My Death Contract

"When I died, he was holding another woman in his arms.

The plan was a success. I would become the pain he could never forget for the rest of his life."

1

"Miss Kirby, here's your medicine. Please take it."

I accepted the white pill bottle and said, "Thank you."

With the sleeping pills in hand, I could finally prepare myself for what was to come.

The plan was about to begin.

Sitting in the back of a taxi, I stared at the message Mia had just sent me.

"There's a banquet tonight. I won't be home."

I knew exactly what kind of banquet it was. It was Hailee's welcome-back party.

I had to say Hailee was quite something. She dated Mia only for a year and had him completely wrapped around her finger.

I had been by Mia's side for six years, from 21 to 27, but all that meant nothing compared to a single tear from Hailee.

I had already lived through this once.

In the end, Mia married Hailee, and I died on their wedding day.

I lost my mind and jumped to my death.

I gained nothing.

How could I accept that?

So here I was, alive again, back when Mia was just nineteen.

In the original timeline, I met Mia when I was twenty-one. He had just started his business, and I became his most trusted assistant.

My family favored sons over daughters, while his family was broken and scattered.

We found solace in each other's brokenness.

For six long years, we even reached the point of discussing marriage.

But everything changed at that banquet when Hailee returned from abroad.

Not only did she return, but she also confessed her lingering feelings for Mia at the party.

The two of them hit it off, and my six years of youth became the price I paid for their happiness.

At nineteen, Mia was still the rich heir of the Morrison family, living a life of luxury and dating the most beautiful girl, Hailee.

At twenty, his family fell from grace, Hailee left the country, and his life spiraled downward.

I knew all of this, which was why I entered his world early this time.

I didn't interfere with his relationship with Hailee. This plan needed a scapegoat, and that one year they shared, once cherished by Mia as the most precious time of his life, was it.

I watched Mia and Hailee fall in love, watched them embrace, watched them kiss.

I saw with my own eyes the sweet memories Hailee once spoke of.

For an entire year, my heart was steeped in the sickly sweetness of their love until it felt like it would decay.

I waited quietly, biding my time.

When Hailee left for abroad, I poured my heart into Mia, becoming a part of his world completely in the year he hit rock bottom.

How pitifully naïve Mia was at twenty.

Immature and stubborn, he rejected me again and again, all while waiting for Hailee.

They said true love was proven through unwavering companionship.

Eventually, Mia accepted me.

I stayed by his side through his darkest year.

After that, the story unfolded just as I remembered.

From a reckless young entrepreneur, he rose step by step to become a business tycoon.

From his rejection of me to the moment we started planning our future together, we had been through it all...until this banquet.

"Miss Kirby, we've arrived."

The honk of the taxi's horn interrupted my thoughts.

I glanced at my phone, the chat history with Mia still open.

The last message was sent at 11:35.

"Do you need me to pick you up? Don't drink too much. I'm worried about you."

Mia hadn't replied.

I stepped out of the car and did something I had never done in my previous life.

My plan began at this moment.

The bar was dimly lit, the lights flickering like restless sparks in the dim haze of the bar.

I spotted Mia immediately. He was sitting with his back to me, dressed in a suit that made him stand out among the crowd's flamboyant attire.

Hailee sat beside him, wearing a black dress that also clashed with the crowd but matched Mia perfectly.

The people surrounding them were all familiar faces.

They were Mia's old friends from his days as the rich heir of the Morrison family's.

I waited for a long time, thinking I wouldn't see anything noteworthy. But then, laughter erupted from the group.

They were egging someone on, their voices loud and boisterous.

Amid the commotion, Hailee stood up and pressed a kiss to Mia's lips.

I raised my phone, zoomed in, and captured the moment.

I couldn't make out Mia's expression, but Hailee's smile was unmistakable.

My hand trembled as I held the phone, my heart twisting in pain.

It turned out even in the days I wasn't aware of, there had always been an unspoken connection between them.

As if sensing something, Mia turned his head.

I pulled my hat lower and walked away.

He didn't see me.

Back at the home Mia and I shared, the emptiness pressed down on me.

The hollow silence was far from comforting.

I took a shower and sat on the couch, staring at the clock as the minutes ticked by.

At 1:28, the sound of the door unlocking broke the stillness.

I stumbled toward Mia, throwing myself into his arms.

He caught me, his hand gently brushing over my hair.

His deep voice resonated in my ear.

"Why aren't you wearing shoes? You'll catch a cold."

I cupped his face, my fingers brushing over the spot Hailee had kissed. My voice was muffled.

"Where were you? You were gone so long, and you didn't reply to my messages."

He hesitated but didn't answer me. Instead, he carried me to the couch and put socks on my feet.

I kicked him lightly, feeling dissatisfied.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

He ruffled my hair, looking a bit helpless.

"I was meeting an important client. I didn't drink, and my phone was off, so I didn't see your messages."

I looked at him, and in his eyes, I could only see myself.

"Mia, you're lying," I thought.

I didn't press further and instead acted as I always did, playfully clinging to him.

2

The next morning, Mia left for work early.

After he was gone, I climbed out of bed and went to the study.

Amid the neatly arranged documents and classic novels was my diary.

I pulled it out, flipping through the pages. Each one was filled with my innermost thoughts, from the moment I met Mia to now.

In the years Hailee was absent, I experienced a love I hadn't known in my previous life.

Maybe it was because I had stayed by Mia's side through his lowest point, so he treated me differently.

Even so, I knew his heart still belonged to Hailee.

Sometimes, I wavered, wondering if this time might be different.

But every time I thought about those six years I had spent by his side, only for it to end with Hailee stepping into our home, wearing the wedding dress I had ordered, and them kissing amidst the blessings on the day I died, I couldn't help but hate them with all my heart.

Mia must suffer as I did. He should be tormented day and night by despair.

Tears fell onto the diary, and my hand traced the photo I had taken that day.

Over and over again, each movement felt like a knife carving deeper into my heart.

I thought I had grown numb to the pain.

"I went to pick up Mia and saw a girl kiss him. She was happy, but I was heartbroken."

On a fresh page, I wrote a few simple lines.

Excitement and suffocation warred within me.

It felt strange, yet I couldn't help but savor it.

I closed the diary and returned it to its place.

After applying light makeup, I slipped into a white dress.

I looked serene and gentle in the mirror, a stark contrast to Hailee's bold beauty.

I smiled, and the woman in the mirror mirrored my expression, looking sweet.

Mia had once complimented my smile, saying it was beautiful.

But after coming back to life, I didn't like smiling anymore.

I preferred crying because the raw, gut-wrenching sobs reminded me that I was still human, still capable of feeling.

Crying would only make me remember Mia's coldness and Hailee's taunts.

3

After leaving the house, I went to Mia's company.

The employees all recognized me, but their gazes were evasive.

I had a hunch.

And as it turned out, I was right.

From Mia's office came the sound of a woman's laughter.