Chapter 3

It took a long time before Evan stood up to head to the balcony to light a cigarette. I immediately reached out to take the cigarette from him. "You shouldn't be smoking. It's not good for you." However, my hands passed through him, and I was taken aback.

I smiled bitterly as I remembered I was dead, but it had been a habit for years, and it came naturally to me to get concerned over Evan.

There was a cold look in Evan's eye as he took a deep breath and called his assistant. He probably did not notice the frustrated tone in his voice. "Stop Madison from creating a scene if she comes looking for me the next few days. Don't let her come to the hospital and disturb Nikki's rest."

His assistant was briefly silent. "Ms. Scofield hasn't asked about you the last few days, she…" Evan hung up before he could finish.

He glanced at my last text and clicked hard on his phone to block my number in anger, and he turned off his phone after that. If this were before, I would have started panicking and done everything in my power to find him and apologize. I would beg him to unblock my number and not to lose contact with me, but now…

I stood in front of him and said softly, "I won't come looking for you anymore, Evan, because I no longer love you. I hate you… I hate you for causing my death. I hope I can curse you…"

Lightning suddenly struck in the dark sky, and the crack woke Nikki up from her deep sleep. She screamed, "Evan!"

Evan quickly flicked away his cigarette and returned to the ward to hold the trembling Nikki in his arms. "Don't be afraid. I'm right here."

I was trembling too. I was afraid of the lightning as well, but Evan had never stayed by my side whenever there was a lightning storm. He would leave me to accompany Nikki instead. I once argued with him about this, but he would always get annoyed with me and say, "Why must you be so petty when she's sick?"

Evan cajoled Nikki for a long time before she finally calmed down, and she leaned into Evan's arms while sobbing. "Evan, I can't forget about how I lost control several days ago. All I really wanted to do was explain things to Madison.

"Maybe I should apologize to her. She must be mad because I haven't seen her around for the last few days."

Evan seemed distracted. "It's fine. I saw her wounds. It's just some bleeding on her forehead. Madison knows you're sick. She won't hold things against you."

Nikki was still not convinced. "What if she calls the police? I don't want to go to prison. I'd rather die…"

When Evan saw how agitated Nikki was, he pulled her tighter in his embrace as he continued comforting her, "Don't be afraid. I'm right here for you. Madison has always treated her fellow women well. She won't get mad at you. Besides, she signed the settlement agreement, and won't come looking for trouble with you."

Nikki smiled and patted her chest with relief when she heard Evan's reply, and she nuzzled closer into Evan's arms coquettishly. Evan looked down at her for a second and pushed her away. "Madison and I will be married soon, Nikki. You can't act so intimately with me anymore. It won't bode well for any of us, and Madison will get mad."

His words took Nikki by surprise, and she started to look upset. Evan failed to notice this, but I saw everything clearly. It took a while for Nikki to speak up. Her voice sounded sad. "This is my fault. It's just a habit I can't get rid of… I'm sorry."

Evan sighed. "You're not to blame for this. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to Madison to clear things up."

His words gave me mixed feelings. Evan had always been this way, where Nikki came first in everything. When I followed Evan out of the hospital ward, I overheard two nurses conversing.

"Mr. Jones really loves his fiancée. All she suffered was a slight scare, and he got every doctor in the building to tend to her when there wasn't even a scratch on her."

"I heard that he prepared a huge sea of flowers as a surprise for her. I bet they'll be getting married soon. I wonder how grand that wedding will be."

"Speaking of which… That sea of flowers blocked the path of an ambulance, and they had to send a helicopter to bring the patient to the hospital. That patient died because of the delay. If they had only arrived ten minutes earlier, the patient could have lived…"

That was when they spotted Evan, who looked at them coldly. The nurses glanced nervously at each other before greeting him, "Mr. Jones…"

It was hard to tell what Evan was thinking, and the nurses figured they would get a scolding. However, all he did was say mildly, "She isn't my financée."

He paused for a moment, as if he was reminded of something, and he smiled. "My fiancée is Madison Scofield. She's the best lawyer in the industry."