Chapter 1 I Died on My Wedding Night

I died on my wedding night.
During our ceremony, my husband left me at the altar, making me the subject of ridicule for everyone in the city.
When a dangerous man attacked me, I called my husband for help, but he told me to just die already so that my sister wouldn’t be bothered by me any longer.
Before I passed away, I saw the city illuminated by fireworks.
These fireworks were supposed to celebrate our marriage but were instead his way of wooing another woman.
I thought that by dying, I would remove the last obstacle, allowing him to openly pursue my sister.
However, when he discovered that my bones had been fashioned into prayer beads he touched day and night, he lost his sanity.
As my consciousness dimmed, I made one final call.
On the other end, a chaotic noise preceded a man’s cold voice. “Chloe, are you done making trouble? I’ve already given you a grand wedding. I’m just spending time with Anna. What more do you want?”
Blood poured from me quickly as the attacker loomed over, observing my struggling and pitiful state.
He was aware that I was about to die and could no longer pose any threat.
But I clung to the faintest glimmer of hope, unwilling to surrender just yet.
My white wedding dress, now drenched in the river, was muddied at the hem. Summoning my last bit of strength, I cried out, “Luke, save me!”
Luke Bolton cut me off with annoyance, “Enough. Aren’t you tired of this charade? I’m fed up with it.”
“I’m not lying. Someone is trying to kill me … “
He scoffed, “Chloe, you were pretending to be sick before. What’s this performance now?
“Are you so desperate for attention? Anna is your own sister, and you’re Mrs. Bolton now. Will you only be satisfied if she’s dead?”
The biting cold was nothing compared to his scornful words. As the blood pooled beneath me, staining my wedding gown, I knew my end was near.
With my final breath, I lay on my back, surrendering to my fate, my voice a faint whisper. “But Anna is safe and alive, while I … am dying.”
“Just die already. That way, Anna wouldn’t be bothered by you anymore.”
Before the call ended, a sweet voice chimed in, “Luke, the fireworks are about to begin.”
Luke’s voice faded away, leaving only the howling wind in my ears. The blood-smeared phone slipped from my fingers and fell heavily into the water.
The splash sent droplets into my eyes, which turned into burning tears streaming down my cheeks.
Amidst the swirling snow, tiny lights began to appear in the dark sky, resembling a river of stars created by twinkling drones.
The deafening bursts of fireworks filled the air, and my vision was overwhelmed by their dazzling display.
The elaborate fireworks, which he had spent six months preparing to celebrate our wedding, had ultimately been a show to impress another woman.
Someone sent me a photo of my husband, holding another woman closely amidst the radiant fireworks.
His lips, usually so detached, curled into a subtle smile.
In the midst of their joy, my eyes closed for the last time.
They say that after death, one may experience reincarnation.
If there was truly another life, I hoped I would never cross paths with Luke again.
But fate had different plans. When I regained consciousness, I found myself under a brilliant, star-filled sky, watching a couple locked in an embrace.
It was my husband, Luke, and my sister, Anna Sander.
“Luke, Anna, you can’t do this!”
I tried to reach out to them, but my hands went straight through their bodies.
Looking down, I saw my almost transparent form. No one around seemed to notice me.
It hit me that I was dead and my spirit had somehow ended up near them.
Watching them kiss so passionately, I felt the sharp sting of death.
I had been his childhood sweetheart, and not long ago, Luke had promised me that his feelings for Anna were purely sibling-like and that he loved only me.
Another firework streaked across the sky, and Luke suddenly jolted awake, pushing Anna away with a sudden force.
“Anna, we can’t do this.”
Anna’s face was still flushed, and the firelight made her look even more captivating. She bit her lip and said, “Luke, I didn’t mean for this to happen. I just … couldn’t control myself.”
Luke gently stroked her head. “It’s alright, I’m not angry with you. I’ll make a call.”
I watched as he pulled out his phone and dialed my number.
A chill swept over me. After more than twenty years of devotion, it all meant nothing in the end.
Even thinking of me came only after his romantic encounter with Anna, as if calling me was just an afterthought.
Beep, beep, beep …
After three rings, my voice remained unheard.
I was always on standby for Luke, ready to answer within three rings.
But I was dead. How could a corpse answer a phone?
Luke frowned deeply. “Anna, I’m going to check Chloe’s last location.”
Oh, now he remembered me?
