He Learned to Love Me After I Died

Pregnancy three months in, I was in a severe car accident.

I called my husband, Ethan, but he simply condemned me impatiently:

Lily, will you ever quit with the theatrics? Inventing a car accident just to get me to come home? Seriously?

Just as the call was about to disconnect, I heard him turn and say to another woman:

"Don't worry, darling, it's just a scratch. The doctor will be right here."

The searing pain ripped through my abdomen, and a sudden, warm gush drained the last bit of heat from me.

Our baby was gone.

I was too greedy.

I thought one life could make him turn back to me, but I was abandoned once again.

I suddenly smiled.

Maybe it was for the best. He finally didn't have to be annoyed by me anymore.

And I no longer had to pretend to love him.

Lily POV

When I woke up, the world was upside down. I was trapped in the twisted driver's seat, an agonizing pain in my abdomen threatening to tear me apart.

In that moment, I felt something incredibly important being ripped from my body.

It was the secret I'd kept for three months.

My hands trembled as I painstakingly fumbled for my phone amidst the shattered glass. The screen was cracked, but it still lit up.

The name at the top of my contacts: Ethan.

He was my husband, and my only family in this world.

The phone rang for a long time before he finally answered.

"What is it?" His voice was deep and cold, laced with impatience.

"Ethan... help me..." My voice was hoarse and broken, a sob catching in my throat, "I'm on the Coast Highway... I was in a car accident, there's so much blood..."

A flurry of footsteps sounded from his end, followed by a woman's delicate sniffle: "Ethan, it hurts so much, am I going to be disfigured?"

Ethan's tone instantly changed, becoming soft and anxious: "Don't worry, it's just a scratch. The doctor will be right here."

When he spoke to me again, his voice turned icy cold.

"Lily, will you ever quit with the theatrics? Inventing a car accident just to get me to come home? Seriously?"

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand: "I'm not... it's real, save the baby..."

"Baby?" Ethan gave a cold laugh. "What baby? Are you still dreaming? You used to cry over a paper cut. This car accident story is too fake. I'm busy. Stop being so unreasonable."

"Beepbeep"

The call disconnected.

My phone slipped from my fingertips, falling into the growing pool of blood.

I closed my eyes in despair.

I'd forgotten. In Ethan's eyes, I, Lily, was a conniving woman, but Scarlett? She was the frail, helpless damsel in distress who needed his constant protection.

The cramping in my abdomen hit its peak, and a hot gush of blood stole the last bit of warmth from me.

In the last second before my consciousness faded, I thought: Ethan, this time, I won't cause any more trouble.

Truly, no more trouble.

The hospital hallway was blindingly white.

"Where's the family? Why haven't they come to sign yet? Look at the time!"

The nurse's anxious shouts echoed in my ears.

I painstakingly opened my eyes; the lights on the ceiling made me feel nauseous.

"Doctor, she's awake!"

The attending physician, Dr. Miller, was a middle-aged man. His brows were furrowed, and his gaze towards me was filled with sympathy and solemnity.

"Ms. Reed, have you reached your family? Although the emergency miscarriage surgery is complete, you've lost a lot of blood, and furthermore..." Dr. Miller paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, "we found some abnormal indicators in your blood tests. It's confirmed to be acute myeloid leukemia. You need chemotherapy immediately."

The air was dead silent.

I lay on the hospital bed, my face even paler than the sheets. I reached down to touch my flat abdomen, empty now, even that faint connection was severed.

Emergency miscarriage. Leukemia.

Fate, it seemed, had a cruel sense of humor, always picking on the most unfortunate.

"No family," I said, my voice as light as smoke. "I'll sign myself."

Dr. Miller was taken aback: "This is a serious matter. Where's your husband? The kind person who brought you to the hospital said they saw his number at the top of your phone."

"He's dead," I stated, my voice devoid of emotion.

Dr. Miller seemed choked. He looked at me, a woman so weak she looked as if she could die at any moment, sighed, and handed me the pen.

My hand trembled as I held the pen, every word I wrote was shaky and distorted.

After signing, I felt as if all my strength had drained away, and I collapsed onto the pillow.

My phone vibrated on the bedside table.

"Ethan" flashed across the screen.

Before, I would have answered ecstatically, even if all I heard were cold words.

But now, it just felt like noise.

I pressed the answer button. Before I could even speak, a barrage of questions was hurled at me.

