If I hadn’t stubbornly pursued Keith, if I had chosen to step back as soon as Michelle returned to the country, none
1/2
Chamer 7
of this would have happened.
Keith didn’t love me.
* +26 BONUS
Even though Michelle had betrayed him, he still only loved her, just as I had once loved him.
Watching my mother and Wanda mourn my death so deeply made my heart fill with remorse.
Once at the hospital, Michelle used the excuse of wanting cake to distract Keith while she plotted an escape.
Keith, completely oblivious, returned with the cake, only to find the hospital room empty and silent.
He was shocked.
He tried calling Michelle.
She picked up after a few rings.
“Keith? I’m going abroad for surgery. The medication here isn’t working,” she said softly.
Keith was confused. “Haven’t you already had a bypass?”
Michelle stammered, “I can’t talk about it right now. My dad is here to pick me up. I have to board the plane.”
Before he could ask for more details, she hung up.
Michelle’s strange reaction finally raised Keith’s suspicions.
A sudden wave of anxiety gripped him. His head buzzed with an ominous feeling.
He quickly pulled out his phone and messaged me.
[Your mom and Wanda said you died. That’s not real, right?
[Michelle is going abroad again…]
He didn’t even realize that his fingers trembled as they struck the keyboard, sending messages that made little
sense.
[Astrid, are you still there?
[Talk to me.]
Keith’s anxiety escalated.
He furrowed his brow, his gaze vacant, and the world around him seemed to fade away.
