Chapter 2

The noises Ruth and Ivan made pierced my ears. I wanted to cover them so I wouldn't have to listen to them, but the noise penetrated my soul. I clamped my ears as hard as possible, but it didn't help.

I couldn't escape, either. It was as if I'd been placed under a spell that bound my soul to Ruth. I couldn't get away from her.

I could only watch as my fiancée, the woman I loved more than life itself, slept with my murderer. I was so disgusted that I wanted to puke.

After retching, I cruelly thought about how Ruth would eventually learn that the corpse was mine. Would she have a mental breakdown when learning she'd slept with her fiancée's murderer and even helped him destroy my corpse?

This thought made a hint of thrill rise in me. It made me feel better, at least.

Ruth and Ivan did the deed beside my remains for over an hour. When she finally went home, she opened the door to find the apartment in pitch-black darkness. She turned the lights on and headed to the kitchen for a glass of apple juice.

When she opened the fridge, she smelled rotting vegetables. She covered her nose and cleaned them out. There was also a bottle of milk inside that was only good for a day. It had been manufactured a week ago.

When Ruth saw that date, she naturally thought of my corpse. It had only taken her a single glance to tell I had died a week ago.

The fact that my corpse had yet to rot was enough to show how much effort Ivan had put into preserving it. She shook her head, not wanting to think about why Ivan had done it.

I watched as she stood before my room. She hesitated for a long time before pushing the door open.

Clean, unfolded clothes were piled on my bed. She folded and put them away, but as she did so, she accidentally made something fall out of my cupboard.

I immediately recognized it as the ring I'd wanted to use when proposing to Ruth. She opened the box and stared at the ring for a few seconds. Then, she snapped it shut, looking irritated as she threw it back into the cupboard. Then, she left the room.

I followed her and heard her mutter angrily, "If you're going to keep this cold war going, you might as well not come home anymore. You can die outside for all I care!"

It was too bad she didn't know I was already dead.

…

The following morning, Ruth was aroused by her phone's ringtone. A street cleaner had found my body and had called the police. They soon arrived at the scene, as did Ruth. She immediately recognized it as the one she'd helped Ivan deal with.