The correct answer is B) The reader experiences what seems to be a romantic escape only to be returned to the reality of death.
The effect that being tricked into this false prediction has on the reader is that the reader experiences what seems to be a romantic escape only to be returned to the reality of death.
We are talking about the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," written by Ambrose Bierce.
The part of the text literally says: "The cord fell away; his arms parted and floated upward, the hands dimly seen on each side in the growing light. He watched them with a new interest as first one and then the other pounced upon the noose at his neck. They tore it away and thrust it fiercely aside, its undulations resembling those of a water snake."