It took a long time before Evan stood up to head to the balcony to light a cigarette. I immediately reached out to take the cigarette from him. "You shouldn't be smoking. It's not good for you." However, my hands passed through him, and I was taken aback.

I smiled bitterly as I remembered I was dead, but it had been a habit for years, and it came naturally to me to get concerned over Evan.

There was a cold look in Evan's eye as he took a deep breath and called his assistant. He probably did not notice the frustrated tone in his voice. "Stop Madison from creating a scene if she comes looking for me the next few days. Don't let her come to the hospital and disturb Nikki's rest."

His assistant was briefly silent. "Ms. Scofield hasn't asked about you the last few days, she…" Evan hung up before he could finish.

He glanced at my last text and clicked hard on his phone to block my number in anger, and he turned off his phone after that. If this were before, I would have started panicking and done everything in my power to find him and apologize. I would beg him to unblock my number and not to lose contact with me, but now…

I stood in front of him and said softly, "I won't come looking for you anymore, Evan, because I no longer love you. I hate you… I hate you for causing my death. I hope I can curse you…"

Lightning suddenly struck in the dark sky, and the crack woke Nikki up from her deep sleep. She screamed, "Evan!"

Evan quickly flicked away his cigarette and returned to the ward to hold the trembling Nikki in his arms. "Don't be afraid. I'm right here."

I was trembling too. I was afraid of the lightning as well, but Evan had never stayed by my side whenever there was a lightning storm. He would leave me to accompany Nikki instead. I once argued with him about this, but he would always get annoyed with me and say, "Why must you be so petty when she's sick?"

Evan cajoled Nikki for a long time before she finally calmed down, and she leaned into Evan's arms while sobbing. "Evan, I can't forget about how I lost control several days ago. All I really wanted to do was explain things to Madison.

"Maybe I should apologize to her. She must be mad because I haven't seen her around for the last few days."

Evan seemed distracted. "It's fine. I saw her wounds. It's just some bleeding on her forehead. Madison knows you're sick. She won't hold things against you."

Nikki was still not convinced. "What if she calls the police? I don't want to go to prison. I'd rather die…"

When Evan saw how agitated Nikki was, he pulled her tighter in his embrace as he continued comforting her, "Don't be afraid. I'm right here for you. Madison has always treated her fellow women well. She won't get mad at you. Besides, she signed the settlement agreement, and won't come looking for trouble with you."

Nikki smiled and patted her chest with relief when she heard Evan's reply, and she nuzzled closer into Evan's arms coquettishly. Evan looked down at her for a second and pushed her away. "Madison and I will be married soon, Nikki. You can't act so intimately with me anymore. It won't bode well for any of us, and Madison will get mad."

His words took Nikki by surprise, and she started to look upset. Evan failed to notice this, but I saw everything clearly. It took a while for Nikki to speak up. Her voice sounded sad. "This is my fault. It's just a habit I can't get rid of… I'm sorry."

Evan sighed. "You're not to blame for this. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to Madison to clear things up."

His words gave me mixed feelings. Evan had always been this way, where Nikki came first in everything. When I followed Evan out of the hospital ward, I overheard two nurses conversing.

"Mr. Jones really loves his fiancée. All she suffered was a slight scare, and he got every doctor in the building to tend to her when there wasn't even a scratch on her."

"I heard that he prepared a huge sea of flowers as a surprise for her. I bet they'll be getting married soon. I wonder how grand that wedding will be."

"Speaking of which… That sea of flowers blocked the path of an ambulance, and they had to send a helicopter to bring the patient to the hospital. That patient died because of the delay. If they had only arrived ten minutes earlier, the patient could have lived…"

That was when they spotted Evan, who looked at them coldly. The nurses glanced nervously at each other before greeting him, "Mr. Jones…"

It was hard to tell what Evan was thinking, and the nurses figured they would get a scolding. However, all he did was say mildly, "She isn't my financée."

He paused for a moment, as if he was reminded of something, and he smiled. "My fiancée is Madison Scofield. She's the best lawyer in the industry."

My chest suddenly hurt.

Evan treated me badly when we first got engaged. He hated me because I was the fiancée that his mother had forced on him, and he often ignored me. He even tried to make things difficult for me by giving me the worst cases to handle and allowing his admirers to taunt and ridicule me.

Once, I was locked up in a cramped storeroom, and someone poured ice water over me, causing me to be admitted into the hospital over a high fever. While I was delirious, he had Nikki in his arms in Glacier Island, watching the Aurora.

When I was followed by a homeless man, and got so scared that I called him for help, he was with Nikki in Fordland for the lavender season. Evan gave all the best in the world to Nikki, while all I had was messes left behind by them.

I used to think that all misunderstandings could be cleared one day, as this was the man I had admired for years, and loved. I was willing to work hard at melting the ice in his heart, and one day, we ended up sleeping together after one drunken night.

Even though it frustrated Evan, he insisted on taking responsibility for me, and it was a turning point in events as we got closer, but somehow, everything halted as suddenly as it had come. I loved him, but I could not take his indecisive attitude and Nikki's constant efforts at distancing us.

How ironic it was that the one sentence I had always wanted to hear was spoken after my death.

Evan ignored the nurses and left the hospital quickly to get to his office. His assistant's eyes lit up when he saw Evan, and he quickly approached Evan for further instructions. "Get Madison to see me."

His assistant was taken aback. "Ms. Scofield, she…"

Before the assistant could finish, Evan massaged his temple and said impatiently, "Tell her to stop giving me attitude. All she suffered was a superficial wound. Is it really necessary for her to blow things up like this?

"Nikki is feeling guilty for accidentally hurting her, and she should get to the hospital right away to comfort Nikki. Does she still want to marry me? Tell her that if she does, she should cheer Nikki up first and stop getting jealous over her all the time. It's getting tiresome!"

