All Chapters of No Peace in Life or Death: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The day I got out of prison, the sun was shining bright.A guard gave me a pat on the back and said, “Take care of yourself, start over.”The pat made me stumble a little, and I barely kept my balance. I picked up my bag and walked out.As soon as I stepped outside, I saw a tall man leaning against a car, dressed casually. It was Chris Carter, who was handsome and well put-together.I caught a glimpse of myself in a puddle on the ground. I was wearing an old, worn-out jacket from three years ago. I looked gaunt, my skin pale and sallow, a shadow of the vibrant person I used to be.My heart clenched, and I tightened my grip on the bag. I lowered my head, hoping to slip away unnoticed.But as I tried to sneak off, he finished his cigarette, crushed it under his foot, and walked over.“Emily York?” His voice was deep, with a trace of impatience.I instinctively took a step back. My whole body was trembling and I was feeling completely out of place.“You stink!” He covered his nose, his fa

My best friend, Rola Collins, rolled her eyes and said, “What do you even like about him? That constant scowl, like the world owes him a million bucks? Or the fact that he’s so uptight he practically buttons his uniform up to his chin?”Back then, I thought everything about him was perfect.“That’s not a scowl. It’s called being cool!“And he’s not uptight, he’s just reserved. Do you even know what that means?” I laughed as I turned her head toward Chris.He happened to glance over at us, and my face instantly turned red.Later, I found out he lived not far from me, so I started looking for excuses to catch rides with his family.The first time I asked, he agreed without much thought.The second time, he frowned and asked, “Doesn’t your family send a driver to pick you up, Emily?”I bit my lip, not wanting to admit that my parents only sent the driver for Lily. Nobody bothered to come for me.Chris noticed how uncomfortable I was and didn’t say anything more. But after a month

His eyes flickered with irritation.Before he could say anything, Lily cut in. “Chris, my parents and I had planned the trip in advance. We thought Emily could use some rest, so we left without her. She’s probably upset about that. Let me talk to her.”Chris’s anger seemed to ease a bit at her gentle words, but he still scoffed, “She’s not worth your time.”My fingers went numb.I forced a smile. “You’re right. I’m not.“I’ll stay out of your way. I’ll keep my distance from now on.”Hearing that, Chris’s expression darkened even more.He clenched his jaw and shouted, “Emily!”But I turned and ran, not waiting to hear the rest.All I could think about were those days in prison, pinned to the ground, swearing over and over again that I would never go near Chris again.I had made that promise, begged for mercy, but no one cared.My chest tightened as I gasped for air.Slowly, I sank to my knees.……Lily showed up at the bakery again.I tried to head to the kitchen, setting

Just then, Chris walked in. “Emily, three years in prison and you still haven’t learned your lesson? Are you really so desperate that you’re staging these run-ins just to get my attention?”His eyes were full of contempt. He actually thought I was plotting to cross paths with him on purpose.I wanted to say it wasn’t true, that I had nothing to do with the York family anymore.But no one cared what I had to say.They taunted, “Since you’re a waitress here, act like it. Take care of us, princess!”“Come on, drink up!”They lined up shots in front of me.They were egging me on to down them all, saying they wanted to see how far I would go to put on a show.When I didn’t move, Nate grabbed my chin and poured the liquor down my throat.I choked, tears spilling down my face.My heart pounded, and cold sweat dripped down my forehead.They had already forced three shots down my throat.The room buzzed with excitement as they cheered, wanting to see how much the “York family prince

Lily finally set her sights on Chris, but then he got engaged to me. No wonder she couldn’t stand it.Was that why she wanted to destroy my life?I looked at her, standing there with that cold, indifferent expression, like a devil in disguise.......I was alone in my hospital room.That actually worked in my favor.I looked out the window. I was on the third floor. It was not too high, but high enough.I opened the window and climbed up.“Emily!” Chris burst into the room just as I was about to jump.I turned and smiled at him, then stepped closer to the edge.He lunged at me, grabbing my hand, his face flushed with panic. “Emily, are you crazy?”“Let go, Chris.” I closed my eyes, feeling the breeze on my face.Chris didn’t know.My depression had gotten really bad.Death felt like the only way out.He held onto me with one hand, refusing to let go. His other hand gripped the window frame, cutting into his skin and drawing blood.It wasn’t until the firefighters below