Twenty-Six receipts of betrayal Novel novel Chapter 16

Switzerland’s first snow didn’t fall until early January.

Nicholas stepped out of the airport and stared at the white blanket covering everything for a long time.

This was his third time in this country.

And his last.

Once he had Elara’s ashes, he’d leave immediately. He’d never set foot here again.

He stood in the freezing wind for what felt like forever before finally forcing himself to move.

He flagged down a cab and gave the address.

The driver–middle–aged guy, kind face–turned around when he heard where Nicholas was going. His eyes went wide for a second.

“That’s… that’s for euthanasia. You sure about this? You’re so young. Why would you want to-”

Nicholas’s throat worked, but nothing came out.

He knew the guy meant well, but he had nothing left to say.

He just looked down, pretending he didn’t understand.

The driver studied him in the rearview mirror for another moment, sighed deeply, then put the car in drive.

The distance on the GPS slowly ticked down.

Nicholas’s chest kept getting tighter and tighter–like someone was wringing out a sponge, squeezing and twisting until it crumbled into powder and scattered across the floor.

It felt like it was snowing inside him too. Cold and hollow.

When the car stopped, he shoved a stack of bills at the driver and waved off the change, then pushed the door open.

Inside, a staff member approached immediately, asking if he had an appointment.

He looked around–the bright lobby, the pamphlets and posters everywhere–and suddenly the room started spinning.

He swayed hard.

The woman caught him just before he hit the floor. “Sir? Sir, do you need help?”

He doubled over, gasping for air, fumbling in his pocket with shaking hands until he found the piece of candy.

The flight attendant had slipped it into his jacket after he’d passed out at the airport, told him he needed to eat something.

But he couldn’t. Nothing stayed down. Everything tasted like rot the second it touched his tongue.

Even the candy just tasted bitter.

After a while, the darkness around the edges of his vision finally receded. His voice came out wrecked.

12:19

Twenty–Six Receipts of Betrayal: My Silence Was the Countdown to His Eternal Regret

14.4%

Chapter 16

“I’m here for someone. My wife.”

He pulled out his phone with trembling fingers and showed her a photo.

The girl in the picture was looking right at the camera, smiling sweetly.

The staff member stared at it for a long moment before recognition finally clicked. The girl who’d come in on Christmas.

Her expression shifted–understanding first, then confusion.

“Your wife? But… I’m pretty sure she marked ‘single‘ on her intake form. Are you certain?”

Nicholas said nothing. Just dug into his bag and pulled out their marriage certificate.

She checked out, scanning the document for what felt like an eternity before finally confirming his identity.

She helped him up–he could barely walk–and guided him toward the stairs, asking questions as they went.

“Just so you know… your wife passed on Christmas Day. She came in alone that morning. Why weren’t you with her?”

The question was a knife twisting into a wound that had barely stopped bleeding.

Nicholas didn’t know how to answer.

Should he tell her the truth? That he–HER HUSBAND–hadn’t known a damn thing?

Or should he lie one more time, here in the place where Elara had died?

He couldn’t do either.

So he just stayed silent.

The woman seemed to understand. She didn’t push.

When they reached the sixteenth floor, she helped him onto a couch, then disappeared into the records room.

Nicholas tilted his head back, staring up at the ceiling with exhausted, bloodshot eyes.

He didn’t know if people had souls after they died.

So he didn’t know–if Elara’s soul was still here somewhere, still lingering–what kind of expression she’d have seeing him show up now.

Would she be mocking him? Laughing bitterly? Silent? Resentful?

Probably all of it.

After all, until the moment she died, they had never dissolved their marriage.

He was the last thing she’d left behind in this world.

Elara had branded him with that title–widower–so he’d never forget.

Never forget that she was dead.

12:19

Twenty–Six Receipts of Betrayal: My Silence Was the Countdown to His Eternal Regret

14.7%

Chapter 17