Chapter 5
I quickly pulled my hand behind my back, putting some distance between us, forcing a smile. “It’s nothing. I cut myself while slicing fruit.
“The ring? I took it off for a shower and forgot to put it back on.
Johnson didn’t question it. He just nodded.
A cool breeze blew past, and behind us, someone started coughing.
I turned toward the sound–Juliette was clutching her mouth, coughing violently, like she was about to hack up a lung.
Johnson, who’d been standing beside me, immediately walked over and draped his coat over her shoulders. “Is it the burn from yesterday getting infected, or are you catching a cold?”
I clearly caught the smug look she threw my way.
But she quickly lowered her head and coughed again. “Maybe it’s the typhoon winds lately… I must’ve caught a cold…”
Johnson nodded and took her hand, leading her toward the cemetery exit. “My fault. I knew you weren’t feeling well, but I still brought you out in this wind.”
I trailed behind the group, watching everyone fuss over her. I couldn’t help but feel a little hollow inside.
Suddenly, there was a sharp crack from a nearby tree. I looked up–before I could react, a huge tree split in half and came crashing down, right
toward me.
“Watch out!”
The last thing I saw before blacking out was Johnson and the others. shielding Juliette, guiding her away without even glancing back.
When I woke up again, the sky above was pitch black. For a second, I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming.
But the pain all over my body told me I was still alive.
I gritted my teeth, forced myself to stand, and looked around. No one was near–just a few security guards struggling to clear the fallen branches.
“All the rescue teams are downtown for disaster relief. No one’s gonna come out here. It’s bad luck, they say…”
“If I were ten years younger, I’d clear all this myself. Who needs them anyway?”
“Alex, I think there’s someone over there…”
A flashlight beam suddenly shone on my face. I raised a hand to shield. my eyes from the glare.
The guards exchanged a look–then turned and bolted downhill, screaming, leaving even their flashlight behind.
I picked it up and shone it over myself. My white dress was soaked in blood. I did look like something out of a ghost story.
Stumbling, limping, I walked for half an hour until I reached my car.
After pulling out of the cemetery, all I could think about was Johnson shielding Juliette–how I reached out for them, but none of them ever looked back.
I suddenly felt exhausted.
Chapter 5
Slowly, I loosened my grip on the steering wheel.
Bang!
The car smashed through the roadside barrier and plummeted.
The wind roared past my ears. I closed my eyes and gave in to the fall.
