Chapter 9

On Colette's last day on earth, she woke up and saw James and Sophie ready to leave home. Colette called out to James when he and Sophie were at the door, "Uncle James, I know you're busy, but could you come home for dinner with me? Let's have dinner; just the two of us." Colette wanted to bid farewell to James. Her eyes were filled with hope and longing. However, James mistook her request as another love confession. He nearly turned her down when Sophie patted him on the hand and generously said, "Well, I'll meet up with my friends today, then. It's been a while since we met anyway. You're much older than Colette, and you shouldn't hold a grudge against her." Under Sophie's persuasion, James agreed to dinner with Colette. Colette got what she wanted, yet she felt bitter. She watched as the couple entered the car and left. Then, she entered the villa, feeling bitter. Sometimes, people would burn the belongings of the dead. On her last day, she gathered her belongings and set fire to them, so that James did not have to worry about how to dispose of them. James left a trace everywhere in her room. He bought all her daily essentials and her clothes for her. He wasn't always a caring and thoughtful man. Most of the time, he left Colette's daily activities in the care of the nanny and his assistant. It all changed when he noticed the nanny ignored Colette's dietary needs, and his assistant was too busy juggling both demands at the company and back home. As a result, no one noticed Colette developed a fever from the cold. If James hadn't come home that day and found her in a feverish state, she might have suffered permanent damage, like what the doctor suggested. Ever since that incident, James had taken Colette's matters into his hands. Colette snapped out of her reverie. She stared wistfully at her belongings, now reduced to ashes. From now on, she would no longer exist in this world. She cleaned up the villa, only leaving that sealed closet in her bedroom untouched. She wondered if James would feel sad if he found her body in the closet. Without her around, no one would criticize James again. She bet he would be glad. After Colette tidied up the villa, she put all her effort into her last dinner with James. She rarely cooked. In the past, James always brought her out for dinner or made dinner for her. She volunteered to learn cooking so she could make meals for him, but he banned her from trying after she got scalded by hot oil. Still, she secretly learned cooking, hoping to give him a surprise one day, but the robbery happened before she could put her skills to use. Thankfully, the hot oil could no longer injure her skin. It took her about five hours to prepare a feast. She waited by the dining table for a long time and reheated the dishes a few times, but James did not come home. He did not respond to her texts and calls as well. After one of the calls got cut off, Colette stared blankly at her phone. Suddenly, she received a push notification on Instagram. Sophie had posted a photo. That gave Colette a sense of foreboding. She couldn't help but tap into the notification and saw the photo of two plane tickets. Sophie wrote in the caption, "Perhaps this is love; a man dropping everything and flying with you to Sunderton to enjoy the winter after you casually mentioned it." Colette paled after reading the caption. Fingers shaking, she scrolled to James' contact and called him. This time, he finally picked up. She confronted him, "Are you at Sunderton with Sophie? But you promised to—" She was cut off by Sophie. Sophie taunted, "Colette Anderson, did you really think James would go home to dinner with you? Stop being delusional. You need to pack your bags and leave his villa right now!" Then, Sophie hung up without waiting for Colette's reply. Colette sat in silence while listening to the disconnected tone. When the clock struck midnight, she tossed all the food into the waste bin. The Grim Reaper's voice boomed from above. "Colette Anderson, the seven days are up. Did you regret striking this deal with me?" His eerie voice reverberated through the villa. When all was silent, she flashed a bitter smile and replied in a despairing tone, "It's not perfect, but I don't regret my decision." She wandered to the calendar and tore away the last page. "Take me now." Right after that, she watched as her body grew transparent. She extended her hands and watched her as her soul dissipated from her fingers, followed by her hands, legs, and body. Finally, she became thin air. Before she vanished, she smiled into the distance and muttered, "Goodbye, Uncle James." They would never meet again.