Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
To help her secret lover win the Skydiving Championship, my fiancée secretly sabotaged my parachute.
I plummeted toward the open ocean at over two hundred miles per hour like a dying meteor. In my final moments, completely numb, I dialed her number using my satellite phone.
She thought I was just throwing a tantrum.
"Ethan, this trophy means nothing to you, but it’s Julian’s only chance," she snapped through the static.
"If it bothers you that much, I’ll marry you right after the competition, okay? Just let him have this."
Little did she know, according to competition safety rules, every second of my bodycam footage would automatically upload to the cloud and stream publicly if I died.
Her crime would soon be laid bare before the entire world.
...
I stood among the roaring crowd at the Pacific Skydiving Championship. Banners fluttered in the coastal breeze, and cheers filled the air, but not a single person noticed me.
Because I was already dead. My body was resting at the bottom of the icy blue ocean.
Up on the podium, Julian stood on the highest tier, hoisting the gold trophy that represented the pinnacle of professional skydiving. Right below him stood my fiancée, Chloe. Together, they smiled radiant smiles, their hands clasped around the cup.
I was just a wandering ghost, forced to watch the glory that belonged to me being handed to Julian.
Julian looked down at Chloe with misty eyes, his voice trembling with emotion as he delivered his speech into the microphone:
"Without Chloe’s unwavering support, I never could have achieved this honor today!"
Chloe rubbed the back of her neck with a bashful smile.
"Julian earned this through his own sweat," she said softly. "When no one was watching, he jumped from six thousand feet over and over again. He knows every gust of wind and every inch of this sky."
Before she could finish, Julian leaned down and planted a sloppy, passionate kiss on her cheek, leaving a bright red lipstick mark behind.
The crowd went wild, chanting enthusiastically:
"One more! Kiss her again!"
Chloe squeezed his hand gently and offered the audience an apologetic smile.
"Next time, guys. This stage belongs to skydiving honors, not our romance."
The spectators cheered even louder, surging toward the stage to celebrate with them.
I stood there motionless as people walked right through my translucent silhouette. A crushing weight pressed against my chest.
Chloe was supposed to be my woman. That trophy was supposed to be mine. I was the one who should have been standing under that spotlight.
Instead, I was trapped in the cold shadows, unable to ever feel the warmth of the sun again.
Memories of my final moments flashed uncontrollably in my mind.
"Ethan, this race is just another feather in your cap, but it’s Julian’s last chance. Can’t you just back out and let him take it?"
"If you do, I promise I’ll marry you the second the event is over, alright?"
Those were the words I had begged to hear for years. I only got them right before I died. But by then, it was already too late.
Only in death did I realize she had tampered with my main parachute just so Julian could win.
What she didn’t expect was that my reserve chute would malfunction as well. I hurled toward the raging sea at terminal velocity. My flesh shattered against the water, yet my soul somehow drifted right back here.
The person who killed me was the woman I loved more than life itself.
And now, her adoring gaze was fixed on another man.
Watching their picture-perfect happiness, my heart turned to ice.
Skydiving is an extreme sport with zero margin for error.
I had been the undisputed favorite. Julian had always been the perpetual runner-up.
Because of that, he had always treated me like a thorn in his side. Whenever I competed, he was doomed to take second place.
Just yesterday, after I cooked a lavish dinner for Chloe, she had looked at me with hesitation and asked, "Ethan... can you skip this championship?"
"Why don't we just fly to the Maldives for a vacation instead?"
I had frowned. She knew better than anyone how hard I had trained for this event over the past year. I had made four or five jumps a day, pushing through brutal weather just to master the drop zone.
All of it was for that historic tenth consecutive title.
I had told her flat out: absolutely not.
She had looked annoyed, but dropped the subject.
Only when I died did I finally understand what she had meant.
She wanted me to forfeit so Julian could steal the spotlight.
She used to tell me that I was the love of her life.
Yet the moment Julian reentered her world, she changed completely.
She began chatting with him on SnapChat every single night until dawn.
Even with me sitting right beside her, she treated me like a ghost long before I actually became one.
Down near the stage, reporters thrust their microphones toward Chloe.
"Miss Miller! Your fiancé, Ethan Cole, was aiming for a historic tenth consecutive victory today, but he failed to show up at the finish line. How do you feel about this upset?"
Chloe’s face stiffened instantly. Deep down, she knew that spot belonged to me.
Julian quickly grabbed the mic, stepping in front of her.
"Nobody stays undefeated forever in sports. Even Mike Tyson got old. Maybe Ethan’s prime is just behind him. We all need to accept the results with grace."
