When Love Became My Coffin

On April Fools' Day, my boyfriend said he wanted to propose to me in a haunted house.

But the moment I stepped inside, he yanked out all the electrical switches and locked the door from the outside.

The claustrophobia from my childhood kidnapping erupted. A suffocating sensation gripped my throat.

I collapsed on the floor, pounding desperately on the door.

"Oliver, open the door! I'm scared..."

Then I heard a woman's voice from outside, playful and sweet.

"I can't believe she actually fell for your nonsense about proposing in a haunted house on April Fools' Day."

"You won this bet. I'm all yours tonight."

My blood ran cold. That voice belonged to Lily Carter, the streamer Oliver had been obsessively watching lately.

So this was what ten years of friendship meant to hima tool to win over another woman.

But if I really died in that pitch-black haunted house, what was he crying about?

My heart stopped beating. I lay on the cold floor, watching my soul leave my body.

Outside the door, Oliver was still laughing carelessly.

"Eve, you're just too timid. Stay in there and toughen up a bit."

"Once you get over your fear, you can join Lily and me for all kinds of extreme sports."

I floated beside Oliver, tears streaming down my face.

He had forgotten I had a heart condition. I could actually die.

Lily turned on her livestream, pointing the camera at herself and Oliver, smiling as she greeted her fans.

"This is today's male guest."

"Lily bet him that if he could trick his girlfriend with a heart condition into a haunted house on April Fools' Day..."

"I'd be his for the day."

The comments flooded in with praise:

"This guy's got creativity!"

"Are you two gonna put on an adult show tonight?"

...

Lily glanced shyly at Oliver and said coyly, "What are you all saying? This is just an April Fools' challenge. If Lily loses, can she back out?"

Oliver kissed her full on the lips.

"No backing out."

I watched them kiss passionately. My heart had already stopped beating, yet it still ached uncontrollably.

Half a month ago, both sets of parents urged us to get engaged.

Oliver knelt at my feet, promising he'd give me a home soon.

I had thought today would be the happiest day of my life.

The boy next door I'd loved since childhood was proposing to me, with flowers, applause, and blessings...

But what greeted me was his April Fools' joke.

Oliver glanced at the haunted house. He could no longer hear my bloodcurdling screams.

He raised his eyebrows at Lily and gave her a thumbs up.

"Your desensitization method really works. Eve isn't scared anymore."

Lily lifted her chin proudly.

"Of course. She's probably already enjoying it, falling in love with the thrill of the haunted house."

The livestream chat started urging Lily to take them on a haunted house adventure.

Oliver proactively took the phone and carefully adjusted the angle.

As they moved forward, I was pulled along by an invisible force.

I tried to go elsewhere, but the moment I drifted away, I was immediately pulled back to Oliver's side.

Oliver and Lily, fingers intertwined, pushed open another haunted house room.

A bone-chilling scream suddenly rang out. I instinctively threw myself into Oliver's arms, but passed through his body without resistance.

I smiled bitterly.

Right. I was already dead. What was there to be afraid of?

I looked up and saw Oliver gently covering Lily's eyes.

"You don't have to act tough today. I'll protect you."

And I stood behind Oliver, watching him hold Lily's hand tightly, carefully shielding her with his body.

Once upon a time, he had protected me the same way.

Tears fell unconsciously.

Oliver blocked all the staff's scare tactics for Lily, leading her successfully out of the haunted house.

Lily pulled her hand away from Oliver's, pouting playfully.

"Do you protect your girlfriend like this usually too?"

I lowered my eyes and shook my head gently.

Except for when Oliver and I were kidnapped as children. I covered his escape and got my leg broken, then was locked in a dark room.

After I was rescued, he took care of me tirelessly.

But in the seven years we'd been dating, he never protected me again.

When I was sick, he went drinking with friends.

When I had a car accident, he called to yell at me for being brainless.

Even last year when I had heart transplant surgery with only a ten percent success rateI was terrified I'd die without seeing him again, so I begged him to come be with me for the surgery.

Oliver didn't show up because he was celebrating his ex-girlfriend's birthday.

Hearing Oliver's negative answer, Lily finally let him hold her hand again.

The livestream audience didn't want to watch them being lovey-dovey. More than half left quickly.

Lily's eyes lit up as she shook Oliver's arm playfully.

"I heard you and your girlfriend are getting ready to get engaged. How about showing me your wedding house?"

