If Only You Were the One Who Died

Chapter 5 A Clean Escape

Daniel's eyes burned with fury, and just as he was about to curse, the dagger pressed even closer against his skin. A sharp sting shot through him, and he immediately shut up.

Natalie didn't say a word. She simply used the dagger to force him backward, stepping out of the private room before slamming the door shut.

From start to finish, she hadn't exchanged a single word with them.

She only ever lowered herself in front of Ethan.

Ethan left Ember Lounge and got into the car, with Austin as the chauffeur.

"Drive."

A place like that? There was no way that woman was walking out alive.

Ethan had always been ruthless. The fact that she had had a month to redeem herself was already a rare mercy.

Austin was just about to start the engine when he caught sight of the woman he'd driven there—walking out completely unharmed.

Both he and Ethan froze for a second. How the hell had she managed that?

A bug they thought would be squashed in an instant had somehow escaped a den of devils unscathed—looked like she'd got some tricks up her sleeve.

Ethan suddenly chuckled. "Interesting. Let's go."

As Natalie stepped out of the club, she caught sight of the car tail lights disappearing into the distance.

Being abandoned like this didn't make her feel disappointed or upset. She accepted it with calmness.

She hailed a cab home, settling into the backseat and closing her eyes for some rest.

"It's okay if you don't like taking photos. I'll sketch every version of you."

"Natalie, when we get married, let me paint us a massive wedding portrait—one as tall as me."

"You look so beautiful when you smile. Smile more often, okay?"

That voice was warm, endlessly gentle, like he was speaking to a child.

"Miss, we're here."

Natalie's eyes snapped open. The familiar surroundings slowly came into focus.

She reached up and brushed a fingertip across her eye. Dry.

Her gaze drifted to her cold fingers. She had dreamt of him again.

At first, it was all sweet memories. But then, the scene shifted—blood everywhere, and a fading voice murmuring, "Live… just… live…"

His final words had become her only purpose now.

Her chest tightened, pain curling through her like a knife.

And yet, that pain… was almost a relief.

She paid the fare and stepped into Carter Estate.

The housekeepers continued to ignore her. She didn't care.

As one of them passed by, they muttered under their breath, "Shameless."

Natalie didn't react. She walked straight to her bedroom, took out her sketchpad, and flipped to the photo. Then, mechanically, she started to draw.

On her phone screen was a familiar man's side profile.

On her sketchpad? A poorly drawn banana.

She had only been learning to sketch for a little over a month—there was no way she could draw a person yet.

She had to start with still objects.

Every time she picked up a pencil, she had to look at that photo.

There was no way to recreate a full portrait from just a side profile.

But it was enough to calm her restless heart.

Enough to pull her—if only for a moment—out of the suffocating past.

She let her focus sink into the drawing.

The next morning, by the time Natalie woke up, Ethan was already in the dining room, having breakfast.

The prenuptial agreement had him locked in. No matter how busy he was, as long as he was in the cidy of Ridgeway, he had to return here at night.

She had dreamt again last night—drenched in thick, suffocating blood.

She should have known that face by heart, yet in the dream, it was always blurred. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make out his features.

She had racked her brain trying to remember but to no avail. So, the moment she woke up, she went straight for the dining room to look at the man sitting at the dining table.

Slowly, those indistinct features sharpened in her mind, and she forced the emotions of the man in her dream onto the man in front of her.

The person she thought about every waking moment, the one she longed for in her dreams.

At this moment, he was right in front of her.

Natalie's heart pounded wildly.

She took a few quick steps forward, trying to get closer to Ethan.