Keiraâs face still had iodine that hadnât been
completely wiped off, giving her skin a dark, sallow
tone.
But seeing her facial features, the butler felt he couldnât have possibly mistaken them!
While he was still shocked, Howard had already handed over a bundle of condolence money and said
guiltily, âMy wife, Keera, was a high school classmate of
Horton. Hearing of Mrs. Hortonâs tragic passing, insisted on coming to pay her respects.â
After that, he dragged Keira toward the mourning hall.
The butler stood there dumbfounded. He then looked
down at the money handed over by Howard, which
bore the wo
school classmate Keeraâ.
snât Mrs. Horton but her high school
ne butler rubbed his eyes, wondering if he could have
taken.
urned around wanting to look closer, only to see
that woman had already blended into the crowd and disappeared into the mourning hall.
The butler decided he definitely must have been
mistaken.
The mourning hall was set up in the middle of the main house, a spacious area that made it convenient
for everyone to view the body and offer incense to the deceased.
No sooner had Keira entered with Howard than her gaze fell upon the coffin.
The coffin was placed at the front, with people blocking the way, not allowing anyone to approach.
A person nearby explained, âMrs. Horton fell into the sea and
bloated from the soaking. Her face decayed beyond recognition, so theyâre anyone see her face⦠they
decided not to
Se
an open casket.â
Hearing this, Keira staggered.
Ploated?
clenched her fists.
Her gaze swept over the crowd in the mourning hall.
She saw Oliver and Melissa from the first branch of the family greeting outsiders, their faces displaying
sorrow, but their eyes betrayed a gleam of something else.
Next to them, Jake looked genuinely grieving, his eyes vacant, seemingly truly heartbroken for her.
Keira withdrew her gaze, attempting to find other
familiar faces.
She didnât see Mrs. Olsenâ¦
With Mrs. Olsenâs health condition, she must not have been able to withstand the pain of losing a
daughter. Had she fainted again?
But where was Lewis?
Just as she thought of this, she heard Melissa explaining to the mourners. Alas, Lewis was so grief-
stricken that he refused to acknowledge that the deceased was his wife. Now, heâs hiding in his room,
refusing to come out and give his wife her final
send-offâ¦â
Upon these words, the people around started-
255 Lewis. Iâm Not Dead
whispering among themselves.
+35
âMr. Horton really loved his wife deeply, and heâs going to such lengths for Mrs. Hortonâ¦â
âBut I really feel thatâs not right. Mrs. Hortonâs body is
in such a state that it would be better to bury her sooner rather than later. His sentimentality is getting in
the wayâ¦â
âI always thought Mr. Horton was a rational man, but I ard that he hasnât even been to the Horton
Group ese past couple of days. Everythingâs being arranged by Mr. Davisâ¦â
Listening to these conversations, Keira lowered her
gaze.
Howard, next+
011
as already schmoozing with cing her.
turned around and walked out of the
ing hall.
re an earthy hue, like a country woman ned in the countryside, with the iodine ully washed off.
Wearing clothes that werenât her usual style, all in the gentle styles of Keera, barely anyone recognized
Keira on her way here.
She quickly turned into old Mrs. Hortonâs courtyard.
Most of the servants were over at the main house helping out.
At the moment, Fiona was chatting with another
nanny.
Fiona, with a dolorous expression, asked, âHas the master not eaten yet?â
The other nodded, âYeah, ever since the ladyâs body was fished up, Mr. Horton has been beside
himselfâ¦â
Fiona wiped away her tears. âHeâs deeply emotional. Old Mrs. Horton is also sick with sorrow. Gosh!â
As they talked, they walked away.
Keira thought for a moment. She then headed to the small building in the backyard and went straight
up to the second floor, jumping onto the balcony of Lewisâs bedroom.
Through the glass window, she saw the man curled up,
leaning on the couch.
