Chapter 1

As the river water rushed into my nostrils, I felt a warmth come over me. It felt like being held in Mom's embrace when I was a child. How I wished she could hold me one more time.

But the moment I'd turned away from the theater, I'd seen my mom, Jennifer Smith, holding a bouquet of flowers, crying as she hugged my brother, Samuel Caldwell. She'd called him her pride and joy. She'd apologized for losing him all those years ago and for everything he had suffered because of it.

Before, she used to call me her pride too. But ever since I gained weight after surgery and became ugly, she had never looked at me the same way again.

But it didn't matter anymore. I was going to die anyway.

…

Some time later, my soul floated out of the water.

I looked down and saw my body bobbing in the river, rising and falling like a piece of discarded trash. How ugly.

Just then, a familiar Maybach sped over.

I instinctively moved to block my corpse, not wanting them to see me in such a miserable state. But Mom still noticed.

"Oh, Arthur, look! What's that floating in the river?" she exclaimed, rolling the window down halfway. She looked through my soul with a hint of disgust. "It's all black and lumpy. How creepy."

My heart twisted painfully. That was my hair floating on the surface of the water. A little further down was the old jacket I had worn for three years. If she looked just a little closer, she would recognize it.

My dad, Arthur Caldwell, who was driving, only glanced over casually and frowned.

"Probably just aquatic weeds or someone's garbage bag. The city management is getting worse these days. The river is this filthy, and they still don't do anything about it. They're just collecting money and doing nothing."

"Don't look at it, Mrs. Caldwell. It's quite an eyesore. Let's not let something like this ruin Sam's celebration dinner," my fiancee, Shelby Holloway, said with a gentle smile as she leaned over to fasten Samuel's seatbelt properly.

I hovered motionless in the air, watching the red taillights disappear into the night.

A bitter smile crossed my face. So my life was as worthless as aquatic weeds—not worth a single extra second of their time. But that was fine. At least I would never be in their way again.

Before long, an invisible force pulled me back to the Caldwell residence.

The dining room was brightly lit, and the massive king crab at the center of the table was particularly eye-catching.

Dad uncorked a bottle of his prized red wine and poured Shelby a glass. "Shelby, thanks for everything you've done today. Sam's success is largely thanks to you!"

Shelby quickly stood up with a graceful, demure smile. "It's nothing, Mr. Caldwell. With Sam around, the Caldwell family will only reach greater heights, and I'll be sure to support him every step of the way."

Mom carefully cracked open the crab and handed a piece to Samuel. "Here, Sam. Congratulations on your successful performance."

"Thanks, Mom. You're the best!"

Watching how happy they were, I couldn't help but smile. How wonderful. They were a perfect family of four. It was only natural that I, the one who didn't belong, should eventually step aside.

Samuel took a bite of the crab, then suddenly put it down and glanced upstairs. "Dad, Mom, shouldn't we call Nick down for dinner? It's such a happy occasion. Isn't it a bit unfair to leave him alone upstairs?"

The air in the dining room froze instantly.