Chapter 3

The next day after I died, Sarah Miller called.

Her frantic voice came through the phone.

“Eleanor, has Lily called you? She’s missing!”

“Her phone is off, and she didn’t leave me a note. I’ve looked everywhere I can think of!”

Hearing Sarah Miller’s voice, my throat constricted.

Mom had always despised me, but Sarah Miller had always treated me like her own daughter.

Hearing her voice, all the grievances I’d bottled up came flooding out.

Mom didn't care; she scoffed.

“How could even you be fooled by her little tricks? I stopped playing those games when I was three.”

“Don’t think playing missing will make me erase the past! And don’t you dare cover for her, trying to fool me together.”

Sarah Miller cried out angrily.

“Eleanor, Lily is your daughter! How can you not be worried at all? It’s so dangerous out there now; what if someone did something to her…”

Mom snorted coldly, cutting Sarah Miller off.

“Wouldn't that just be what that wretched girl wanted? If you still consider me your friend, don’t ever mention her to me again!”

She hung up, ignoring Sarah Miller’s reaction.

Mom sat on the bed, fuming for a while, then unblocked me from her contact list.

“Where the hell did you go! Not a word, and now so many people are asking me about you! Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me?!”

After she sent the message, the chat screen remained silent for a long time.

When I was alive, I would always reply to Mom’s messages instantly.

But this time, I couldn't.

Watching Mom’s expression grow increasingly agitated, my eyes pleaded.

Mom, please, just wonder.

I didn’t deliberately hide to try and blackmail you into fixing our mother-daughter relationship.

But Mom couldn’t see me, couldn’t hear my silent plea.

She lost her patience, furrowed her brow, and angrily sent a voice message.

“So you’ve found a man and dropped the act, huh? Fine, then don’t ever call me ‘Mom’ again! As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have a daughter!”

Mom threw her phone violently onto the bed.

I cowered in the corner, clutching my chest.

Mom, when will you ever believe me?

I was never, never that kind of person.