Chapter 1

My husband's first love wanted to see a high-altitude bungee performance.

So, even though I was three months pregnant, they suspended me from a platform a thousand feet in the air.

I was shaking all over, crying and begging them.

"I'm terrified of heights, and I have a heart condition! Please, the baby and I will die!"

But my husband, Julian, only sneered impatiently.

"Stop acting, Chloe. You used to climb trees to rescue stray cats. Now you're playing the coward?"

Our five-year-old son, Leo, joined in.

"Chloe, Vivian wants to see a duo performance anyway. Why don't you show her a cool jump with the baby in your tummy?"

I stared in shock at the two most important people in my life. A bitter, suffocating pain filled my chest.

Before I could say another word, Julian pressed the release switch.

Cheered on by my son, Vivian pushed me off the edge with a giggling laugh.

The feeling of weightlessness engulfed my entire body. A blood-curdling, agonizing scream echoed through the rooftop lounge.

Yet, Vivian only pouted, looking offended.

"Chloe's screams are so loud and scary. Is she doing this on purpose just to ruin my birthday?"

Julian and our son immediately rushed to comfort her.

"Don't be mad, sweetie. We'll make her do it again for you in a minute."

"Yeah! If she doesn't perform well for Vivian, I'm never calling her Mom again!"

A sharp, stabbing pain pierced my heart. The world around me turned completely black.

When I opened my eyes again, I realized my soul was floating right next to Julian and my son.

Recognizing that I was dead, I instinctively reached down to touch my stomach.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I couldn't protect you."

But before the grief could even sink in, the conversation between Julian and Vivian made me shake with pure rage.

Vivian leaned against the rooftop railing, her face twisted in mockery.

"Why did she stop screaming? Is she throwing a tantrum because she didn't want to perform for me?"

Julian scoffed. "She probably thinks she embarrassed herself. She's just playing dead."

"Let's see how long she can keep up this act. Crank up the tension on the rope."

But I wasn't acting. I was dead.

Down below, suspended by the bungee cord, my corpse hung limply. My eyes were wide with terror, and my face had already turned a bruised, suffocating purple.

If they had pulled the rope up just once to look, they would have known. The person who was begging for her life just minutes ago had already taken her last breath.

Perhaps because I remained silent for too long, Vivian pouted again.

Julian's impatience grew.

"Chloe, stop playing dead!"

"If you ruin Vivian's birthday party, you will pay for this!"

Leo also frowned, crossing his little arms.

"Yeah, Chloe! Don't make Vivian unhappy!"

Looking at them, I let out a bitter, ghostly laugh.

Every time I didn't cater to Vivian's whims, Julian would be the first to point fingers at me.

And once Leo grew older, Julian taught him to do the exact same thing. Together, they bullied me.

Seeing that I still didn't respond, Julian and Leo went over to the control panel to "teach me a lesson."

My lifeless body jerked and swung helplessly in the cold night wind.

I hovered right beside them, screaming at the top of my lungs that I was dead. But no one could hear me.

Infuriated by my silence, Julian snarled at the staff.

"Turn the machine to maximum power."

"Since she likes to play games, let her swing out there all night!"

I tried to stop him, throwing my hands out, but my ghostly fingers slipped right through his chest.

"Ugh, what a buzzkill," Vivian sighed. "Let's go somewhere else to celebrate."

Julian took Leo's hand with one arm and wrapped the other around Vivian's waist. He didn't look back once as they walked away.

Before leaving, he gave a cold order to the venue staff.

"Don't bring Chloe down until sunrise."

Watching their retreating figures, the last warmth in my heart froze over.

My eyes felt empty, but as a spirit, I couldn't even shed tears.

Just when I thought my body would rot high up in the air, a strange, invisible force suddenly yanked my soul.

It dragged me right back to Julian's side.

I looked up. He had taken Vivian back to our house—the home I had lived in and decorated for five years.