When the Wolves Devoured My Remains

My husband still didn’t know I was dead. I had died a gruesome, agonizing death, and wild wolves tore my body apart. My phone had shattered on the rocks below. He couldn't reach me to demand answers even if he tried. All of this happened because his childhood sweetheart invited us on a nighttime hike to watch the sunrise. During the climb, she tripped and fell. With tearful eyes, she blamed me, claiming I had shoved her. In a fit of blind rage, my husband abandoned me in the middle of nowhere on that pitch-black mountain trail. I panicked and tried to run after them, but I lost my footing in the dark and plunged off the edge of the cliff. Now, my spirit hovered above him, watching his brow furrow in irritation. Too bad for him. He would never find me again. The call connected, but only a cold, automated female voice answered: "The number you have dialed is currently turned off..." Logan frowned, pulled the phone back, and checked the screen. It was definitely my number. Why was it off? Refusing to give up, he dialed again, only to receive the exact same automated response. Annoyed, Logan tossed the phone onto the bed. All he had done was leave her halfway down the trail. Whether she hiked to the summit for the sunrise or walked back to the car, it wouldn't have taken her long. Yet here she was, throwing another dramatic tantrum. If she hadn't pushed Chloe and sprained Chloe's ankle, would he have ever gotten that angry? Chloe had already said she wouldn't hold a grudge, yet Elena had the nerve to act like the victim. The more Logan thought about it, the angrier he got. Whenever they fought in the past, Elena would always come back and apologize within two days without fail. She really thought she could act tough this time. Fine. If she wasn't going to apologize, he wasn't going to reach out to her either. He wanted to see just how long Elena could keep this up. A distinct ringtone chimed from the bed, and the irritation on Logan's face instantly softened. He picked up, his voice turning gentle. "Chloe? How’s your ankle feeling?" Chloe gave a soft murmur before asking, "Did Elena come home yet? It's been so long, and she hasn't reached out to either of us. I'm really worried about her." Remembering that Elena dared to shut off her phone and leave Chloe worrying, anger flared in Logan's eyes once more. "Don't worry about her. She had the guts to push you on that mountain. It's time I teach her a lesson and break that nasty attitude of hers." "By the way, have you eaten yet? I had Martha make some ginseng chicken soup for you. It'll help your ankle heal faster." Chloe giggled happily over the line. Watching them act so sweet together, I let out a bitter laugh as I hovered beside Logan. Chloe had only twisted her ankle. She could walk on it without any real trouble, but in Logan's eyes, it was as if she needed an amputation. Not only did he insist she stay in bed all day, but he also had Martha cook three meals a day so he could personally deliver them to her apartment. I remembered when I suffered from debilitating menstrual cramps, lying in bed drenched in cold sweat. Martha had only made me a cup of warm brown sugar ginger tea, and Logan had scoffed, calling me dramatic. "Chloe gets her period too, and she never makes a scene like this. Stop being so needy." Yet now, Chloe sprained her ankle, and he treated her like she belonged in a wheelchair. Love—and the lack of it—was always written in the smallest details. Martha ladled the hot soup into a thermos, handed it to Logan, and asked quietly, "Mr. Vance, Mrs. Vance still hasn't come back. Usually, whenever she gets upset with you, she's home by the next day, but now..." Logan glared up at her. The icy look in his eyes instantly silenced Martha, and she turned around, hurrying back into the kitchen. Even our housekeeper worried about where I was, yet Logan didn't care in the slightest. All he cared about was pampering Chloe. I drifted behind Logan as he got into his car and drove over to Chloe's place. Chloe was lying in bed, scrolling on her phone. Seeing Logan walk in, she smiled excitedly and tried to slide out of bed. The second her feet touched the floor, she wobbled and tumbled forward. Logan rushed over and caught her in his arms, his tone full of scolded affection. "Your foot isn't healed yet! Why are you trying to walk? What if it gets worse? Do I really need to stay by your side twenty-four hours a day?" It sounded like a reprimand, but his eyes were dripping with devotion. Chloe nestled deeper into his chest and pouted. "I was just so excited to see you! I won't do it again." Logan lifted Chloe back into bed, tucked her under the blankets, and opened the thermos. Her ankle was hurt, not her arms, yet Logan insisted on spoon-feeding her the soup. "Logan, my hands are fine," Chloe protested gently, reaching for the spoon. He gently pushed her hand away. "You're a patient right now, and patients need to be taken care of." Chloe gave in, opening her mouth obediently.I always assumed ghosts couldn't feel physical pain, but watching them together sent sharp, searing aches straight through my chest. I remembered the time Logan kicked me out of his car in the pouring rain just so he could rush to the airport to pick up Chloe. By the time I managed to hail a cab and get home, I was soaked to the bone and burning up with a dangerously high fever. Martha had spent half the night dabbing my forehead with damp towels and trying to get medicine into me until Logan finally came home. Martha handed him the fever reducer, frantic. "Mrs. Vance is unconscious, and she won't swallow the pills." And what had Logan said? "If she won't swallow them, leave her alone. What am I supposed to do about it?" "It's just a fever. Nobody dies from a simple cold." He complained that my body smelled like sweat and turned around, walking into the guest room to sleep. If I had let my heart die that night and walked away from him, would I still be alive right now? Sadly, there were no second chances. Logan patiently fed Chloe the entire bowl of soup, coaxed her to sleep, and only then sat at the nearby desk to open his laptop. He was actually going to stay by her side all night. A hollow laugh escaped me. My marriage had been an absolute joke, and I was the biggest fool of all. Logan never allowed me to disrupt his work. He never tolerated me asking him to stay with me just because I felt sick. He always said he wasn't a doctor. If I was