The Day I Died, He Married Her

Chapter 3

I was hunched over the toilet, retching until my vision swam.

A knock came from the door. "Are you okay in there?"

Panicked, I flushed and wiped my mouth. A streak of blood marked the back of my hand. I didn't have time to wash it off—I just hid it behind me and pulled the door open.

Standing outside was Mrs. Winters.

Her eyes widened in shock. "Rachel?"

I forced a smile. "Hi, Auntie," I said quickly, stepping past her, eager to get away.

"Rachel—wait." She caught up, her voice trembling, eyes red-rimmed. She looked at me for a long moment before whispering, "I'm sorry."

My throat tightened. My voice came out hoarse. "There's nothing to apologize for, Auntie."

What happened back then—those choices were mine. No one forced me.

She blinked back tears, her expression softening into one of quiet sorrow. "Rachel, you and Ethan… maybe it just wasn't meant to be. You need to let him go."

Everyone always said the same thing.

That Ethan and I weren't meant to be.

Even I had started to believe it.

But still—why?

We had loved each other. Deeply. Fiercely. How could Lily Evans erase more than a decade of history?

I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to soothe the dull, gnawing ache inside. "It's okay, Auntie," I said, forcing another smile. "I've already moved on."

Outside the hotel, I saw them—Ethan and Lily—standing by the entrance, sending off the last of their guests.

I didn't walk up. I just watched from a distance.

Someone clapped Ethan on the shoulder. "Congrats, man. You finally married the love of your life."

Ethan, usually so reserved, actually smiled. A gentle warmth lit his eyes. "Thank you," he said.

I stood there, the sounds around me dulling, the world slipping out of focus.

And suddenly, I was seventeen again.

It was a sticky summer night. He had held my hand beneath the stars, offering me a single rose—his clumsy promise of forever.

"Rachel, why aren't you grown up yet?" he'd whispered, brushing hair from my face.

"I can't wait to marry you, my silly girl."

There was a boy once—who loved me with a heart so full, it drowned me.

We made vows under moonlight, swearing forever with all the certainty of youth.

We had our first kiss on a snowy night.

And in a spring blooming with pear blossoms, we promised each other the world.

But time moves slow—and cruel.

And in the end, that boy married someone else.