Chapter 1

My husband, Chandler Rotterdam worked as a researcher developing a new serum. Driven to find a cure for my cancer, he poured himself entirely into the project.

However, on the day of the injection, it wasn’t him who administered the treatment—it was his childhood friend, Pauline Hemsworth.

She had injected an unregulated dose, and I could do nothing but watch as my life slipped away. Even the child growing inside me was not spared.

Meanwhile, Chandler remained by her side.

“If this research succeeds, all the credit goes to you!” Chandler assured Pauline. “She would never blame you if anything happens. She’d be grateful to be the first to receive the drug.”

But the experiment failed. After discovering my death, Chandler lost his mind.

Chapter 1

By the time I took my last breath, the pain had already numbed me.

The experiment had failed.

They had injected me with an improper dose and I could feel that death was near.

Only my mom stayed by my side, pleading through her tears.

“Don’t leave, my daughter, please don’t go.”

“Isn’t he…coming?” I asked, my gaze fixed on the empty hallway.

My mom’s hands trembled as she dialed for Chandler Rotterdam once more.

This time, he finally answered, his tone laced with irritation.

“Didn’t I already tell you? This is a critical time in Pauline’s experiment! We have to focus on what we’re doing so stop bothering me!”

My mom’s voice caught, and when she spoke again, it was hoarse. “Chandler, it’s me.

“Could you come to the hospital? Mariah…she doesn’t have much time. She wants to speak with you one last time.”

After a brief silence, Chandler let out a low, mocking laugh.

“Honestly, Mother, is that necessary?

“Did Mariah put you up to this? I’ve said it countless times—there’s nothing between Pauline and me! Tell her to stop being so jealous.”

“No, it’s not that, Mariah really—”

He cut her off.

“Enough! Do you think she could’ve lived this long without Pauline giving her the chance to try the new drug? If she can’t be grateful, that’s one thing, but she’s full of filthy thoughts—it’s honestly sickening.

"Tell her that once she's better, she can stay at the lab for a while. She can cook for Pauline, clean up—consider it her way of repaying us.”

On the other end of the line, Pauline chimed in sweetly. “Mariah, are you coming? The birthday candles are about to go out!”

My body convulsed, and my vision began to blur.

My mom was horrified.

“Chandler, please…as a favor to me, Mariah is truly on the brink—” she pleaded but Chandler’s patience was entirely exhausted.

“Then let her die quickly, and far away, so she doesn’t taint my sight!”

Then he hung up.

I stared blankly at the ceiling as I felt each breath slip further away.

Even the tiny life inside me had stopped fighting.

My heart beat calmly. I thought I’d feel devastated but hearing those words left me with an unexpected sense of calm.

Then I heard my mom wail, “My poor Mariah…”

“Mom, please…don’t cry,” I mumbled, as blood slipped from my mouth.

“Turn on a recorder for me. I want to leave a message for Chandler.”

After leaving those final words for him, I died.

And the child inside me, barely four months along, passed with me.

Chapter 2

Following my instructions, my mom erected a gravestone for both me and my child.

The problem was that she did not have the right to claim my body.

I had signed a trial agreement during my life that after the experiment failed, my remains would be returned to the lab for sample analysis.

Only after the analysis could I finally rest in peace.

Thus, my soul drifted alongside my corpse to the lab.

Chandler was the person responsible for the sample analysis.

“The sample showed excessive drug use. We need to compare it with the advanced database,” he said, his brow furrowing slightly.

“The body is almost entirely decayed. We should check whether there was improper use of the experimental drug.

“This is unusual…even with a failed trial, it shouldn’t be this severe.”

His assistant, Ben Fallon nodded and began taking notes, but Chandler did a double take as he steadied himself against the computer.

“She… was pregnant during the trial?” he asked softly.

“Yes! You’re right! The tests show she was pregnant!” Ben cried out in shock.

“We need to confirm which group this sample belongs to. This is a violation of protocol!”

Ben was about to flip through the records when a knock at the door interrupted them.

Outside the glass window, Pauline smiled brightly and mouthed, “Look what I brought you!”

She held up a small cake in her hands.

Chandler’s serious demeanor suddenly shifted and softened into a gentle smile.

"This seems to be Pauline—” Ben began but Chandler silenced him.

“The other data doesn't show any significant issues. Confirm the details, and then you can inform the family to come and collect the body. I have things to attend to.”