Listening to his smug voice, I laughed bitterly.
No one knew better than Julian how he had obtained that trophy.
It was soaked in my blood.
Because this was an international competition broadcasted live, countless people had placed bets on sportsbooks.
With my flawless track record, millions of dollars had been wagered on my victory.
"Bullshit! Rigged!"
"The sportsbooks pulled some shady crap! Refund our money!"
Bettors in the crowd began screaming, furious over the unexpected upset.
Chloe’s expression remained composed as she spoke into the mic: "Athletes make mistakes. There was no foul play. Ethan lost today, but I’m sure he’ll train harder for the next event."
Right then, an audience member staring at his phone suddenly yelled:
"Holy shit! A competitor’s parachute failed! Someone crashed into the ocean!"
"Look at that custom canopy... Isn't that Ethan Cole’s gear?!"
The entire venue fell dead silent. Even Chloe’s eyes flashed with pure panic.Skydiving is an extreme sport—humanity’s ultimate gamble against nature.
Every jumper signs a waiver knowing they might become a shooting star that burns out in seconds.
Unpredictable weather and sudden wind shifts over the drop zone often blow parachutes miles off course.
The rules dictate that whoever hits the target coordinates in the shortest time wins.
The other competitors were likely still landing miles away or hiking back to the staging area to check in.
That was why the medal ceremony had started early.
Chloe tried to rush toward the man who had yelled, but Julian caught her arm tightly.
An event official stepped up to calm the crowd.
"We haven't confirmed the jumper's identity yet. Professional rigs look similar, and several athletes use that same brand."
"Besides, Ethan is a nine-time champion. There’s no way he’d mess up. He probably just caught a crosswind and landed off the grid. He’ll check in soon."
Hearing this, the panic in Chloe’s eyes subsided.
After all, she distinctly remembered receiving a satellite call from me. She assumed I was calling to check in, never realizing it had been my final goodbye.
Back then, I had wanted to tell her I loved her, but her irritated voice had cut me off before I could speak.
I had died in pure, suffocating despair.
If Chloe had just bothered to call my satellite phone right now, she would have discovered the truth immediately.
With an emergency unfolding, event staff hurried off to coordinate a search.
The festive atmosphere on the podium fizzled out.
It’s funny how the world works: people are always far more interested in a tragedy than a victory.
Julian stayed behind, snapping selfies with fans and chatting up potential sponsors.
Those used to be my perks. Every single year, that spotlight had been mine.
Meanwhile, Chloe stood off to the side, staring anxiously at her phone.
We had an unspoken rule: the second my feet touched the ground, I had to text her to let her know I was safe.
This time, I had broken that promise.
Julian walked over carrying the trophy, flashing that innocent, manipulative smile of his.
"Chloe, is Ethan still mad at you?"
"Maybe I should apologize to him. I don’t want this to ruin your relationship. Honestly, Ethan is being a bit dramatic. It’s just one competition."
Chloe frowned, her voice tight.
"No... you landed over forty minutes ago, and he still hasn't sent a message. What if something actually happened?"
Julian shrugged casually.
"He's just sulking. Didn't you say he called you earlier? Once we see him, I'll smooth things over so he stops giving you the cold shoulder."
He paused, adding with mock concern, "Still, he’s already won nine times. Is a piece of metal really worth treating you like this?"
Chloe’s face darkened. "Forget him. When it gets dark, he'll drag himself home."
Julian instantly grinned. "Let’s grab iced lattes at that café down the street, Chloe."
Chloe nodded with a grim face and shoved her phone into her pocket.
Floating beside them, I rolled my eyes in disgust. Julian’s fake, helpless routine made me sick.
Yet Chloe fell for it every single time.
I had been jumping for ten years. Chloe and I had met during a competition when an unexpected gale blew me off course onto a quiet beach where she sat crying over a recent heartbreak.
She watched me fall from the sky and later claimed she fell in love with me at first sight.
Back then, I was solely focused on conquering the sky. I paid no attention to her advances.
Yet she pursued me relentlessly. Every time I had a jump, she would track my landing coordinates and wait on the ground holding a bouquet of red roses.
Time after time, I ignored her theatrics. I was never a girl swayed by sweet talk and cheap romance; I was an athlete chasing the horizon.
Until one day, a violent updraft caught my canopy, slamming me against a jagged cliffside where I hung stranded for an entire day and night.
Chloe had frantically searched the mountains until she found me and helped the rescue team haul me up. That was the moment she finally broke through my walls.
She had fought so hard to make me love her. And then she tore my life apart.
