The Day I Died, He Married Her

Chapter 19

Rachel grew more beautiful with each passing day, and the number of love letters she received kept increasing.

I was about to leave for a distant city for university, and I was terrified that in my absence, she might come to rely on someone else.

But I never expected Rachel to confess her feelings to me first.

The confession I had rehearsed countless times in my heart—she beat me to it.

I wanted to cry.

I wondered if she would like the belated confession I finally mustered the courage to give.

Now Rachel is in her first year of college, nearly nineteen.

The day I marry her grows closer.

The little one loves romance—if I surprise her, she'll be overjoyed.

The little one has truly grown up—bold enough to sneak into my bed now.

Doesn't she know? A man is a beast. Once awakened, he becomes insatiable.

She nearly drained me dry.

If time could rewind, I would never have come home that night.

Mr. Summers—Rachel's father, that kind and respectable man—was in my house, in my mother's bed.

How absurd.

I never imagined something so grotesque could happen to me.

My mother wept, begging me to keep it a secret.

Mr. Summers slunk away like a beaten dog.

That was the first time I realized—even my life could be plunged into darkness.

I had already been planning my wedding with Rachel. But my mother and her father… they betrayed us both.

How could I pretend nothing happened and stay with Rachel?

How could I?

I'm in agony. Rachel called, but I couldn't bring myself to answer.

Maybe alcohol can numb the pain.

Can't she leave me alone when I'm drinking?

My mother came to see me again, asking if I was with Rachel now.

I didn't answer her.

I didn't know how to respond.

Even if I married Rachel, would it erase the fact that she and Mr. Summers had an affair?

Impossible.

If Rachel ever found out, how heartbroken would she be?

In her eyes, her parents were the most loving couple in the world.

I didn't want to ruin the perfect image of her father in her heart.