Chapter 2

Lulu asked about me.

Frank and Jeff frowned in sync.

Frank scoffed. "Seriously? After all she did, you're still thinking about her? That girl never appreciated you. Just drop it. Let her dig her own grave."

Lulu's voice was quiet. "But... what if Sienna's actually dead? Jeff? Frank?"

My chest clenched. I watched their faces.

Once, they freaked out if I scraped my knee. Said they'd protect me forever.

Now Jeff just smirked. "If she's dead? Great. I'll throw fireworks. Light up the whole city."

Frank snorted. "Or better—ship her body back to wherever and pay some whackjob priest to curse her soul. Make sure she never comes near you again."

It felt like getting slammed into a freezer—numb, breathless, iced to the bone.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. The same guys who swore they'd always have my back... were now cracking jokes about cursing me.

Fireworks. Curses. All to make Lulu feel safe. Loved.

In that moment, I was actually glad they never got my body. I might've never found peace.

Lulu said she was scared, and suddenly Jeff and Frank were in panic mode, scrambling to get home.

Weirdest thing? My soul followed them. I didn't even mean to.

The second the car stopped, Jeff jumped out and booked it for the mansion.

Frank muttered a curse and ran after him.

They bought the mansion back in college—didn't want me stuck in a dorm, away from them.

Back then, Jeff and I weren't official. Lulu wasn't around yet.

It was just us three. Unbreakable. A perfect triangle.

But then Lulu moved in. Started framing me left and right. And suddenly, there was no room for me here.

I kept my distance, refused to watch, refused to care.

Still, their laughter always found me.

Lulu lost some game and flopped onto the couch, all dramatic.

Frank ruffled her hair, smiling soft. "Princess Lulu," he said.

He used to call me Princess Sienna. I couldn't even remember when that stopped. One day, he was the sun orbiting me. The next, just ice—cold the second he looked my way.

I never got why he iced me out.

So I asked.

His eyes shifted—bored to smug in seconds.

Total playboy move—he grabbed my chin, leaned in close, his breath brushing my cheek.

I turned away. He just smirked.

"You thought I was gonna kiss you?" he said. "Please. Don't flatter yourself. Compared to Princess Lulu, you're straight-up gross. Can't believe I ever treated you like you mattered."

Then came the gut punch.

"You wanna know why I'm cold? 'Cause I found the one girl I actually care about. You? You're nothing now. So do us both a favor—disappear."

That last part cut deep. And yeah, I believed him.

The next day, I told Jeff I wanted out—leave the mansion to Frank and Lulu.

But for once, Jeff didn't budge. The guy who always put me first shut me down.

Said I was being dramatic. Spoiled. That I just didn't know how to accept Lulu.

Then he ghosted me. For days.

I couldn't handle the silent treatment, so I packed up and left to clear my head.

Three days later, I was dead.