All Chapters of Death Is the Only Escape: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

As soon as I stepped onto the stool, these bizarre floating comments suddenly appeared in front of me.Upon reading them, I could only find them absurd.I'd spent over 20 years pouring my heart and soul into winning over the three female leads of this world. I did everything I could, and yet, because the adopted son of the family threatened to take his own life, they tortured me mercilessly.Not only that, they forced me to stay in a dingy, windowless basement apartment and saddled me with massive debt, leaving me to be beaten by loan sharks on a daily basis.Now, the comments were telling me that the person the three women loved most was me. All I could do was find that funny.Ignoring the comments, I stuck my head through the noose and kicked the stool away, allowing an overwhelming sense of suffocation to wash over me.Before my eyes appeared Mom and Dad's loving smiles. How nice. I was finally going home."Don't worry, everyone! Elena is on her way! She might have a sharp to

Chapter 2

"I'm so sad. Elena's actually hurting on the inside when she says all of that. She's even clenching her fists.""This is all because she's still indebted to Ryan. Daniel, I know you are suffering, but you have to put yourself in her shoes. She's only partial to Ryan because of that debt.""This is too painful to watch. My heart aches for Elena."How ridiculous. Their so‑called debt of gratitude had nothing to do with me. I had done more than enough for Elena over the past 20 years.Gazing at Elena, I smiled. "I'm only doing what you wished for. I won't be an eyesore anymore."Before Elena could even react, I grabbed the knife on the table and slashed hard across my wrist."Danny!"Before I lost consciousness, all I heard was Elena's desperate scream.I thought this time, it would finally be over, but it wasn't. I woke up when a cup struck me.Upon opening my eyes, I found Ryan and Hazel standing by my hospital bed. Ryan looked devastated, whereas Hazel was seething with anger.

Chapter 3

Hazel's lashes quivered. Instinctively, she reached out, as if to pat my head the way she used to. But she quickly withdrew her hand, a cold laugh escaping her lips."Did you think pulling a stunt like this would make us feel sorry for you? If you want to die that badly, go do it somewhere else and be an eyesore elsewhere!"Hazel shot me a contemptuous glance and, without warning, ordered her people to tie me up.I thrashed about in panic. "What are you doing?""You wish for death, no? Then I won't let you have it that easily. I'll make your life unbearable and death impossible!"They dumped me in a remote psychiatric hospital. I recognized the place instantly because it belonged to Ophelia.I was strapped to a hospital bed. Ophelia walked in with her phone, her voice soft and gentle as she spoke to Ryan. "Get some good rest, Ryan. You have nothing to worry about. I'll definitely be at your wedding."When she looked my way, all I saw in her eyes was pure disdain. "Hah! Hazel alr

Chapter 4

Giving no response, I merely closed my eyes."Daniel, just give in a little! Seeing you like this is breaking your childhood friend's heart!""Daniel, shed just one tear, and your childhood friend would even offer up her life. Just show some weakness quickly!"The comments that appeared were utterly absurd. Without saying another word, Ophelia came up to me and tried to help me up.Frowning in disgust, I made an obvious attempt to resist.Ophelia's face paled slightly. She then yanked me up roughly instead."Do you think I want to touch you? You're nothing but a sewer rat. Touching you would just dirty my hands! If Elena hadn't asked me to come get you, I wouldn't even want to look at you."Despite her words, Ophelia held me close and even leaned into my chest."She's acting all disgusted, but she's thrilled on the inside now that she can finally cling to the male lead.""I bet she will casually brag about this to the other two, like 800 times."Did Ophelia really like me, li