Before I died, I had sent Luke my location by the river. If he came now, he might still find my body.
Time was slipping away, and I dreaded what the scheming murderer might do to my remains.
A small hand grasped his wrist, and Anna looked at him with pleading eyes. “Luke, please stay with me.”
Luke hesitated. “But Chloe … “
“Chloe is always dramatic. Remember when she pretended to be sick in the hospital? You dropped your billion-dollar deal to come back, only to find she was fine. Or when she said someone was stalking her, but nothing ever happened?
“That’s Chloe for you. She’s always been spoiled, playing these tricks. She’s the Sanders’ heiress. Who would dare harm her?”
His words eased Luke’s doubts, and he rubbed his weary brow.
“I wish Chloe could be as understanding as you.”
Anna smiled, and I felt a bitter pang of irony.
He used to say, “Only people who have never experienced love need to be sensible. Chloe, you can be as carefree as you like.”
Luke didn’t come to find me again. Instead, he took Anna to our room.
I blocked the doorway, trying to prevent her from entering.
Anna, like a determined insect, laughed as she passed through my ghostly form.
It seemed that whether I was alive or dead, I couldn’t stop her.
Anna emerged from the bathroom in my nightgown—the surprise I had planned for our wedding night.
Luke’s eyes darkened as he took in her silhouette beneath the sheer fabric.
I recognized this as a sign of his arousal from our time together.
Watching the growing tension between them, I felt a mix of rage and sorrow.
“Anna, that’s Chloe’s clothes,” Luke reminded her.
“I know,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Luke, I know you’ve long stopped loving Chloe. You love me, don’t you?”
“Anna, enough.” Luke’s voice turned cold.
Tears streamed down Anna’s face as she sobbed, looking like a pitiful woman who had been abandoned. “After tonight, you’ll be my brother-in-law. I’m not asking for much, just one night. Luke, I want to be yours.”
“I’ll agree to anything but this!” Luke pushed her away.
Anna stamped her foot. “Fine, if you won’t have me, I’ll find someone else—maybe the delivery guy, the janitor, or even a beggar under the bridge!”
“Stop this nonsense!”
“If you don’t want me and won’t grant me this one wish, then I … “
Luke pulled her into his arms and silenced her with a kiss.
I screamed in agony, but no one heard me.
Luke, the man I had loved for over a decade, was now making love to my sister in our room.
I watched as Luke unleashed all his repressed emotions that night.
As dawn’s light touched Anna’s marked body, she nestled closer to Luke with a shy smile.
Luke, now regaining his composure, looked regretful. “Anna, about last night … “
I sneered. What good were regrets now that everything was done?
It was pointless!
“Luke, don’t worry. I won’t tell Chloe. From now on, you’re my brother-in-law. I’ll study abroad and disappear from your world forever.”
Luke’s brow furrowed. “Who told you to leave? You … “
Before he could finish, the phone rang. Luke answered it.
A stern voice came from the other end. “Mr. Bolton, this morning, a designer wedding dress was recovered from Silver Shore. It has been identified as the one your wife, Chloe, wore yesterday. Please come to the police station to assist with the investigation.”

Chapter 2 Chloe, What Are You Playing At?

Upon hearing the police officer’s voice, I couldn’t help but wonder if Luke would even feel a pang of sadness upon learning of my death.
Would he?
After more than twenty years together, could it really all be so easily forgotten?
Luke’s face, always so composed, showed no sign of concern. He asked casually, “It’s just a wedding dress?”
“Yes, for now it’s just a wedding dress. But Ms. Sander might be in danger. We can’t rule out the possibility of suicide. We discovered—”
Before the officer could finish, Luke abruptly interrupted. “I don’t know who reported this, but I know Chloe very well. She wouldn’t take her own life. She’s pulled these stunts before. There’s no need to waste police resources on her little rich-girl antics.”
The officer was taken aback. We had only gotten married the day before, and Luke displayed no concern for my safety.
The officer tried to continue, but Luke had already ended the call.
I almost laughed—a bitter, self-deprecating laugh at the idea that Luke might still have feelings for me.
I was dead!
Even with the police involved, he still thought I was playing some trivial game!
Anna wrapped around Luke like a vine. “Luke, what if Chloe is truly in danger?”
Luke’s brows knitted together. “On the phone yesterday, Chloe did sound weak and like she was asking for help.”
