Chapter 1

Silence filled the hospital room for several seconds.

Aaron Dawson looked at the Uber app on my phone, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Has the fever done something to your brain, Carmen Mosley?" he asked. "Your parents just got into an accident, and you're telling me to leave now?"

I leaned back against the headboard. My right leg was in a cast, and an IV needle was still connected to the back of my hand.

I replied, "There are doctors, nurses, and a lawyer handling the accident details. It's not like the world is going to end if you're not here."

Aaron's face turned dark.

"Don't test me like this. I'm not falling for something like this."

I nearly laughed out loud.

I had indeed been too fond of testing him in the past. I did things like this to test if he would stay for me or if he cared about me. Eventually, I tested him so much that even I began believing the answer he always gave me.

His phone buzzed again on the bedside table. It was a voice message from Nancy Greene.

"I've just gone through security, Aaron. Don't bother coming or calling me anymore. There's no point in doing anything like that."

She sounded steady on the phone, but the last few words sounded particularly nasal as though she were close to tears.

Aaron tightened his hold on his phone.

I read out the license plate of the Uber on my phone. "Your ride's here. Go get in."

He stared at me for a while, watching for any trace of spite, grievance, or a plea for him to stay, but there was nothing on my face.

A while later, he grabbed his coat.

"I'm only going to clear things up between us. I'll be right back."

I nodded.

"Okay."

Not too long after the door closed behind him, the nurse, Fiona Mendez, came in with a wheelchair. She then placed two items in clear evidence bags on my bed.

One bag contained Dad's watch. The other contained Mom's broken pearl bracelet.

"The funeral home is urging the family to confirm the cremation time. Is there anyone else with you?"

I touched the string of pearls, which were stained with dark blood.

"Nobody else."

In my past life, Aaron was the one handling all this for me. Everyone back then had praised him for his devotion and loyalty, telling me that he gave up on seeing off the person he loved the most just for my sake.

It was also because of that that I owed him a debt for the next 20 years.

But this time, I signed off the papers myself. Just as the pen touched the paper, Dad's old phone suddenly lit up. There was an unsent draft message in his outbox.

"Carmen, Professor Sanford says that there's still a spot reserved for you on the Wingdor mural restoration project.

"If this is what you love, then you should just go for it. Don't change your path for anyone else."

I stared at those words for a long time. Then, I dialed my professor Owen Sanford's number.

"Professor, is that spot still available?"

He seemed taken aback. "It is, but with your condition like this—"

"I'll recover. I'll be able to make it there in five days."

After hanging up, Fiona handed me my information form and asked, "Is your emergency contact still going to be Aaron Dawson?"

I crossed off his name on the document.

"No. Change it to my professor's name instead."

Fiona seemed a little shocked. "Was that person earlier not your boyfriend?"

I handed the document back to her.

"He was, but he won't be anymore."