Ben swallowed his words as Chandler opened the door and took a bite of the cake Pauline had spooned for him.

He smiled. “It’s delicious.”

It was a stark contrast to the man I remembered who claimed to dislike deserts.

I loved making cakes. The birthday cake for our wedding was one I had baked myself.

We met through an arranged marriage.

Although we had little emotional foundation, an exceptional man like him always drew attention, and I fell for him at first sight, fully dedicating myself to him.

But on our wedding day, Chandler threw out the cake I had made.

He had even scrunched his brow in distaste.

“Don’t make these anymore, I don’t like deserts. They’re always too sweet for my taste.”

I never baked again.

He was a man of rules and everything had to align with the standards in his mind.

To accommodate him, I sacrificed many of my desires, constantly reassuring myself that it was just who Chandler was.

I believed that once we had decided to walk through life together, we needed to learn how to tolerate each other.

Who would have thought that all these years, I was the only one practicing tolerance?

Pauline’s return shattered all of his rules in an instant.

At first, I felt jealousy and anger. I even shouted at him during our arguments.

What I received in return was his irritation and impatience.

“Are you ever going to stop?” he had asked.

“Just because I married you doesn’t mean I love you. I just needed someone to settle down with. So can you stop taking yourself so seriously?”

His words shattered my bruised heart.

I had initially planned to file for divorce, but at that critical moment, I discovered I was pregnant.

For the sake of our child, I forced myself to endure every grievance. But fate had other plans, and I was diagnosed with cancer.

For a long time, he cared for me meticulously. I thought I was witnessing true love through adversity.

I believed he had genuinely fallen for me.

But now, as I reflected on it all, I realized that I was nothing more than a tool to him.

I was merely a means for him to appease his parents.

I was also the instrument he used to help Pauline secure the recognition she desired.

He had never loved me.

Chapter 3

My mom came to collect my body.

She brought two coffins with her. Outside, a vehicle stood ready to transport us.

When Pauline appeared, my mom immediately rushed up to her.

She excitedly grasped Pauline’s hand.

“Oh my God! Is that you, Mariah? Did you come back to see me?”

My mom had mistaken Pauline for me.

It was understandable. I had also been shocked when I first saw Pauline. Her resemblance to me was uncanny.

Reflecting on it later, I realized that Chandler must have chosen me for that very reason.

In a sense, I had become Pauline's substitute.

Surprised, Pauline let out a shriek and instinctively pushed my mom away.

My mom fell to the ground, her elbow scraping against the hard concrete. It left a long trail of blood.

She seemed oblivious to the pain and lunged forward to grab Pauline’s leg.

“Oh, Mariah! I can’t bear to lose you!” she sobbed uncontrollably.

My heart ached and I rushed forward to embrace my mom, but my arms passed right through her body.

I couldn’t do anything and helplessly watched as the scene unfolded.

In the struggle, Pauline’s cake fell to the ground.

Enraged, she slapped my mom across the face. “Crazy woman! Are you sick? I’m Pauline!

“That Mariah looking like me is an insult! How dare you mistake me for her?”

My mom snapped to attention after the slap. She trembled as she stood up.

Just as she opened her mouth, Pauline’s expression changed abruptly, and she began to cry with feigned innocence.

“It’s all my fault, Mrs. Corey! I shouldn’t have held onto Chandler as I did, but I haven’t rested in days, and it’s my birthday. I just wanted him to spend time with me…

“If you’re angry, then hit me! Just don’t hurt yourself!”

She turned and fell into Chandler’s embrace.

His face had darkened in anger.

“Look, Mrs. Corey, I’ve tolerated you because I respect you as an elder but bullying Pauline like this is a bit excessive, don’t you think?

“You should know that all of Mariah’s special medication comes from Pauline. She could have cut off her supply at any time!'

At those words, my mom raised her bloodshot eyes and let out a hoarse scream from her throat, “Cut it off! Go ahead!

“It doesn’t matter as Mariah won’t need it anymore—”

She turned to point at the two coffins, her eyes filled with sorrow as she said, “She’s dead!”

Chapter 4

Chandler froze.

He took a deep breath to suppress his anger.

"Do you both have to make such a scene?" he asked coldly.

“Creating chaos at home is one thing, but what are you playing at bringing two coffins here? Are you trying to intimidate me at my workplace?”

My mom sneered. “Don’t you understand why there are two coffins?

