Chapter 14
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“Sir, I am looking for someone!” Frozen on the spot, James blurted out his thoughts as if he did not listen to what the Grim Reaper just said to him.
A long pause later, the Grim Reaper let out a sigh. “Colette Anderson is gone. You need to move on with your destiny.”
The revelation struck James like lightning. Stunned, he wracked his brain to process the Grim Reaper’s words.
“She’s gone? What does that even mean, and why is she gone?” James stubbornly stood in front of the Grim Reaper, despite his vulnerability against the powerful being.
Finally, the Grim Reaper’s chilling voice echoed in the space. “Colette Anderson struck a deal with me, She gave up her chance at reincarnation in exchange for seven more days with you to make up for her regrets. The seven days are up, and her soul is gone.“.
James‘ heart sank further with every word that came out of the Grim Reaper’s mouth. He was devastated. Did Colette willingly allow her soul to vanish in exchange for seven more days with him?
The Grim Reaper watched as James paled. Suddenly, he waved and conjured a misty mirror out of thin air. Scenes from Colette’s death played in the mirror.
When Colette was drawing her last breaths after getting stabbed, James, unaware of the emergency, hung up on her calls multiple times because he was taking care of a feverish Sophie.
Finally, it was Sophie who picked up the call when he wasn’t looking, but she did not do that to help. She wanted to cut off Colette’s last hope.
“Hey, Colette. What’s the matter? James is too busy making soup for me to take your calls.”
Colette took her last breath in despair. Her soul was stuck in the mortal realm due to the resentment she carried. The Grim Reaper finally took notice of her situation and made a deal with her a deal that was not worth it at all.
—
Colette agreed to disappear in exchange for seven more days by James‘ side, but James had pushed her away like a coward.
He watched as Colette sold off her parents‘ inheritance and gifts from him. Then, she transferred all the money into a debit account. When she placed the debit card in his study, she tidied up the space, only to stumble upon the stack of love letters he wrote.
He watched himself kicking Colette out of the study. She cried under the covers in her room when she overheard him giving the love letters to Sophie, and she called herself an idiot for thinking those were for her.
But Colette wasn’t wrong. The love letters were for her.
James had ridiculously refused to admit to his feelings for Colette, as he feared societal judgment against him and Colette. So, he tried to push Colette away, even inviting Sophie to play the role of a fake girlfriend. They acted like lovebirds to break Colette’s heart.
On the day of Sophie’s birthday, she had been pushed into the pool by two rambunctious kids. He sided with Sophie, though she had always been mean to Colette. He believed in her words and accused Colette of lying and shunning her responsibilities.
Even when he discovered Colette’s low body temperature and nonexistent pulse, he immediately changed his mind when Sophie accused Colette of faking an illness. He noticed the utter disappointment in Colette’s eyes when she apologized.
On Colette’s last day, he agreed to have dinner with her, but he stood her up.
At first, he believed that everything could start anew if Colette gave up loving him. Now, he realized he was an idiot for letting his loved one vanish from the earth with regrets.
Colette must have been terrified when she took her last breath. He hung up on her when she asked for help. Despite his behavior, she still made a huge sacrifice just to be with him a little longer.
In the next second, James lost consciousness.
A long time later, James woke up in an entirely different environment. The only source of light poured in from a crack in the ceiling of a dim and dingy attic. He squinted under the blinding light and raised his hand to block it out.
A thin rag covered him. He flipped it and prepared to stand up when he choked and sneezed hard from the falling dust.
James Vanderbilt tried to stand up straight, only to hit his head on the ceiling. He caressed his head and scanned his surroundings to realize that the attic was barely his height.
He went down the wooden stairs and frowned at the poverty–stricken house. Somehow, he had a feeling that he shouldn’t be living in such an environment, but on second thought, he could not have envisioned a different lifestyle.
After some thinking, James concluded that his illusions must have come from a dream in that long nap he took.
Chapter 16
