I suffer from severe night blindness. For three years, my fiancé Evan promised that he would always be my eyes when I was in darkness. It wasn't until we were traveling down the mountain that we encountered some treacherous peaks. Just because my first love casually mentioned having a headache, he abandoned me without hesitation. "I can't see anything, please don't leave me!" I pleaded desperately. He sneered, "You don't need to pretend. It's just because you're jealous. You're being unreasonable." After saying that, he turned and left. In the bitter cold where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, I lost my footing and fell more than 20 meters off a cliff, shattering to pieces. After I died, I became a lonely ghost and watched helplessly as his first love hacked into my social media account, posting fake vacation updates to convince Evan that I was just being unreasonable and throwing a tantrum. The heartbroken parents confronted her, and he pushed my mother to the ground for his first love, causing a fatal intracranial hemorrhage. He cruelly destroyed my entire family without ever showing the slightest remorse. It wasn't until the police slammed the blood-stained engagement ring and the cold morgue photo onto the interrogation table and told him about my death that he was informed. This time, he, who was always arrogant, broke down and begged me to come back. Chapter 1 Audrey POV: On the night I fell to my death, my fiancé abandoned me alone on a steep, undeveloped canyon cliff because his first love, his white moonlight, was complaining of a headache. I suffer from severe night blindness. Every time the sun sets, my world is plunged into darkness, and I am completely blind. Evan Lane knew this better than anyone else. Three years ago, when he put the engagement ring on my finger, he held me tightly in his arms and made a solemn vow. “Audrey, I will always be your eyes,” he said to me. "You will never be afraid of the dark again." Back then, I was completely open and honest, and I believed it without a doubt. However, everything changed three weeks ago when his first love, Bianca Baron, returned from Europe. Five years ago, Bianca dumped him without looking back in order to pursue her modeling career in Paris. He was devastated by this, and I stayed by his side, comforted him, and helped him get out of his grief. He also swore to me that he would never care about that woman again. But from the moment she stepped back into the city, Evan was like a different person. Taking advantage of the Independence Day holiday, Evan insisted on organizing a sunset hike, choosing the remote and rugged "Deadly Ridge" as the route—a place full of loose rocks and cliffs, with no guardrails along the way. He also invited his sister, Carla Lane, who is also my best friend since college. They even called Bianca. I didn't want to go. I told Evan that hiking on those treacherous trails at dusk was too dangerous for me. But Evan just waved his hand impatiently, ignoring my worries. "Audrey, can't you stop being so antisocial?" he yelled at me irritably in the kitchen. “Biancarlo made time to come with us. Don’t you have hiking poles? And I’ll be with you the whole time.” Kara rolled her eyes and grabbed her backpack: "Hey Audrey, can you stop being such a spoilsport? You're acting like you can't take care of yourself. Who are you trying to get attention with?" To make Evan happy, I had no choice but to swallow my fear and go with him. As we reached the cliff halfway up the mountain, the orange-red sunset on the horizon gradually faded into a dark purple. The mountain road narrowed into a dirt and rock path less than a meter wide, with a jagged, bottomless abyss on the left. As the shadow lengthened, my heart pounded faster and faster, and my chest tightened. My vision began to blur, and the edge of the path beneath my feet gradually turned into a patch of black snowflakes. Suddenly, Bianca stopped and covered her forehead. She leaned softly into Evan's arms and began to whimper softly. "Evan, my head hurts so much..." Bianca murmured weakly. "The altitude is too high, I feel so dizzy... I think I'm about to faint." Evan's face changed instantly, his eyes filled with panic. He quickly put his arm around Bianca's waist and held her tightly in his arms. "Hang in there, Bianca, I'm here." Evan's voice was incredibly gentle, a tenderness I hadn't heard in months. He turned to go down the mountain and instructed Kara: "Carla, grab her bag, let's go back to the parking lot now." A wave of panic gripped my throat. I frantically reached out and grabbed Evan's coat sleeve. “Evan, please don’t leave me,” I pleaded, my voice trembling uncontrollably. "Look at the sky, the sun is about to set. In ten minutes, it will be pitch black, and I can't walk on this road by myself!" Evan forcefully swung his arm and roughly pulled my hand away. “Audrey, stop being unreasonable!” Evan’s voice was cold and impatient. “Bianca has suddenly fallen ill! She has a history of severe migraines. I need to take her down the mountain to the car to take her medication.” "Then take me with you!" Tears welled up in my eyes as I pleaded desperately. "I'll hold your backpack, as long as I can hold your hand!" “You walk as slowly as a snail,” Kara interrupted me coldly, glaring at me with disgust. “Bringing you along will only hold us back and make Bianca suffer more! You sit on that big rock and wait a while. Once Bianca is settled in the car, Evan will climb up to pick you up.” Evan