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Chapter 3

Author: Snow Ink
"What's there to ask?"

How did you get your ex-wife pregnant? Like he'd ever answer that.

"I forgot to congratulate you. Didn't you always say you wanted a baby more than anything?"

Word for word, I handed back what he used to tell me.

Julian's face got even uglier.

"Hannah, can you just say what you mean? Enough with the snide act. What are you up to?"

"Up to?" I blinked. "I'm just congratulating you. Is that wrong now?"

His jaw went tight. "Something's off with you."

So he'd finally noticed.

I tilted my head and smiled.

"So what, you want me to make a scene? Or hide a knife in my purse and ruin your happy little moment?"

"Enough!"

Julian's voice shot up, a vein throbbing at his temple.

"Are you not happy until you've turned into some unhinged lunatic? She's pregnant. If you lay one finger on her, I..."

He stopped short, unable to finish.

I finished it for him, offhand. "You won't marry me?"

Julian pressed his lips into a thin line and glared at me.

In the middle of the standoff, Vanessa walked over and softly looped her arm through his.

"Julian, are you snapping at Hannah again? She's young. Can't you go easy on her?

"I'm not going to make a fuss with someone who's about to get married. Hurry home. Don't leave her handling the wedding all by herself."

Julian's buddies chimed in to smooth things over.

That little drama earned me another $900,000 from the system.

Vanessa took Julian's hand and mine and stacked them together with hers.

"Hannah, all I want is for the two of you to be happy. Don't let me come between you.

"Julian's just like that. Bear with him. Once you're married, you'll see how sweet he can be."

I didn't say anything.

But Julian's face darkened even more.

"Stop talking."

Vanessa leaned forward as if by accident, and her neckline slipped to reveal a hickey.

"Julian always bites me right here. He says the spot closest to the heart is where two souls connect. He just didn't know his own strength."

I went still. Inside my pocket, my fingers curled into a tight fist without my meaning them to.

Julian's pupils shrank. He grabbed my wrist and yanked hard.

"I knew you brought something! Talk! What were you planning to do to her? When are you going to drop the jealous shrew act?"

My lower back slammed into the corner of a fire hose cabinet. A jagged strip of rusted metal sliced me open, and blood immediately ran down the small of my back.

A huge red stain bloomed across my pure white dress.

When you've already died once, this kind of thing doesn't scare you.

It still hurts, but it doesn't reach your heart anymore.

"I'm fine."

I ignored the hand Julian held out and pulled myself up against the wall.

As everyone stared in shock, I smiled and tugged Vanessa's neckline back into place.

"Careful, don't catch a chill. You're going to be a mother. The baby comes first."

The whole place fell silent.

I turned to Julian and said evenly, "I'm going to get this treated. You stay and look after her."

Julian came after me, quickly took off his jacket, and draped it over me, his eyes full of regret.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted. Let me take you..."

"Julian! Vanessa's crouched on the floor and can't get up!"

Julian was stuck, his eyes darting between her and me.

As his ever-so-considerate fiancée, of course I had to be the bigger person.

"Go. Don't worry about me."

The guilt in his eyes deepened.

"I was wrong just now. I'll definitely come home tonight."

With that, he rushed off.

The system suddenly spoke up.

"Host, Julian's guilt value just hit ninety-nine percent! You really could stay now."

"But it's still not a hundred, is it?"

Water one degree shy of boiling still isn't safe to drink.

People are the same. He wasn't worth loving anymore.

Ding. That familiar deposit chime.

I gritted my teeth through the pain and went to the ER.

"The wound's deep. We'll keep you two days for observation."

Clutching the paperwork the doctor gave me, I lay in the hospital bed counting the drips from my IV.

My phone buzzed a few times. Every message was from Julian.

"Vanessa's pregnancy is high-risk. I'm staying with her another half day."

"Order yourself some takeout. Don't go hungry."

"Sorry, it'll be a few more days before I'm back."

I skimmed them as the system chimed with each new deposit, and it all struck me as strangely ironic.

