My "Dead" Husband Proposed to His First Love

On our tenth anniversary, I received a notification that David had died in a plane crash.

The Jonathan family blamed me for his death, calling me a curse. That very night, they kicked me out of the house.

To survive, I dragged my pregnant body through the wind and rain, working odd jobs and selling crafts at flea markets just to make ends meet.

There were countless times I wanted to give up on life, until my best friend, Chloe, sent me a message.

"Is this your husband?"

I tapped on the photo. Davids face was slightly blurry.

My mind went completely blank, and I frantically hit the FaceTime button.

"Angle the camera closer! Please!"

The moment the screen cleared, I froze, unable to utter a single word.

David was wearing a tailored suit, down on one knee, holding a diamond ring that sparkled painfully bright.

The woman in front of him had a flushed face, too shy to speak.

The crowd around them was cheering.

"Marry him! Marry him!"

"Vivian, you have no idea how long David has been waiting for this day!"

The woman was Vivian, Davids first love who was supposed to be living across the ocean.

The attic in our housea place his family never allowed me to enterwas filled with her photos.

I glanced at my Snapchat chat history with David.

Over the past two weeks, I had sent him more than 1,800 messages.

All my breakdowns, my helplessness, my longing.

None of them had ever received a reply.

It turned out the man I had been mourning day and night was busy building a perfect family for another woman in a different city.

Since that was the case, I would let him go.

Boom

Thunder rumbled, and a torrential downpour began outside.

"Hey, Alice, are you still there?" Chloes voice came through the phone.

I asked for the address, my hands shaking as I hung up.

The Uber sped through the rain, and cold water dripped down my collar as I got out.

On the way there, I had prayed a thousand times that this was just a sick joke.

But then I arrived at the private restaurant and looked through the glass.

Inside, Vivian accepted the proposal, and an ecstatic David pulled her into a tight embrace.

The crowd erupted in cheers as confetti rained down on the happy couple.

"You gotta kiss her!" someone shouted.

"Stop teasing me," Vivian blushed, burying her face in Davids chest.

David smiled gently, protectively shielding her behind his back.

"Vivian is shy. If you guys scare her off, I wont let you off easy."

A few friends nearby continued to joke.

"David, this move was brilliant. You got rid of that old hag and brought home the beauty!"

"Aren't you afraid that crazy wife of yours will find out and make a scene?"

"Let her. David has been nice enough to her. Flying back and forth between countries all the time was exhausting anyway!"

An old hag? I reached up and touched my pale, hollow cheeks.

For the past ten years, I had given up my career to dedicate myself entirely to taking care of David.

At only twenty-eight, I looked like I was forty.

Meanwhile, the woman in Davids arms had flawless, glowing skin. She looked like an eighteen-year-old girl.

It seemed she had been well-protected all these years.

David casually pinched Vivians earlobe and spoke in a dismissive tone.

"Shell find out sooner or later. I only did this to avoid unnecessary drama."

"If she wants to make a scene, let her. If she wants to quietly remain Mrs. Jonathan, she has to accept Vivian."

The restaurants heater was blasting warm air, blowing over my drenched body.

But I couldn't stop shivering. My chest felt as if it were being violently crushed.

The pain was so intense that I collapsed onto the cold ground.

When the proposal ended, David dismissed the guests and led Vivian toward the penthouse suite.

Numbly, I followed them up.

Before they even reached the room, David seemed unable to control himself any longer. He pressed Vivian against the wall, kissing her passionately.

His voice was deep and breathless.

"You look so beautiful tonight."

"I've been holding back the urge to kiss you for so long."

The sound of their heavy breathing filled the hallway. Vivians jacket slipped to the floor.

She giggled softly.

"You made too much noise last night. Danny asked me this morning if we were fighting."

Clatter

My phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

The motion-sensor lights in the hallway immediately flared to life.

Only then did they realize someone was standing at the end of the corridor.