I frantically spread my arms in front of Oliver.

"No! That's the house my dad renovated with his own hands!"

Every brick, every coat of paint was infused with my father's love for me.

To create my dream wedding home, he developed severe back pain. His back hurt so badly he couldn't straighten it.

How dare Oliver let someone else trample on my father's hard work?

I desperately tried to stop him, but my body kept passing through Oliver.

He drove Lily to the wedding house.

The livestream viewer count doubled.

"Oh my god, that's so thrilling! Isn't this basically bringing his mistress to his wedding house?"

"What are you talking about? If he's willing to bring Lily there, it means Lily is the woman he truly loves."

"Do you guys even understand what true love means?"

Lily's eyes curved into crescents as she turned to kiss Oliver's cheek.

"Right? The one who's not loved is the real mistress."

"Don't be jealous, everyone."

I trembled with rage, wishing I could grab the steering wheel and kill this shameless pair.

But I couldn't. I could only helplessly watch Oliver open the door to our wedding house.

Lily excitedly held up the camera and rushed into the living room.

She ran her hands over the exquisite table and lay on the soft sofa.

"It's so beautiful."

Dad had specially installed a projector in the ceiling.

When turned on, it would automatically project a starry sky onto the walls.

I threw myself at Oliver, begging him to throw Lily out.

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

A crisp shattering sound pierced my eardrums. I whipped around.

Lily stuck out her tongue playfully, pointing at the ceramic shards on the floor.

"Sorry, I bumped into it accidentally."

My mind went blank.

I knelt down, my fingers trembling as I tried to piece together the broken ceramic doll.

Mom had made it with Dad and me the day before she died.

She said the ceramic doll would stay with me forever in her place.

Tears flooded out like a broken dam. I clutched the fragments and sobbed uncontrollably.

Oliver glanced carelessly at the shards on the floor and swept all the pieces into the trash without a second thought.

"No."

But he couldn't hear me.

Even if he could, he wouldn't feel sorry for me.

I sat paralyzed on the floor, my eyes empty, wishing I could vanish immediately and find Mom to apologize.

I hadn't protected what she left for me...

The next second, an urgent phone ringtone rang out.

Oliver looked at the lit phone screen, his spine stiffening.

He gestured for Lily to turn off the sound before answering.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

His mother's anxious voice came through the speaker.

"Oliver, where did you and Eve go?"

"Her father just called me. He said her monitoring watch sent out a distress alert."

I moved close to the speaker, screaming with all my strength.

"Mrs. Bennett, Oliver locked me in the haunted house."

"Please come save me. I'm so scared..."

Oliver seemed to sense something and looked in my direction, frowning deeply.

His fingers were white from gripping so hard. He tried to keep his voice calm.

"Mom, Eve is with me on a date."

"Tell Mr. Harper not to worry. I'll definitely take good care of her."

My heart felt like it had been torn open, leaving a bloody wound.

I grabbed Oliver's collar, crying as I demanded through blurred tears.

"Why are you lying? Tell them the truth!"

"My dad will worry. He only has me..."

Mrs. Bennett was about to say something more when Lily coquettishly hooked her arm around Oliver's neck, breathing suggestively.

"You're my boyfriend today. If you mention another woman again, I might get jealous."

Oliver hung up without hesitation.

I saw the livestream flood with viewers.

They all commented, "So thrilling!"

"Lily is like a celebrity, so seductive."

"Lily, please teach a class. I want to change boyfriends every day too!"

Even though Oliver hung up, his heart felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

He gently patted Lily's bottom and tried to call me.

"Be good. Let me call Eve first to make sure she's okay."

"Her health really isn't good. I'm worried..."

The phone only rang once before Lily pouted and snatched it, turning it off.

"No calling. You're mine today."

"Besides, doesn't she have hands? If she's not feeling well, can't she call an ambulance herself? Why does she have to bother someone else's boyfriend?"

Lily spoke self-righteously while sharing relationship advice with her livestream audience.

"Ladies, getting sick and bothering someone else's boyfriend instead of finding a doctorthat's textbook manipulation! If you encounter this situation, just have your boyfriend turn off his phone and ignore her."

I floated in mid-air, sneering contemptuously.

Last week, I had a sudden bout of gastroenteritis. Oliver panicked and rushed me to the hospital.

Halfway there, Lily suddenly sent him a message.

