Everything was a lie

''Who look who we have here? Did you come to save them? What to do, he can't even think of anything right now. He doesn't recognise anything and he can't differentiate between reality and fake anymore''

''Leave here right now or you won't get the chance when the grim reaper arrives''

''That old geezer could never catch me because she and I share the same life, remember? You stole the bracelet from me to keep her alive''

''What is she talking about, Granny?''

''Oh, she didn't know, right? You own your pathetic life to me, little girl. I made the dark shadow follow you, that's my mark on you''

''But, detective Gail said those were the souls of the people I had the accident with''

''Little girl, you are really clueless, right? That detective clearly is a con artiste. You are alive thanks to the mark made by the bracelet she stole from me. Now it is with him. Whoa, I can't believe my life is connected to so many people now''

''Is that true, granny?''

''Don't listen to her. she is trying to distract you. The bracelet is indeed from her but it doesn't connect you to her in anyway''

''That's right, I can't be connected to you''

''Lara, take me with you''

''He really wants me to take him away. You can't blame me now, right?''

''You won't be able to'' Nicole took a step closer and she stretched her hand and held her neck tightly, lifting her up. Nicole coughed as she choked with her feet dangling in the air.

''If you dare set the man free, I will leave with her right away'' she said and looked at Nicole's face which was drained of colour, ''turns out you still have the desire to live, you half dead monster''

Nicole coughed and struggled to free herself. Her hands wrapped around the wrist of the woman tightly and she was slowly losing consciousness.

''I don't have to set that man free; I just have to take you with me'' Granny said and removed a small pointed it towards the woman, ''why don't you take a look at your true self''

The woman increased her grip on Nicole even as the force from the small mirror tried to turn her towards it. Granny kept moving closer to her until she was close enough and pointed the mirror at her face and she screamed and vanished into the mirror.

Nicole fell to the floor coughing as she touched her neck. Leo who had regained consciousness ran to her, ''Nicole, are you alright?''

''Water'' Nicole coughed again as she asked for the water. Her throat felt dry.

Leo hurriedly got the jug on the table and poured water into a cup for her, ''here, drink. It's water''

''What is wrong with Nicole? What happened here?'' Monica asked after also coming back to her senses. She seemed lost and didn't know what was going on as well.

Joe wasn't any better, he still looked spellbound as he stared dreamily as if actually seeing someone.

Leo helped Nicole to stand on her feet after she was done drinking the water. Her neck had a red line around it and her face was still pale.

''It's alright, Monica. I still have something to do, I will leave you to finish feeding Joe. If there is anything, call me'' Nicole said to her and took her bad turning to Leo, ''let's go''

''Mmm'' Leo still held unto her hand as they walked out. He was afraid to let go because she would fall.

''Does this kind of thing happen to you all the time?'' Leo asked as after helping her into the car and adjusting the seat to make her more relax.

''No, it is just with her. I don't know how she found me…'' Nicole suddenly thought of something, ''Detective Gail. He must have given my location to that woman''

''Detective Gail? That policeman?''

''En, let's go'' she said after putting on her seatbelt.

''Where are we going?''

''To meet Lizzy. She has something to tell you''

''All of a sudden?''

''You still can't believe that your friend killed Lizzy, well, she found out something last night. If I'm not mistaken, you are here to invite me to Lizzy's 40th day mourning, right?''

''How did you know that?'' Leo looked at her surprised.

''Detective Gail was the first to tell me but I didn't believe him until Lizzy confirmed it, go to my apartment''

''What did that detective tell you?''

''He said you were going to get drugged by Priscy with some drug given by Ray to get you to sleep with her. It's a whole lot, Lizzy is the best person to tell you in details what she heard and saw when she visited Priscy's home last night''

Leo soon pulled over in front of Nicole's house since it wasn't that far from the hospital in the first place. They got down and went into the apartment where Nicole found Lizzy watching TV.

''Are you the only one here?'' Nicole asked and Lizzy stood up and saw Leo.

''Leo is here?'' she turned to Nicole with the remote in her hands which was suspended in the air.

''Oh, I brought him here so that you two can have a chat''

''Nikki, he looks frightened'' Lizzy pointed at Leo who was staring at the Nicole. He was still standing just by the door and staring into the hall at the direction of the suspending remote.

''Leo, are you scared?'' Nicole asked him and he shook his head but it wasn't convincing, his hands were shaking. ''Is he always this scared?'' Nicole took the remote away and placed it on the table and explained to Leo, ''that was Lizzy holding the remote. No need to be scared''

''What Leo feared the most were ghosts even when I was alive, it is no wonder he can't keep up with the pace''

''I see'' Nicole went closer and held her hand and he looked at her, ''do you want to speak with Lizzy?'' she asked him.

''Yes, I want to, but, I am a little scared''

''Don't be afraid, I am here. What is there to be afraid off and also, this is Lizzy we are talking about. She can never harm you, right?'' Nicole tried to convince him.

''Yes, I know that. I will speak to her, but I can't see her'' he looked around the hall and still couldn't see anyone besides Nicole.

''Go and sit over there. Lizzy is going to use my body to communicate with you. She can't spend much time in my body, so you have to be attentive and listen to everything she says and I hope that this time around, you will believe her''

''Yes, I will do that''

''Lizzy, are you ready?'' Nicole turned to face Lizzy who nodded her head showing her readiness. She walked closer to Nicole.

The two looked into each other's eyes before Lizzy stepped into Nicole's body. Her body quivered for a moment before she finally adjusted to the body.

Lizzy walked closer to Leo and touched his face with quivering hands. Her touch felt cold and it made Leo shiver. He looked at the face of Nicole and felt like he was actually staring at Lizzy. He held her hand and stood up at once, pulling her into a hug as he spoke.

''Lizzy, it's you, right? This is really you, right?''

''En, Leo. It is me, Lizzy''

Leo let go and touched her face, 'I missed you so much''

''Me too, Leo. I miss you a lot''

''How are you doing? Your body feels cold. do you feel cold often?''

''It is manageable. Leo, let's sit and chat. I don't have a lot of time left. There is something I need to tell you'' Lizzy sat him down and also sat across him.

''Tell me, this time around I won't doubt you or Nicole. I am suspicious of both Ray and Priscy''

''I know. It feels like forever since I was this closed to you. Leo, I think Priscy and Ray are not good people. they are planning something against you. I don't know exactly what it is yet but I intend to find out about it tonight, so you have to keep them with you as long as possible''

''But, Nicole said they planned to drug me tonight? Is that also true?''

''Yes, Leo. You have to trust Nicole. she can help you in finding out what happened to me. That said, Leo, please make sure you protect Nicole too. She might look strong on the surface but she is actually weak and soft-hearted''

''Don't worry, I have decided to believe Nicole and I will also try my best to protect her''

''You need to also move on. If I have to let you be with someone else, then I can only accept you being Nicole. Don't fall for Priscy''

''I have never seen her in any light other than as a friend and she knows it''

''I have to leave Nicole's body, Leo, you must find out what happened to me, I won't be able to find rest if I don't get answers to what happened''

''I will do that for you'' Leo assured Lizzy.