Chapter 3

Eight o'clock in the evening.

The sound of the key turning in the lock echoed.

My mother and Chloe walked in, carrying shopping bags, laughing and chatting.

"Mom, I love this bag so much! Thank you!"

"As long as you like it, sweetie, I'll buy you anything."

My mother changed her shoes and tossed the shopping bags onto the couch.

The living room lights were off.

But with the dim light coming from the hallway, she instantly spotted me still lying on the dining room floor.

Her smile vanished, her brows furrowing into a tight, angry knot.

"Audrey! You're still lying on the floor?!"

She marched over.

"What did I tell you before we left?"

"Do you just live to make my life miserable?"

She stopped beside me, raising her foot and using the toe of her shoe to kick my shoulder.

"Get up! Stop pretending to be dead!"

My body rolled slightly under her kick.

Limp and heavy, it flipped over.

My face turned upward, staring blankly at the ceiling.

My mother gasped, taking a half-step back in fright.

"You brat! Who are you trying to scare with those wide eyes?!"

"Do you think wearing dead-person makeup is going to fool me?"

I floated in the air, quietly watching her.

"Mom, I'm not wearing makeup."

"This is just what a dead body looks like."

Chloe walked over too. When she saw my face, a flash of panic crossed her eyes.

But quickly, she put back on her innocent, harmless mask.

"Mom, is Audrey mad because we didn't take her shopping?"

"The floor is so cold. She might catch a fever."

My mother sneered, her anger flaring even hotter.

"If she wants to freeze, let her!"

"Does she really think I'm going to feel sorry for her?"

"Audrey, I'm going to count to three. If you don't get up right now, you won't get a single penny for your allowance ever again!"

"One!"

My mother's voice echoed through the empty living room.

I didn't move.

"Two!"

My mother's face grew darker.

"Wow, you really think you're tough now, don't you?"

"Fine, keep lying there. Let's see if you can lie there for the rest of your life!"

"Three!"

Still, there was no response.

Only the cold night breeze blowing through the open window, making the curtains rustle softly.

My mother let out a bitter, angry laugh.

"Fine. Great."

"Chloe, let's have dinner. Let's ignore this ungrateful leech."

She pulled Chloe to the table and began clearing the leftover mess from earlier.

The plate with the cake I had taken a bite of was still sitting there.

Chloe picked it up, hesitating.

"Mom, should we save this piece for Audrey?"

"Save it? Throw it in the trash!"

My mother snatched the plate and dumped the cake into the garbage can without a second thought.

"She doesn't deserve it!"

I hovered nearby, watching the cake get buried under trash.

Strangely, I didn't feel sad anymore.

After all, I was already dead.

Dead people don't feel pain, right?

After cleaning up, my mother made two bowls of pasta in the kitchen.

She and Chloe sat at the table, eating happily.

Meanwhile, my corpse lay less than two yards away from them.

"Mom, this pasta is amazing."

"Eat more if you like it, sweetie. You've gotten so thin lately."

My mother looked at Chloe with eyes full of warmth and adoration.

That was a look I had never once received in my eighteen years of life.

After dinner, they went back to their respective rooms.

When passing my body, my mother didn't even look down.

It was as if she were simply walking past a bag of smelly trash.