Home / Romance Short Story / He Plays Dead, and I Make It Real / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of He Plays Dead, and I Make It Real: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

11 Chapters

Chapter 1

"I've decided to have Josiah removed from the records," I announced."Are you giving up the search?" my friend, who worked at the state vital records office, hesitantly asked.I looked up at Josiah Erikson, who was leaning close to whisper something in Monica Jones' ear. My eyes burned with tears, and my voice was all choked up. "I can't find him."What was the point of finding someone who wanted to stay lost?After hanging up, I turned and returned to my private room.When my best friend, Carissa Caldwell, noticed my grim expression, she shoved a drink into my hand. "Josiah's been missing for three months, Nicole. Chances of him being alive are close to zero, so you have to move on."I stared at the brightly colored liquid in the glass, tipped my head back, and drained everything in one go.The burn immediately brought tears to my eyes. I blinked hard, swallowed the heartache, and softly asked, "Would someone ever fake their disappearance just to lie to their wife?"Carissa sh

Chapter 2

I ignored the first few questions and only replied to the last."If Josiah's dead, how can he get mad?"With that, I tossed my phone aside and started packing up the items Josiah had left in the house.For the past three months, I'd mostly been searching for him in the city where he supposedly disappeared while skiing, making me rarely come home. The bedroom looked much the same, except for the bed.When I opened the closet, I froze. More than half of Josiah's clothes were gone. What remained were mostly items unfit to be worn this season.Tears immediately streamed down my face as I let out a bitter, mocking laugh.While combing through the snow mountains searching for Josiah, I'd come home only when I truly reached my breaking point. And during those days when I'd been on the edge of collapse, he'd returned home multiple times to retrieve his belongings.I accessed the home security footage and fast-forwarded through the recordings from the past month.Early in the month, J

Chapter 3

In the past, Josiah would make me spend a whole night reflecting on my mistakes whenever he lost his temper with me. Only after I admitted my wrongdoings would he grudgingly forgive me.I closed my aching, sore eyes and saved both videos.Just as I was about to turn off my phone, I received a call from Monica.After I tapped on the answer button, deafening music exploded in my ear. She screamed over the line, "Nicole, are you seriously holding a funeral for Josiah? Have you lost your mind?"I'm warning you—cancel it, or you'll be sorry when he gets back!"I didn't wait for her to finish. Instead, I ended the call and turned off my phone. After dragging a blanket over myself, I curled up on the couch to sleep.It was the soundest sleep I'd had in three months.…Early the next morning, I took the documents and officially had Josiah removed from the identity records. After completing the procedures, I went straight to Monica's place.Her door was tightly shut. I had to repeatedl

Chapter 4

"Serves him right!" Carissa snapped. "I truly don't understand how monsters like him even exist."She was getting more fired up by the second, so I quickly stopped her. "Enough. Today's Josiah's funeral, so we're supposed to be grieving."As I spoke, I pulled out my cosmetics bag and applied makeup to dull the healthy flush on my face, layering on shadows until I looked worn down and heartbroken to the core.After Carissa confirmed I did look haggard from the makeup, we headed to the funeral together.On the way, I handed her a USB drive containing video proof that Josiah was alive and instructed her to play it on my cue. Once everything was set, I mass texted the funeral address.Claud was the first to arrive. Dressed in a black suit, he stepped out of the car, walked up to me, took out a white mourning flower, and pinned it to his sleeve. With all due solemnity, he offered his condolences.Next came a stream of relatives and friends who were still in the dark.Their grief was

Chapter 5

Josiah strode toward me and pulled me into his arms tightly. His body trembled as he called my name."Nicole, you have no idea how much I missed you."I fell while skiing that day and broke several bones. Luckily, a kind stranger sent me to the hospital, where it took me three months of recovery before I could come back to you.""I'm alive. Look! I'm perfectly fine."He grabbed my hands and ran them over his arms and torso as if to prove that he'd truly been on death's door, while I watched him perform in silence.Only when the awkwardness finally caught up with him did I laugh. "Are you done? The kind stranger who took you to the hospital… Was her name Monica?"Colors drained from Josiah's face inch by inch. His lips moved before he forced out a helpless smile. "Nicole… What are you talking about? I don't understand."As my eyes fell on his feigned confusion, three months of grief and rage finally erupted. I swung my arm back and slapped him hard across the face."Since you've

