The Five Year Itch (Sera and Julian) novel Chapter 45

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Liam wept… 

He stumbled into the morgue with the police… 

At the entrance, he gripped Vivian’s arm.“Vivian, she’s not dead, right? It’s not her in there, right?* Vivian choked back sobs, unable to answer. 

The answer was inside… 

The officer opened the door. 

A body lay cold and alone on the slab, covered in a white sheet. 

Vivian supported Liam as he entered, his Adam’s apple bobbing, tears welling in his eyes. 

The female medical examiner approached.“Are you family?” 

She reached for the sheet. 

Liam grabbed her arm, his eyes red–rimmed. 

His voice was choked.“I… I’ll do it myself…” 

The examiner paused. 

Liam’s trembling fingers touched the sheet, his knuckles white. 

He whispered, “Summer wouldn’t die. This isn’t her. It can’t be.” 

His hand shook so violently, and Vivian trembled too. 

The sheet was lifted… 

“Ugh!” Liam stopped, Vivian vomiting, sobbing, “Summer… Summer, I’m 

Seeing me, Liam didn’t cry. 

The overwhelming grief was a crushing weight on his chest. 

But he smiled, taking my cold hand. 

My hand was stiff, icy. 

sorry. 

He smiled.“Summer, I finally found you. I knew you wouldn’t leave me. Get up, let’s go see the sunrise. I’ll take you to watch the sunrise.” 

“Don’t you want to take care of all those stray dogs? When you wake up, we’ll take in every stray dog in the city, okay?” 

“We lost our baby, but we can have another. A son and a daughter, a son like me, a daughter like you, okay?” 

“Wake up!” 

“Why are you so cold?” 

“Summer… talk to me, okay?” 

His voice trembled. 

Tears finally streamed down his face. 

*312.53 

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The pain doubled him over, a hand clutching his chest. He felt like he was dying. “Summer, wake up! It’s cold…” 

He knelt to embrace me. 

The examiner stopped him.“Sir, you can’t touch her. She’s dead. She was in the ocean; there are bacteria.” 

“Get away from her! She’s not dead!” 

Liam was frantic, wanting to take me home. 

ly fear of the cold, my fear of the dark, needing him to sleep… How could I have gone into the ocean? 

Yes… I’d rather sink into the ocean than see him again. 

It was that level of despair, a heart–wrenching agony… 

My skin was pale; I was wearing a white dress, just like when we first met, my white dress swaying in the spring breeze. 

He’d fallen in love at first sight. 

Even at our wedding, I wore white. 

At that moment, Liam couldn’t hold it anymore. 

He vomited blood, collapsing to the floor… 

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