On the night of my 80th birthday, my husband of 55 years stabbed me 10 times, each blow fatal. After the final stab, he finally let go with satisfaction. The knife clattered to the floor. “Rachel Lee, I’m finally free of you,” he said. Pain spread throughout my body. I had no strength left to cry out. Bright red blood flowed from my heart onto the floor, staining my favorite floral jacket. Gabriel Gray stood before me, hunched over, carefully wiping the blood off the knife with his sleeve. At 81 years old, his movements were unsteady. I wanted to remind him that the blood left on his sleeve would still be evidence and he’d be convicted anyway. But I didn’t have the strength to open my mouth or lift a hand. Perhaps it was a final moment of clarity before death, but I saw visions of Gabriel at different ages before my eyes. 10-year-old Gabriel, 20-year-old Gabriel, all the way up to 81-year-old Gabriel. They all smiled at me and gently called me “Rachel.” But behind those smiles was a cold knife, piercing my heart. As I felt my body growing colder, Gabriel and I’s life together flashed before my eyes like a montage.
Gabriel and I had indeed been entangled for a lifetime. By the time I was ten, I was already the little girl who followed Gabriel around everywhere. Although we weren’t in the same elementary school, every holiday I would shamelessly go to Gabriel’s house to do homework together. Perhaps it was because my resentment was too strong, but after death my soul began to drift through various scenes of my interactions with Gabriel. Although I could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded, fortunately I could now hear Gabriel’s inner thoughts. Before my eyes was a little girl chewing on her pen and staring blankly at a difficult problem. She looked to be about 10 years old. Across from her sat a boy diligently working on his own problems. This was 10-year-old me and 11-year-old Gabriel. “Gabriel, how do you do this one? Can you teach me?” “I” finally gave up on the difficult problem and looked at the boy across from me with pleading eyes. He didn’t say anything. The air fell into a brief silence, but at that moment I heard his inner voice: “So annoying. She still can’t do two-digit addition and subtraction at this age. Why is she pretending?” Hearing those words, I froze in place. In my memories, the young Gabriel had been like a gentle older brother. Those harsh words would never have come out of his mouth. I had grown up without a father’s love, so I was more likely to show my vulnerable side to a boy my age. Seeing the boy hadn’t responded, the girl continued speaking. She pushed her workbook in front of him with a pitiful expression. “I really don’t know how to do it. I’m not lying.” “Just do your homework quietly,” the boy still didn’t look up at the girl. “So annoying. I wish she would leave already.” At the same time, I heard his inner voice speaking again. The scene ended with the girl leaving with red-rimmed eyes, her backpack slung over her shoulder. What had seemed like a heart-warming moment ended with such an abrupt and careless conclusion. The “stage” was now empty, with both the male and female leads gone. But as an audience member, I still couldn’t process what I had seen. Because I clearly remembered that I really had been stuck on those two-digit addition and subtraction problems back then. I never imagined Gabriel had been so annoyed with me even then. So why did he agree to my requests?
After a moment of silence, I could feel my soul being forcibly torn away. The white light became a vortex that swallowed my soul whole. When I came to, the first thing I saw was the asphalt road in front of the school gates. It was early summer then. The cicadas were buzzing loudly. The shadows of the evergreen trees dappled our bodies. Everything seemed too beautiful to be real. Gabriel was a year ahead of me. At this time we were in high school. “Gabriel, how are your studies going lately?” he asked. That day, my voice suddenly became halting and stumbling as I answered his question. I forgot what I said in the middle, but I ended with “I like you.” That day I confessed to Gabriel. But after hearing it, Gabriel only responded with an expressionless “Mm” and said nothing else. He was known for being a cold, aloof top student at school. So when I heard that “Mm”, I was overjoyed. He usually wouldn’t even acknowledge me, so maybe I had a chance? That’s what I thought. But now I heard Gabriel say in an impatient tone: “Can you stop following me around all the time? You’re like a fly.” I didn’t understand. I had only asked him one question. How had it turned into this? Although I couldn’t feel any physical pain, the place where my heart should be still ached. But the young woman before me was still immersed in her supposed happiness, coyly asking Gabriel: “So how have you been lately?” We rarely saw each other since Gabriel had moved. The young man paused in his steps. A gust of hot wind blew past him. I caught a glimpse of a blush on his face. “Fine,” he said. But I heard another cold voice in my ear saying: “It would be even better without you.” The young woman also stopped walking. Just as she was about to pull out the chocolate hidden behind her back, she was interrupted by a male voice. The owner of the voice slung his arm around Gabriel’s shoulder and said: “Come on, let’s go study.” Gabriel’s eyes lit up at that moment. Without responding to the girl behind him, he was about to link arms with his friend and leave. The girl’s beautiful confession had been abruptly cut off. Still unwilling to give up, she timidly asked: “Can I come find you during summer break after exams are over?” “Sure,” Gabriel’s retreating figure replied. The world froze again. At the same time, that cold voice appeared again: “This should get rid of her, right?” I was stunned for a long time. I never imagined that the man I had loved for nearly 70 years actually hated me so much. Thinking back on everything I had done, I still couldn’t find a reason for Gabriel to hate me.