nodded indifferently: "Stay put, Audrey. I'll be back in forty minutes. Don't move." Before I could say another word, the three of them turned and quickly walked down the mountain. I stood frozen on that narrow, steep dirt road. Just a few minutes later, the last rays of sunlight disappeared completely behind the mountain ridge. The darkness did not spread slowly like a shadow, but rather like a heavy, thick black wall that suddenly pressed me down. Night blindness completely swallowed up the world in front of me. I can't see the rocks behind me. I can't see the sheer cliff beside me. I can't even see the hiking boots I'm wearing. The biting mountain wind howled through the canyon, easily tearing through my thin trench coat. My legs buckled and I collapsed to my knees, pressing my hands firmly against the cold, rough gravel, terrified that the slightest movement would send me tumbling off the cliff. Thirty minutes have passed. An hour has passed. Two hours have passed. The temperature plummeted to four or five degrees Celsius, and the chill was bone-chilling. My teeth were chattering uncontrollably. I had been huddled in the pile of rubble for a long time, and my legs had long since gone numb from the cold. My phone vibrated in my pocket, displaying a low battery warning. With trembling, stiff fingers, I pulled out my phone. The glaring screen light made my vision blur even more, but I still pressed Evan's speed dial button by feel. The phone rang four times before it was answered. "What is it now, Audrey?" Evan's voice was loud and irritating. In the background, there was the crisp sound of glasses clinking and cheerful, melodious music. I heard Bianca's sweet, soft laughter and Kara's unrestrained laughter. They weren't in the parking lot at the foot of the mountain at all. They were in the restaurant. “Evan…” I choked out into the microphone, my voice frozen and broken. "Where are you? It's pitch black here, I can't see anything... I'm freezing to death, please come and get me..." Bianca's sweet yet sarcastic voice came from the other end of the phone: "Oh dear, is Audrey still playing the victim and acting weak? Tell her we ordered baked lobster with cheese." Kara chuckled in response: "Tell her, if you're so capable, take a ride-hailing service up the mountain to find us, haha!" Evan let out a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone; his patience had run out. "Audrey, haven't you made enough of a scene?" "Evan, I'm not making a scene!" I screamed in terror. "You promised you'd come back for me! You know I have night blindness! I'm stuck on the edge of a cliff and can't move!" “Shut up, Audrey!” Evan snapped, his tone harsh and cruel. "I've had enough of you using your fake night blindness as an excuse to control my life and ruin every single trip!" "I wasn't pretending!" “You’re an adult,” Evan said coldly. "Turn on your phone's flashlight and roll down the mountain yourself. We're having dinner at the resort. If you want to eat, come down yourself. If you want to put on airs, then you can just stay up there and die." "Evan, don't hang up! Please! My phone only has four percent battery left—" "Beep..." The call ended. The screen went black instantly, and the phone shut down completely. The deathly silence of the empty canyon instantly swallowed me up. A deep, unfathomable, agonizing pain spread rapidly through my chest. He's not coming back at all. He abandoned me here, leaving me to fend for myself. The howling wind grew even more fierce, rustling the withered bushes beside the path. I knew that if I sat on the mountain on such an extremely cold night, I would die of hypothermia before dawn. I must save myself. I used both my hands and feet to crawl forward with difficulty, clinging to the cold mud. I felt around with my palms among the sharp pebbles, trying to pinpoint the center of the mountain path. His palms were cut by sharp stones, bleeding profusely, with skin torn and flesh exposed. I crawled forward three steps, enduring the pain. My left hand reached forward again, searching for solid ground, but all I touched was empty air. The loose gravel below his knees collapsed with a heart-stopping crack. My body suddenly tilted to the side. I frantically tried to grab any branch or protruding rock, but my fingertips only futilely scraped across the bare, loose soil. The relentless force of gravity pulled me down into the abyss. I fell into the boundless darkness, my body crashing heavily against the rugged, steep rock face. The leg bone and ribs snapped instantly, producing a crisp, ear-piercing cracking sound. After tumbling down a vertical rock wall more than 20 meters high, I crashed hard onto the dry, cold rocky beach at the bottom of the valley. The violent impact blew all the air out of my lungs. Hot, viscous blood gushed from the top of his head, pooling into a puddle of blood below his neck. I can't move my arm. I can't breathe. A deep, rumbling sound suddenly came from above the canyon, echoing throughout the entire valley. The city's Independence Day fireworks display has begun. Several miles away, brilliant red, dazzling gold and emerald green streaks of light pierce the night sky, their faint glow illuminating the floating clouds above the canyon. With my dying, unfocused eyes, I gazed up at that fleeting, brilliant light. I devoted three years of my youth to loving Evan Lane with all my heart. Tonight, I paid for his betrayal with my own life. My heart gave one last, weak twitch before stopping completely.