Chapter 6

"If you want your identity restored, you'll still need my help, Josiah. I'll give you two options."I held out a set of divorce papers."Sign it, and you get to come back to life. If you refuse to sign it, you live the rest of your life as an undocumented citizen."Josiah's chest heaved with rage. He snatched the papers, flipped straight to the asset division section, and then hurled them to the floor."Why should I walk away with nothing?"His face was flushed red, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was a horrifying sight.Once, I would have been terrified of his anger. But now, looking at him, only one phrase came to mind—all bark and no bite.He had absolutely no leverage, yet he still thought he could get the upper hand.I gave a cold laugh. "Because right now, you're an undocumented citizen who has cheated!"He fixed me with a cold stare and suddenly laughed. "Cheated? I just spent the night with my best friend, and we never did anything."When our eyes met, I caught the sm

Chapter 7

Monica refused to leave and insisted on staying glued to Josiah's side.Unbothered, I got into Claud's car and headed for the state vital records office. The clerk smiled when she saw me. "Why are you back again today?""We found Josiah, so I'm here to restore his identity records.""I knew you'd find him. Congratulations!"I nodded and offered no further explanation.As we were leaving, Josiah called out to stop me. "I really love you, Nicole. I was drunk that day at Monica's place, so I mistook her for you…"I turned around and snapped in a cold voice, "Don't say such disgusting things!"…After we picked up the divorce certificate, I stepped to the curb to hail a cab. Claud pulled up beside me in his car. "Where to? I'll give you a ride."I looked at him and meaningfully replied, "Mr. Erikson, Josiah and I are divorced now.""So?""So, as people who were never close to begin with, there's no reason for us to get too involved with each other."He hooked a finger over the

Chapter 8

Claud pulled the car to a stop in front of a steakhouse. I froze when I saw the sign.Standing behind me, he casually asked, "What are you spacing out for? I thought you liked steaks.""I haven't had it in four years…"Josiah had a severe allergy to red meat, so I'd never stepped foot in a steakhouse in the four years I was with him.Claud tugged lightly on the hood of my sweatshirt and chuckled. "So today, I'm treating you to the steak you've missed for so long to celebrate your divorce."I laughed too, then proceeded to order a feast without hesitation.Over dinner, we discussed the upcoming partnership. It was a genuinely pleasant conversation.By the time we finished, night had fully fallen.Claud insisted on taking me home, but as soon as we arrived at my house, I saw an unwelcome visitor waiting at the door.Josiah was crouched by the villa gates, shivering in the cold. His eyes lit up when he saw me. "Nicole, you're back!"I raised a brow, baffled by whatever tricks he

Chapter 9

"I know that I've messed up, Nicole. Nothing's going on between Monica and me. That day was just a mistake any man could have made when he's drunk!""I swear I'll stay away from her. Please just give me one more chance!"Josiah held me so tight and refused to let go, no matter how hard I struggled. That was until a strong force pulled me free and into another pair of arms. When I looked up, I found myself staring at Claud's sharp jawline.His voice came from above my head, "Josiah, I warned you that if you keep harassing Nicole, the Eriksons won't protect you anymore."Josiah's grip on my hand finally loosened, but he insisted, "This is between me and my wife, Uncle Claud.""Between the two of us?" I echoed. His words made me laugh out of pure anger. "Who gave you the idea to fake your disappearance, Josiah? Don't tell me you came up with it yourself. You don't even have the brains for that, and you're only good at being led around by Monica. "She's always the best friend you

Chapter 10

Claud's expression turned serious as he leaned in a little closer to me. "That's not an issue. Josiah was just an adopted child taken in by my brother and sister-in-law. "When he came of age, he made a serious mistake and got himself kicked out of the Eriksons. I only paid for his college out of respect for my late brother and sister-in-law."I nodded and took his hand. "Three months' probation. Whether you get promoted to a permanent role depends on your performance."Claud eagerly nodded."Since work's done for the day, shall we get some steak again?"Maybe it was because I'd gone four years without steak, but I'd become a little too obsessed with it. Every two to three days, I had to have steak. It felt off all over if I didn't.Claud had been eating steak with me for a while now, yet he showed no sign of getting tired of it. Every time, he'd find a different restaurant so we could try it out, and today was no different."I just found another great place. Let's go."But jus

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