My spirit trailed beside them. She wasn't desperately searching the coast for me like she had back then.
Instead, she was holding hands with another man, walking into a beachside café.
How pathetic.
Inside the café, the barista smiled warmly at Chloe.
"Hey! Back again with your boyfriend? I just saw him on the sports channel! Wow, a skydiving champion! That’s incredible!"
"Drinks are on the house today to celebrate!"
Julian blushed modestly, thanking the barista, while Chloe offered a faint, polite smile without correcting her.
Only then did I realize that in the eyes of outsiders, Julian had long taken my place.
While blending the drinks, the barista chatted casually.
"Seriously though, man, you should convince your boyfriend to retire now that he won gold. That sport is insane."
"Did you see the news? Some poor jumper just crashed straight into the sea. Brutal way to go... look, they’re showing the wreckage on the live feed right now."
Chloe turned her head toward the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. When the broadcast zoomed in on the shredded canopy floating in the waves, her pupils shrank into tiny pinpricks.
"Julian... why does that look exactly like Ethan’s chute?!"Julian took the iced drinks from the barista, his tone completely indifferent.
"Come on, Chloe. You know better than anyone that Ethan’s main chute had an issue. He would have cut it away immediately to save himself. That has to be someone else."
"Whoever that is, their main and reserve chutes must have both failed. What are the odds of that, one in a million? Sucks to be him, but he was doomed."
Hearing his callous words, I swung my ghostly fist right at his smug face.
If it weren’t for this manipulative parasite, I wouldn’t be floating here as a corpse.
Unfortunately, my fist passed straight through him.
Chloe slowly snapped out of her daze. "Right... Ethan isn't stupid. If the main fails, he’d deploy the reserve instantly. Plus, he called me earlier. I'm just overthinking."
Julian handed her a cup with a sweet, comforting smile.
"To be honest, Chloe... I don’t think Ethan ever really loved you. If he did, why wouldn’t he give up a dangerous hobby for your peace of mind? I would do that for you in a heartbeat."
Chloe didn't answer. She took a slow sip through her straw.
Julian slid closer, taking her free hand and pressing it against his cheek.
"Chloe, I’m right here. Break up with him and be with me."
"I’d give up everything for you—even my life. Ethan could never say that."
Chloe remained quiet, but I saw the emotional conflict in her eyes.
She sighed faintly. "I wish he thought like you."
At that exact moment, the café door was kicked open. Faye Morgan—my fellow jumper and closest friend—marched straight toward them and slapped Chloe across the face.
*SMACK!*
"Chloe, you absolute monster!" Faye screamed. "Ethan just plummeted into the ocean! His body isn’t even cold, and you’re already making out with Julian?!"
Chloe stumbled back, clutching her cheek in shock and terror. "What did you say?"
Julian reacted instantly, shoving Faye hard enough to send her tumbling over a table.
"Are you insane?!" he yelled. "Ethan sent you to pull this stunt, didn’t he? Just because he’s mad at Chloe doesn’t give him the right to fake his own death! Using suicide threats to manipulate her? Is that what you call love?!"
A surge of anger replaced Chloe's panic. Holding her stinging cheek, she glared at Faye.
"Faye! I was actually worried about him for a second! But if he has the energy to stage a cheap drama like this with you, I’m done caring!"
"He wants to see me cry? A coward like him could drop dead for real, and I wouldn't shed a single tear! Tell him to stay away! In fact, tell him never to come home!"
Julian nodded smugly.
"It’s pathetic. If Ethan really had an accident, event officials would have contacted Chloe first! Your little scam is so transparent."
"Faking his death to steal Chloe back from me? Desperate."
Hearing Julian’s validation, Chloe sneered, fully convinced of her own delusion.
Right in front of Faye, she pulled out her phone and fired off a voice note to my number:
"Ethan, I see through your pathetic game. You have thirty minutes to show up in front of me, or we’re done for good."
"Threatening me with your death? Ridiculous. I already promised to marry you after this event—what more do you want from me?!"
She sent the message while I stood inches away from her. Listening to her bitter voice, a hollow laugh escaped my chest.
I was standing right there. She just couldn't see me. Even when the rest of the world knew I was dead, Julian’s smooth lies were enough to blind her.
Julian had always mattered more to her than me.
Tears spilled down Faye’s face. "Chloe, you are pure evil! Ethan was cursed the day he fell for you! Even in death, you won't stop spitting on his name!"
By now, a crowd of my fans and furious sports bettors had gathered outside the café, pounding on the glass windows.
"That’s her! She's the one who messed with Ethan!"
