hapter 26  Grandma was the only family member who didn’t turn against me because of Nicole’s drama. Sadly, her health had been on a downward spiral, and she’d been bedridden for six months. She saw the injustice I was facing. During a visit a week before my wedding, she gently patted my head and said, “Sweetheart, if you don’t want to marry Chase, then don’t. If he’s not the one, marrying him will only bring heartache.”  Back then, I was set on exposing the truth at the wedding to get my revenge, so I turned down Grandma’s suggestion. “Don’t worry, Grandma, I know what I’m doing. You just focus on getting better.”  “Amanda, I promise I’ll make it to my birthday. I know you’ve been through a lot since Nicole came back. You’ve always been my treasure. On that day, I’ve got a big surprise for you.”  Grandma held 5% of the company’s shares. When Nicole returned, the family wanted to give her Grandma’s shares as compensation, but Grandma refused. I knew she held onto them for me so I wouldn’t be left empty–handed. Unfortunately, despite all her plans, I didn’t  ve to receive that gift.  Chase handled the harassing calls and texts quickly, and his disdain for me grew even deeper. He cared for Nicole and made her soup, cooling each spoonful before feeding it to her with painstaking care, leaving me completely forgotten.  I knew if the lurking threat really wanted to harm me, there had been plenty of time for me to disappear without a trace. I was just curious–how they would react if they heard I’d died. Would there be even a flicker of regret for how they treated me?  Chase, worried about Nicole’s condition, stayed overnight with her. In the middle of the night, he woke up from another nightmare.  “Did you have a bad dream, Chase?” Nicole asked, startled awake by his sudden movement.  As he wiped sweat from his forehead, Chase’s face was ghostly pale. “I’m fine.”  Nicole walked over to him. “What kind of dream scared you so much?”  “I dreamt Amanda was dead and bleeding heavily. She begged me to save her.”  Nicole patted his back. “Don’t worry. Dreams usually mean the opposite. It means she’s probably doing just fine.”  Chase, looking exhausted, rubbed his temples. “I’ve had this dream several nights in a row.”  “You must be really worried about her. If you’re that concerned, why not bring her back home sooner? I’d feel better, too.”  Chase wavered. “Well…”  “I hope she’ll cool down soon and stop being mad at me. I got lucky this time, but luck doesn’t last forever.”  Chase sighed and gave up on the idea, ruffling her hair. “Let’s leave her in Cloudville to cool off.”  The next morning, the Kennedy family came to get Nicole from the hospital. I noticed my parents looked worn out, likely from worrying about Nicole.  “Didn’t sleep well, did you?”  My mom rubbed her forehead. “Amanda’s been stirring up so much trouble. It’s giving me nightmares.”  “You dreamt about Amanda too?” Dad asked, surprised. Even Chase paused on his way to work.  “Yeah, she pretended to be dead, and in my dream, she actually was.”  One person having such a dream could be a fluke, but multiple people? That was eerie.  Nicole chimed in, “Could Amanda be…”  Chase cut her off abruptly. “No way! Amanda can’t be dead!”  “Chase, you misunderstood. I meant, why would she go to Cloudville, of all places, with all the cult rumors? I’ve heard about cultists. using witchcraft, and lately, everyone’s been unsettled. I barely escaped death myself. Could it be because of her…”  Mom slammed the table. “No wonder I can’t sleep. Did she curse us?”  Dad, usually swayed by Mom, surprisingly stood up for me. “We’re family. What good would it do her to harm us? Besides, that’s all superstition.”  As they left with Nicole, I could hear her sarcastically say, “Mom, I was just talking. Don’t take it seriously.”  “When Amanda returns, I’ll have a word with her…”  Following Chase, I noticed his worried expression. He had been distracted all day. Things weren’t getting better. They were getting worse. He kept waking from nightmares, drenched in sweat.  He couldn’t reach me by phone, and although he wanted to fly to Cloudville, flights were either canceled due to bad weather or fully booked. With Grandma’s birthday coming up, he let go of the idea.  He and the Kennedy family were sure I’d return for Grandma’s birthday, but I couldn’t.