He Left Me for Dead, Now I'm Back

It was our third wedding anniversary, and I rushed home.

But when I pushed open the door, my workroom had been painted pink, and all the rare equipment my father left me had been thrown in the trash.

In their place stood a pink piano.

Ethan appeared before me with a woman in his arms.

He said Melody needed the sunroom. Those pieces of junk were just gathering dust anyway.

He also said he had fallen for her. If he'd met her earlier, he never would have married me.

Five years ago, he dug me out of an avalanche with his bare hands until his hands were bloody and torn.

Now he held another woman's hand and dismissed what I loved as "junk."

The compass was shattered, my mother died, and the search and rescue dog had its leg broken.

And the moment I fell into an ice crevasse and pressed the distress signal, he personally cut the connection.

But he didn't know. I didn't die.

Three years later, he knelt before me with bloodshot eyes. "Lily, I've searched for you for three years. I'll give you my life to make it up to you, okay?"

I looked down at him and smiled. "Ethan, your life is too cheap. I want you to live and watch me marry someone else."

Lily's POV

When I pushed open the villa door, I still carried the biting chill of the snowy mountains.

I had just finished a grueling two-week climb and rushed home filled with joy to make it back for our third wedding anniversary.

The backpack straps dug into my shoulders painfully, but I touched the rare glacier stone I'd found at 23,000 feet in my pocket and still felt happy.

Because Ethan once said that was the view he most wanted to see.

But when I expectantly pushed open the equipment room on the second floor that belonged exclusively to me, the scene before me left me completely stunned.

The walls that had been covered with ice axes, carabiners, and climbing ropes were painted a glaring soft pink.

All the mountaineering equipment I treasured, the gear that had accompanied me through life-and-death situations, had completely vanished.

In their place stood an expensive white grand piano and delicate sheet music scattered across the floor.

"Who touched my things?"

My whole body trembled.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

Ethan wore a well-tailored lounging outfit, his gold-rimmed glasses framing deep eyes that now held an unfamiliar coldness.

Beside him stood a woman in a white silk dress with a delicate frame.

The woman shrank behind Ethan like a frightened rabbit.

"I had someone take them away."

Ethan's voice held no emotion, direct and decisive.

"Melody's hands were injured. She needs a quiet, sunny room to practice piano. Your junk was just gathering dust there anyway. I had someone throw it all in the basement."

Junk?

I was thunderstruck.

Among that equipment was the rare vintage ice axe my late father left behind, and the first safety lock Ethan gave me when we first met!

"Ethan, are you insane? That's my equipment room! What right do you have to clear out my room for her?"

I stared at this man I'd loved for five years.

Melody gently tugged at Ethan's sleeve. Her eyes instantly filled with tears, her voice so fragile it seemed the slightest breeze could scatter it.

"Ethan, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I didn't know that was Miss Hayes's room. I'll move out right now. Please don't fight with her because of me..."

"Don't move."

Ethan turned and grasped Melody's hand, the gesture gentle as if handling a priceless treasure.

When he looked back at me, his gaze was cold as ice.

"Lily, stop making a scene. Melody has severe PTSD. She can't handle stress. You're never home anyway, gone for weeks at a time. That room was just sitting empty."

He paused, his tone calm yet cruel as he passed judgment.

"Also, I've fallen for Melody. If I'd met her earlier, I wouldn't have married you."

I staggered back a step, my back hitting the door frame hard as my heart ached until I could barely breathe.

Fallen for her?

Then what am I?

Five years ago on that mountain during the avalanche, he dug me out of the snow with his bare hands until they were a bloody mess, nearly requiring amputation.

He held my hand in the hospital bed and swore he'd only ever want me, that he'd wait at the base of every mountain for me to come home.

But now he held another woman's hand and dismissed what I loved as "junk."

"Say that again?"

My whole body shook.

Ethan frowned slightly, seeming annoyed by my loss of control.

"I said it clearly enough. But don't worry, I promised to take care of you for life, so I won't divorce you. The position of Mrs. Clarke is still yours. Just don't provoke Melody. She's too fragile. She can't handle your rough treatment."

Fragile? Rough?

I watched him protect Melody and found it utterly absurd.

I didn't scream or cry. The extreme pain lodged in my throat, unable to come out or go down.

I gritted my teeth hard, turned, and rushed to the basement, searching through the dark, damp corners for the equipment that had been thrown away like garbage.

Ethan, so even the love you traded your life for only has a three-year shelf life.

Lily's POV

The basement lights flickered dimly.

