The Day I Died, He Married Her

Chapter 8

During my freshman year, I secretly went to his university, hoping to surprise him.

The night before my trip, I hid under my blankets and called him. His voice sounded distant, disinterested. I didn't think much of it—I was too busy imagining the joy on his face when he saw me. I had a secret, a surprise I couldn't wait to share with him.

The next day, I took a two-hour train ride to see him.

Beneath the lecture hall, amid the bustling crowd, I saw Ethan Winters holding a girl's hand. A soft, tender smile played on his lips—one I had never seen before. The girl giggled at something he said and leaned into his embrace.

I stood there, lost in the crowd, like a pitiful clown watching their sweet romance unfold.

When Ethan noticed me, he didn't panic. Instead, he tightened his grip on Lily's hand, refusing to let go.

I froze, feeling like a child abandoned by the world.

I was the one who'd been wronged.

Yet to anyone watching, I was nothing more than an insignificant outsider.

"What are you doing here?"

The boy I loved most—the one whose lips I had kissed countless times—uttered the cruelest question.

I fidgeted nervously, my voice trembling. "Ethan… who is she?"

"Lily," he said.

"My girlfriend."

My heart pounded in fear and confusion. "If she's your girlfriend… then what am I?"

"You're just my little sister."

Sister?

We had known each other for over a decade. We had been together for three years. I had given him everything—my heart, my innocence, my devotion.

And in the end, all I was to him was a sister?

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I never felt that way about you."

"After meeting Lily, I finally understood what real love is."

His words cut deeper than any blade.

But I had always been the obedient one. Even as tears streamed down my face, I choked out an apology. "I'm sorry."

"Ethan, I know it's my fault."

"I… I shouldn't have clung to you."

"I'll go back to school now. Don't worry—I won't bother you again."

I couldn't bear to look at his face, much less Lily's.

All the humiliation and heartache were mine to carry.

After all, it had always been me chasing him.

Even our relationship had started because I confessed first.

He was the love of my life—the boy I had adored since childhood. No matter how deeply he hurt me, I couldn't bring myself to hate him.

Later, I couldn't resist. I kept sneaking back to watch him.

I saw him strolling across campus with Lily.

Sitting on a bench, sharing headphones as they listened to music.

Walking side by side through the corridors, silent yet perfectly in sync.

I recorded every moment in my diary.

Then, in a pathetic attempt to rewrite reality, I would scratch out Lily's name and replace it with Rachel.

Eventually, he caught me spying on them.

I broke down, clinging to him, begging for another chance.

But his gaze was cold—no trace of the tenderness he once had for me.

"Rachel, be reasonable."

"I hurt you in the past, and I regret that."

"But Lily… she needs me."

I didn't understand. Why couldn't Lily live without him?

She was a grown woman. Would she die if he left her?

I knew Lily had a tragic past.

An orphan, raised in a group home.

Rumor had it that Ethan first met her when she was working at a high-end club—an honor student forced to wait tables just to pay her tuition.

One night, a customer harassed her.

Ethan happened to pass by and saved her.

That was how their bond began.

I asked his classmates about them.

Apparently, they went from strangers to lovers in less than a month.

During that time, Ethan would pick Lily up from work every day.

He even used his own allowance to support her.

In the mornings, he waited outside her dorm so they could walk to class together.

After lectures, they ate every meal side by side.

At night, he escorted her back to her building, lingering at the doorstep until they ran out of things to say.

Everyone praised them as the perfect couple—destined to be together.

Only I was left running away in disgrace.

So, he had fallen for her at first sight.

A single month had erased over a decade of our history.

Turns out, I had never been as important to him as I thought.

I was the one who overestimated my place in his heart.

I wanted to keep fighting for him.

But then Ethan delivered the final blow.

"Rachel, I don't love you anymore."