Chapter 4

The sheer absurdity of it made me gag.

The two people I trusted with all my heart had crossed every line while I was already terrified and helpless.

My phone suddenly rang. Patrick’s voice was full of irritation.

“Yuna, do you have any idea how dangerous that was? How could you let Dolly take the jet ski all the way out into open water? How would you ever answer for it if something happened to her?”

I listened quietly until he finished, then spoke softly.

“Patrick, I’m leaving.”

There was a noticeable pause on the other end.

“Where are you going?”

After barely two seconds, he let out a mocking laugh.

“What, you know you screwed up and want to run home before taking responsibility?”

“I’m sorry, Yuna. I know you didn’t do it on purpose. I was just worried.”

He knew exactly how to soften his voice and prey on my tender heart.

The next moment, Dolly’s muffled voice came through the phone.

“Patrick.”

All of Patrick’s patience vanished.

“Dolly’s condition is unstable. The doctor wants to keep her overnight for observation. You get some rest. I’ll take you to that new restaurant tomorrow.”

The call ended abruptly, cutting off the last of my self-deception.

I sat alone in the cold, empty B&B room, still clinging to one final, pathetic hope.

[Patrick, what else will happen in the future?]

For the first time, he avoided answering my question.

[Yuna, ask me something else.]

I refused to back down and pressed him for an answer.

[If you don’t tell me, I’m not coming with you.]

The chat window fell silent for a long time.

At three in the morning, dozens of hoarse, remorseful voice messages began appearing one after another, revealing the devastating life that awaited me.

[The night Dolly and I first slept together was the beginning of every tragedy.]

[For years afterward, Dolly and I carried on a secret affair. While you were busy planning our wedding, I was at the hospital caring for Dolly after she gave birth.]

[Your parents eventually discovered our secret by accident. They died in a car crash while on their way to tell you the truth.]

[Dolly took the opportunity to steal all your original designs and used lies and fabricated evidence to have you committed to a psychiatric hospital.]

[Everything you had built became part of her shining image and the source of her confidence.]

I spent the entire night awake.

The next morning, I faced Patrick with horribly swollen, red-rimmed eyes and a terrifying calm.

When Patrick returned with Dolly, there was an unmistakable intimacy between them.

I suddenly looked up at Patrick and spoke in a playful, coaxing tone.

“Patrick, you always say I’m too timid and afraid to try anything new. This time, I want to go skydiving.”

Perhaps he was carrying some guilt, because he agreed without hesitation.

“Sure. I’ll go with you.”

The helicopter slowly rose into the air, the deep blue ocean stretching endlessly below us.

I glanced at Patrick beside me and asked softly, “Patrick, if I were gone, would you miss me?”

He immediately clasped my hand, his expression gentle.

“Don’t say things like that, Yuna. I’ll always be by your side.”

I smiled faintly.

Soon, it was our turn to jump. The fierce wind whipped my hair across my face, blurring my vision.

I looked into Patrick’s eyes and took one last look at the desolate years of my youth.

Then I raised my hands and personally unclipped every strap securing me to the harness before leaping without hesitation into the vast ocean below.

The smile on Patrick’s face instantly froze. A terrified, despairing scream erupted behind me.

“Yuna!”