"Oh my gosh... Let's go inside, this is so embarrassing!"

Vivian whined, pushing David toward the door.

David gave me a cold, detached look and dialed a number on his phone.

"Come up and clear out this intruder. Vivian is getting uncomfortable."

Then, he leaned back down to kiss Vivians lips, smiling playfully.

"Since when are you so shy? You weren't like this last night."

"Your face is as red as an apple."

The keycard beeped, the door clicked open, and the moment it shut, the hallway fell back into silence.

A few burly security guards dragged me out like trash and threw me onto the wet pavement outside.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I curled into a ball and sobbed hysterically.

Ten years. I had loved David with every fiber of my being for ten whole years.

I still remembered our wedding night. David had drunk a lot of alcohol, his eyes incredibly red.

He had knelt before me, holding my hands tightly, and sworn an oath.

"Alice, now that Ive married you, you're the only one for me for the rest of my life."

He had held me and talked for hours.

I had been so tired back then, and because I missed responding to a few of his words, he had actually pouted.

"Do you not love me anymore?"

I had laughed all night because of that one childish question.

That night, we held each other and talked until dawn. It was so beautiful it felt like a dream.

But in our fifth year of marriage, David received a letter from abroad.

He began going on irregular business trips, sometimes disappearing for months.

It was during one of those trips that I miscarried our first child.

The doctor said the miscarriage had severely damaged my body, making it hard for me to conceive again.

I cried hysterically on the phone, questioning David.

But he, far away in another country, remained silent for a long time before saying coldly, "I'm busy with work. We don't need to rush the baby thing."

I told him I would wait.

Finally, another five years passed.

When I unexpectedly got pregnant again, I was so excited. I wanted to wait until he returned from his trip on our anniversary to give him a surprise.

Instead, I received news of his plane crash.

Thinking back to Vivian's words now, I cried until I choked.

His busy work was all a lie.

He just didn't want to have a child with me.

My lower abdomen began to throb painfully, and my heart felt as if it were being torn open.

I completely blacked out.

When I woke up again, I was in a hospital. The pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nose.

My messy hair was splayed across my face. The ward was crowded, with four beds crammed together.

Every other patient had family members accompanying them.

I was the only one left alone, looking like a beggar.

I never could have imagined that I, a graduate from an Ivy League university, would end up this pathetic.

For David, I had rejected prestigious job offers arranged by my mentor.

I had thrown everything away just to run to him.

Even when I heard he had died in a crash, my first instinct had been to follow him to the grave.

Because I loved him.

Looking at my pale reflection in the small mirror on the wall, tears streamed down my face.

A kind nurse, pitied my state, brought me a cup of warm water.

"Ma'am, your fetal heart rate is highly unstable. You are in serious danger of miscarrying. Should I call your family for you?"

Family?

Other than David, whose name was on our marriage certificate, I had no one else.

Suddenly, my phone screen lit up.

The video of David and Vivian's engagement was going viral on YouTube.

The news headlines were everywhere: Heir to the Jonathan Group Survived the Crash, Returning to Marry His True Love.

In the video, David had his arm around Vivian, smiling as he accepted congratulations from the media.

I gripped the bedsheets so hard my knuckles turned white.

The nurse took my phone, intending to call my pinned contact.

In a panic, I snatched it back, my voice trembling.

"No... no need. I want to be discharged."

I fled the hospital, dragging my frail, broken body out into the street.

I was terrified of anyone seeing how pathetic I had become.

I ran aimlessly until I bumped into a solid chest. A familiar, cold scent of expensive cologne filled my senses.

I snapped my head up.

David was holding a little boy with his left hand and Vivian with his right. My ears began to ring.

He patted Vivians head and murmured something to her.

The woman gave me a disdainful glare before leading the child over to a nearby bench.

Like a marionette, I was dragged by David into an empty hallway.

"I assume you know everything by now. I won't beat around the bush."

