Chapter 2
Disbelief hit me like a physical blow, and a chill ran through what was left of me.
Only now did I truly understand just how much Sebastian hated me. He'd turned my death into a reason to pop champagne.
But Sebastian, I really am dead. You just refuse to believe it.
The car screeched to a halt in front of a haute couture bridal boutique. Sebastian shoved the door open and strode inside, practically bouncing with excitement.
The déjà vu made me sick. Just like the day after we'd secretly gotten our marriage certificate at city hall behind his mother Helen's back, when he'd brought me here to pick out a wedding dress.
Back then, Sebastian had been just as eager to see me in white lace. He'd pulled me tight into his arms, swearing to me that I was the most beautiful bride in the world.
Now he was looking at Claire in white with that same devotion.
He reached out, gently tucking a strand of golden hair behind her ear, his voice low and tender. "You're beautiful, Claire."
Claire lowered her head shyly, and when she looked up again, her lashes glistened with tears. "Sebastian, I've finally waited long enough for you."
Shock punched through me as I watched Claire rise onto her tiptoes and kiss Sebastian's cheek.
"No!" Instinct drove me forward to stop them.
But my hands passed straight through Sebastian's broad shoulders.
I could only hover there, helpless as a ghost with no power to change anything, watching him chuckle softly before producing a dazzling engagement ring and sliding it onto Claire's finger.
How could this be?
Why Claire of all people?!
She was the real killer—the one who'd actually caused Helen's death!
"Sebastian!" I opened my mouth to scream, desperation tearing through my throat, but no sound emerged.
I could only float there numbly, watching this nightmare unfold.
Claire admired the diamond ring in the full-length mirror, then asked, her tone carefully casual, "By the way, Sebastian. Kaitlyn... is she okay?"
The warmth drained from Sebastian's face instantly, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness.
"She's fine. Just another pathetic play for sympathy."
"Then... should we invite her to our wedding?"
Sebastian lowered his lashes, hiding what was really going on behind his eyes.
A cruel smile twisted his lips. "Of course we should. She'll be our special guest."
Ice flooded my veins. I knew Sebastian too well—he wanted me to witness his wedding to someone else, to destroy me completely.
After all, a real wedding had once been my impossible dream.
Years ago, because of Helen's vehement opposition, we'd only signed the papers—not even the simplest ceremony.
Later, a wedding became a complete fantasy—because Helen had a heart attack and died during emergency treatment.
And the last call she made before she died was to me.
So of course Sebastian decided that I'd deliberately provoked her with vicious words to force his hand.
The day Helen was buried, the sky was dark and rain came down in sheets.
Sebastian had personally forced me to my knees in front of her gravestone, his hand like iron on my shoulder, making me kneel there for a day and a night.
Rain mixed with mud pelted my face. I looked up through the downpour into his bloodshot eyes.
All I saw was emptiness and pure hatred. Cold rain dripped from his jawline as he ground out through clenched teeth, "Kaitlyn, from this day forward, you and me—one of us has to destroy the other."
From that day on, I'd gone from the woman he loved to his worst enemy.
He hated me, humiliated me in every way imaginable, yet kept me imprisoned at his side, forbidding me to leave.
He even deliberately brought different women back to our villa overnight, making sure I saw them in his shirts the next morning, strutting around in front of me.
Whenever he caught me fighting back tears, he'd walk over and tap my cheek, mocking me:
"What's wrong, Kaitlyn? Feeling hurt? You did this to yourself. Who else is there to blame?"
I'd tried everything to make him understand, begged him to investigate the truth. But that only made Sebastian torture me worse.
He would never question his own judgment. Because everyone in high society knew that Helen had despised me from the start.
She'd publicly declared that as long as she drew breath, Kaitlyn would never set foot through the Reynolds family door.
Back then, Sebastian had brutal fights with Helen over being with me, even threatening to give up his inheritance of the family empire.
But the woman he'd treasured had ultimately "killed" the mother who'd given birth to him and raised him.
That was something he'd never forgive.
After finishing at the bridal shop and sending Claire away, Sebastian sat alone in his car.
He leaned back against the leather seat, finally bothering to remember there existed a woman named Kaitlyn in this world.
He opened his phone screen, scrolled a few times, and finally released my number from the blacklist where it had been for months.
One hand tapping the steering wheel, he dialed my number with the other.
Ring—ring—ring—
After a long moment, a cold mechanical voice echoed through the car.
I floated quietly in the passenger seat, watching his relaxed brow furrow tighter and tighter, his eyes growing dangerous and terrifying.
Bang!
He slammed his fist against the steering wheel in frustration, snarling into the silence, "Kaitlyn, you've got the nerve to ignore my calls? Do you have a death wish?"
I stared at his twisted, furious profile, hollow inside.
Sebastian, you don't know.
I'm not deliberately ignoring your call.
It's that I'll never have the chance to answer again.