I crouched before dusty cardboard boxes, my hands trembling as I searched.

The ice axe was there, the harness was there, but the old brass compass was nowhere to be found.

It was the last thing my father left me before he died, and three years ago when Ethan and I got lost in a blizzard, it was the only thing that guided us away from death.

"Looking for this?"

A delicate voice rang out at the stairway.

Melody stood on the steps, looking down at me from above.

In her hands, she toyed with that brass compass.

"Give it back!"

I stood and rushed toward her.

But Melody just laughed lightly and loosened her fingers.

Crack.

The brass compass fell onto the hard cement floor. The glass face shattered instantly, and the needle inside trembled violently a few times before jamming completely, never to turn again.

My breathing stopped abruptly. My mind went blank.

I crouched down and carefully gathered up the broken pieces. Glass shards pierced my palm and blood welled up, but I didn't care.

"You did that on purpose."

I looked up.

"Melody, I'm going to kill you!"

I stood and grabbed Melody by the collar.

"Ah! Ethan, save me!"

Melody immediately let out a shrill scream and deliberately fell backward, tumbling heavily onto the steps.

The basement door burst open and Ethan rushed down.

Seeing Melody trembling on the ground and me with blood all over my hands, he didn't hesitate to shove me aside.

Already exhausted, his forceful push sent me crashing into the rough wall, a sharp pain shooting through my shoulder.

"Lily! What's wrong with you!"

Ethan held Melody tightly in his arms, shouting angrily.

"She smashed my father's compass!"

I held up my hands covered in blood and broken glass, my voice becoming shrill.

"Ethan, that compass led us out of the mountains! She smashed it!"

Ethan's gaze swept over that pile of junk, a flash of impatience crossing his eyes.

He looked at me coldly, his tone full of disappointment and disgust.

"Over a broken compass you'd assault Melody? Lily, when did you become so unreasonable and materialistic?"

Materialistic? Unreasonable?

I stared at him in shock as tears finally broke free.

"Ethan, I didn't mean to..."

Melody hid in Ethan's arms, crying with tears streaming down her face.

"I saw that thing was so old, I thought it was trash and wanted to help Miss Hayes put it away. I didn't expect my hand to slip... It's all my fault. My hand was injured, I can't hold things properly..."

"It's not your fault. She's too aggressive."

Ethan gently comforted the woman in his arms, then pulled out his checkbook from his pocket, scrawled a series of numbers, and tossed it at my feet like throwing alms to a beggar.

"One million. Enough to buy you a hundred top-of-the-line electronic navigation devices. Take the money and apologize to Melody."

That light check fell on my blood-stained shoes like a resounding slap across my soul.

I didn't look at the check. I just stared at Ethan, my heart feeling like it was being slowly carved open with a dull knife, the pain making even my breath taste of blood.

"Ethan," I smiled.

"No amount of money can buy back something dead."

Not the compass, and not his love.

Lily's POV

From the day the compass shattered, my heart died with it.

I locked myself in the guest room, making no noise or fuss.

But from the master bedroom one wall away, I could often hear Ethan's gentle voice coaxing Melody to sleep.

Until three days later, an emergency call from the hospital shattered the silence.

"Miss Hayes, your mother's heart condition has suddenly deteriorated, triggering serious complications! The county hospital doesn't have the equipment to sustain her. She must be transferred to a Manhattan hospital within three hours, or her life will be in danger at any moment!"

My hand holding the phone trembled violently. All the blood in my body turned to ice.

From here to Manhattan was at least a five-hour drive. The only chance was to use a medical rescue helicopter.

And Ethan had access to a private medical flight route.

I rushed out of the room but found the villa empty.

I tremblingly dialed Ethan's number.

Once, hung up.

Twice, hung up.

By the fifth call, it finally connected, but it was Melody's delicate voice that answered.

"Miss Hayes? Ethan's in the shower. Is there something you need?"

"Let Ethan answer! Quick, let him answer! My mom's dying!"

I shouted, my voice hoarse.

The other end fell silent for two seconds, then Ethan's displeased voice came through.

"Lily, what game are you playing now? Melody has a slight fever today. I don't have time for your drama."

"I'm not playing games! Ethan, please, my mom has heart failure. I need your medical helicopter to transfer her right away! The doctor said she only has three hours. Please save her!"

I was nearly going insane.

Ethan laughed coldly on the other end.

"Lily, if you're going to lie, find a better excuse. I visited your mother at the hospital last week. The doctor said her condition was stable. You'd even curse your own mother just to get attention?"