Click-clack. The previously shattered world reassembled itself. This time we were at a college class reunion. At this point, “I” was being pressured by friends to play Truth or Dare. My luck wasn’t great – I kept drawing “Truth” cards. Having a crush on Gabriel seemed to be my secret. Even after four drinks, I still wasn’t willing to reveal it. When the wine glass pointed at me again, the cheering from the others seemed even louder than before. My best friend grabbed my hand. “We agreed, you can’t drink five glasses in a row.” I clutched my phone, my head a bit fuzzy from all the alcohol. The “Dare” I drew was: Call the first person on your contacts list and tell them “I’m drunk, can you come pick me up?” The ringing of the phone had everyone on edge. “Hello? What’s up?” It connected! Gabriel’s cool voice came through. Even though I knew Gabriel didn’t like me, my non-existent heart still skipped a beat as a disembodied soul. My friend nudged me and mouthed: Say it! Only then did I speak up coyly, my voice tinged with real drunkenness: “Gabriel, I’m drunk. Can you come pick me up?” My face visibly reddened. I was about to say something else when my friend snatched the phone and hung up. According to her, this was the way to hook someone – just enough ambiguity to be intriguing. Sitting on the couch, I clutched my phone tightly, my heart pounding. I wasn’t sure if Gabriel would come. Gabriel was a surgical resident who had just graduated two years ago. It could be said this was his busiest time. In the end, Gabriel didn’t come. The one who came was Luke, his classmate who had competed with him for top of the class. “No, don’t go with him.” When I saw Luke’s face, the defenses I had carefully built up suddenly crumbled. I tried desperately to grab myself, but my hands just passed through my body over and over. Only then did I realize I truly couldn’t do anything.
Unable to face the pain directly, I wanted to see what Gabriel was doing at that moment. Why did Luke come when I had called Gabriel? I floated out about two meters before being forcibly pulled back. After several attempts, the result was the same – I came to a conclusion that I couldn’t leave my past self. I didn’t want to watch the next scene. I crouched down and covered my head in pain, but I couldn’t block out the sounds. Accompanied by the noisy voices, painful memories were awakened. Images automatically floated through my mind. “She’s so pretty, how could Gabriel not want her?” Luke carried my half-drunk, half-conscious body out of the bar. As he looked me up and down, his hands started roaming over my body. “Ah! What are you doing?” My drunken self felt something groping my body. I opened my eyes to find a strange man trying to molest me. Luke gripped my hand tightly. I had no way to escape. I could only use my last bit of reason to take out my phone and dial Gabriel’s number. “Gabriel! Help me!” That pale, desperate cry for help was truly the only action my past self could take to help herself at that moment. At this moment, it was as if I had overcome my inner demons. I stood up and coldly watched the scene. Luke snatched the phone and tossed it aside. “Gabriel doesn’t even want you anymore. Why are you still calling him?” I floated over to their side, looking at my half-unconscious self who was in shock. I reached out to wipe away her tears, but my hand passed through her face again.
