After Death Romance Short Stories & Independence Countdown Novels

Kendrick Fisher, the worst student in class, has worked extremely hard and ended up getting into a prestigious college just for my sake. But I choose to break up with him at that very moment. I cling to the arm of Daniel Ziegler, the best student in class, as I mock Kendrick relentlessly in a high and mighty manner. "It's not that I look down on you, Kendrick. The thing is, your family has gone broke. Right now, you don't even have a single penny in your pocket. "On top of that, you also have a heart disease, which means you can't live for more than three months. What makes you think we can stay together, hmm?" With a pallid face, Kendrick parts his lips, but he ends up fainting from the pain while listening to my mocking laughter. Four years later, I curl up on the floor in a factory's dormitory while munching on a stale sandwich and scrolling through the news. It turns out that the AI company founded by Kendrick will be going public soon, and it's already worth ten billion dollars. Meanwhile, Daniel is currently using my identity to apply for online loans just so he can continue gambling in Mireholm. Everyone is waiting to watch the spicy drama of Kendrick getting his revenge on me. Thank goodness I've already died by then. When Kendrick makes a glorious comeback by having his convoy drive into the city, my artificial heart has already stopped beating. Unfortunately, his afterparty and my wake are held in the same hotel on the very same day…

Three years after I had made my girlfriend, Sophia Lambert, sleep with her superior, she finally went from being his lover to becoming his wife. Meanwhile, I barely made it out alive after years of being undercover in a drug trafficking ring. My body was broken beyond repair, and I had returned home only to wait for death. Sophia arrived with one of her arms wrapped around her husband’s during a charity visit for the poor. When she saw me standing in line for relief aid, she let out a mocking laugh. “Benjamin, how did you end up like this?” I hunched my shoulders. I hid the First-Class Merit Medal for Narcotics Enforcement I had received not long ago. After a long silence, I asked, “Are you happy now?” She twirled the diamond ring on her finger in a lackadaisical manner. “The wedding’s next week. What do you think? “If you want, you can even become a groomsman. Orlando believes in diversity. His groomsmen comprises of different kinds of guys. He’s just missing someone disabled.” I shook my head and turned down her offer. “No, I won’t be able to make it.” The poison in my body had already spread to my heart. I only had a few days left.

The ninth time Julian Hale chose Vivian Cross over me, I held a knife to Vivian's throat and made her beg for forgiveness in the middle of a crowded downtown plaza. I thought that would finally be enough to end the affair. Instead, Julian made me pay for hurting her. He went after my father's company and destroyed it, leaving my family broke and buried in debt to loan sharks. In the end, my father, Martin Ellison, couldn't take it anymore. He swallowed an entire bottle of pills beside my mother, Diane Ellison. The shock was too much for her heart, and she died soon after. I lost both my parents in a single day. The day after the funerals, the doctor gave me more bad news. I had late-stage stomach cancer. I had three months left, maybe less. And just like that, I was done fighting. I moved out of our bedroom, threw away my wedding ring, and stopped calling him hundreds of times whenever he stayed out all night. Even when he brought Vivian home just to provoke me, I didn't argue. Instead, I hired a top chef to cook her favorite dishes. Julian thought I had finally learned my place. Then came Vivian's birthday. With a shy smile, she said her birthday wish was to marry Julian. I pulled the signed divorce papers from my bag and slid them across the table. Julian panicked. He ripped them apart and grabbed my wrist, his eyes bloodshot. "Nora, what game are you playing now? Trying to make me chase you? Where did all that fight in you go?" Before I could answer, I coughed up a mouthful of blood.