+35
255 Lewis. Iâm Not Dead
he room was thick with the smell of smoke, and the oor littered with cigarette butts.
ewis clenched his fists, his eyes vacant.
e was reminded yet again of two days before, how he iotically waited at the courthouse until 2 p.m., 3
mâ¦.
eira was late, yet he somehow felt relief.
eiraâs absence meant she couldnât bear to divorce im, right?
ut what he never expected was to eventually receive ews of her death!
He couldnât believe it and rushed to the seaside, only o see Mrs. Olsen standing there, flanked by
Uncle Olsen and Taylor.
The salvage crew kept searching back and forth in the
water.
At that instant, he felt his legs go weak!
Every time the salvage crew surfaced, he hoped for news yet feared it at the same time.
It had been over ten hours since the shipwreck⦠No
one could survive at sea for that long!
Keira must have been swept away by the current to
another shore⦠She could swim!
But a sentence from Samuel shattered his last
defenses.
Samuel, pacing anxiously beside him, muttered to himself, âItâs over. My boss is supposed to have her
infusion today⦠She was meant to have it yesterday, but because of the divorce scheduled for that
afternoon, it was postponed to tonightâ¦â
Divorceâ¦
Lewis staggered!
If only he hadnât been stubborn on the first day and if
the divorce h
ceeded smoothly, would Keira have
gotter
she had fallen into the sea, there could
een a chance for her to surviveâ¦
Just as Lewis thought about this, the salvage crew had
wollen corpse, unrecognizable, was brought to the surfaceâ¦
255 Lewis Iâm Not Dead
As Lewis thought about this, his heart felt as if it had been pierced by thousands of arrows, pain
spreading
from his chest.
But these past two days, he had grown accustomed to the pain.
Holding his chest, he lit another cigarette.
Fionaâs knock came from outside the door. âSir, Madamâs body is being taken to the funeral home.
Arenât you coming out to see it off?â
The always refined and gentlemanly man suddenly looked up.
Lewisâs eyes reddened. He grabbed the ashtray from the coffee table and hurled it toward the door.
âBang!â
to the floor.
ad!!â
ared, âGet out! Thatâs not Keira! Keira isnât
na heard this, she let out a silent sigh. âSir,
the door. Old Mrs. Horton has arrived.â
Lewis still didnât move.
Old Mrs. Hortonâs trembling voice came from outside. âBrat, your wife always cared for her dignity while
she was alive. She valued propriety. Now, look at her, bloated and decomposing at home, do you
understand how unsightly that is? Do you really want her to leave this world so disgracefully?!â
That somehow struck a chord with Lewis.
The usually composed man buried his head in his knees. He hugged his head with both hands, and a
muffled voice came out. âGrandmother, thatâs not Keira. My gut tells me, thatâs not her!â
Old Mrs. Horton sighed, âI know it doesnât look like herself anymore, but the police have taken her DNA
and done the tests. Brat, face the reality!â
These words caused Keira, standing on the balcony, to feel a sudden twinge in her chest.
When she heard people couldnât recognize the body, she held onto a sliver of hope, but now reality
crushed
1.
Her sister looked so much like her; they must have been identical twins, hence the DNA would be
99.9%
similar!
So, the corpse was truly her sister?
Keira, coming to this conclusion, saw Lewis clenching his fist and slamming it onto the marble floorâ¦
âBang!â
Blood seeped out, staining the ground.
127
In agony, Lewis said, âGrandmother, stop⦠thatâs not
her!â
There was a pause from outside before old Mrs.
Horton spoke again, âBrat, one must learn to let go and face reality in life. Running away like this
disrespects your wife. Open the door, come out, and properly see off your wife on her last journey!â
These words made Lewisâs fists tremble.
Bowing his head, he slowly knelt to the ground.
Watchin him, Keira felt her heart break into pieces.
ed out of the shadows and gently tapped the
door of the balcony.
âLewis, donât be sad. Iâm not dead.â
0
RE
10
>
å¾
Terrible