"Lily, where the hell have you been? Scarlett got scared looking for your cat. If you don't come back and apologize, you can kiss your spot as my wife goodbye."

So it was for Scarlett.

Always Scarlett.

I looked at the IV drip, and suddenly chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Ethan seemed infuriated by my laughter. "I'm talking to you about something serious!"

"Ethan," I interrupted him, my tone frighteningly calm, "You don't need to kick me out. I've already cleared out the spot."

"What do you mean?"

"It means," I said, looking out at the dark night sky, "I want a divorce."

Ethan POV

It was already three in the morning when I returned to the mansion.

The living room lights were off, everything was pitch black.

Normally, no matter how late it was, Lily would leave a warm yellow floor lamp on, curled up on the sofa waiting for me. She'd hand me a hot coffee the moment I walked in.

Today, there were no lights, no coffee, and no one.

I irritably yanked off my tie and tossed my jacket onto the sofa.

"Trying to attract my attention by pretending not to care," I scoffed coldly.

I assumed Lily was still sulking about me hanging up on her earlier. She was always like this, narrow-minded, easily jealous. The moment I showed Scarlett even a little kindness, she would turn the house upside down.

I went upstairs and pushed open the bedroom door.

Empty.

The bed was perfectly made, not a single crease, as if no one had ever slept in it.

My brow twitched.

I saw a document on the bedside table.

In the moonlight, five bolded, capitalized words on the cover stabbed at my eyes"Divorce Agreement."

Was this woman insane?

I picked up the agreement and flipped it open.

Relinquishing all assets.

She wanted nothing but a few clothes. The house, the cars, the Reed Group shares, even the jewelry Id given her over the yearsall left behind.

And in the signature section, the handwriting was somewhat sloppy, with a few dried bloodstains.

Blood?

My heart inexplicably tightened, then was immediately drowned by a surge of anger.

Another one of her tricks!

Using red ink to fake blood, using divorce to force my hand. Lily, is this all you've got?

I pulled out my phone and dialed Lily's number.

"Sorry, the subscriber you dialed is currently unavailable."

"Fine, just fine." I laughed in anger, slamming the agreement onto the floor. "Lily, go ahead and hide your whole life. Don't come back begging me!"

I was woken up the next morning by Scarlett's call.

"Ethan, if I accidentally lost the cat you gave Lily... is Lily angry? My head feels so dizzy, do I have a concussion...?"

I rubbed my temples, suppressing the irritation bubbling inside me: "Stop overthinking. Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

"I'm at the hospital."

When I arrived, Scarlett was sitting in a wheelchair, her leg wrapped in bandages. It was just a scratch, but she was bandaged up like she'd broken her leg.

"Ethan!" Scarlett, her eyes red-rimmed, threw herself into my arms.

I instinctively flinched, the "bloodstains" I'd seen last night inexplicably flashing in my mind.

"What did the doctor say?" I asked.

"The doctor said I need bed rest... Oh, right, where's Lily? I want to apologize to her in person, I shouldn't have tried to catch her cat..."

My face darkened: "Don't bother with her."

Just then, a hospital bed was pushed down the corridor.

The person lying on it was extremely thin, wearing an oxygen mask, her hands covered in needle marks.

My gaze casually swept over her, and I froze, as if struck by lightning.

That pale, lifeless face was unmistakably Lily's.

Lily POV

I was woken by pain.

The chemotherapy side effects hit hard, like a thousand ants were crawling and biting deep within my bones.

I opened my eyes, and a tall figure appeared in my blurry vision.

Before I could even make him out, his cold voice cut through the air.

"You're really going all out for your act. Where did you learn this trick? Pretending to have a terminal illness?"

My vision slowly focused.

Ethan stood at the foot of the bed, looking at me arrogantly, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain. Scarlett sat beside him in a wheelchair, looking at me with feigned timidity.

"Lily, don't scare Ethan. Please, get up," Scarlett said softly. "I know you hate me, but I really didn't mean to..."

I pulled off my oxygen mask, my throat as parched as if I'd swallowed sand.

"Get out."

Just one word, but it took all my remaining strength.

Ethan's face turned dark. He quickly walked over and roughly grabbed my wrist. "Lily! How long are you going to keep this up? Scarlett's leg is hurt badly and she still came to see you, what kind of attitude is that?"

His grip was strong, right on my IV site.

Blood immediately surged back, staining the IV tube crimson.

I let out a muffled groan of pain, cold sweat beading on my forehead.