"I'm not lying! Call the hospital to confirm! Ethan, this is a human life! My mother's life!"

"Enough!"

Ethan cut me off harshly.

"I've already diverted the helicopter. Melody's fever triggered a panic attack. I'm taking her to a private island retreat to recover. The flight plan is already approved. We're taking off soon. Behave yourself and stop calling."

The phone was mercilessly disconnected.

I felt like I'd fallen into an ice pit, my mind buzzing.

The helicopter was diverted? For Melody's slight fever, for an island getaway, he cut off my mother's only lifeline?!

I scrambled out of the villa and flagged down a taxi straight to Clarke Group's helipad.

All along the way, I frantically sent Ethan messages, sent the critical condition notice from the hospital, sent videos of my mother being resuscitated on a ventilator.

But it was like throwing stones into the sea. No response at all.

When I reached the helipad, I only saw the helicopter's massive rotors whipping up a gale as it slowly lifted off.

"Ethan! Come down! Give me back the helicopter! Ethan!"

I broke through the security guards' blockade and screamed desperately at the helicopter in midair.

But the helicopter didn't pause at all. Carrying that woman with just a "slight fever," it flew mercilessly toward the azure sky.

Ten minutes later, my phone rang.

It was the hospital.

"Miss Hayes... I'm sorry. We did everything we could. Your mother... didn't make it."

The wind stopped.

I collapsed to the ground. My phone slipped from my hand.

I didn't cry. I just stared blankly at the direction where the helicopter had disappeared, feeling like some part inside me had been completely hollowed out along with my mother's passing.

Lily's POV

My mother's funeral was simple and desolate.

Continuous rain fell for three full days, as if even heaven was weeping for this absurd death.

During those three days, Ethan didn't appear once. Not even a single phone call.

It wasn't until the evening after the funeral ended, when I returned to that cold villa holding my mother's urn, that the front door finally opened.

Ethan walked in carrying the sunny atmosphere of a beach resort, followed by Melody with a rosy complexion and no trace of illness.

Seeing the black-and-white memorial portrait in the living room and the urn in my arms, Ethan's steps stopped abruptly and his expression changed instantly.

"What's going on?"

He frowned, his tone holding no sorrow, only the displeasure of having his mood disrupted.

I raised my head and stared at him.

"My mom died."

"While you were taking her to the island for fun, my mom died in the hospital emergency room because she couldn't get the helicopter."

Ethan's pupils contracted sharply, a flash of shock and panic crossing his eyes.

He opened his mouth, seeming to want to explain something.

"I... I thought you were lying. I didn't watch the videos on my phone..."

"Ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, Melody behind him suddenly clutched her chest and let out a terrified scream, collapsing into Ethan's arms.

"Ashes... a memorial portrait... so scary... Ethan, I'm scared. I can't breathe..."

Melody's face turned deathly pale. She gasped for air in large gulps as if she might faint at any moment.

The trace of guilt in Ethan's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by extreme anxiety.

He scooped up Melody and glared at me furiously.

"You know Melody is timid and can't handle being frightened! Why did you put these disgusting things in the living room?! Won't you be satisfied until you've killed her too?!"

Disgusting?

My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand. The pain made my whole body convulse.

My mother, who carried me for ten months, who raised me through hardship, had become a "disgusting thing" that frightened his beloved in this man's mouth!

"Ethan, are you even human?"

I laughed through my anger, tears sliding down my cheeks.

"That's my mother! The mother whose lifeline you personally cut off!"

"Life and death are normal. If the hospital couldn't cure her, that's their incompetence. Why are you blaming me?"

Ethan's tone was cold and cruel, as if discussing a minor mistake that had nothing to do with him.

He coldly issued an order.

"Put these things away immediately! Also, because you called frantically that day, Melody had a panic attack on the plane and hasn't slept well for days. Now, apologize to her immediately!"

I looked at this man before me in disbelief.

Force me to apologize to my mother's killer?

"What if I don't?"

I gritted my teeth, each word bleeding.

Ethan's eyes turned completely cold, carrying undeniable authority.

"Lily, don't push it. If you don't apologize, I'll have your mother's burial plot cancelled. You know that in this city, without my signature, you can't buy cemetery space."

Using my mother's resting place to threaten me!

My spine bent sharply.

Looking at Melody in Ethan's arms with a subtle smirk of triumph at the corner of her mouth, I slowly closed my eyes and swallowed all the hatred and despair.

"I'm sorry."

I spoke these three words numbly to Melody.

Ethan snorted with satisfaction and carried Melody upstairs.

