Alle Kapitel von Gone Before the First Snow: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 10

Hailey sat alone in the living room until nightfall. Then she wheeled herself to Spencer's study and knocked a few times.Spencer quickly ended his call and came out."Hailey, I'm sorry I got your birthday wrong. Our third wedding anniversary is coming up, so why don't we celebrate both together? Wherever you want to go, I'll go with you."Hailey glanced at him before answering quietly, "Let's go to Montrevia. I want to see the first snow of the season."Spencer looked taken aback."The first snow? It'll probably snow in Norvale in another month. Why don't we just celebrate at home? Traveling that far won't be easy for you. We don't need to make such a long trip, do we?"Hailey shook her head. She rarely insisted on having her way.She had only 15 days left to live. She couldn't wait another month.Seeing that her mind was made up, Spencer didn't argue. He booked their flights to Montrevia so they could spend Christmas there.Hailey had known he'd agree. She'd read enough of h

Spencer didn't come home for the next few days. He sent Hailey only one message, saying he'd gone away on business.But Candace's messages made it perfectly clear where he really was.Hailey didn't bother responding. She simply printed out each message and put it away with the others.Meanwhile, she continued checking things off her wish list, one by one.The tenth item on her list was to see flowers in bloom. After a quick search on her phone, she settled on a popular park where the camellias had just begun to bloom.The park was quiet that weekday. Hailey slowly wheeled herself along one of the paths.By midafternoon, a few street musicians had gathered in the plaza, playing soft love songs.Hailey turned toward the music and immediately spotted Spencer. Candace was right beside him. The two were chatting as they shared something to eat.At one point, Candace offered Spencer a piece of fruit from her own fork. He ate it without hesitation.The easy smile on Spencer's face ca

Hailey sat off to the side, silently watching Spencer and Candace strike one affectionate pose after another.When it became clear they weren't going to stop anytime soon, she called a photographer over."Could you take a portrait of me? In black and white, please."The photographer wheeled her into another studio and tried to persuade her to choose color instead, explaining that black-and-white portraits weren't nearly as flattering.But Hailey insisted.After all, the photo was meant for her funeral.In the end, the photographer gave in and took a single portrait.By the time Hailey's portrait was ready, Spencer and Candace had finally finished their photo shoot next door.Candace came over with their freshly printed photos, looking apologetic."Sorry, Hailey. Spencer and I got so caught up taking pictures that we completely forgot about you. Why don't you two take some together now?"Hailey looked at Spencer, who stood behind Candace, unable to meet her eyes.She smiled a

Hailey waited three whole hours, but Spencer never came back.By afternoon, a light rain had begun to fall again. She finally gave up waiting and decided to make her way down the hill on her own.The cemetery had a wheelchair-accessible path, but it was steep and sloped to one side. Hailey struggled to keep her wheelchair under control. When it struck a railing, the chair tipped over.She went tumbling down the path, scraping her hands and face before she reached the bottom. Blood trickled from a small cut on her forehead, only to be washed away by the rain.She lay alone on the ground, unnoticed by anyone, with nothing to do but watch the rain fall. Shivering uncontrollably from the cold, she gritted her teeth against the pain throughout her body.Every minute seemed to drag on forever.She'd lost track of how long she'd been lying there. Just when she thought she might freeze to death, Spencer finally came rushing toward her with an umbrella, looking frantic.He lifted her int

As soon as Spencer landed in Norvale, he turned on his phone and found dozens of missed calls and more than 100 unread messages from Nadine.The numbers on his screen made his stomach clench. He was about to call her back when he looked up and spotted her waiting near the arrivals exit.She looked as though she hadn't slept all night. Her face was drawn, and her eyes were filled with fear and desperation."Spencer! Hailey's not home! Where on earth could she be? Don't you have any idea?"Every reassuring thought Spencer had clung to during the flight vanished in an instant. He rushed toward Nadine, forgetting all about his luggage."She's not home? That's impossible!"Seeing his reaction, Nadine knew something was terribly wrong. She couldn't hold back her questions any longer."I went over to your place, but Hailey wasn't there. I searched the whole house, top to bottom, over and over. And all her stuff is gone. There's not a single piece of her clothing left in the closet."E