8-Month-Pregnant, Strapped to a Drop Tower by Him

Chapter 5

I only glanced once before a chill spread through my entire body.

The "me" lying there had wide, lifeless eyes, a look of anguish frozen on my face, grievances I would never be able to voice.

My once-pristine blue maternity dress was now drenched in a horrific shade of red, the blood staining it completely.

It takes a kind of bravery to face your own corpse, to witness your body in such a state.

James's face drained of color as his eyes slowly scanned the scene.

I had always cared about how I appeared, nothing extravagant like Sophia, but at least clean and put together. This, though, was the first and last time I would ever see myself in such a wretched, pitiful state since meeting him.

"You're saying this is Emily?" His voice was cold, the words hanging in the air like an accusation.

The manager nodded, his voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, this is indeed Mrs. Miller. You had her locked up here, and the park has been sealed off. No one else has come through."

James took slow, deliberate steps toward my body.

Then, with an almost dismissive motion, he kicked my corpse. "What kind of sick joke is this? This is Emily?!"

His words were sharp, tinged with disbelief. "And you're telling me that dead cat you showed me earlier, that was the child? Don't try to pull this off. Emily, of all people, isn't the type to die so easily. The doctor said the baby wasn't due for another week. How could it be born so soon?"

His gaze darkened as he turned to the manager. "Tell me. What did Emily promise you? What did she offer for you to help her fake her death like this?!"

"Mr. Miller, how could that be possible? I've worked for you for years. Everyone knows how much Mrs. Miller loves you. Even if you're fooling yourself, she would never deceive you!"

The manager's voice trembled with conviction, as if he were defending the truth he knew all too well.

It was true, everyone knew how deeply I loved James.

The first time I met him was in my first year of high school. My grandfather had just passed away, and my parents moved me to the north. The climate change hit me hard, and I came down with a fever and stomach pains. I was lying at my desk in agony, unable to speak or move.

It was James, the class monitor, who first noticed something was wrong.

He picked me up and rushed me to the school infirmary. Later, I learned that my fever had reached 104°F that day. If he hadn't acted quickly, I might have suffered brain damage from the high temperature.

I thanked him profusely, but he simply smiled and said it was his duty.

While I was getting my IV drip, he stayed by my side, chatting with me and offering me water. When he learned about my situation, he smiled and promised that I could always count on him if I needed anything.

It was his responsibility as the class monitor, he said.

A young girl's heart fluttered, and from that moment on, I couldn't help but watch him.

After graduation, I secretly applied to the same university as him, hoping for a chance to confess my feelings. But before I could muster the courage, I stumbled upon a devastating scene: his mother, unable to cope with his father's affair, had drugged James with enough sleeping pills to kill him and was preparing to jump off a building with him.

In that moment of desperation, I grabbed onto the unconscious James, holding on for dear life.

I clung to him for a full half hour before the fire department arrived. Once the rescue air cushion was set up, I lost all strength and fell from the twenty-story building with him.

When I woke up, the first thing I did was rush to see him. But by then, Sophia was already by his side.

It was then that I realized, James, who had always been indifferent to Sophia, was now dating her.

Although we attended the same school, I could only watch from a distance as James and Sophia became inseparable. Their happiness lasted only six months.

The media exposed the truth about his mother's tragic suicide, which was triggered by his father's affair. The company's stock plummeted, teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

During that time, Sophia proposed a breakup, but even then, James still cared for her, giving her enough money to study abroad.

Less than six months later, news broke that Sophia had gotten married abroad.