Abandoned at the Peak

Gerard and Olivia continued hanging out intimately with each other till nightfall. Only when a high fever suddenly broke out among a few people did Gerard remember me.

Before additional help and supplies arrived at the base camp, I was the only one who knew how to treat the patients and alleviate their fever symptoms.

Gerard began spamming my phone with countless calls. Since he couldn't reach me on my phone, he began texting me on WhatsApp. He threatened me by saying that I could forget about returning to the base camp ever again if I chose not to return right now.

The day Olivia flew back to the country also happened to be my birthday. The same thing had happened to me at home as well, for I had spammed Gerard's phone with countless calls.

After that, I found out that Gerard was actually picking Olivia up at the airport that day.

But I couldn't reach him no matter how many times I kept calling his number. In the end, I had to compromise by leaving Gerard a voice message that he must wake me up when he reached home so that I could heat dinner up for him.

Now that I thought about it, I sure was pathetic when I was still alive.

My parents were still waiting for the news of my impending rescue at the base camp. They had gone through the day without food, so they looked extremely pale and weak at the moment.

They supported each other as they stood where they were. Their figures were so frail and thin that a gust of wind could easily blow them off their feet.

"Please, Gerard! We're begging you! Please take your men and go look for Elly! She must be very scared right now!"

"Elly is terrified of the dark! Please, Gerard! Please save her!"

Olivia, who was intimidated by my parents' pleas, cowered instantly at the sight. Gerard quickly shielded her from my parents in response.

"Don't be scared, Olivia. Hey, you two! You're too immersed in your acting, aren't you? From the way I see it, you two have spoiled Elliana to no end! I can't believe you're going along with her shenanigans!"

My poor mother wailed at the top of her lungs. As for me, I kept circling in front of my parents while shrieking, "Mom! Dad! I'm here! I'm right here!"

I used all of my energy to scream at my parents. My hands kept phasing through their bodies the whole time, yet they could never feel my presence.

My tears dissipated as soon as they dropped to the ground. I could only watch everything unfold before my eyes desperately. Alas, I was too helpless to do anything about it.

Dad kept yelling my name hoarsely over and over again. His eyes soon slid shut before he collapsed like a ragdoll.

My parents didn't get any rest over the last 24 hours. The crushing sorrow, coupled with their altitude sickness, ended up crippling them despite being fueled by their need to look for me.

A frown marred Gerard's face as he summoned a medic over. Soon, my parents were carted into the makeshift hospital.

The moment my parents collapsed from screaming and wailing about me, Gerard finally fell silent.

There was a limit to how much one could act. It was impossible for me to put my parents in grave danger. Besides, they didn't look like they were acting at all.

Gerard raised his head to look at the snow mountain, which was located in the distance. His eyes were glued to the summit—the spot where I had died.

Then, he turned around to walk into his tent. There, he had someone bring out his mountaineering gear.

"Where are you going, Ger?" Olivia's sickly sweet voice echoed at that moment. "The weather conditions up in the mountains are very dangerous at the moment. What if something happens to you when you're climbing the mountain, Ger?

"The search-and-rescue team is almost here, but…" Olivia's voice faded into a few violent coughs.

She was extremely skilled when pulling off this tactic. Her sentences had yet to end, but her tears were already on the verge of falling. Once she let out a few coughs, she used the opportunity to collapse into Gerard's arms.

It was true that the journey up the snow mountain would be incredibly dangerous. At the same time, the weak and fragile Olivia could barely function without him. He was needed in the base camp as well, seeing as he was the leader.

"Ger, yesterday's incident was so terrifying! Although I'm still suffering from heart palpitations, I think I can ignore my discomfort once I start taking up chores in the camp.

"I can whip up some basic dishes, too! Why don't I prepare a meal for everyone in the cafeteria?"

Not only was Olivia independent and understanding, but she was also very capable and knew when to offer her help. Gerard felt that every positive adjective in this world described Olivia perfectly well.

To him, Olivia was a strong and independent woman who was needed in the base camp.

Gerard just smiled as he caressed Olivia's hair. After that, they hugged each other intimately.

Alas, Gerard had no idea that Olivia was a bad cook. At a time like this, when everyone was low on supplies, it'd be a waste of ingredients to let her cook.

On the other hand, everyone in the base camp loved my cooking. No one would turn down the dishes I made.

Although Gerard was young, he was already diagnosed with gastritis. I was the one in charge of planning and cooking his daily meals.

On top of that, Gerard had a strict dietary regime to follow as the leader of the mountain excursion squad. I was also the one in charge of his diet.

I wasn't just Gerard's wife—I was more like a dietitian and even a caretaker at times.

The staff members and patients who came over to grab their meals instantly showed their disgust and resentment toward the inedible food prepared by Olivia. They glared at her angrily in return.

Of course, Gerard wasn't spared from the crowd's anger as well, despite being the leader.

As Gerard stared at the pile of inedible junk and the angry mob before him, he finally recalled my existence. He began missing the food I made as well as the effort I had put into taking care of him. He missed the way I was able to take care of everyone at the base camp and not cause him any trouble at all.

That was right. My husband—the same man I had been taking care of for so long—was a selfish bastard through and through.

Before Gerard could dwell on his newfound emotions, a commotion could be heard coming from the outside. It turned out that the search and rescue team had returned from their quick excursion up the mountain.

After scanning around the camp, one of the team members spotted Gerard.

"We found your wife's corpse. We're sorry for your loss."