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The surgery took two hours, and Ethan's mom spent the whole time yelling at me.
I regretted not showing up even later.
But when I heard the results of the surgery, getting yelled at felt worth it.
Ethan didn't just lose his legs—his private parts were burned off too.
No more bedroom adventures for him. He'd be lucky to pee normally.
Hearing that, I fake-screamed and ran off, covering my face.
Everyone thought I was too upset and needed to cry alone. Really, I was hiding somewhere so I could laugh without being caught.
I laughed until my sides hurt.
When I got back to the room, Sophia was already there.
I hadn't called her, and Ethan was still unconscious. So his parents must have noticed her.
It seemed they'd known about Sophia and Ethan all along—I was the only one kept in the dark.
They'd really played me for a fool.
“Olivia, something this big happened, and you didn't tell me?”
I said, “I was too shocked and heartbroken to think straight. How did you know we were here?”
Sophia hesitated—she hadn't expected that question—but quickly made up an excuse.
“I wasn't feeling well and came to get checked out. Turns out it was nothing, but I ran into Mrs. Miller and heard what happened. I wanted to see if I could help.”
She was pretending to be helpful. I decided to roll with it.
“Oh, Sophia, you're a lifesaver!”
“Mr. and Mrs. Miller are getting older. I don't want them overworking themselves here, but I'm still really weak myself.”
“If you could help out, that'd be great. I'll go home and rest, and leave this to you.”
Before she could refuse, I bolted out of there faster than anyone thought a “sick” person could do.
When I got home, my mom was cooking.
I hugged her tightly. She jumped, asking what was wrong.
To her, I'd only been gone a day. But with memories from my last life, it had been to me nearly two years since I'd seen her.
So I held on and didn't let go.
“What's wrong? Did Ethan or his mom upset you?” My parents had never liked Ethan or his family.
At first, it was my dad who disapproved. My mom went along with it at first because I genuinely liked Ethan.
Then she met Ethan's mom.
Mom had never seen anyone so unreasonable and was afraid I'd be miserable if I married into that family. So she sided with Dad after that.
If I hadn't ended up paralyzed and disfigured in my past life, they would've stopped me from marrying him.
But things had played out differently. Ethan proposed when I was at my lowest, so my parents thought he was loyal and kind. They agreed to the marriage.
Turns out, my parents were better judges of character than I was.
I told them what happened at the hospital just now, including everything his mom said to me.
Mom was so mad she wanted to confront Ethan's mom right then, but I stopped her.
She said, “You're not still thinking of marrying him, are you?”
I said, “Of course not. It's not just the injuries—I found out he was cheating. But let me handle this. I've got a plan.”
That night, I had a nightmare.
I saw myself from my past life—helpless, lying on the ground, my body and soul rotting away.
Ethan and Sophia were going at it right in front of me, fantasizing about the life they'd have after I died.
Then I watched as I struggled to start the fire.
When the flames erupted, I jolted awake.
To make sure it was just a dream, I got up and walked around.
Seeing that I was still whole and healthy in this life, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
I spent the next few days resting at home, keeping my phone off to avoid any interruptions.
When I figured Ethan had probably calmed down, I went to the hospital.
Since his affair with Sophia wasn't public yet, I was still his girlfriend in name.
I couldn't look too heartless—that'd give people ammunition against me.
During those days, I'd planned how to break things off gracefully.
With me gone for so long, Ethan had probably been plotting his next move too. My absence must have made him nervous.
So when he saw me walk into his room, he put on a eager expression.
His face was wrapped in bandages, so all he could do was wave excitedly.
“Olivia, you're here! I couldn't reach you. I was so worried.”
“Even after what happened, I still want to finish what I started that day.”
Then he held up a ring and said, “Olivia, marry me. I'll make you happy.”
