When Mom Wants Me to Join Her in Death

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Claire's eyelids. They were swollen like walnuts and shadowed with dark circles she couldn't hide.

"Maeve! You're finally awake! You have no idea how terrified I was when Kamila called me. I've already lost Mom! I can't lose you too!"

She threw herself into my arms and sobbed like a child.

The doctor, who'd just walked in, couldn't help but say, "You two seem really close. Ms. Dawson, when you were sent to the ICU last night, your sister waited outside the entire night."

Hearing this, Claire pulled away from my arms. Her cheeks flushed. She wiped her tears and gave a sheepish smile.

I noticed that her arms were perfectly fine, while my right one was in a cast.

My heart sank. So, it wasn't some kind of mutual damage. Only her injuries would transfer to me.

By the door, Claire was already peppering the doctor with questions about how to take care of me.

With how worried she looked, anyone passing by would've assumed she cared for me deeply.

I hesitated for a second, then called her over. "Claire, go home and get some rest. If you get sick too, then I'll really have no one to look after me. The nurses and Kamila can take care of me here. Just listen to me, okay?"

When I saw the protest in her eyes, my voice grew stern.

She finally gave in and told me to call her right away if anything happened.

After Claire left, I asked the doctor to run a full workup on me, especially my heart. But the results weren't what I'd hoped for.

The report said I was perfectly healthy. My heart, in particular, looked flawless on every scan.

I checked the date. I had only three days left before the day I'd fall and break my ribs, according to my past life.

First, I ordered the security team to keep a close watch on Claire. Without my permission, she wasn't allowed to step outside the house.

Then, I took a red-eye flight overseas to consult the most renowned cardiologist I could find, but he still couldn't find a single thing wrong with me.

On the way back, I detoured through Havenria to consult the most renowned occult expert in the city, hoping he could explain what was happening to me.

He insisted there was nothing supernatural attached to me at all and told me to just go home and get some rest. The chest pain was probably just grief from losing my mom. He said that if it got worse, I should see a doctor.

Neither science nor the supernatural could explain what was happening to me. So, I boarded my flight home with worry weighing me down.

The whole way back, I replayed everything from my previous life, trying not to miss a single detail.

Even as I stepped out of the cabin, I was still wondering how that phenomenon, which neither science nor superstition could explain, had happened.

Just then, my phone rang, cutting off my thoughts.

On the other end, a panicked, trembling voice came through. "Maeve, Claire is gone!"

I stopped walking on the jet bridge.

In the next second, my foot missed the edge of the step and I went down hard.

Once again, I ended up bruised from head to toe, with five fractured ribs.