Chapter 1

Sounds of intense arguing pulled my consciousness out of the haze bit by bit.

The next second, I saw Hadrian Sinclair.

"Hadrian, you're finally willing to see me! You believe me, don't you?" I exclaimed.

Excited, I rushed toward him, only to pass straight through his body.

As my memories slowly returned, I remembered with a jolt that I was already dead.

Percy Lawson's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Mr. Sinclair, Scotty has been missing for more than half a month, I…"

"Get out. I told you his business has nothing to do with me. Just hearing his name disgusts me," Hadrian spat out.

The loathing in his voice was unmistakable. It seemed as if even the sound of my name would dirty his ears.

These days, I had heard far too many cold, cutting words from his mouth. I instinctively clutched my chest, but the familiar ache didn't come.

Oh, right. I was dead. It turned out there was no more pain after death.

"Mr. Sinclair, aren't you even a little worried about him?"

Percy finally lost his temper after hearing Hadrian's words.

This man, who always smiled and played the peacemaker, was getting into a heated argument with Hadrian for my sake.

Hadrian's hand, which was holding a pen, paused. He lifted his head and looked at Percy.

"Worried?"

He gave a brief laugh, and the tone of his voice became even more icy. "Why would I worry about that piece of trash? Whether he's missing or dead, it has nothing to do with me."

"You—"

"Why are you so worked up? Don't tell me… you're one of his bedwarmers too?"

Percy stared at Hadrian in disbelief. The muscles in his face twitched as fury overtook him.

He slammed his palm hard on the desk and bellowed, "You'll regret this, Hadrian!"

Hadrian picked up the phone on his desk. "Send security in."

The office door opened the next moment. Several security guards rushed in and dragged the furious Percy away.

Hadrian sat behind his desk with his fingers interlaced as he watched Percy struggle with icy detachment.

He said, "The thing I regret the most is ever being with him. He's the blemish in my otherwise perfect life."

A blemish?

I smiled bitterly. We had been together for ten years, yet what he thought of me could be reduced to one single word—a blemish.

"Hadrian, you son of a—"

Percy's furious curse was cut off as he was hauled out of the room.

Worried he might get hurt, I tried to follow him. However, I found I couldn't leave Hadrian's side.

"Hadrian, don't hurt Percy!" I shouted in panic.

But Hadrian couldn't hear me, so of course he didn't respond.

He opened a drawer and took out a photo frame. It was a picture of us. In the photo, we were wearing our high school uniforms, smiling as brightly as the sun on a summer sky.

Back then, he'd kept that frame in the most prominent spot on his desk. Whenever anyone asked, he would proudly say, "This is Scotty, the person I love the most."

He never feared other people's judgmental gazes and never hid his love for me. But after that incident, he had put our photo away.

As I looked at the picture, the dying spark in my heart was reignited once more. "Hadrian, you kept this photo around. You still love me, don't you? You…"

Before I could finish, Hadrian let out a cold, mocking laugh and tossed the frame into the trash.

He sneered, "Scott Sterling, you think you can fool me by pulling a disappearing act? Even if you're dead, it's nothing but your own damn fault!"

The shattered glass scratched across the photo, as if wiping out our youth along with it. I stared at the ruined picture, feeling nothing but endless desolation.

I thought in dismay, "I'm not pretending to be missing, Hadrian. I really am dead. Do you hate me so much that you wish me dead? Well, you got your wish."