I stood alone in the empty living room, holding the cold urn, as if I were in an endless hell.

Lily's POV

After my mother passed, my world completely collapsed.

My only remaining emotional support was a retired search and rescue dog named Snowball.

I'd brought Snowball back from an avalanche rescue. He'd accompanied me through countless lonely days and nights, and was the "child" Ethan and I once raised together.

That afternoon, I was sitting in the yard brushing Snowball's fur when Melody suddenly walked over.

She wore an exquisite dress and carried a lace parasol. After just a few steps closer, she suddenly coughed violently and repeatedly retreated.

"Cough, cough, cough... Ethan! Ethan, save me!"

Ethan rushed out from his study at the sound, nervously supporting her.

"What's wrong?"

Melody pointed at Snowball with tears in her eyes, gasping.

"The dog. I'm severely allergic to dog fur... Ethan, I can barely breathe..."

Ethan's expression darkened. His gaze shot toward me like a knife.

"Didn't I say to lock that beast up when Melody's around?!"

I protectively hugged Snowball, my voice trembling.

"Snowball's always been in the yard. She walked over here herself! And you used to know that Snowball doesn't shed!"

"If Melody says she's allergic, she's allergic!"

Ethan didn't listen to any explanation and coldly passed judgment.

"Someone! Throw this dog out! Send it to the stray dog shelter!"

"No!"

I widened my eyes and held Snowball's neck tightly.

"Ethan, you can't do this! Snowball is a retired search and rescue dog. He saved people's lives! He's old now. He'll die if he goes to a shelter!"

"Better than Melody's allergy!"

Ethan waved his hand without mercy.

Several bodyguards immediately stepped forward and roughly pulled me away.

Snowball seemed to sense the danger. He barked at me anxiously but was grabbed by the throat with a thick rope and forcibly dragged away.

"Snowball! Let him go! Ethan, I'm begging you. I'll lock him in my room. I absolutely won't let him out! Please don't send him away!"

I struggled frantically, my fingernails scratching bloody marks on the bodyguards' arms, but it was useless.

I watched helplessly as the car carrying Snowball drove out the gate, my desperate cries echoing throughout the villa.

A trace of faint reluctance flashed in Ethan's eyes, but it was quickly interrupted by Melody's coughing.

"It's just a dog. I'll have someone buy you a hairless cat tomorrow."

He dropped this cold statement and turned to help Melody back into the house.

I didn't cry or make a scene. I got up from the ground, didn't even put on a coat, and rushed straight out the door.

Heavy rain poured down.

I ran through the storm, searching one by one for stray dog shelters in the city.

Rainwater blurred my vision. The cold penetrated my bones, but all I could think about was Snowball's desperate eyes as he was dragged away.

A full forty-eight hours.

I didn't close my eyes or drink a drop of water. Finally, in an extremely remote, poorly maintained private dog slaughter facility in the suburbs, I found Snowball.

The bodyguards hadn't taken him to a proper shelter at all. They'd sold him directly to dog dealers!

When I spent all the money I had on me to ransom Snowball, this once majestic search and rescue dog had already had one of his back legs broken. Covered in blood, he was curled up in the corner of an iron cage, barely clinging to life.

"Snowball..."

I knelt in the muddy water, trembling as I held his cold body.

Snowball barely opened his eyes, stuck out his tongue, and gently licked the tears from my face. Then he slowly closed his eyes and never woke up again.

In the pouring rain, holding Snowball's corpse, the last trace of warmth in my heart froze completely into ice.

Lily's POV

I didn't bring Snowball back to that cold home.

I personally dug a pit next to my mother's grave and buried Snowball there.

When I returned to the villa, it was already late at night.

The living room was brightly lit. Ethan sat on the sofa looking at a document, his brow slightly furrowed.

Hearing movement, he looked up. Seeing me soaked through and covered in mud, disgust flashed in his eyes.

"Where have you been? Missing for two days without even answering your phone. How long are you going to keep this up?"

I didn't answer. I just looked at him quietly.

Ethan irritably threw the document in his hand onto the coffee table.

"Fine. What happened with the dog was my fault. My subordinates didn't handle it properly. I've already fired that bodyguard. This is the climbing permit for Mount Sumeru and a full sponsorship contract. Consider it compensation."

Mount Sumeru.

It was the deadly peak my father never conquered before he died, and my greatest dream in life.

To get this slot, I'd prepared for three full years and put in countless efforts.

I numbly walked over and picked up the document.

However, when I saw the name clearly on the contract, my heart trembled.

In the climber column, it wasn't my name but Melody's.

