Chapter 3 The House That Was No Longer Mine

Just because Justine said no one lived here, Elias had an excuse to move into our marital home.

Elias took over our master bedroom and threw out the few things I had personally chosen—the lamps, matching couple's mugs, curtains, everything. As he tossed them aside, he complained, "Your taste is so outdated. Just looking at it for too long is enough to give me nightmares."

He knew perfectly well that I was allergic to pollen, yet he filled the living room with vase after vase of fresh flowers. Before long, I started having trouble breathing, but Justine was completely oblivious to my predicament, still discussing with him which bouquet looked the best.

It wasn't until she noticed my face turning red that she finally helped me sit down.

For a moment, I thought she might finally feel sorry for me.

Alas, to my dismay, after a brief pause, she said, "Maybe you should stop coming here for now. You're allergic, and Elias likes having flowers around. There's no way to make both of you happy."

Once again, she made her choice without even realizing it.

Thinking about how much money I had put into the house, I was almost too angry to do anything but laugh. "I paid for part of this place too."

Justine, however, only grew even more impatient. "Elias studied interior design in college. You don't know anything about this. You should have listened to him from the beginning. You're being too stubborn."

Under Elias' design, my marital home had turned into his home. Even the door lock no longer registered my fingerprint. However, she didn't see anything wrong with that.

"Elias said he was worried about burglars," she argued. "Having too many fingerprints registered isn't safe. Just put up with it for now. We'll register yours again after we get married and move in."

I stood at the doorway like a stranger who had accidentally wandered into the wrong house. It was as though there was no room left for even the slightest trace of me in our marital home.

I stopped arguing and turned to leave.

…

On my last night in the country, I planned to stay at the old house my father had owned and say goodbye to him while I was there. However, the moment I unlocked the door and stepped inside, a skull dropped straight down from above.

I jumped in fright and stumbled back outside.

While I was still trying to make sense of what had happened, Elias' booming laughter came through the surveillance system. "I knew you'd get scared. I forgot to tell you—I turned this place into a haunted house! It's way more fun than an escape room."

I looked at the house, every familiar furnishing and decoration completely transformed beyond recognition, and trembled with rage.

It wasn't long before the two of them arrived.

He pointed at me, laughing so hard he could barely catch his breath. "You should've seen your face! You went white as a sheet!"

Justine's eyes were filled with nothing but indulgence toward him. She merely said, "The place was just sitting empty anyway. At least this gives it some life."

Then, she noticed the luggage behind me and frowned. "Why did you suddenly decide to move here?"

I ignored her and walked straight up to Elias. "Put everything back the way it was. Now."

His smile faded, replaced by irritation. "You're seriously no fun. We've already come here several times to play, and it's thrilling inside. You can go in and have some fun too."

Then, he suddenly gave me a provocative smile. "Who knows? Maybe you'll actually get to see your dad. You should be thanking me."

I could no longer hold myself back and shoved him. To my dismay, he deliberately threw himself backward and went tumbling down three steps, his screams echoing throughout the house.

Justine hurried after him and looked back at me with undisguised disappointment. "You're making such a big deal over a lousy old house. Is this how your father taught you to behave?"

I froze.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

For a brief moment, Justine seemed torn. But then, she immediately helped Elias to his feet and threatened, "If anything happens to Elias, I'll never forgive you."

But where Justine couldn't see, a triumphant smile flickered across Elias' eyes.