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  • I Cashed In His Lies   Chapter 9

    My life in the new world was going great.Financially free, no job to go to.Then one day, the system's voice suddenly blared."Host, we've got a problem. I'm detecting an abnormal energy surge."Julian's crossed over."My first reaction was a frown. "Is he here for the money?"The system went quiet for a moment, then told me everything: how everyone had turned their backs on him, how Vanessa had killed him.My face stayed blank."So what's he here for? For me to feel sorry for him?""His obsession value broke through the barrier between worlds," the system said. "All he wants is to find you."I immediately moved Mom and me into a gated community on the coast, changed all my contact info, hired two bodyguards, and put security cameras around the yard.I thought I'd hidden well enough.Until one evening, I opened the door to find a man standing in front of me.He was gaunt beyond recognition, wearing an old trench coat that didn't fit, his eyes sunken.He looked at me, and

  • I Cashed In His Lies   Chapter 8

    Meanwhile, at the wedding.Julian stood alone at the entrance in his tuxedo.He was waiting.Waiting for someone who would never come.The priest finished the vows and asked the groom if he did. Julian stared at the tightly shut doors and suddenly smiled."I don't."The room erupted. He pulled off his boutonniere, threw it to the floor, and announced that the wedding was off.Vanessa's face went livid. She rushed over and grabbed him. "Are you insane? With all these people watching...""Get lost."That night, when he swiped his card to pay a hotel deposit, the screen flashed: insufficient funds.He froze, then checked every account he had, only to find nearly all his assets had been wiped out.The "friends" who used to orbit around him started keeping their distance. No one would come out for drinks with him anymore.Vanessa was even quicker. She put out a statement right away saying the two of them had been over for a long time and that today had just been a misunderstandi

  • I Cashed In His Lies   Chapter 7

    In the end, Julian couldn't take it. He dropped like a stone.When he opened his eyes again, he was lying in a stark white hospital bed, surrounded by friends wearing all kinds of expressions."Where's Hannah?"He struggled to sit up, his eyes glassy as he looked around."We haven't had the wedding yet. She must still be trying on dresses. Her favorite's the backless one..."She's not mad, is she? She hasn't fought with me at all lately. Had she given up on me a long time ago?"His friends crowded in to talk him down."Julian, she's gone. You've got to move on."Okay, Vanessa played a little dirty, but only because she cares about you so much. She was scared of losing you, so she went overboard.""Yeah, you two have years of history. Now that Hannah's gone, it's perfect timing for you and Vanessa to get back together. Wherever she is now, she wouldn't blame you."Julian's head jerked up, his eyes bloodshot and raw."Perfect timing?" His voice was hoarse, shaking badly. "She'

  • I Cashed In His Lies   Chapter 6

    Julian's vision went black. He had to brace himself against the wall to keep from collapsing.Hovering in midair, I watched coldly as he swayed on his feet. He hadn't been this fragile when he handed my mom's donor heart to someone else."Why?" he asked Vanessa hoarsely. "Why did you lie to me?"Vanessa laughed until she cried. She wiped her eyes, her gaze venomous and gleeful all at once."Why? Julian, have you forgotten how, when we divorced, you listened to your mother, blamed me for not being able to give you children, and forced me to sign the papers and get out? I swore back then I'd make you feel what it's like to be jerked around."I let out a cold laugh.Served him right.He'd brought every bit of this on himself.When I first met him, his divorce had just gone through.He was drowning himself in alcohol every day. His company was buried in bad debt, his partners had all bailed, and the whole industry treated him like a joke.I was the one who stayed up all night wit

  • I Cashed In His Lies   Chapter 5

    "Host, Julian's guilt value has reached one hundred percent. Are you really leaving?"I took one last look at the door."Yes. I want to leave him forever.""He's really looking forward to the wedding tomorrow. You don't want to stick around and see?"Host, sooner or later he'll find out Vanessa stole the donor heart. Once he's lost everything, he might end up on his knees right here, crying his eyes out."I gave a thin smile.I had no interest in watching him cry over my grave.But I was curious what his face would look like when he found out I was dead, and then that Vanessa had never been pregnant."Fine. I'll watch."The moment the words left my mouth, my heart stopped beating.By the time the nurses rushed in, my body had already gone cold.And I became an invisible gaze, hovering in midair.When I opened my eyes again, I'd followed Julian to Vanessa's hospital room."Julian, my mom just had her heart transplant. She can't be left alone overnight. Will you stay with me

  • I Cashed In His Lies   Chapter 4

    The day I was discharged, I dragged my still-healing body home. A rotten stench hung in the stairwell.A black garbage bag sat outside my door, fluid seeping out across the floor.My chest tightened for no reason. I crouched down and pulled open the bag.Inside was a matted ball of gray-and-white fur.It was the stray cat I'd been feeding for half a year.His name was Marshmallow. Every time I got home from work, he'd rub against my legs.I always kept his favorite treats on me.He'd listen quietly while I talked about Julian, and when he wasn't happy, he'd let out a few little meows.Now his body was stiff, his eyes half-open, a ligature mark around his neck.Julian opened the door and stopped short when he saw me."You're back? That animal just lunged at Vanessa out of nowhere."She's pregnant. She can't handle a scare like that, so I took care of it. Take it downstairs and toss it while you're at it. Don't leave it by the door drawing bugs."I stared at the tiny paw poki

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