---- Chapter 8 But | didn't die. They brought me back. | woke up to the steady beep of the monitor, my body a landscape of pain. The room was empty. They had all left. With a strength | didn't know | possessed, | pulled the IV from my arm. | ignored the protests of a horrified nurse. "I'm not dying in this hospital," | told her, my voice a raw whisper. The look in my eyes must have been enough, because she stepped back and let me go. | walked out of that hospital, a ghost in a borrowed gown, and took a taxi back to the villa. Caleb and Fitzgerald were in the living room. They didn't even look up as | entered. "Still pretending to be dying?" Caleb sneered, not taking his eyes off the TV. "Give it up, Ericka. We're not falling for it." "Even if you did die," Fitzgerald added, his voice casual, "we wouldn't feel a thing. You're nothing to us now." | didn't say a word. | just turned and walked up the stairs to my room, the finality of their hatred settling into my bones like the cancer that was eating me alive. ---- That night was my birthday. There was a soft knock on my door. It was Caleb. He was holding a beautiful, simple white dress. For the first time in three years, he was smiling at me. A warm, gentle smile that | remembered from another lifetime. "Happy birthday, Ericka," he said softly. "Get dressed. We have a surprise for you. Something that will fix everything." | looked at his face, at the practiced sincerity, and felt nothing but a vast, tired pity. He was so sure he was the hero of this story. | knew their surprise. | had overheard it at the resort. The big reveal. The final, crushing blow designed to shock me into submission. It was all so pointless now. "I'll be down in a minute," | said, my voice calm. He nodded, satisfied, and left. | put on the white dress. It felt like a shroud. Instead of going downstairs, | walked out onto the balcony of my attic room. From here, | could see the city lights glittering in the distance. | could see the bridge. | thought about the life I'd had before. My parents tucking me in at night. Fitzgerald teaching me how to ride a bike. Caleb ---- proposing to me under a sky full of stars, promising me a lifetime of happiness. It all felt like a dream. A beautiful dream that had turned into an endless nightmare. My phone rang. It was Caleb. "Ericka, where are you? We're all waiting at the resort." His voice was full of cheerful anticipation. "| have a surprise for you, too, Caleb," | said, my voice even. "What are you talking about? Just get over here!" Fitzgerald's impatient voice cut in. "| can't," | said. "But you can find my gift on the bridge. The main city bridge." | hung up the phone. On the small table on the balcony, | left my medical diagnosis. | left the phone containing Hailie's confession. And | left the small, tarnished silver locket my mother had given me when | was a little girl. | stood on the edge of the balcony, the cool night air on my face. | looked out at the city one last time. Then, without hesitation, | stepped off. As | fell, the world went silent. The pain in my body ---- disappeared. The agony in my heart dissolved. 7 The cold water of the river rushed up to meet me. It felt like a release. | was finally free. Nothing could hurt me anymore.