Until I Disappear

Zach shielded Monette.

I opened my mouth, but I found myself unable to say anything.

Tears had finally blurred my vision, and I found that I could not connect this Zach with his eighteen-year-old self anymore.

Zach no longer spared me another glance. While holding Monette’s shoulder, he led her out.

“Zach, if I’m about to die, will you still treat me this way?”

He did not turn around. “If you’ll stop throwing these tantrums once you die, just die.”

I instantly lost all my strength and collapsed on the floor dejectedly.

Heh.

So, he wanted me dead so badly?

After that day, Zach never came back home.

I did not care about it either. I just made a checklist for my funeral.

I took a portrait of myself to put on my gravestone and bought the clothes I would be wearing in my coffin.

After a few days, the owner of the photography studio asked me to retrieve my photo.

When I saw my photo, I felt a well of complicated emotions.

Just as I was about to go back home, I spotted Zach and Monette in the corner.

“Why are you here? Were you following me?”

I did not want to argue with him anymore.

My stomach was hurting, and I just wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.

“Mr. Stone, it looks like Mrs. Stone was here to take photos.”

As Monette spoke, she tried to grab my photo, but I took a quick step backward.

“She doesn’t want us to see it.” Monette sounded sad, but she was implying something else. “Why are you being so mysterious? You’re making us think that you’re hiding a secret.”

Zach’s expression changed, and he looked at the photo.

“What exactly is it?”

The pain increased. I did not want to talk to them anymore, but Zach grabbed my wrist.

When he looked at me, his eyes were filled with disgust and suspicion.

However, I would no longer be hurt by those eyes.

“It’s nothing. It’s none of your business.”

I broke out of his grip, but Zach grabbed the side of the photo.

While we were fighting for it, the photo fell on the floor, and my portrait was revealed before everyone’s eyes.

“Why is it in black and white?”

Monette feigned surprise, but I saw her smiling.

I accepted my fate as I looked at the photo on the floor.

They still saw it in the end.

Would Zach regret how he treated me during my final days?

“Is this what you’ve been hiding?” I heard his cold and calm voice.

Zach’s expression was dark. I saw no traces of pain or regret on him.

“Are you serious this time?”

This man pitied me when I would so much as cough in the past. But he was currently thinking that I was fooling around with death.

The sadder fact was this: I had actually held out a shred of hope for him earlier.

I smiled. “Can’t I? I want to see you regret your actions.”

“Then, die.”

He shoved me and walked forward.

I could no longer stand and collapsed on the floor.

The passersby cried out in surprise, and Monette hurriedly helped me up.

She grabbed my arm and whispered into my ear, “See that? Even if you die, it’s useless. He no longer loves you.”

I used my final bit of strength to break away from her.

Zach saw this and called out to Monette coldly, “Ignore her. This is one of her old tricks. If she likes acting so much, let her.”

I went back home with the help of the strangers around me.

After taking a painkiller, the pain in my stomach went away bit by bit.

Feeling physically and emotionally exhausted, I lay down on the couch and covered my ears. In my ears, all I could hear was Zach telling me to die.

I remembered one winter in the past when I was sick.

The situation was so dire that the doctor made several announcements that I was in critical condition.

We had no money back then, so Zach went to his friends and family to ask for money. He was regarded with scorn, and they even insulted him.

I pitied him and did not want to become a burden. So, I stubbornly refused to take any medicine and refused to accept treatment as well.

Zach then knelt beside my bed and held my hand as he cried, “Please, Ninian. Take your medicine, okay?”

Fast forward to the present, and Zach wanted me dead more than anyone else.

I looked at the calendar on the wall. There were only a few days left until my one month was up.

Fortunately, he was about to have his wish.