A Farewell Gift of Death

Mom, Dad, and Edwin rushed over, only to find Esme collapsed on the floor. She was sobbing uncontrollably, scraps of shredded paper clenched in her hands.

"I-Isn't this the collection you were supposed to unveil tonight? How could it be destroyed? Who did this?" Mom immediately crouched down to help Esme up, her eyes full of concern.

Esme gasped through her tears. "I knew these designs were important, so I was extra careful. I even locked them up in the cabinet Claudia and I shared before I left…"

At that, a sharp laugh escaped me. With just a single sentence, she had pointed the finger clearly enough.

Dad slammed his fist against the door and roared, "Claudia has gone too far! No wonder she hasn't come home. She must have done this out of spite. When she shows her face, I'll break her legs myself!"

Chaos erupted upstairs. Edwin only sighed, sounding weary. "Enough. What matters now is figuring out how to salvage this. Many influential guests came tonight expecting to see Esme's new pieces. I'll check the basement. Maybe there are tools or supplies we can use."

He turned toward the door, but Esme quickly grabbed his arm. "Edwin, it's useless. She didn't just rip them up. She took some of the pages with her. They can't be pieced back together."

"What?" Mom gasped.

Edwin quickly comforted her, pushing the thought of going to the basement aside. He crouched down and wiped the tears from Esme's eyes. "It's okay. I'll handle this. What matters most is that you enjoy your birthday."

At that moment, he stood like the pillar of the family—someone everyone could lean on.

Esme met his gaze, and the very next second, she pressed her lips to his.

Edwin froze, instinctively wanting to pull away. But in the end, he didn't. He wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss.

Even though I had died, it felt like I was suffocating at that moment. I had thought Edwin merely admired her. I never imagined his admiration had turned into something more.

But I should have known. Every Christmas, he would carefully choose thoughtful gifts for Esme while I was overlooked. If I received anything at all, it was something cheap and meaningless.

Year after year, my jewelry box was filled with trinkets worth nothing. The only piece of real value was the diamond ring he gave me on our wedding day. Back then, his heart still belonged to me.

But that didn't matter anymore because I would be giving it all back to him at this very birthday party.