed to protect it.

Clutching my chest, I felt a sharp ache.

So even a soul could hurt.

Julian collapsed to the floor, then scrambled back up.

He ran outside and bumped straight into Emily.

“Let’s go. Right now.

“That’s not Clara.”

Emily caught something in his voice. Her eyes lit up, just a little.

She helped him walk away.

I had no choice but to follow.

Julian was the one who killed me.

And now he was pretending to be the one who lost his mind.

How convenient.