He looked at my sickly, pale face, a flash of something dark and unreadable crossing his eyes.

"I have already announced to the public that Vivian is my wife," he said, suddenly pulling me into his arms with what looked like genuine pain.

"Just stay quietly by my side. Whatever you want, I will give it to you."

His hand was gently stroking my back, and the tenderness in his eyes didn't look fake.

But the words coming out of his mouth were ice-cold.

In that instant, an overwhelming exhaustion washed over me.

I looked up to meet his gaze and laughed.

"So that was your excuse? Faking your death on a business trip?"

"David, what have I been to you for the past ten years?"

"Just a clown you could discard and play with whenever you wanted?"

I tried to choke back my sobs, but the tears spilled over anyway.

My cold tears fell onto Davids palm, making him freeze for a second.

"No," he said, suddenly gripping the back of my neck, showering my face with frantic, desperate kisses.

"I just couldn't let Vivian go. I lied to you because I didn't want to hurt you."

Feeling my body trembling, he frowned and grabbed my cold hands.

"Why are you so cold? Are you sick?"

"Ill take you to see a doctor."

He tried to pull me along.

Just then, Vivians whimpering voice echoed from behind us.

"David! Dannys fever is getting worse! Why are you still over there?"

Davids footsteps halted abruptly. A look of guilt crossed his face as he called his secretary over.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'll have John take you."

I watched his retreating back, suddenly realizing that I didn't even know when it had startedbut David left me with the view of his back far more often than his face.

I thought of every lonely midnight, of the nights I couldn't sleep because of severe morning sickness.

At this moment, all my sanity crumbled.

I covered my ears, crouched down, and screamed at the top of my lungs.

"David! What am I to you?! A substitute for Vivian? Your plaything?!"

"Do I look like an idiot to you?!"

My tears flowed freely, but no matter how hard I cried, David did not stop.

He merely turned around, pinching the bridge of his nose with an impatient sigh.

"Stop throwing a tantrum, Alice. You know I prefer you when you're quiet and obedient."

"Ill come see you after I'm done."

His hurried footsteps faded away.

The secretary gave me a sympathetic look, trying to help me up to go to a ward.

I brushed her hand away and walked out of the hospital on my own.

Along the way, people pointed at me and whispered.

"That's the mistress. She tried to seduce Mr. Jonathan. Poor Mrs. Jonathan was crying so hard earlier..."

"How shameless."

I felt like a criminal paraded through the streets. Accusations and slander rained down on me, triggering dark memories I had buried long ago.

Years ago, my mother had been driven to jump from a building because of my father's infidelity. No one wanted to adopt me.

It was David who had appeared like an angel, pulling me out of the darkness.

He told me he would protect me forever, and I believed him.

When his family forced him to break up with Vivian, I stayed by his side year after year.

I had always believed we were each other's salvation.

Eventually, David fell in love with me.

I thought he was my savior, but now, he was the one dragging me back into the dark.

I ran back to the Jonathan estate like a madwoman.

Ignoring everyone who tried to stop me, I tore up our marriage certificate and smashed our bedroom to pieces.

Shards of glass cut into the soles of my feet, but I just kept crying like a lunatic who couldn't find an answer.

I didn't understand. How could someone who loved me so much change so completely?

Walking barefoot and numb along the sidewalk, I looked up at a giant digital billboard broadcasting a live interview.

David and Vivian were holding hands, their son running circles around them happily.

The host handed the microphone to Vivian.

"Mrs. Jonathan, we heard that you two were each other's first loves."

"After going through so much, you've finally ended up together. Mr. Jonathan must love you very much."

Vivian blushed, looking at David.

David gave her a doting smile, gently took the microphone, and spoke.

"My wife is a bit shy, so let me answer that."

He looked deeply into Vivians eyes and said clearly, "My wife is precious to me. I love her with all my heart."

The crowd below cheered.

But my eyes were fixed on the mermaid-shaped necklace around Vivians neck.

