Chapter 1

Matthew Jahn clutched his cheek. "Are you insane? I'm proposing to you! What the hell is wrong with you?"

I didn't have time to care about his sudden attitude switch.

Ralph had always been insanely possessive.

When he was five, he got into a fight at school. His dad bragged that their family was loaded and Ralph could have anything he wanted.

Ralph only wanted me.

From that day on, I had an overprotective childhood friend shadowing me everywhere.

He'd looked after me like he was a tiny adult for as long as I could remember, right up until I turned eighteen. Even my mom said he hovered way too much.

Ralph didn't care.

When I was nineteen, some guy on the street whistled at me.

By morning, Ralph had every thug chased out of Southvale.

The city was later named the Best Place to Live five years in a row.

At first, I didn't believe the messages.

I'd held Ralph on our wedding night until his body went cold and stiff. Then I watched his coffin get sealed and lowered into the ground.

But glowing messages were literally floating in front of me.

What if they were real?

The thought of Ralph watching me with Matthew for the past three months sent a violent shiver through me.

Even the breeze felt icy.

"Sophie." Lila frowned. "You've been with Matthew forever. You even said you two know each other inside and out.

"Isn't marriage the obvious next step? What's gotten into you?"

I opened my mouth, but more messages flashed through the air.

My blood went cold.

[Saying you know Matthew "inside and out" right in front of Ralph? Girl, that makes it sound like you've already slept together.]

[Ralph's been following you for three months. He's heard plenty of crap like that. Saying yes would be the final straw.]

That's when it hit me.

Lila loved making suggestive comments like that.

I'd never done any of it.

I always thought it was harmless best-friend teasing.

But if Ralph's ghost had really been beside me, then she'd been doing it on purpose.

She wanted him to hate me.

"When did I ever say that?"

Maybe because it was the first time I'd pushed back, Lila froze.

"Lila's not wrong. We'll be that close sooner or later." Matthew frowned, looking more annoyed than confused. "What's with you today?

"I love you. You love me. So why won't you say yes? Don't you want me with you forever? Can you really let me go?"

More messages flooded my vision.

[The one he really loves is Lila. He even bought the ring in her size. Later he'll claim he grabbed the wrong size because he was nervous.]

[Ralph comes back in three days. Don't believe a single word they say!]

I took the ring from Matthew.

Ignoring the messages racing across my vision, I slid it onto Lila's finger.

Perfect fit.

Matthew instantly panicked.

"This is my first proposal. I was so nervous, I bought the wrong size."

Even his excuse matched the messages exactly.

A chill sank into my chest.

If the messages were right... if Ralph really came back in three days... and I'd said yes to Matthew...

I wouldn't just lose the hundreds of millions Ralph left me.

Ralph would hate me enough to kill me.

Three days.

I'd wait.

If the messages were real, I'd know soon enough.

"You've got it all wrong." I met Matthew's hopeful eyes and gave him a cold smile. "I've never seen you as anything but a friend."