Debts of the Afterlife Chapter 1

Six years after my death, I returned to the world of the living to collect a debt because I owed a massive sum in the underworld.

I had no parents, so I pinned my hopes on my best friend.

Entering her mansion, a barrage of comments suddenly floated before my eyes:

[Help! The tragic heroine is having another breakdown, smashing all the luxury goods the male lead bought her.]

[Her husband cheated, her son doesn't want to acknowledge her as his mom... she probably wanted to end it all a long time ago.]

[No one outside dares to go in, afraid of triggering her. Wait...?! Who just took the door off its hinges?! And moved it away?! And just swaggered in!??]

That's right, yours truly.

I watched as my best friend prepared to slit her wrist. I grabbed her hand, snatched the knife, and screamed excitedly:

"Bestie! You know I'm terrified of snakes! But that Bulgari Serpenti bracelet on your wrist is the exception!"

"Also, don't die yet. I have a debt in the underworld I need you to pay off."

Hearing this, my best friend stopped crying, abandoned her suicide attempt, and chased me around the room with the knife instead:

"You wretched girl! You didn't visit me once when you were dead, but the moment you owe money, I'm the first person you think of??"

The comments were confused:

[What kind of home invasion-style friendship is this...]

* * *

When I stormed into the master bedroom of my best friend Chloe's luxurious mansion, she was in the middle of slitting her wrist, and the maids were about to rush in to stop her.

Until I pinned her wrist down and flashed a hand sign:

"Not cool, bestie. Showing off your Bulgari Serpenti bracelet without me."

Chloe looked bewildered.

The maids outside were stunned.

The floating comments filled with question marks:

[???]

[? Sis, take a closer look at what the heroine is doing! She's trying to off herself and you're admiring her million-dollar bracelet...]

[Unbelievable. Lying through her teeth.]

Chloe stared at me with eyes swollen like walnuts, wet and glistening. The despair in her gaze was replaced by confusion and shock.

In my memory, she was bright and beautiful, with a high, curly ponytail, resilient and full of hope for the future.

She used to say:

"Tess, you have to be there when Julian and I get married."

But now, looking at her pale face, her dull, hopeless eyes, her messy hair, and her crumpled pajamas, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Chloe's figure was so thin she looked like a skeleton that would fall apart at a touch.

I had never seen her this pathetic.

A sudden, sharp pain pierced my heart.

Six years later, when I appeared before Chloe again, she almost fainted.

She stared at me in a daze, processing.

I seized the chance to snatch the fruit knife from her hand, leaning in to admire the dazzling bracelet sparkling under the light:

"Bestie, you know I hate snakes."

"Except for the Bulgari Serpenti."

Looking at my own bare wrist, I was green with envy. I shamelessly said:

"You brat! Sharing is caring. Take that diamond-encrusted bracelet off and let me wear it."

The maids crowding the doorway widened their eyes, as if hearing a joke.

Some couldn't stand my antics and spoke up:

"Who brought her here? Where are her manners? Asking for a million-dollar bracelet just like that? You..."

But in the next second, Chloe stopped crying. She wiped her tears messily and took off the bracelet right there, sliding it onto my wrist. Her voice was hoarse, choked with sobs:

"If you told me you liked it earlier, I would have bought another one for you."

The maids exchanged glances, eyes popping out of their heads.

She actually gave it to her?