A force kicked Luke flying. He let out a cry of pain. Only then did I see the man approaching in the moonlight. When Gabriel arrived, Luke had already stripped me down to my underwear. “Gabriel, are you crazy…” “Get lost.” Gabriel dismissed Luke with one word. Gabriel looked at me, who had fallen into a deep sleep. He took off his coat and gently wrapped it around me before carrying me away. The scene froze again, leaving only a mess on the ground. The second half was like rewatching a movie. I focused on finding various details I hadn’t been aware of at the time. Like my dependence on Gabriel. Like my trust in Gabriel. Like how I couldn’t hear Gabriel’s inner voice. From when Gabriel entered until he left, I could only hear that one word: “Get lost.” Perhaps the situation was too urgent and he didn’t have time to think. The world reassembled once more. The clock ticked. This time we were at a wedding. I was holding Gabriel’s arm, my face filled with happiness. “Gabriel, we’re finally married.” This was 3 years after that drunken night. After I sobered up, I confessed to Gabriel again and he agreed. 3 years had given us time to stabilize our careers. The day before, I had proposed marriage and Gabriel had gone to get the paperwork done the very next day. I knew Gabriel was a workaholic, but I didn’t want him working too hard, so I suggested to him: “Gabriel, can you come home for dinner in the future? And don’t work yourself too hard.” Gabriel just frowned slightly, then his expression smoothed out again. After a long while, he finally spoke: “Okay.” I happily held Gabriel’s arm tighter with one hand, while holding up our marriage certificate to look at in the sunlight with the other. “Gabriel, do you think if my past self knew I really married you, she would be impressed with me now?” The sound suddenly stopped. The scene paused on the marriage certificate backlit by the sun. I didn’t know what this scene was for. I only knew that I truly couldn’t hear Gabriel’s inner voice anymore. In those few seconds when he frowned and was silent, my world was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The next few scenes had very short time intervals between them. The clips were also very short, with similar content – me quietly waiting for my husband after making dinner, and the doorbell ringing as Gabriel arrived home on time. Over these 55 years together, Gabriel could absolutely be called a dutiful, responsible husband. He was considerate to his wife, successful in his career, and never philandered. It’s just that this wife could have been anyone. Until Gabriel stabbed me to death, we had never been intimate or had children. The familiar white light flashed. A table and two people appeared before me. The lights were dimmed, with only candlelight flickering. This was Gabriel’s 30th birthday. I was very afraid of childbirth. My only relative, my mother, had also passed away from cancer. There were no direct relatives left to pressure me about having children. Gabriel’s mother had gently brought up the topic of having children multiple times, saying it would be good to have someone to take care of us when we were older. This time, I brought it up: “Gabriel, do you like children?” I had cut my steak halfway. I put down my utensils and looked at Gabriel’s face in the dim candlelight. Gabriel swallowed his bite of steak. “I don’t like them.” I hadn’t noticed before when I was blinded by love, but now I really felt Gabriel’s manners were too good. I could clearly see the disgust on Gabriel’s face for a split second before he looked up. Perhaps seeing my probing expression, that disgust was replaced by indifference. He could even hate my breathing, yet he still responded to me, not letting me feel he didn’t care about me, giving me enough dignity and fantasy. The play had just reached its climax, and the actors continued performing. I lowered my head, not daring to look at Gabriel’s eyes. “Then is it okay if we don’t have children?” There was no response. I lowered my head in shame. Soon, I felt a force on my shoulder, then a hand caressing my face. Gabriel bent down, his breath tickling my ear: “If you don’t like it, we won’t have any.” “I’ll talk to my mom about it.” I happily grabbed his large hand, pulling us even closer together. “Mm, thank you Gabriel. Happy birthday.” As if to repay him, I made him a promise: “I’ll celebrate every birthday with you from now on.”
I The final scene was of interlocked hands, like a couple deeply in love. I stared intently at the image, not noticing any flaws. After that day, Gabriel’s mother never brought up the topic of children with me again. I had thought Gabriel was respecting my wishes, but now it seems he probably couldn’t wait to be rid of me. But why didn’t he divorce me and instead lived with me until we were 80? A piece of information flashed through my mind. It wasn’t that I couldn’t hear Gabriel’s inner voice anymore, but that my words no longer provoked any reaction from him. He didn’t even feel disgust towards me anymore. The scene before me blurred, then came back into focus. Surprisingly, it was 81-year-old Gabriel wiping the knife. This was when I went to get the cake! Gabriel was alone at home. He sat in front of the coffee table, carefully wiping the knife. Each movement was very gentle, as if he was handling some precious treasure. The knife gleamed as he polished it, reflecting his wrinkled face. This time I could hear Gabriel speaking again. “My darling, my precious darling.” “My darling, my precious darling.” He seemed to have gone mad, repeating this phrase over and over. The door opened with a click. I had just picked up the cake from the floor when I was startled by the gleaming knife in Gabriel’s hand. “Gabriel… there’s a knife here to cut the cake.”
I walked forward slowly and with difficulty, holding the cake. I didn’t understand why he had suddenly picked up a knife. Gabriel didn’t speak, but approached me step by step with the knife. In his mind, he was still saying: “My darling, my precious darling.” Watching this scene sent chills down my non-existent spine. Until Gabriel pushed my physical self to the ground and plunged the knife straight into my heart. As a surgeon, Gabriel aimed precisely to kill me. But his advanced age seemed to have weakened his strength. He pulled out the knife, bright red blood splattering onto his face. Gabriel paid no attention to it and raised the knife again, stabbing viciously into the same spot. After ten stabs, the old woman lying on the ground had long since stopped breathing. Only then did Gabriel let out a sigh of relief. He slowly stood up, supporting himself on the sofa. The knife clattered to the floor in the pool of blood. “Rachel Lee, I’m finally free of you.”These words he spoke aloud.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294562”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #玄幻Fantsy
Leave a Reply