My body started to rot in that dark little room.

The stench of a rotten corpse became unbearable to the housekeeper and helpers.

Finally, someone said, "Why don't we report this to Ms. White?"

"Forget it," another person who disagreed said. "Didn't Ms. White already give the order not to notify her when he died? She felt it would be unlucky for her."

"But someone has to collect the body."

Then, the helper called Nicole.

Nicole was very busy at that moment. She quickly picked up the phone and said impatiently, "What is he trying to do now?"

The helper paused slightly. She felt awkward as she softly said, "Ms. White, do you have time to come here? Mr. Hawkins—"

"I have no time," Nicole said coldly. "What's wrong? Is he asking for a divorce again? Or is he saying that he was wronged? He'll always make excuses for himself, pretending to be pitiful to annoy others—"

"No," the helper interrupted her immediately. "Mr. Hawkins is dead."

There was finally a brief pause at the other end of the line. Next, a rustling sound was heard.

Nicole seemed to have moved to a quieter place.

Next, she said angrily, "Did he bribe you?"

"No, Ms. White. I didn't—"

"How much money did he offer to get you to team up with him to lie to me?"

Nicole sneered, "A sinful person like him should have a long life. I don't believe that drawing a little blood from him can kill him. What he's doing now is utterly disgusting. He's really vicious. Sometimes, I wonder if his blood will taint those children's purity!"

The girl trembled when she heard that. She could not respond at all. She could only nod and said, "Yes—"

The stench of the rotten corpse continued to penetrate their noses.

Another helper asked, "Ms. White, if Mr. White dies, what should we do with his belongings?"

"What do you mean?" Nicole sneered, "Just throw them away!"

I did not have many personal belongings in the villa. After all, it belonged to Nicole and Simon.

There were traces of Simon's life everywhere.

The bathroom contained his-and-hers toothbrushes, towels, and slippers, and the closet contained suits and shirts in Simon's size.

I was in such a large space, yet my belongings could be gathered into a single box. I had nothing valuable there.

The only valuable thing I possessed was a medical scan that I carried with me and a set of baby clothes I bought.

"Why is there a pregnancy scan here?" The man pinched his nose and said, "There is also a set of baby clothes here."

"What bad luck!" They threw the baby clothes into the trash can. "Just burn it!"

The flames broke out instantly, and the receipt started to catch fire.

My blood was boiling. I could not control the calmness I had tried to maintain earlier, so I rushed forward.

That was my child, who had only existed in the world for three short months.

My child was murdered by his mother not long after he was conceived.

The scan was the only trace of his existence. The last trace of him was about to be wiped out completely.

I wailed in despair as I stretched my hand toward the raging fire. However, I could only reach past the blazing flames.

I finally realized that I was already dead.

My existence in the world was wiped out at the same time, too. The scan and the baby clothes turned to ashes. It was as if they had never existed.

I finally left the villa. My spirit was no longer bound to that place.

I drifted aimlessly. Eventually, I drifted to Nicole's side.

She had been drinking, and she was drunk. She was still holding the suicide note that Simon sent to her tightly in her hand.

The letter was sealed in a bag. She could not help but shed tears as she looked at it.

"Simon, where are you? Why didn't you ask for my opinion? Why would you think Ray and I need your mercy?

"Ray must have threatened you, right? Don't worry. I'll make him pay everything that he owes you."

She swung her hand across the table. Everything on the table fell scattered onto the ground.

The rose specimen I gave her, which was originally placed in a glass jar, broke, and the petals scattered on the ground.

Nicole stepped on it and crushed it hard. "Who would want such a disgusting gift?!"

She had forgotten that I almost died trying to pick that rose for her.

We had just gotten married at that time.

A group of us went to camp at the top of the mountain. Nicole looked down and pointed at me as she ordered, "Hey, people claim alpine roses are gorgeous. Why don't you pick one for me?"

That night, I searched for a long time in the mountains and finally found a rose on the cliff's edge. I slipped and almost fell off the cliff as I attempted to pick it. When I returned to the camp, everyone had already left.

I hurried back to the foot of the mountain in the pouring rain. Then, I heard them talking at the entrance. "Ray is so stupid. You were only fooling with him, but he believed it and even went to look for it. Why would there be roses on the mountain?"

"It's raining so heavily now. He'll be fine, right? Even though we didn't wait for him?"

Nicole shut her eyes and said, "What can happen to him? Besides, I do hope he gets into trouble. For me, being a widow is better than being married to him."

Her harsh words broke my heart. In the end, I still made a specimen from the rose and gave it to her. However, she had crushed it into pieces.

Nicole ignored the mess on the ground and read the suicide note over and over again.

Suddenly, her mobile phone rang.

She picked up the phone impatiently but froze when she heard the caller.

"What did you say?"

"Ms. White, we found Mr. Gray."

......

Simon had not even left the city for the past two weeks.

He was in a property in the suburbs. With his mobile phone turned off, he isolated himself from the outside world completely.

He was having a light meal when Nicole went to see him.

He looked confused when he opened the door. "Nicole? What are you doing here?"

Nicole threw herself into his arms and cried loudly, "Simon, you scared me to death! I thought you really—"

Simon controlled his emotions as he whispered, "I did want to kill myself the other day. However, I remembered that I had yet to witness your happiness with my own eyes. I can't bear that thought, so I—"

"What are you eating?" Nicole took the food from his hand. She held his arm and walked out. "You've just donated your bone marrow. How can you eat something like that?

"Come on, I'll take you to eat something good. Let's get Ray and ask him to kneel to apologize to you.

"You wouldn't have suffered if it weren't for him."

Nicole started to call my number.

No one answered at first. Then, the phone was turned off.

I guessed they had thrown my phone away. The last bit of battery must have drained.

Nicole was furious when she could not reach me. She threw her phone away.

Simon was about to console her. However, his face turned pale, and he fell backward as he was about to speak.

"Simon!" Nicole was so nervous that a cold sweat broke out on her forehead. "What's wrong with you?"

Simon took a deep breath and said. "I guess donating my bone marrow has done some harm to my body. I've been feeling unwell lately."

Nicole called the villa immediately.

"Where's Ray? Tell him to answer his phone! Who gives him the right to pretend to be sick? Get him here to transfuse his blood to Simon, even if he's dead!"

The other end of the call kept silent until Nicole vented her anger. Then, a small voice whispered, "Ms. White, Mr. Hawkins is indeed dead."