“It could be that I tried on Chloe’s wedding dress, and she was upset, so she threw it into the river. But we genuinely love each other. I’ve controlled my feelings and let you have her. What more could Chloe want?
“You hired the designer to work on that dress with my preferences in mind. Why should she be so petty about me trying it on? It’s a million-dollar gown—how could she just toss it away! And now it’s causing trouble at the police station. Isn’t this deliberately embarrassing the Boltons?”
Luke’s anxiety faded, replaced by his usual contempt for me.
A week ago, when I went to try on the wedding dress, I found Anna already wearing it. She had even altered the color and size to fit her.
I asked her to take it off. Before I could say anything harsh, my family chided me, saying it was just a dress. Letting my sister try it on was no big deal.
Anna, dressed in the wedding gown, clung to Luke, making it seem as if she was the genuine Mrs. Bolton, while I was just a mere backdrop.
My family’s bias stemmed from when Anna fell into the river at age five. I jumped in to save her but couldn’t.
I hit my head on a rock and lost consciousness. When I woke up, I found that the young heir of the Boltons had rescued me, while my sister had disappeared into the river.
That was how I ended up connected to Luke, growing up together as childhood friends.
When I turned eighteen, Luke’s father, Adam Bolton, introduced his new wife into the family, and Anna came along with her. At that time, Luke was deeply annoyed with her.
Three years ago, at my engagement party, Anna suddenly regained her memory and claimed to be the lost fifth daughter of the Sanders.
While everyone was celebrating, Anna suddenly fell to her knees before me, clutching my gown and crying, “Chloe, why did you trick me and push me into the river back then?”
I was stunned, having no idea she was my lost sister.
I had never treated her poorly, whether as a sister or as a sister-in-law.
Her accusations hit me hard, leaving me dazed and unable to recover.
Anna kept begging, “Chloe, I promise I’ll behave from now on. I won’t compete with you for anything. Please stop hurting me. I miss Mom, Dad, and Ethan. Can I please go home?”
My dad raised his hand and struck me hard. “I never imagined you could be so cruel at such a young age. Anna was only five then. How could you be so heartless?”
Panicked, I tried to explain, “That’s not true. I didn’t push her. I didn’t … “
“She’s your own sister. Why would she lie so dramatically to deceive us? Anna, my poor daughter, you’ve endured so much all these years.”
My mom held Anna close, sobbing uncontrollably.
Yes, she was my sister. Why would she treat me this way?
What was meant to be my engagement party had turned into a chaotic family drama, and I was given the label of an evil sister, a stigma I couldn’t escape.
I cried, my makeup smeared and my voice hoarse from trying to explain, but no one would listen.
Adam, usually so kind, glanced at Luke and instructed him to take me away to fix my makeup.
From his look, I could sense that he felt I was an embarrassment.
In desperation, I clung to Luke’s hand, trying to plead my case. He held me close, his fingers gently patting my back. “I believe you. How could I not? You’re the kindest, sweetest girl there is.”
How had the man who once stood firmly by my side become like this?
I watched them from the bed, my heart heavy with despair.
After death, no matter how deeply I mourned, my hollow eyes could not shed a tear.
Though my heart no longer beat, it felt as if a cold breeze was passing through it.
I tried to move away, but I couldn’t get more than three feet from him.
I was forced to watch as they got up, with Anna in my new clothes, sitting at the vanity.
She held an eyebrow pencil, pouting as she had Luke fill in her brows.
It was as if they were the rightful couple.
Luke’s gaze fell on our wedding photo, and he paused. “Enough, Anna. Didn’t we agree to return things to how they were before after last night?”
“Yes, I understand. I won’t disturb you and Chloe anymore,” Anna said, lowering her head in a show of fake innocence.
Luke dialed my number again, but it still went unanswered.
If he had contacted the police to locate my phone now, he might have found my body.
But he didn’t. Instead, he put his phone away with a troubled expression.
I heard him scoff coldly. “Chloe, it seems I’ve spoiled you too much.”
“Yeah, Chloe is skilled at playing hard to get. Don’t worry, Luke. She might have already returned to the Boltons and is just ignoring your calls to make you worry.”
Luke’s expression grew colder. “We should visit our parents today after the wedding. Chloe would definitely be there for such an important occasion. Let’s go back. I want to see what Chloe is playing at!”