Audrey POV: The instant my pulse stopped beating, my soul detached from my broken and battered body. I can no longer feel any pain. I floated more than a meter above the pebbly stream bed, looking down at my own corpse. My limbs were twisted at an extremely bizarre angle. My favorite white trench coat has been soaked in blood and turned dark red. My eyes remained wide open, staring blankly at the empty night sky. A strange pull came from the air, drawing my soul upwards. In an instant, my gaze shifted from the dark ravine to the open-air terrace of the "Viewpoint Villa" five kilometers away, where a heater was lit. Evan was sitting at a wooden table, with string lights casting a warm glow overhead. A bottle of expensive Pinot Noir was chilled in an ice bucket beside him. He stared intently at his phone, his brow furrowed and his face grim. “She turned off her phone,” Evan muttered under his breath, slamming his phone down on the table with a loud “thud.” "She's always like this. Whenever things don't go her way, she disappears and acts like a victim." Bianca was standing right next to him, Evan's heavy leather jacket draped over her bare shoulders. She reached out her hand, which had been meticulously manicured, and gently placed it on Evan's forearm. “Evan, why don’t you drive back and go see her?” Bianca said softly, her voice full of affected gentleness and guilt. "I feel so bad. If I hadn't had such a bad headache, you wouldn't have left her up there all alone. It's all my fault..." Carla scoffed and waved her fork dismissively. "Bianca, don't take all the blame on yourself. Audrey did this on purpose to upset you." Kara took a sip of her cocktail and leaned back comfortably in her chair. "She's used night blindness as an excuse a hundred times. Remember last Thanksgiving? Just because it was getting dark, she refused to help clean the backyard. She's just using her illness as leverage to keep Evan by her side." Evan nodded slowly, his expression turning cold and hard. “You’re right,” Evan said. “I’ve spoiled her too much over the past three years. Every time she feels insecure, I have to drop everything to comfort her. Tonight, I’m not going to indulge her like that.” I floated beside their dining table, gazing indifferently at everything before me. My thoughts drifted back to half a year ago. That evening, I tripped over a broken curb near our townhouse and severely sprained my ankle. I sat on the cold sidewalk, tears streaming down my face, calling Evan, feeling lost and unable to see the road signs because of my night blindness. Evan was playing tennis with his friends at the time. He told me not to be so dramatic and not to make a big deal out of it, and promised to come over after playing ball, but he left me alone on the cold, hard road for two whole hours until a kind neighbor helped me home. At that time, because I loved him, I chose to forgive him. I thought he was just careless. But now I finally understand the truth. He wasn't careless at all. He simply doesn't care whether I live or die. Evan picked up his phone again and dialed my number once more. A cold, mechanical voice immediately came through the receiver: "The number you dialed is temporarily unavailable." Evan gave a cold laugh at the screen. "Fine, let her freeze up there and reflect on just how ridiculous she is." "I reckon in another hour, she'll be crying and sobbing as she walks down the mountain, hoping you'll apologize to her," Kara laughed. “Evan, you absolutely must not give in this time and let her take a taxi home by herself.” I looked down at Kara's gloating face. Two years ago, Kara was dumped by her scumbag boyfriend and abandoned in a neighborhood with extremely poor security at two in the morning. Evan was away on a business trip at the time. Kara called me hysterically for help. Although I'm afraid of walking alone at night, and even more afraid of driving at night, I still spent three hundred dollars to call an emergency car and accompanied the driver all the way to find her and take her back to my apartment. I cooked her a hot meal, did her laundry, and held her as she sobbed uncontrollably, gently comforting her. I treat her like my own sister. And now, she sits here leisurely, drinking her wine, mocking my death. “Let’s go set off fireworks,” Bianca said, tilting her head back, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, and giving Evan a sweet smile. "Evan, you promised me you'd set off sparklers with me before midnight." The cold expression on Evan's face melted instantly, turning into a gentle and doting smile. "Okay, Bianca. Whatever makes you happy." Evan stood up, paid the bill, and led Bianca and Kara to the open observation deck at the back of the restaurant. He took a box of sparklers and fireworks out of the trunk. He lit a long, handheld sparkler and handed it to Bianca. Brilliant sparks burst and bloomed in the night sky, illuminating their smiling faces. Evan embraced Bianca from behind, resting his chin gently on her shoulder, as they watched together as the magnificent fireworks burst forth in the dark canyon sky. Five kilometers away, deep in the pitch-black ravine, the same firelight flickered faintly, casting a weak and swaying afterimage on my dead, blood-stained face.