"Let go..."

"No!" Ethan glared at me. "I want you to apologize to Scarlett right now!"

"Ethan, are you blind?" I looked up, those eyes once full of love now only held a desolate emptiness. "Can't you see I'm bleeding?"

Ethan froze, looking down.

Fresh blood dripped down my hand, spreading into bright red stains on the clean white sheets.

The blood was too real, too stark to be mere red ink.

He seemed to instinctively loosen his grip.

"Ethan..." Scarlett suddenly clutched her chest, gasping for air. "I... I can't breathe..."

Ethan's attention instantly shifted. He turned to support Scarlett. "What's wrong? What's bothering you?"

"Maybe it's the strong smell of medicine here, Lily..." Scarlett leaned weakly against him.

Ethan looked back at me, his gaze cold: "If you love the hospital so much, feel free to stay here as long as you like. Come talk to me when you've learned to behave."

With that, he picked up Scarlett and walked away without a backward glance.

I watched his retreating back, and my tears finally broke free, falling in large drops.

Ethan, you'll never know, this might be the last time I ever see you.

Perhaps it was for the best.

Now, I truly had given up all hope.

Over the next week, Ethan didn't reappear.

My body grew weaker. Chemotherapy caused massive hair loss, so I just bought a hat to cover it.

Dr. Miller urged me to contact family, as the upcoming bone marrow transplant required a match.

I shook my head. I was an orphan; where would I find a relative to match?

That afternoon, the hospital room door opened.

It wasn't Ethan, but Ethan's male assistant, Mark.

Mark looked at my skeletal form on the bed, a flicker of something that looked like regret in his eyes, but he remained strictly professional as he produced a document.

"Ms. Reed, Mr. Reed said that as long as you sign this understanding letter, admitting that the car accident was due to your own mishandling and had nothing to do with Scarlett, he would agree... not to divorce."

Lily POV

I froze for a moment, then began to tremble with laughter.

So that was it.

The car involved in the accident that day belonged to Scarlett?

No wonder Scarlett was also on the Coast Highway that day, no wonder she only had minor scrapes.

Ethan was afraid I'd sue Scarlett, so he came to silence me.

"Not divorce?" I asked, as if I'd heard the funniest joke. "What makes him think I still care about being his wife?"

Mark looked a little awkward: "Mr. Reed said you shouldn't be stubborn. Without the Reed family, you won't even be able to afford your medical bills."

"Tell him," I pulled the already signed divorce agreement from under my pillow and flung it at Mark, "I've already signed it. I can afford these medical bills even if I have to sell my blood! Tell him to take his first love and disappear as far away as possible!"

Mark scurried away in a hurry.

I pulled out the IV needle in my hand. Blood welled up, but I felt no pain.

I couldn't die in this hospital.

If I died here, that lunatic Ethan would surely discard my ashes anywhere, or force me to make room for Scarlett.

I wanted to find a clean place to go quietly.

That evening, I seized the opportunity during the nurses' shift change and secretly slipped out of the hospital.

The wind on the Coast Highway was strong, carrying the salty scent of the ocean.

This was where Ethan and I first met, and also where I had my car accident and miscarriage.

Round and round, the end had returned to the beginning.

Just then, a black luxury car screeched to a halt beside me.

The door opened, and Ethan, his face contorted with fury, rushed out and grabbed my arm.

"Lily! You think you're so smart? Daring to escape from the hospital?"

Ethan must have just received the call from the hospital about a missing patient. He probably drove here inexplicably, never expecting to actually find me.

In the car's headlights, he saw me.

Thin. Too thin.

Like a fragile sheet of paper, ready to crumble in the wind.

I looked up, my pale face beneath the brim of my hat devoid of any expression.

"Ethan, let go."

"Come back with me!" Ethan seemed panicked. "As long as you're obedient, I won't pursue what happened before..."

"Not pursue?" I laughed, tears streaming down my face, then a sudden gush of blood sprayed from my mouth, staining Ethan's white shirt.

Ethan's pupils seemed to constrict, and he froze.

"Lily?!"

My body softly collapsed, like a kite whose string had been cut.

This time, I wasn't acting.

Ethan caught my falling body, his palm touching something wet and warm.

It was blood.

An incessant flow of blood, gushing from my nose and the corners of my mouth, unstoppable.

"Ethan..." In his arms, my eyes unfocused as I gazed at the night sky. "If there's a next life... I never want to meet you again..."