Twisted Ties of Love

Chapter 313

So, how long did I have to wait for the last person who remembered me to forget me before I can finally disappeared?

Izabella gazed down at the world with indifference. Turned out when you kicked the bucket, all those intense emotions you felt when you were alive just retreated to a calm corner.

After Izabella bit the dust, she became a ghost. In life, she had imagined all sorts of possibilities for the afterlife, like bumping into the Grim Reaper, or some devilish figure, or at least seeing other dead souls like her, including her mom, dad, grandpa and Ryker who promised to take her home before he died.

But nada, zilch, none of that. She was the only special entity among all the things under heaven. She could see humans, but they couldn't see her.

It was said that if a spirit didn't disappear for a long time, it must be because they couldn't let go of something or they harbored too much resentment. So they hung around in the mortal world.

But Izabella wasn't like that. To her, death was a sweet release. The torment of stomach cancer, the pain of losing her legs, the grief of losing her loved ones, the despair of being trapped by Brett, all vanished like smoke in the wind with her death.

But how did you explain her floating in mid-air as a spirit?

On the first day after Izabella kicked the bucket, watching the firefighters clearing the ruins, she floated over and said apologetically, "I'm sorry I made such a mess here. You guys have to clean up..."

The firefighters and medics were super busy. They didn't hear her. She waved her hands, hoping to shield them from the snow falling from the sky.

On the second day after her death, Izabella just floated aimlessly, retracing the paths she used to walk when she was alive.

On the third day, she saw Brett placing her charred body in a crystal coffin and making a cold room for it. It looked really cold in there, but luckily she was already dead and couldn't feel the cold.

On the fourth day, Tiara rushed back after hearing the news. She cried for a long time in front of the villa that had turned into ruins. Izabella floated over, whispering wordlessly that she was okay. But Tiara just cried harder.

She followed Tiara and watched her modify the yellow sweater she had knitted for her own daughter to fit Izabella.

On the fifth day, she floated to the hospital and saw Niki. The beautiful cat would never be the same again. The places where it was burnt were bare, it lost one ear and a bit of its tail was cut off. Izabella gently landed in front of it and kissed its eyes.

"Niki, if you can't hold on, don't force yourself. I promise I'll find you in our next life."

On the sixth day, she went to R City and saw Lucas Salotti receiving a call from J City's police department, telling him that she was gone.

She sat with Lucas on the ground, reminiscing about the past. Honestly, she never thought that Lucas would cry after her death.

Her tumultuous life ended at 27. She was born due to an accident, crushed by relentless despair, and she didn't blame anyone for her fate. She only blamed herself for not seeing things clearly.

She was once the proud Ms. Izabella of R City, but she ruined her life by mistaking one person for another for nine years.

When a person died and the heart stopped, they couldn't feel any reluctance or unwillingness.

On the eighth day after Izabella's death, Presley had a big fight with Lucas for her. Presley blamed himself and cried, while Lucas roared with all his strength.

Presley said that they were all accomplices in her death. But in reality, her death... was her own doing.

On the ninth day, she returned to J City and heard Nathaniel telling Brett the truth about nine years ago and about the scar on her ear. She touched it with her hand, feeling a lot of emotions.

It turned out Nathaniel knew her better than Brett did. Just look... how ridiculous her life was.

The ninth day was undoubtedly the longest day. One moment she saw Brett vomiting blood on the ground, regretting his actions, the next, she saw her own body being put into the incinerator and finally turned into ashes in a small urn.

Presley didn't forget what she had said when she was alive. He took her ashes to the sea.

She gently wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes, "Presley, I'm sorry. I didn't even get to say goodbye. I don't blame you, really. You were the best friend I ever had in this world. I just couldn't live happily as you wished."

Izabella had put in a lot of effort for this short life. She had thought about giving up several times due to her rough life, but she held on because she yearned for love as she lacked it when she was young.

She had been treated coldly by her relatives, betrayed by those she trusted. Her supposed lover turned out to be a mistake from beginning to end.

But even if her fate was tragic, and people were insincere to her, she didn't want to become a devil after death. She chose to die quietly. Regret or forget, it was all destined.

She saw Brett hurting himself after her death. But what was the point? She was already gone.

Even if he experienced all the pain she had suffered in life, it would be meaningless. She wouldn't pity him, let alone forgive him out of pity.

The damage was already done. Even if the scars healed and disappeared, the pain she had experienced was real. No one had the right to tell her to forgive and forget, because they didn't know how much it hurt without experiencing it.

Four lives plus her own, five in total. How could Brett compensate?

There were no ifs. They met the wrong people at the wrong time. It was destined to end badly. Besides, she didn't care about his tenderness.

In just a few short days, Izabella saw everything in the world. Gradually, her spirit became more and more transparent.

Just as she was about to disappear, a voice came from above.

"Your life was all wrong. If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you?"

Izabella answered seriously, "No."

"Why?"

"All I've ever wanted in this life are a few friends, a cat, and someone I love. I've got all that. I have dear Presley, and Amelia, Niki, Ryker... I'm content with my life, I don't want a do-over... My existence has only brought them misfortune, I wish they could be fine, as if I never existed."

If she hadn't been born, her mom wouldn't have died giving birth to her, and she would have lived a happy life with Alan Salotti and raised Lucas properly.

If she hadn't been there, Ryker wouldn't have died for her, let alone with an incomplete corpse.

If she hadn't appeared, someone else would have crossed paths with Brett, and everyone's trajectory would have been changed.

The voice then asked again after a moment of silence, "Don't you hate those who've hurt you? Look, they're regretting it now. Maybe a do-over could change something?"

"They're just guilty. Even if I could go back, I wouldn't be able to change anything. I'd rather become someone else and start fresh." Izabella paused, then looked up and asked, "Who are you, anyway?" © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

"Do you believe in God?"

Izabella laughed, "If there is a God, please make me a cold, heartless person in my next life, unbound by emotions, not loving or caring about anyone."

"God grants you."

A gentle glow, like a meteor streaking across the night sky, bloomed with the most beautiful light in that moment. Izabella never thought she would see such a beautiful light again, let alone feel her heart beating once more.