But I’m nothing like him; I actually love grapes.

My family only came into money later on. When I was young, my second uncle’s family had grapevines sprawling all over their yard, but they never once sent us a single bunch.

I’ve got a major sweet tooth, and I swear, even in my dreams, I see vines heavy with grapes.

But how could he possibly know that...

The live-streaming host, Stone, sent me a private message when he noticed I hadn’t said anything in a while.

“Where are you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, just a widow rising from her grave.”

Suddenly, he was unusually attentive. If that wasn’t a ghost coming back from the dead, what else could it be?

After that day, I kept waiting for his next dramatic performance.

While practicing my singing, I found myself improving my acting too. It wasn’t hard to cry on cue anymore.

But for two whole months, nothing happened.

Percival came home punctually at 10 every night, just as I was starting my broadcast.

We were on opposite schedules and hadn’t crossed paths in ages.

Except for the grapes he always left on the coffee table.

When it came to acting, I still clearly lacked the skill.

It wasn’t until one day, when I went out to pick up takeout, that I ran into Percival, who had just come home.

I was in flip-flops, standing in the chilly autumn wind.

He frowned as his eyes dropped to my feet. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and tried to redirect his attention.

“Such a coincidence. You live here too?”

...

I must have been out of my mind to think I was being clear-headed in the autumn chill.

Actually, that night, I had planned to watch a horror movie.

But then he came home late, and I found him still in the kitchen, fussing over a pecan pie.

The scent hit me, and suddenly, the sashimi in my hands didn’t seem all that appetizing anymore.

“I made too much, want some?”

Percival seemed unusually tired tonight, his usual sharpness gone from his voice.

“Obviously, it’s not about being greedy. I just hate wasting food.”

I grabbed a cup of yogurt from the fridge to settle my stomach.

“I’m just afraid you won’t finish it.”

I picked up a piece of pie and ate it all in one bite.

Percival, with a dark look in his eyes, rubbed his chopsticks together, producing a harsh metallic sound. “Aren’t you afraid I poisoned it?”

...

Now you’re telling me this after I’ve eaten it?

I straightened my back and threatened him, “If I die, you’re not going to have a good ending either.”

Percival just smiled faintly and served me a perfectly fried egg, the outer layer crispy and golden.

I pressed the egg down, letting the sauce soak into it before popping it into my mouth.

Just then, he suddenly stood up, leaning in. His gaze traced over my lips, and he whispered in my ear,

“The poison… is actually in the fried egg.”

!!??

The food in my mouth suddenly lost all its appeal.

I was about to snap at him, but he laughed softly, his face full of innocent charm.

“I was just kidding!”

He tapped my head lightly with his fingers.

I rubbed my head, unsure if I should swallow the fried egg or not.

“Your cousin…” He pulled out a beautifully embossed golden invitation from somewhere. “She sent me a birthday invitation.”

My cousin Flora is my second uncle’s only daughter. It was her gossiping that caused my mom to go into premature labor. And on my eighteenth birthday, she brought up old grievances, pushing me to slap her so hard she ended up in the hospital.

People say I’m hard to mess with, and I guess it’s because of that incident.

And now, behind my back, she sent an invitation to my cousin-in-law?

“She invited you but not me?” I said, my face darkening as I stood up.

“Not pretending to be all lovey-dovey in front of others anymore?”

I paused on the stairs for a moment before responding, “We’ll talk about it later.”

I collapsed into bed, and in the middle of the night, a sharp pain in my abdomen woke me up, drenched in cold sweat.

This bastard Percival said there was no poison!

I cursed him weakly under my breath. The soundproofing in my room was top-notch because of the live-streaming setup, but right now, neither heaven nor earth seemed to be helping me.

In a panic, I grabbed my phone from under my pillow, pressing random buttons with whatever strength I had left.

When I finally collapsed, my thoughts began to wander aimlessly.