"Oliver, I accidentally cut my finger. It hurts so much..."

A photo followed immediately.

Lily's fingers were slender and fair, but without a trace of any wound.

Oliver slammed on the brakes and dumped me on the roadside.

He frowned anxiously and turned the car around.

"Lily cut her hand. I need to go buy her bandages first."

"Go to the hospital yourself. You're used to it after all these years anyway. But Lily is different. She's struggling here alone. She needs me right now."

At 3 a.m., I couldn't get a cab at all.

I eventually passed out on the roadside. I don't know how long it was before a stranger sent me to the hospital.

My mild gastroenteritis turned into severe gastric perforation.

When I woke up, I cried and asked Oliver if he didn't love me anymore.

But he knelt before me, swearing he would never abandon me again.

In his heart, I was always in last place.

But now, I truly didn't care anymore.

I only worried about Dadhow sad and guilty he would be when he learned of my death.

After this, the livestream audience urged Lily to show them the master bedroom.

Oliver hesitated but still couldn't resist the girl's pleading.

He pushed open the door. An exquisite Chinese-style wedding dress came into view.

The livestream exploded instantly.

"Oh my god, that's so beautiful."

"The phoenix on that Chinese wedding dress looks alive."

Greed flashed in Lily's eyes.

She zoomed in the camera and ran her fingers over the dense needlework.

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Don't touch it with your filthy hands!"

This Chinese wedding dress was passed down through our family.

Grandma gave it to Mom, and Mom gave it to me. She said I would be the most beautiful bride when I wore it.

I bit the inside of my mouth until it bled, but I could only tremble helplessly.

Right now, I was just a soul. I couldn't touch anything. I couldn't do anything.

Lily couldn't take her hands off the wedding dress. She even took it directly off the hanger.

The livestream started egging her on.

"Just have Lily try it on and perform a wedding ceremony with her boyfriend."

"I want to see it! I bet Lily would look absolutely stunning in it."

Lily laughed shyly and threw Oliver a flirtatious glance.

"But it's not mine. How could I just take someone else's things?"

Oliver stared at the exquisite wedding dress. Eve's smiling face suddenly flashed through his mind.

Eve had said just days ago that on their wedding day, she wanted him to personally help her into this Chinese wedding dress.

She wanted to become his beautiful bride, carrying her family's blessings.

Oliver's Adam's apple bobbed. He grabbed Lily's hand.

"You can't wear it. She'll be angry."

Lily froze. She never expected Oliver would refuse her.

The livestream erupted in complaints.

"What's wrong with just letting Lily try it on?"

"Right? We're just looking. Nobody else will know."

Lily's eyes reddened with grievance.

Her tears splashed onto Oliver's hand as she bit her lower lip pitifully.

"Oliver, I've never seen such a beautiful Chinese wedding dress..."

"Don't you like me? Don't you want to marry me?"

She pushed Oliver down onto the bed and stripped off her clothes.

Acid churned in my stomach. I leaned over the bed and retched.

I had chosen this bed. I had washed the sheets myself.

I thought Oliver and I would sleep together in each other's arms on this bed.

But now, he kissed Lily passionately and pressed her beneath him.

The livestream kept sending gifts, urging them on.

"Put on the wedding dress! Put on the wedding dress!"

"We want to see adult content!"

Oliver personally helped Lily into the Chinese wedding dress. His hands roamed across the girl's back, then pressed down on her nape and kissed her deeply.

Tears streamed down my face. I smiled mockingly.

He betrayed every promise he made to me. He destroyed everything I cherished.

Oliver, I truly regret ever loving you.

Oliver held Lily's hand as they bowed to heaven and earth, then drank from the ceremonial cups.

They went through the entire wedding ceremony. Amid the crowd's cheers, Oliver swept Lily into his arms and placed her on the master bedroom bed.

Lily glanced at the photo of Oliver and me on the nightstand and smiled provocatively.

As if to say she had won. Any man would fall at her feet.

My nails dug deep into my palms. I turned away, trying hard to ignore the sounds beside my ear.

Just as they were about to take the next step, the bedroom door was suddenly kicked open.

Mrs. Bennett appeared in view. When she saw the naked man and woman on the bed, her face went deathly pale.

She rushed past me and slapped Oliver's head to the side with a vicious strike.

"You bastard! Do you know Eve is in trouble?"