“Besides Mariah, there’s also your child—”

“Enough!” Pauline interrupted as she grabbed Chandler’s hand, playing the peacemaker.

“Let it go, Chandler. Don’t be angry. Mrs. Corey doesn’t understand what happened. She’s just protecting her daughter.”

She lowered her gaze to the scattered cake on the ground, her eyes slightly red.

“I just feel sorry for the cake. It took so long to make it…”

Chandler furrowed his brow. “What a waste of a perfectly good cake! You should ask Mariah to make another one.

“She usually enjoys baking these things, right? She should make a cake for Pauline’s birthday.”

Pauline shamelessly added, “Didn’t you say that Mariah’s cheesecakes are particularly delicious? Do you think I could have a taste?”

My mom trembled with rage.

In a fit of anger, she picked up a piece of cake from the ground and hurled it at Pauline.

The black dress Pauline wore, specially chosen for the day, became covered in large splatters of cake, completely ruined.

Even her face bore the remnants of the cake attack.

Pauline let out a shriek.

Chandler didn't even have time to intervene before my mom yanked Pauline’s hair and pulled her aside.

I noticed my opened coffin very near the two of them.

With tremendous strength, my mom twisted Pauline’s arm and shoved her into the coffin.

“Great! Go ahead and eat! You can have the meal Mariah makes for you down there!”

Pauline's head collided with the lid of the coffin, her eyes wide with terror as she screamed in fright.

My mom always had a gentle temperament and never lost her temper.

Even when I got into trouble, she merely smiled, resolved the issue, and reminded me not to be mischievous again.

I never imagined my mom could go to such lengths for me.

She seemed to have gone mad, intent on shutting the coffin on Pauline.

Chandler lost his last shred of dignity and seized my mom by the neck. “Are you insane?”

My mom screamed and struggled before sinking her teeth into Chandler's neck.

When she pulled away, I saw she had taken a chunk of flesh with her!

Furious, Chandler retaliated by gripping my mom's waist, flipping her over, and shoving her into the coffin Pauline had just climbed out of.

Then came a loud ‘bang!’ as he slammed the lid shut.

His eyes were red with anger.

“You need to calm down, Mother!”

Then he turned around and helped steady Pauline.

He tenderly wiped the cake off her face, completely disregarding my mom, who was still thrashing and shouting inside the coffin.

Then she stopped.

Through the quiet rustling, I thought I heard her calling my name.

“Mariah, where are you? I’m so scared...”

My mom had always been afraid of the dark.

I grew up in a single-parent household so to support me, my mom often worked late into the night.

I always waited for her at the end of a long alley, eager to escort her home.

By holding my hand, she always found the courage to step into the darkness.

She also suffered from claustrophobia.

Once, she got trapped in an elevator and endured a month-long fever that nearly took her life.

Now, the only person I cared about in this world had been heartlessly locked in a coffin.

Chandler knew full well that my mom was afraid of the dark.

As I hovered in the air, rage coursed through me, shaking my entire being.

I strained with all my might to squeeze into that small, narrow coffin, but all I could do was listen to my mom’s terrified voice echoing around me.

She kept calling out to me, her face streaked with tears.

“I’m so scared, Mariah!”

Chapter 5

The driver who worked for the hospital was unable to bear the scene any longer.

“This is not right, Mr. Rotterdam…” he said gently.

Consumed by anger Chandler coldly replied, “I don’t care what you think! Take these two coffins and get lost!

“Do whatever you need to! I don’t want to have anything to do with her anymore!”

He tossed the napkin he used to wipe the cake off Pauline’s face into the other coffin.

Inside lay a set of baby clothes that I had bought for my unborn child.

Unfortunately, the child would never have the chance to wear them.

The dirty soil and cake smeared the baby's clothes, while Chandler turned a blind eye to my mom’s desperate pleas.

My mom’s frail body was curled in pain within that dark, narrow coffin.

The driver, unable to bear it any longer, opened the coffin to let her out.

When my mom saw the sunlight, her wide eyes registered shock, and tears streamed down her flushed cheeks.

“Is that you, Mariah?

“I came to find you… Is that okay?”

That night, Chandler returned home very late.

Pauline, already tipsy, rushed in while Chandler took care of parking the car.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream pierced the air from inside the villa.

Chandler was terrified.

He didn’t even lock the car door before rushing into the villa.

