The Day I Died, He Married Her

Chapter 10

The first year after Ethan Winters graduated, my parents' new home in the city caught fire in the middle of the night.

That blaze took both their lives.

I became an orphan.

My grandparents were too old, and I feared the news would devastate them, so I kept it hidden.

After the funeral, I aged ten years overnight.

Ethan was buried in his startup back then, drowning in work.

But he still made time to pay his respects.

That day, he wore a tailored suit, the boyish softness gone from his features, replaced by a quiet maturity.

Strangely, Lily Evans didn't show up.

Ethan looked at me as if he had so much to say.

In the end, he just pulled me into a crushing embrace.

Like the first night he claimed me—so tight it felt like he wanted to fuse me into his bones.

"Rachel, I'm sorry."

Then he turned and left.

To this day, I still don't understand what that apology meant.

Was it because he'd failed me?

But he'd already said sorry long before.

Exhausted, I didn't dwell on it.

The next day, Lily came to me.

Her face was gaunt, eyes swollen.

Her first words were: "Rachel, I'm pregnant."

I don't remember how I felt then.

Only that I forced a smile and said, "Congratulations."

She stared at me pleadingly. "Rachel, can't you just leave? Do you have any idea Ethan wants to break up with me because of you?"

I met her gaze blankly. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Everything!"

For the first time, the ever-proud Lily looked at me with pure resentment.

"You were childhood sweethearts. Even though he doesn't love you, he still cares about you. Now that your parents are gone, he wants to leave me—to take responsibility for you!"

"I'm carrying his child. We love each other, but because of you, we'll split up. Because of you, this baby won't have a father. How can you be so heartless?"

My hand drifted unconsciously to my own abdomen.

Once, there had been a life growing there too.

It came when Ethan loved me most.

And when I was overjoyed, ready to share the news with him—

He stood before me, holding Lily's hand, announcing he'd found someone new.

If lost souls could weep, that tiny life would have cried.

Because I knew the pain of drowning, I couldn't let Lily suffer the same.

"Fine," I said. "You'll get your wish."