He Asked If I’d Only Forgive Her When I Was Dead, So I Showed Him Chapter 02

He Asked If I’d Only Forgive Her When I Was Dead, So I Showed Him Chapter 02

“She’s terrified of dying. Every time, it’s just for show. And this time, she brought it on herself by being so damn unreasonable.”

Nathan’s face turned cold as he threw that out and walked away.

My parents looked delighted, already urging Blaire to go change into the wedding dress.

Maybe this was how happy they’d always be from now on.

The daughter who embarrassed them would never get the chance to trouble them again.

It felt like I was somehow bound to Nathan, forced to trail after him wherever he went.

I watched him step into the smoking area, light a cigarette, and pull out his phone to refresh the screen over and over.

When the message he wanted still didn’t come, he smashed the phone in frustration.

The screen shattered.

I drifted closer and caught sight of a breaking headline in the blackened glass.

[Police investigate headless female body found near the bridge; identity not yet confirmed…]

“There are still twenty minutes left. If you show up before then, we’ll move abroad and settle there as soon as the wedding is over.”

Nathan took a hard drag from his cigarette and muttered the words under his breath.

I tilted my head and looked at him.

Then I thought about what we had fought over the night before.

At the last minute, Nathan had swapped out the wedding dress I chose.

He had also agreed with my parents and let Blaire be my bridesmaid.

On the mannequin by the floor-to-ceiling window stood a glittering mermaid gown with an off-the-shoulder neckline, cutouts, and a low back.

Nathan had smiled and said, “She has great taste. This one is prettier than the dress you picked, and it suits you better too.”

All the color drained from my face.

Still holding my hand in a grip I couldn’t break, Nathan pulled me over and made me touch the tiny crystals sewn into the gown.

It was beautiful, but the crystals dug into my fingertips.

In the month since I came back to the States, my parents and Nathan had gone out of their way to make sure Blaire and I crossed paths again and again.

And every single time, I had a violent reaction.

At first, I climbed rooftops. Later, I swallowed pills, ran into traffic, or slit my wrists.

Every time, I was saved because of Blaire and the thing called the System.

She used the mission points she earned from completing tasks to keep me hanging on by a thread.

But because I never died, my parents and Nathan decided I was all bark and no bite.

Everything I did, in their eyes, was nothing but me picking a fight.

I frowned, and Nathan’s tone turned sharp.

“I already agreed to move the wedding up, and we’re leaving the country the second it’s over. You don’t like her, fine. Then you won’t have to see her again after that.”

“I’ve done so much for you, so why can’t you even cooperate over something this small, like changing the dress and adding one bridesmaid?”

“Everyone else has moved on. You’re the only one still this petty and classless.”

“The dress is beautiful,” I said, “but it shows too much skin. It’s not right for me.”

My hands were trembling as I pushed up my sleeve and showed him the dense web of scars on my arm.

Nathan’s pupils contracted slightly, and conflicting emotions flickered in his eyes.

When I bent down to roll up my pant leg too, he grabbed me. “Enough.”

I froze, then forced out a strained smile.

“Did you forget? In that warehouse, Blaire pressed a curling iron all over my body. You were the one who pulled her off me. You were the one who took me to the hospital.”

Nathan jerked his hand back like he’d been burned.