Chapter 1

It happened to be the day Kendrick Fisher's company went public, which also happened to be the day of my funeral procession. In front of the hotel, the funeral procession met his convoy head-on, and neither would give way.

I immediately recognized the man I had longed for over the past four years in the crowd. I was relieved to find that he was still alive—and that I could still see him again.

I forgot that I had already died at that moment, and I pushed through the crowd like I had lost my mind, trying to reach him.

It was then that I heard one of the staff members from the funeral parlor say, "I'm really sorry for interrupting your celebration, but could you please let us pass first, out of respect for the deceased, Mr. Fisher?"

He got shoved aside by one of the security guards. "How offensive! Do you have any idea what day today is? Do you even know who Mr. Fisher is? There's no way we're making way for you. Get the hell out of here if you know what's good for you!"

Mom suddenly staggered forward and grabbed the nearest security guard, asking, "Did you see my daughter? She was wearing a red dress—and about this tall. Please help me look for my daughter!"

That security guard impatiently shook her off and kicked away the white lilies on the ground. He then struck hard against my coffin with a baton the moment the wreaths were violently overturned. "Get the hell out of here; otherwise, we'll smash the coffin to pieces!"

"You can't smash my daughter's coffin! You can't smash it!" Mom suddenly threw herself onto the coffin and used her body to block the raining batons. She seemed completely oblivious to the pain amidst the heavy thuds, only holding onto the coffin desperately.

"Mom!" I shouted in a panic. I threw my arms open to block the blows, but it was all in vain as the batons passed right through my transparent hands, raining down repeatedly on Mom's hunched back.

It was then that the head of security spat on the ground and snapped, "You guys are truly a wretched lot! Do you really think no one knows how the Lawsons mistreated Mr. Fisher in the past?

"You ought to know that Mr. Fisher can now easily crush you! You should be lying low, yet you have the nerve to show your faces and provoke him here! Do you guys have a death wish?"

Kendrick's low, indifferent voice suddenly rang out from behind. "Stop it."

Those security guards instantly stepped aside, clearing a passage for a tall, handsome man who slowly emerged from the crowd.

In that instant, the Lawsons stood closely around the coffin with all of their heads lowered. They feared that even a moment of eye contact would provoke the wrath of Kendrick, the rising influential figure.

It was in the final days of the SATs that the Fisher family officially went bankrupt. Kendrick was also diagnosed with a severe heart condition, with the doctor saying that he had less than three months to live without an operation.

I also callously abandoned him for his rival, Daniel Ziegler, when he needed me the most.

It was raining heavily that day when Kendrick dragged his critically ill body to kneel before Mom, begging to see me one last time.