"Her fiancé dies and she’s already cozying up to her side piece! Shameless bitch!"
Faye roared through her tears, "Chloe! An eye for an eye! Neither of you will get away with this!"
Several ruined gamblers shoved their way into the shop.
"Ethan should have won today! You two stole his championship and murdered him!"
"You deserve to die with him!"
Julian scoffed at the angry mob. "Wow, Ethan actually hired paid actors? He sure threw some cash around. Guess that’s what nine championships buy you."
Chloe stepped in front of Julian defensively, sneering at the crowd.
"Still acting? I get it now, Ethan! You’re hiding somewhere nearby watching this, aren't you?"
"Good thing the police are here! I’ll have them arrest every single one of your hired thugs! Let's see how long you can hide!"
Two police officers pushed through the crowd into the café. Chloe opened her mouth to complain, but the lead detective pulled out his badge and addressed her coldly:
"Chloe Miller? Security cameras caught you tampering with Ethan Cole’s parachute rig prior to the jump. We need you to come down to the station for questioning."
Chloe froze, her pupils dilating in sheer terror.
"Wait... who did you say died?"Faye pointed an accusing finger at Chloe, her voice cracking with fury.
"Stop playing dumb, Chloe! I thought you were just a cheating scumbag, but you’re a cold-blooded killer! How could you do this to Ethan?!"
"He told me just last week that this would be his final championship! He was retiring for you! He was giving up the sky to build a life with you, and you conspired with this leech to murder him?!"
The crowd erupted into an uproar.
"Monster! She murdered her fiancé for her side piece!"
"Arrest her! Put both of them behind bars!"
Julian immediately stepped up, raising his hands and shouting at the crowd.
"Nothing is confirmed yet! Stop jumping to conclusions!"
"We have laws! The police are right here! Officers, show everyone the surveillance footage! Let the truth speak for itself!"
The officers exchanged glances. Under the overwhelming pressure of the angry crowd, they plugged a USB drive into the café’s television and hit play.
On the screen, Chloe could clearly be seen opening my parachute rig in the hangar and pulling out a small metallic component.
"Freeze it right there!" Julian shouted triumphantly. "Do you see what she took out? That was an unauthorized electronic altimeter booster! A banned piece of gear! Ethan’s been cheating his way to victory for years!"
"Chloe only removed it because she couldn't stand watching him cheat anymore! She had no idea that without his illegal crutch, he wouldn't even know how to deploy a basic chute..."
The officers and the crowd frowned, clearly skeptical of his absurd spin.
Faye trembled with rage.
"Julian! Ethan taught half the jumpers in this league! You think he didn't know how to pull a cord?! You can’t spin black into white, you lying piece of garbage!"
"Chloe! If you ever had a shred of love for Ethan, tell the truth! What did you do to his rig?!"
Chloe stared blankly at the screen, looking lost, as if her brain still refused to process that I was truly gone.
Julian leaned close to her ear and whispered urgently, "Chloe, I know you’re overwhelmed, but if you go to prison, who’s going to handle Ethan’s remains? You’re the only family he has left."
A flicker of light returned to Chloe’s dull eyes. She swallowed hard and whispered, "Right... I have to take care of him."
Watching this, I realized the woman who had once loved me was truly dead.
She knew skydiving was more precious to me than my own life.
Yet now, after my death, she let Julian drag my name through the mud just to save her own skin.
Seeing her submit, a smug smile crossed Julian’s lips. He turned to the crowd and sneered:
"Nine championships! That means Ethan cheated nine times!"
"This is the biggest scandal in extreme sports history!"
My fans looked devastated, their faith crumbling.
Faye refused to back down. "Julian, you framed him! You hated being stuck in his shadow, so you set this whole thing up!"
"Officers, please! Investigate this! Don't let Ethan die in vain!"
Other jumpers who had trained with me began speaking up as well, defending my integrity. They knew how many hours I had poured into training, how much blood and sweat I had spilled for every single title.
Watching them fight for me, a bitter ache settled in my chest.
My live-in fiancée cared less about me than acquaintances I barely spoke to.
Chloe stared ahead, her expression chillingly blank.
"Everything Julian said is true. If I'm lying, may God strike me down right beside Ethan."
The room went dead silent. Faye glared at her with pure hatred.
"Then start praying, Chloe! There’s a special place in hell for cheaters and murderers!"
Suddenly, someone outside shouted, "Stop arguing! The Coast Guard salvage team just recovered Ethan’s gear!"
"They haven't found his body yet, but they just posted the recovered helmet cam footage online!"
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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