Chapter 3

I don't know how much time passed. Then, footsteps approached, and the car door opened.

I opened my mouth to call out to Liam, but realized I was too weak, I couldn't even speak.

All I could do was reach out, desperately grasping forward, but Liam didn't see me.

He had only returned to the car to grab something. a large bouquet of pure white roses.

He said they represented his and Chloe's twenty-five years of pure friendship.

He took the flowers, slammed the car door shut, locked it, and walked away without a backward glance.

"Liam, two years, and you look even better than before. Your wife must really take good care of you."

I heard Chloe's voice from outside the car. She even mentioned me.

"Oh, don't even bring her up. Alice? That woman can't take care of anyone! Not like you, Chloe. You've always understood me, ever since we were kids. Do you remember when we were little..."

Their voices faded into the distance, and my own consciousness began to blur.

In a haze, memories of Liam and I flashed before my eyes like a carousel.

He put a ring on my finger, vowing to love me for all eternity.

On my birthday, he held a cake he'd baked himself, his eyes seeing only me.

When we got that ultrasound, his eyes were red as he touched my belly, promising he'd never let our child or me suffer a single hardship.

But when I accidentally hung up the phone, he slapped me, his face twisted in fury.

"How dare you hang up on Chloe? I've spoiled you too much, made you forget your place!"

I felt the other little life inside me slipping away. Everything around me began to spin, to blur.

I wanted to lift my hand, to touch that once vibrant bump one last time, but my fingers only twitched weakly.

Endless darkness gathered from all directions, like a gentle shroud, or a cold tomb.

Then the car door opened again. Liam got in, and Chloe sat in the passenger seat.

I instinctively tried to reach for Liam, but I couldn't touch him.

I was in the same space as them, yet I was like a ghost, able only to observe, without form.

Chloe frowned as she got in, fanning her hand under her nose.

"What's that smell? It's so stale and foul. Liam, how long has it been since you washed this car?"

Liam looked a bit awkward and brushed it off quickly.

"Oh, probably just a rodent that died in the engine a few days ago. The smell hasn't completely gone away yet."

Chloe nodded, no longer complaining. She simply flipped open the vanity mirror above her head and started fixing her hair, quite at ease.

Liam watched her as he drove, unconsciously chuckling.

"You're still the same, you never get carsick in my car."

Chloe smiled sweetly, playfully patting Liam's hand on the gear shift.

"Yes, it's always been you, Liam. All these years abroad, every time I took a car, I wished you were driving. It's been so long, hasn't it?"

They chatted away, oblivious to the other presence in the car.

I stared at them, my heart slowly cracking. It hurt, yet I felt numb.

"I heard your wife was pregnant. Did she give birth yet? Boy or girl?"

Chloe suddenly asked.

At the mention of me, Liam glanced in the rearview mirror, then snorted coldly.

"Don't know, don't care. She's throwing a fit today, just because I said I was coming to pick you up. Who raised her to be so spoiled!"

"She's still lying in the trunk, no need to bother with her."

Chloe gasped, covering her mouth in surprise, then straightened up to look behind her.

"No one's there... Besides, your wife is pregnant. Isn't it bad to lock her in the trunk?"

"Alice? Alice?"

Liam called a few times. When there was no answer, he grew angry.

He pushed Chloe back into her seat, then glared into the rearview mirror, as if I could see him.

"Forget her. Let her play dead if she wants. Better yet, if she really died, I'd be glad to pick up her corpse!"

My eyes felt hot, but no tears would fall.

Chloe looked at Liam with a troubled expression, pursed her lips, but said nothing more.