Audrey POV: The morning sun rose over the mountains, painting the sky in pale shades of gold. I hovered above Evan' s black SUV as he drove back into the city. Bianca sat comfortably in the passenger seat, resting her feet on the dashboard. That seat had always been mine. Evan had custom-installed a padded headrest there because of my chronic neck tension. Now, Bianca adjusted the vanity mirror and reapplied her lip gloss without a care in the world. Kara sat in the back, scrolling through her phone. Evan glanced at his phone mounted on the dashboard vent. There were still no calls and no messages from me. His jaw tightened with visible annoyance. He tapped the screen and sent three rapid text messages to my number. "Audrey, your little silent treatment isn't going to work." "You ruined Bianca' s welcome weekend with your childish stunt." "When you decide to stop acting like a spoiled brat and come home, you owe Bianca a formal apology." None of the messages delivered. Kara leaned forward between the front seats. "She probably went straight to her parents' house to cry to Uncle Garry and Aunt Deb. You know how she always runs to them." "Let her," Evan said coldly. "Her parents always baby her. That' s why she thinks the world revolves around her eyes." Bianca turned her head toward Evan, letting out a soft sigh. "Evan, I feel so drained. Could we grab breakfast at that French bakery you used to take me to?" "Of course," Evan replied instantly. Ten minutes later, they pulled up to Le Petit Bistro downtown. Evan walked inside and returned with a box of warm almond croissants and two cups of fresh vanilla lattes. Almond croissants were my absolute favorite pastry. Whenever I had a bad day, Evan used to wake up at six in the morning to stand in line to buy them for me. Today, he handed the warm box directly to Bianca, gently wiping a crumb from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. "Eat up, Bianca. You need your strength." After breakfast, Evan drove to the luxury three-story townhouse we had shared for the past two years. He unlocked the front door and held it open for Bianca. "Make yourself at home," Evan told her. Bianca walked into our living room, looking around with a critical gaze. She kicked off her heels and slipped her feet into my soft pink house slippers by the entryway. Then she walked toward the floating staircase and stopped, frowning down at the baseboards. Along every step and hallway baseboard, small, warm-toned LED motion-sensor lights were installed. Evan had personally spent an entire weekend measuring and wiring those lights two years ago so that I would never trip if I had to walk to the kitchen at night. "Evan, what are these tacky little lights everywhere?" Bianca asked, scrinkling her nose in disgust. "They ruin the modern aesthetic of the wood flooring. They look like cheap runway markers." Kara chimed in immediately from the couch. "Audrey forced him to put them in. She claims she can't even walk to the bathroom without a full lighting grid." Evan looked at the lights on the floor, his brow furrowing with sudden irritation. "I' ll get rid of them." Evan pulled out his phone and immediately called a local renovation contractor. "Hey, Mark? I need you to send a crew over to my townhouse this afternoon. Rip out all the low-level motion sensor lights along the stairs and the main hallways. Patch and repaint the baseboards. Yes, today." Our elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, walked out from the kitchen with a laundry basket. She stopped in her tracks, looking at Evan in complete shock. "Mr. Lane, you can't remove those lights," Mrs. Gable said firmly, her voice trembling with concern. "Miss Audrey needs them. If she comes home in the evening, she won't be able to see the stairs. She could fall and break her neck!" Evan glared at the housekeeper with icy disdain. "Mrs. Gable, you are paid to clean, not to give opinions on interior design." "But Mr. Lane-" "If Audrey doesn't like it, she doesn't have to come back," Evan snapped. "In fact, go upstairs now and pack up all of Audrey's personal belongings from the master bedroom and move them to the basement. Bianca will be staying in the master suite while she looks for an apartment." Mrs. Gable stood frozen, her eyes wide with disbelief, but Evan' s harsh glare forced her to turn and head upstairs. Two hours later, two construction workers arrived with crowbars and power drills. They began violently prying the LED strips from the baseboards. The wood cracked and splintered, leaving jagged holes and exposed wires along the walls. I floated in the center of the living room, watching the lights that once represented Evan' s love for me get tossed into a black plastic trash bag. Just as the workers finished tearing out the last strip on the stairs, Evan' s phone rang loudly. The caller ID displayed: Canyon County Sheriff's Department. Evan answered, putting the phone to his ear with an annoyed sigh. "Evan Lane speaking." "Mr. Lane, this is Detective Miller from the Canyon County Sheriff' s Office," a deep, solemn voice came over the speaker. "We are calling regarding Audrey Middleton. Search and rescue teams recovered the body of an unidentified young female at the base of Dead Man' s Ridge early this morning. We found personal items nearby belonging to Miss Middleton. We need you to come down to the county morgue immediately for identification."