Chapter 2

Annie came back to herself and said softly, “I’ve felt a little dizzy these two days. I don’t want to drop the bowl.”

Liam studied her for a few seconds.

She swallowed. I caught the flicker of panic in her eyes.

How ironic. The night she drove a dagger into my heart, she was afraid I wouldn’t die and calmly twisted the blade to make sure.

Annie corrected herself. “I’ll go get it for you.”

Liam withdrew his gaze and walked into the dining room. “No need. If you’re not feeling well, get more rest.”

I froze for a second. Married to him two years, I’d never once heard him tell me to rest. I died and heard something so rare.

Stranger still, my lifelong “weak constitution” hardly flared up after the first few months in the Grant house.

Sharing a bed for two years, I mustered the courage to float to his ear and call his name.

I wanted him to go to the Lee house and bring me back.

With Grandma gone, there was no one left in this world I couldn’t let go of.

I died unwillingly, yes—but living had felt like exhaustion piled on exhaustion.

The freezer was too cold, and I’ve always been afraid of cold. I just wanted a patch of sunlight.

Worse, I’d heard them planning to cut me up for easy disposal, piece by piece.

Even dead, the thought terrified me. If I couldn’t even keep my body whole, I’d rather my dad had drowned me as a baby and left a complete corpse. Cremated is fine—at least you go whole.

Liam gave no sign he heard a thing. He lifted the bowl and started eating. “I heard you’ve been going out a lot lately?”

At his question, hope flared in me.

In Hai City, I knew no one but the Lee family.

On my wedding day, my parents told me that if I wanted Grandma Miller’s medicine to keep getting paid for, I had to please that grim god Liam. As long as Lee Corp stayed safe, Grandma’s prescriptions wouldn’t stop.

A married daughter is water poured out, which means they never want me to come home again.

So after marrying into the Grant family, aside from an occasional grocery run or a walk, I barely touched the outside world. No wonder Liam found it odd.

Annie answered sweetly, “The temperatures swing in the mornings and evenings lately. My parents both got sick. I went home to check on them.”

Mention of our parents dragged me back to the night she killed me.

I fought for my life. My mom feared I’d hurt Annie and rushed up with my dad to pin me down.

In that instant, strength fled my limbs and I watched the blade sink into my heart.

Liam didn’t comment, only said mildly, “It’s boring to sit at home all day. Going out is fine.”

My heart sank.

For someone as cautious and suspicious as Liam, he hadn’t noticed the slightest wrongness.

And he was saying things he’d never said to me.

On our wedding day, my parents beamed at him and said I was marrying into the Grant family to atone for Lee Corp.

He could vent however he wanted—hit, scold, life or death at his whim—the Lee family would never object.

Liam never used me as a punching bag, but he didn’t seem to like going out either.

So outside of what happened in bed, we barely spoke.

After the porridge, the two of them went back to the bedroom.

Annie sat on the bed with a face full of expectation, watching the freshly showered Liam.

Liam leaned toward her.

His phone rang.

He hung up, started changing.

I’d seen it a hundred times—nine times out of ten he was off to handle something urgent at the company.

Annoyance flickered over Annie’s face, but she pasted on a smile the second Liam looked her way.

“Your scent’s way too strong. The way it used to be was better.”

Annie stared at his retreating back, blanked, and hastily lifted her arm to sniff.

She smelled nothing at all.