Love Too Late, Ashes Too Soon

Chapter 2

Turns out, even as a ghost, your heart can still break.

I watched from the shadows as Jennifer giggled on my bed, whispering about wanting to give Frank another baby, and each word sliced through me like glass.

Frank had been right about one thing, under that unbearable heat, my labor came fast. Too fast.

I had prayed for just a little more time. If only my baby could've stayed in my belly a bit longer, I would've gladly endured the scorching agony for his chance to live.

But my child… he was too good. Too eager to meet this cruel world. He was born within minutes.

Clinging to the edge of the steamer, I used the last of my strength to crack the lid open. My voice trembled as I pleaded with the people outside:

"I've given birth, please, my baby isn't crying, he's barely breathing. I'm begging you, save him. Just save my baby."

Their faces turned pale. One of them stepped forward, reaching for the power switch,

But then Jennifer's voice echoed from down the hall.

"Frank, how can she use the baby to play on your sympathy? Doesn't she realize how dangerous her words are? What if her bad luck makes them come true?"

"She's so lucky to be carrying your child and giving birth safely, yet she doesn't cherish it. And now she's cursing her own baby?"

"She knows how much I long for a child. Is she saying all this just to hurt me more? To make me feel even worse?"

Tears streamed down Jennifer's face as she clung to Frank. And just like that, his anger flared again.

"I see. Clearly, I haven't punished you enough if you still have the energy to play these tricks and provoke Jennifer!"

He barked at his men, "Get the chains. Lock the steamer shut. Make sure she doesn't open her mouth again."

They hesitated. But Frank, seething, stormed forward and wrapped the heavy chains around the steamer himself.

Inside, I whimpered, clinging to my baby's tiny body. His fingers had already started to stiffen. His skin no longer bounced back to my touch.

Then, from the steamer's depths, came the faintest sound, a kitten-like cry. Frank paused.

But Jennifer stepped closer and whispered, "Autumn's always been good at faking things, hasn't she? Just like that night… when I gave myself to you for the first time. And the next morning, she pretended to be me, faking my voice, lying to you…"

Disgust flickered across Frank's face.

"Everyone out," he growled. "Don't let that woman fool you. No one opens that door."

"And when Jennifer's burn stops hurting, I'll let Autumn out myself."

He shoved the employees away, locked the cafeteria doors, and left me screaming, trapped, suffocating, and alone.

My baby let out just a few weak cries before going silent in my arms. His skin turned waxy, his warmth slipping away as my own body began to break down.

I sobbed, rocking him through the scalding mist, as my limbs dissolved into the water.

And while I melted into nothing, Frank decided it was time to make up for Jennifer's lonely six months of pregnancy.

He said she deserved a grand proposal.

No wedding certificate? No problem. He still wanted to give her the world, to make her feel like a queen.

While I withered in death, he bought out every trending topic online. Every screen in the city flashed with his declarations of love for Jennifer. From a helicopter, he rained down rose petals across the skyline.

Thousands watched him get down on one knee, streamed live from every angle, as he proposed to the woman who took everything from me.

And now, from the afterlife, I watched as they spent their wedding night on the same bed where Frank and I once dreamed about growing old together.