I watched the stunned expression on the assistant's face as he stared at Evan in disbelief while his lips trembled.

"What are you waiting for? Tell Madison what I said right now."

Evan left after that. He strode away quickly with anger on his face. I floated along behind him and followed him back to our room, which had been decorated by me. Evan took a deep breath and pushed the door open to find all of my things intact. My clothes and my makeup were still in the room.

He exhaled and smiled with relief. After that, Evan took out his phone to text me, [Be good, Madison, and I'll transfer the deed to this house from Nikki to you… You should live in peace with her, Madison. I'm not asking you to take care of her, I just want you to stop giving her trouble."

That was when I remembered this was not really our house. He had transferred the deed of this house to Nikki because she mentioned one time that she liked the view from here.

Evan's texts were not delivered to me, and he realized it was because he had blocked my number, but I did nothing about it. He unblocked my number and sent the text to me again, but I did not reply. Evan took a deep breath and flung the phone angrily onto the bed.

He waited for quite a while before picking up the phone again. [I know Nikki has gone a little too far this time. I'll talk to her about it. Stop holding this against us, and reply to me right now. Haven't you always talked about wanting to watch penguins in the North? We'll go there together after I'm done with my current work.]

The text did not seem to reach me.

That was when Nikki called him. She sounded extremely sad over the phone as strong wind could be heard gusting in the background. Evan and I heard her say through the wind.

"Evan, Madison slandered me online by saying I'm a slut who destroyed her marriage. I have no idea how to defend myself, Evan, because I do have feelings for you. I don't know what to do, but die, and get this over with. I wish you and Madison a happy life ahead, Evan…"

By the time Evan arrived, Nikki's frail body was standing shakily on the balcony. Evan's eyes widened as he said nervously, "Don't be rash, Nikki. What am I going to do if anything happens to you?!"

Nikki's face was covered in tears. "Everyone on the internet is saying really mean things about me. They're calling me a slut and the other woman in your relationship, Evan. I can't take it anymore. Madison said I was a vixen and a slut too, and I don't blame her. She's your fiancée, after all, and my existence is a mistake."

I looked at Nikki in shock. How was I able to say all those things when I was already dead? I had no idea I could not get any peace, even in death, and I was being framed for things I had never done.

Evan looked tense as he hugged Nikki tightly in his arms while Nikki showed him the mean texts I had supposedly sent her. I wanted to laugh at this 'evidence' that was filled with obvious mistakes. It was not cleverly crafted at all, and Evan would never believe them.

However, I forgot one important thing. I was nothing in Evan's world.

He hugged Nikki while wiping away her tears gently. He kissed her softly, but firmly on the forehead. "You're not the other woman, Nikki. I met you first, not her. Madison could only marry me because she saved my mother, and that's the only thing between us.

"The woman I truly love is you, and I'll make sure that the whole world knows that by giving you a grand wedding."

A delighted look flashed in Nikki's eye, but she pretended to sound uneasy when she spoke, "Wouldn't this be unfair to Madison? She'll hate me for this. Madison is a renowned lawyer and is known for her capabilities. What should I do if she decides to take action against me?"

Evan sneered. "You're too soft-hearted, Nikki. It's not fair for her to treat you this way. She has to pay the price for what she has done to you. If justice is what Madison wants, I'll make sure to ruin her reputation. A woman like her doesn't deserve to be a lawyer."

Nikki smiled wider at his words but quickly put on a hesitant act. "Maybe we should forget about it…"

Evan hugged her tightly. "I won't let you come to any harm."

After he was done comforting Nikki, Evan took out his phone, which reflected his cold expression on the screen. [Take down those posts and apologize to Nikki.]

However, he still did not get any replies. Evan had always been in a position of power and had never been ignored like that before. He sneered, not wanting to say anything more to me.

All he did was instruct his assistant to use every connection available to spread news and evidence of how I was an unethical lawyer who valued only money and would win cases by fabricating the truth. He even went ahead to prepare all the documents to submit a request to revoke my lawyer's license.

Evan wanted to drag me down into the mud and pay the most painful price for hurting Nikki.

I floated behind him as I saw the malicious look in his eye. My heart felt like a million needles had pierced through it as I also witnessed how easily he destroyed everything I had worked hard to build.

Nikki was finally happy, and she kissed Evan softly on the cheek. "I knew you loved me the most, Evan."

However, she failed to notice the lost look hidden behind the anger in Evan's eyes when he looked at his phone.

Evan was important to me, but my career as a lawyer was important to me too, yet his phone remained silent as I still did not give him any replies. I laughed miserably as I watched what was happening. How was I supposed to reply when I was already dead?

He pointed at the phone coldly and said, "Track down the IP of this post. I want to know where Madison is hiding."

It got me curious. As I was already dead, who else would expose Nikki online? Could it be Nikki's enemy? Or was it Evan's enemy?

Evan's staff came back quickly with results, and I followed Evan to a rented house. His bodyguards kicked the door down, and a skinny figure inside froze. It was Kara. Evan was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here? Where's Madison? Don't think Madison can get away with this just because she's hiding behind you. Get her out here right now!

"I want her to clarify those scandalous posts online, or I'll make sure she pays a heavy price for what she did."

Kara's eyes turned red as she stood up right away to fling a crumpled piece of paper into Evan's face. "Madison is dead! Why won't you just let her be?!"

Evan's face fell, but that was before he was shocked by what he read in the paper. Kara's eyes turned even redder as she sobbed hysterically. "That was Madison's surprise for you!"

The piece of paper fell to the ground, and I looked down at it. What I saw hurt so much that I could hardly breathe. I finally remembered what the important thing I had forgotten was.