He immediately spotted the figure swaying beneath the locust tree.

My mom had committed suicide.

No matter how I pleaded with her, it was futile.

She couldn’t feel my presence at all.

Chandler turned pale with fear and sprinted toward her, scooping my mom up in his arms.

He laid her on the ground and ran his fingers across her face, his eyes widening in realization.

“She’s still breathing!”

He then yelled at Pauline to call for an ambulance.

Then he began dialing my number.

I failed to answer all of them.

While they waited for the ambulance, Pauline stood in the corner.

“Chandler? Why would Mrs. Corey suddenly think about committing suicide?” she asked quietly.

“Was it because of what happened this afternoon?

“It’s all my fault. I should have handled myself better.”

At her words, Chandler furiously dialed my number again.

As he waited for me to pick up, he turned to Pauline. “You did nothing wrong! Her mother’s very fragile with everything going on.”

I continued to ignore his phone calls, prompting Chandler to frantically spam me with voice messages.

[God, Mariah, does your whole family have a mental illness or something? If you're sick, get treatment! Why create so much chaos?

[Your mother tried to hang herself in my house! If she wanted to die, couldn’t she have chosen a spot far away? Was it her intention to come here and disgust me?

[Was it because I had her stuffed into that coffin earlier? Is her temper really that volatile? Or did you instigate her out of your own frustration?]

Every word cut me deeply.

I tried my best but was unable to suppress a laugh.

I was surprised that I didn’t feel sad at all.

You must have forgotten, Chandler.

When I first married you, I playfully mentioned that my mom was especially afraid of the dark.

You had hung up star-shaped lights all over this locust tree for her.

You said that this way, she wouldn’t be afraid anymore.

How about now?

You had left her alone in that dark, claustrophobic coffin for so long.

[Get to the hospital and take care of your mom!] Chandler spat.

[I’m not getting involved. Her decision to commit suicide was her own, it has nothing to do with me!

[And don’t even think about using this against me! She bullied Pauline so she brought this on herself!]

The ambulance arrived and the medical officers rushed in.

My mom was lifted onto a stretcher, while Chandler and Pauline followed closely behind.

Behind the locust tree, not far off in the corner, lay a handwritten letter.

When Pauline entered and saw my mom, her first reaction wasn’t to scream.

Instead, she clutched the letter tightly in her hand and hid it away.

Chapter 6

My mom had been rushed into the emergency room.

The doctor furrowed his brow as he addressed Chandler.

“Are you family? The patient's condition is critical. We will do our utmost to save her, but you need to sign these consent forms first.”

Chandler hesitated but eventually signed the document.

He then sent me another voice message: [Where on earth have you been? Don’t you know your mom is dying?]

Pauline tried to soothe him. “Maybe Mariah has something important to handle. Let’s not disturb her.”

But Chandler ignored her and kept trying to reach me.

I, however, remained unresponsive.

With no other option, he called the hospital's reception. “Could you please connect me to Mariah Corey in Room 1032?”

The duty nurse looked taken aback. “Miss Mariah Corey? She… has already passed away…”

Chandler froze in disbelief. “How is that possible?”

He refused to accept that I was truly gone, even doubting the accuracy of the phone number he had dialed.

Without wasting a moment, he hung up and began searching for another number to call.

“What’s wrong?” Pauline asked anxiously.

“Nothing. Some scammer claimed Mariah is dead… How could she possibly be dead? Didn’t she receive the new miracle drug to keep her alive?”

A flicker of visible panic crossed Pauline's face.

She quickly squeezed Chandler's hand.

“Don’t worry, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it—”

But she didn’t get to finish her sentence before Chandler’s phone rang again.

This time, it was his assistant, Ben.

Chandler wearily answered, “What is it?”

Ben swallowed hard as he deliberated about how to deliver the next piece of news.

Taking a deep breath, he finally said, “Professor Rotterdam, do you remember the female corpse sample we examined this afternoon?

“I verified the details, and her sample code is A167, belonging to Pauline’s laboratory.”

Chandler’s body went rigid, his expression darkening.

“A167?! Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

“I’m sure…” Ben sighed. “That was your wife, Mariah’s trial number, Professor.

“And the child she carried… We’ve confirmed it as well.

“It was a girl. Mariah had been pregnant for nearly four months, but due to the effects of the experimental medication, her limbs were almost completely deteriorated, resulting in fetal demise.”