I remembered the years when I was plagued by nightmares of my past.

David had stayed awake with me night after night.

Later, because he hated seeing me suffer, he spent a fortune bidding at an auction for three days and nights just to win that mermaid necklace for me.

Back then, he had held me close and whispered gently, "I want you to be like a mermaidfree and unbound."

"Don't let the past lock you in. Just be yourself."

But that necklace had gone missing a year ago, and no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find it.

It turned out he had given it to Vivian.

I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall.

Wiping them away, I listened to the wind howling in my ears as I dialed Davids number.

"David, congratulations on your wedding."

"We are already divorced. I'm keeping the house and the car."

"Plus, half of your assets."

When the Jonathan family kicked me out, they had already finalized the paperwork under the pre-signed draft Davids mother had forced upon me. David probably didn't even know yet.

The interview had just ended, and the background was noisy. David didn't hear me clearly.

"What did you say?"

"I'm busy right now. We'll talk when I get back."

The corners of my mouth curled up into a soft, firm smile.

"No need. It's nothing important."

Without waiting for his reply, I hung up and called my lawyer to draft the asset division agreement.

Before I could lock my phone, a notification popped upa Snapchat video from Vivian's public story. A childs innocent voice could be heard in the background.

"Daddy, it's your turn to read me a bedtime story tonight."

"Alright, but tomorrow night you have to give Mommy back to me. You can't keep hogging her."

"I need my wife, too."

The happy laughter of the three of them echoed from the speaker.

I laughed until tears came out, then sent David a message.

[This is the asset division agreement. If you have no objections, sign it.]

Ten minutes later, David called me back. He sounded like he was driving.

"What is this nonsense? We aren't divorced, why are we dividing assets?"

"Are you still throwing a tantrum?"

"I promise you, I'll come home early tonight to be with you."

I let out a soft laugh.

"David, go back and be with them."

"I stopped begging for your company a long time ago."

I hung up and booked a one-way flight for that afternoon.

On the way to the airport, the Uber collided with a large truck.

The vehicles were smoking, and the scene was absolute chaos.

I lay on the cold asphalt, feeling the warm blood slowly pooling beneath me.

Through my fading vision, the wail of sirens echoed in the distance.

I was lifted onto a stretcher, and the ambulance sped away.

The paramedic put an oxygen mask over my face.

"The patient is pregnant and showing signs of a severe miscarriage! Call her emergency contact immediately!"

They grabbed my phone and found the contact labeled "Husband."

But no matter how many times they dialed, only the cold, automated voicemail answered.

The paramedic was sweating profusely.

After countless attempts, the call was finally picked up.

"Hello? Alice?" It was Vivians voice.

The paramedic hadn't expected a woman to answer.

Quickly, he explained my life-threatening condition.

A soft chuckle came from the other end.

"I'm sorry, but my husband is in the shower right now. He doesn't have time for strangers."

In the background, the sound of running water stopped.

"If you go to her tonight, don't bother coming back," Vivians voice was playful but firm.

Then, David's voice came through, stabbing directly into my heart.

"Shes not important compared to you."

"My wife is angry, why would I care about anyone else?"

The call went dead. The paramedic looked at me with a complicated, sorrowful expression.

I closed my eyes, and the last shred of lingering attachment in my heart vanished.

"Do the surgery," I whispered. "Save me. Terminate the pregnancy. Ill sign the papers myself."

The surgery was completed quickly. I booked another flight for the next day.

That night, David sent me several apology texts.

[I had work last night. I'll make time to be with you today.]

[I rented out your favorite amusement park to make it up to you.]

I didn't reply to a single one.

The next day, right before boarding, David sent me a video.

In the video, he was standing inside the empty amusement park we used to visit.

"I'll have the driver pick you up soon. Wait for me."

"I set up a surprise for you here. You're going to love it."

I watched the video expressionlessly, then blocked his number.

I threw my SIM card into a trash can and boarded the plane.