sick, I should go to a hospital instead of calling him, because his presence wouldn't make the pain go away. Yet here he was, working from Chloe's bedroom just because she twisted her ankle. My nose stung, and cold, phantom tears slid down my cheeks. I had always known he didn't love me. I had just refused to believe it. Now, death had finally forced me to face reality. Chloe's sleep was restless. She began tossing and turning, mumbling under her breath. Logan closed his laptop and hurried to her bedside. Chloe suddenly turned and clung tightly to his arm. "No... please, don't! Stop!" "Chloe? Chloe?" Logan gently patted her shoulder, trying to wake her. Her brow knit together tightly, fine beads of sweat forming across her forehead as if she were in agony. With a sharp gasp, she jerked awake. "Logan!" Seeing him right beside her, she threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. "I had a nightmare... I dreamed about Elena pushing me. It was terrifying! If the ground hadn't been flat right there, she would have shoved me straight off the cliff!" "I... I swear I never wanted to take you away from her! I just... I just wanted us to be friends..." She burst into sobs. Logan stroked her hair gently. "Shh, it's okay. It was just a dream. It's over." "You're safe. You just twisted your ankle, and I already punished her for what she did." "Don't cry. I'll call her right now and make her come here to apologize to you." After comforting the trembling girl in his arms, Logan grabbed his phone from the nightstand and dialed my number again. The same automated voice replied that the phone was turned off. Logan clicked off the call in disgust. "Elena is completely out of line. Shoving you was bad enough, and now she refuses to even answer my calls! I've spoiled her rotten!" Chloe looked at him with reddened eyes. "Logan, maybe Elena is just upset that you left her on the mountain. Girls are afraid of the dark, and you took her flashlight away." Logan sneered. "I didn't take her phone, did I? Phones have flashlights. Is she too stupid to use her own screen?" What Logan didn't know was that on a pitch-black mountain trail, a tiny phone flashlight couldn't illuminate the path at all. Worse, my battery had been almost completely drained. Chloe had suddenly called us that night, demanding to watch the sunrise. I didn't want to go, but Logan called me a buzzkill. He insisted that since Chloe wanted to go, we had to accompany her. After all, it wasn't an everyday thing—just this once. He even claimed that bringing me along was to give me peace of mind, proving there was nothing inappropriate between him and Chloe.Logan dialed his assistant, Nathan. "Get Elena over to Chloe's place right now to apologize! Tell her that if she refuses, she can pack her bags and stop calling herself my wife!" Chloe suppressed a smirk and patted his arm soothingly. "Logan, don't be too hard on her. When she gets here, speak to her gently. I don't really need a formal apology anyway." Logan looked down at her. "No way. She's apologizing to you today. There's a limit to throwing tantrums, and she's crossed it." A few minutes later, Nathan called back. "Mr. Vance... Mrs. Vance isn't at her condo." Nathan meant the apartment I had bought under my own name. Ever since Chloe returned to the country, Logan and I fought constantly over her. Once, Logan brought Chloe to stay at our house. When I protested vehemently, Logan snapped at me: "I bought this house. I can invite whoever I want to stay here. If you can't stand it, get out!" So, I bought that condo. The longest I ever stayed there was three days. Logan paused, confused. Aside from that condo, I had nowhere else to go. For the past seven years, my entire world had revolved around him. I didn't even have any close friends left to confide in. Where could I possibly be? Chloe chimed in innocently, "Elena really shouldn't have checked into a hotel just to make us worry." Her words instantly stoked Logan's fury. "Run a search. Find out every single hotel Elena might have booked!" "She thinks turning off her phone and hiding in a hotel will keep me from finding her? She's dead wrong!" After hanging up, Chloe continued playing the sweet peacemaker. "Logan, please don't be mad. What Elena did was wrong, but she only did it to get your attention!" Logan let out a cold laugh. "Get my attention? Does she think she's a three-year-old child?" Nathan pulled every connection Logan had, searching through hotel registries across the entire city. But there wasn't a single record of me checking in anywhere. To make sure nothing was missed, he even checked budget motels. Still nothing. Uneasy, he called Logan back. "Mr. Vance... we couldn't find any hotel records under Mrs. Vance's name." Chloe gasped. "Did she... go out of town on a trip?" Watching Chloe's performance, I felt sick. Every single time, just a casual remark from her was enough to send Logan into a rage, turning all his suspicion and cruelty onto me. Logan was the CEO of a massive company, the head of the Vance family, yet he couldn't tell truth from lies. He blindly believed whatever Chloe fed him. And this was the man I had loved for seven whole years. Chloe had clearly tripped on her own feet, yet she claimed I shoved her. No matter how desperately I pleaded my innocence, Logan refused to listen. He snatched my purse, took my flashlight, and told me to find my own way back down. He knew better than anyone how terrified I was of the dark. I couldn't even sleep at night without a nightlight on. He carried Chloe down the trail, walking so fast. Without a flashlight, I couldn't keep up. I stumbled along, crying out his name, trying desperately to follow the sound of his footsteps. In my panic, I took a wrong step in the dark and fell off the edge of the cliff. I never imagined that even after my death, Chloe would still be stoking the flames in front of him, and Logan would swallow every word. Suddenly, Logan's phone lit up. The screen displayed my caller ID. Logan answered immediately, barking into the receiver, "Elena! Where the hell have you been hiding these past few days? Why was your phone off? Do you have any idea that Chloe can't even sleep because of you? Every time she closes her eyes, she relives you shoving her!" "Get your ass over here right now and apologize to her!" There was a heavy silence on the other end. After a long moment, an unfamiliar voice spoke up quietly: "Excuse me, sir... are you the husband of Elena Vance?"