His "True Love" Was Fake... So Was My Corpse, Sucker! - Chapter 111: Chapter 111

I sat in the passenger seat as the scenery blurred past my window, the vibrant colors of spring a stark contrast to the gray existence I'd been living.
Feeling the cool breeze on my face, a delayed rush of joy curved my lips into an unconscious smile. For the first time in years, I felt truly alive.
The little dashboard ornament swayed gently with the car's movement, catching the sunlight.
"It's the ceramic figurine!" I cried out in surprise, reaching toward it instinctively.
I carefully cradled the ceramic piece in my hands. Caleb had preserved it perfectly—the glaze still gleamed brightly, shimmering in the sunlight, the cartoonish face smiling up at me like an old friend.
Back then, he'd made two little figurines—one of himself making a silly face, another of me mid-yawn. We'd traded them with each other, so we could carry a part of one another wherever we went.
"These past three years, whenever I missed you, I'd take out this little guy and look at it," Caleb said, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at me. "I've handled it so much the color's almost worn off in spots."
He reached over to squeeze my hand affectionately, his touch sending warmth through my entire body.
"Mine broke..." My face fell with disappointment. "Zoe shattered it right before you arrived."
"Hey, don't worry about it." Caleb's voice was gentle but firm. "We've got all the time in the world now—I can make you hundreds more. Hell, I'll make you a new one every anniversary if you want."
"Okay!" I laughed through misty eyes, the sound surprising me. When was the last time I'd laughed genuinely?
The light played across our faces as the car wound through tree-lined streets. We had a lifetime ahead to experience all the beautiful moments we'd missed out on.
The car glided into an upscale neighborhood filled with elegant mansions—each one sleek and sophisticated, designed to showcase wealth in the most tasteful way possible.
Except for the one at the far right, which stood out from all the others like a rebellion against conformity.
Its walls were splashed with vibrant colors, pulsing with life. The garden overflowed with brilliant flowers in every shade imaginable, and a swing made of vines and wood hung in one corner, swaying gently in the breeze.
By the entrance sat a cute little shelter for stray cats, with a bowl of water and some freeze-dried treats thoughtfully placed beside it.
A plump orange tabby and a lazy tuxedo cat were curled up inside, basking in the sun without a care in the world.
I don't know why, but something told me this house had to be Caleb's. It radiated the same warmth and creativity that had drawn me to him in college.
We used to enjoy rescuing small animals together. Sometimes we would buy food for them, and at other times we would help find adopters for them. Our dorm room had always been a temporary home to some creature or another, much to our RA's dismay.
Sure enough, the Rolls-Royce pulled up right in front of this house, confirming my intuition.
As soon as I stepped out, several cats came padding over, wrapping themselves around my legs with happy meows.
Caleb took my hand and led me inside, his fingers intertwined with mine as naturally as if we'd never been apart.
The moment the lights came on, tears spilled down my cheeks anew.
The interior was decorated exactly like our old apartment—everything arranged just as it had been back then, down to the mismatched throw pillows we'd collected from thrift stores.
Growing up suffocating under my parents' control, I'd fought tooth and nail to attend a college as far from home as possible. Just when I'd finally tasted freedom, my family got to my roommate to keep tabs on me.
So I moved out with Caleb instead, pooling our meager resources to create our first home together.
We spent ages searching for the perfect place, finally settling on a small apartment near the beach, its charm outweighing its many flaws.
The living room had a huge bay window overlooking the ocean. When the sunset fell across us both, it brought an indescribable sense of peace, like we were the only two people in the world.
We collected shimmering seashells from the beach to make wall art, crafted unique vases from plastic bottles and twine to hold water lilies, and even bought fuzzy fabric from a factory to create cartoon versions of ourselves as rugs.
Our happiest moments were weekend nights—we'd stock up on street food and fruit from the night market, then curl up on the couch together, munching away while watching comedies on the projector.
Time had long since scattered those beautiful memories. That whole area had been demolished and turned into a high-end shopping mall, erasing all physical traces of our first home.
But the memories I cherished most from deep in my heart had somehow found their way back to me, reconstructed with painstaking attention to detail.
I traced my fingers delicately over the shell art on the wall, feeling like I was looking back at my younger self—hopeful, loved, unbroken.
"Actually, these are fake shells I made from resin," Caleb admitted with a sheepish smile. "The ones we collected were all hand-picked and unique—I couldn't find anything similar, so I just made my own."
Caleb pulled a bottle of chocolate milk from the fridge, mixed it with cream, and handed me a glass—our signature drink from college days.
The couch had been upgraded to better materials—soft yet supportive, nothing like the lumpy secondhand one we'd had before. The HD projector was playing our favorite old comedy series, the one we'd binge-watched during finals week when we needed stress relief.
A sudden, irresistible impulse welled up inside me. I turned and threw myself into Caleb's arms, gazing at his handsome features before kissing him fiercely.
We held each other tight, kissing passionately, our lips and tongues intertwined, both wanting to merge into the other's very bones, never to part again. Years of separation dissolved in the heat between us.
I don't know how long it lasted, but I felt oxygen-deprived when we finally broke apart.
Breaking away from his embrace, I gasped for air, my face flushed, heart racing.
"Can you tell me everything that's happened all these years..." I said softly, needing to understand the miracle of his return.