Chapter 5

I read the comments defending Elena with a cold look in my eyes.True love would never cause harm. The three who had hurt me most didn't deserve to mention love.Soon, Hazel and Ryan's wedding day arrived.Hazel and Ophelia forced me to work as a server at the wedding just because Ryan wanted my blessing.Ryan and Hazel appeared in their grand wedding attire, while I walked between the tables carrying a tray, mocked and sneered at by everyone around me."That's Daniel, right? I heard he tried to steal his own brother's fiancee.""That's so evil. He can't hold a candle to Ryan.""He even shamelessly showed up at their wedding. I guess he hasn't given up yet."Standing by the enormous wedding cake, Ryan smirked at me with the knife in hand. "Daniel, this is the most important day of my life. Can you give me your blessing?"I was silent for a long time, which prompted Hazel to snap at me with a frown, "Daniel, did you not hear Ryan?"As I stared at the knife in Ryan's hand, I re

Chapter 6

"I'm taking my brother home."The comments began popping up again. "Am I the only one who thinks Daniel's life has been tragic? Even if the three female leads love him, the damage they caused is real.""I agree. Their attempts to make up for it came way too late.""What more do you want? The female leads already love him a lot!"I watched Elena and the others coldly. Then I heard the system's voice. "Host detected as deceased. Do you wish to be transported back to your own world?""No. There's one more thing I need to do. I want them to know the truth of that so-called debt of theirs."I wanted them to know how laughable their actions over the past three years truly were.Elena brought me back home. My room had long since been turned into a storage room, so she could only lay me down in her own bedroom. She held my hand, murmuring to herself.On the bedside table lay the piano score I'd pieced together for her. She'd framed it and placed it by her bedside as if she really treas

Chapter 7

Ophelia, who had arrived late, grabbed the middle‑aged man by the collar, her eyes bloodshot as she demanded answers.The man looked stunned, trembling as he hurried to explain."Mr. Daniel Coleman saved me from that fire. When I got out, I saw him taking care of the three of you. Since his injuries were severe, they then took him away in an ambulance. I don't know what happened after that."Back then, I'd explained everything that had happened countless times, but not a single person believed me.They all chose to believe that I'd made up the whole thing out of jealousy toward Ryan. It wasn't until right then that they discovered the truth.Ophelia's hands fell limply to her sides. Finding it all absurd, she burst out laughing."Debt of gratitude, huh? I can't believe I got the wrong person this whole time, and Daniel ended up paying for it. I did this. It should've been me, not Daniel…"Hazel's face was drained of all color. Letting go of Elena's collar, she stared blankly ahe

Chapter 8

Inside the funeral home, Elena stared at my portrait.As she drank, she said, "I ordered a lot of white roses. I know they're your favorite. I'll send them to you every month from now on, okay? Danny, will you be lonely all by yourself? Should I go to you to keep you company?"She absolutely shouldn't. If she were to appear in front of me again, I would be so disgusted I'd probably throw up everything I ate the day before.Ophelia locked herself in the basement, the place that held all our memories together.When she was seven, I gave her a teddy bear I made by hand. Yet, a year ago, she threw it into the river, saying the gift was cheap and ridiculous.Yesterday, she jumped straight into the river to look for it. After spending an entire day and night looking for it, she finally found it buried in the mud by the riverbank.She washed it clean, then kissed it as if it were a priceless treasure."Daniel, I love you. From when we were young, you only ever had eyes for Hazel, and I

Chapter 9

Elena's POVI had always known that I was just an illegitimate child. That was why I suffered in silence whenever I was mistreated.But then, Daniel was like a beam of light that illuminated my life. He would always take my hand, painting my black-and-white world in color.Without question, he was the most important person in my life. But Ryan was the one who saved me from that fire. Although he was always wallowing in self-pity, I still owed him since he had saved my life.I had to repay him. I thought that as long as I settled the debt of gratitude, Daniel and I could return to how things used to be.I was wrong. I should never have cared about that so-called debt of gratitude.When Daniel threw himself toward that knife, my heart stopped beating. My Danny, the Danny who had always hated pain, closed his eyes just like that, never to open them again.Unable to accept it, I felt like I was going insane.I brought him home, talked to him, and prayed that he would wake up. But D

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