"What does this mean?"

I asked.

Ethan avoided my gaze and explained in a forceful tone.

"Melody recently accepted a wilderness survival reality show. She needs a high-profile persona. Mount Sumeru is very famous. As long as she can take a helicopter to base camp and get some photos, she can establish a brave and strong image. This will greatly benefit her career."

"So you took my slot, my dream, and gave it to her for a publicity stunt?"

I found it so absurd that I couldn't help laughing.

"Lily, be rational."

Ethan frowned and self-righteously accused me.

"You climb just to satisfy your personal thrill-seeking and selfish desires. It has no value! But Melody is different. She's doing it for her career, to convey positive energy to the public. As Mrs. Clarke, shouldn't you make way for her?"

Selfish desires? No value?

I risked my life for that passion. I was obsessed with completing my father's dying wish. But in this man's eyes, none of it could compare to a few fake photos Melody posed for in front of cameras.

"Ethan," I looked at him and asked word by word.

"Do you remember? You once said I was the freest eagle on the snowy mountains."

Ethan froze for a moment, seeming to remember something, but it was quickly covered by coldness.

"People change. Your current stubbornness and selfishness only exhaust me."

"Fine. I understand."

I didn't tear up the contract or argue hysterically.

I calmly put down the document and turned to walk up the stairs.

Where Ethan couldn't see, I drafted a divorce agreement and signed my name at the bottom.

I didn't want anything anymore.

Equipment, compass, mother, Snowball, dreams, and Ethan.

I wanted none of it.

Lily's POV

The moment I signed the divorce agreement, I felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

It was like carrying a thousand-pound burden through the snow for so long and finally setting down the pack.

I didn't immediately give the agreement to Ethan. Instead, I packed the simplest climbing backpack.

I needed to go to a mountain.

Not Mount Sumeru, but an undeveloped, treacherous wild snow mountain, a satellite peak of Muztagh Ata.

I needed an extreme climb to bury the past, to say goodbye to the person I once was.

At dawn, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the villa, I shouldered my pack and left silently.

I didn't bring my phone. I only brought a GPS emergency distress device linked to a private channel with Ethan.

It was something Ethan had forcibly made me wear in the first year of our marriage.

He said, "Lily, no matter where you are in the world, as long as you press this button, I'll risk my life to save you."

How beautiful those vows sounded then, how cruel reality was now.

Three days later, I reached the glacier zone at 20,000 feet.

The weather forecast had made a fatal error.

The originally clear sky was suddenly shrouded in black clouds. A once-in-a-century massive blizzard descended without warning.

Winds whipped up the snow. Visibility instantly dropped to zero. The temperature plummeted to negative forty degrees.

I struggled through the wind searching for shelter but accidentally stepped into empty space. My entire body plunged into an ice crevasse more than thirty feet deep!

The violent impact fractured my lower leg. Icy water instantly soaked through my protective suit.

In the desperate darkness, with trembling hands, I fumbled for the GPS distress device I kept close to my body.

This was my last hope.

Without hesitation, I pressed the red SOS button.

But the next second.

The red alarm sound stopped abruptly.

At the bottom of the ice crevasse, I watched as the green light on the distress device that indicated "signal received" lit up, then instantly went dark, turning into the dead gray of "connection terminated."

I froze.

Then a heart-wrenching pain spread from deep within, ten thousand times more intense than the agony of broken bones.

He saw it.

But he cut off the signal.

He personally severed my hope of survival.

The temperature in the ice crevasse continued to drop.

My eyelashes frosted over. My consciousness began to blur.

I could no longer feel the pain in my lower leg. A strange warmth began to envelop me. This was the sign of severe hypothermia.

In the final moments of my life, what flashed through my mind wasn't fear of death, but Ethan's decisiveness in cutting off the signal.

So this is what it means when love dies. You can watch someone go to their death without blinking.

"Dad, Mom, Snowball... I'm coming to find you..."

I slowly closed my eyes, smiling as I let endless darkness completely swallow me.

I don't know how much time passed.

"There's someone here! Quick! Lower the rope!"

An urgent but powerful male voice pierced through the howling wind and snow, and I barely heard it.

Then a beam of strong light cut through the darkness of the ice crevasse.

Someone wrapped my cold, stiff body with their body warmth. Strong arms held me tightly.

"Lily! Wake up! Don't sleep! I'm taking you home!"

That voice was deep and steady, with a barely perceptible tremor.

It wasn't Ethan.

I tried to open my eyes to see who it was, but I lost consciousness completely.