Ten Years of Mourning, One Video Call, and a Husband Who Never Left Chapter 01

Ten Years of Mourning, One Video Call, and a Husband Who Never Left Chapter 01

Five years after my husband died, I went to visit his grave, just as I always did, and left flowers at his headstone.

I missed him so badly that I couldn’t stop myself from FaceTiming his old disconnected number.

To my shock, the call went through.

The moment I saw my husband’s face, I broke down sobbing.

“Jason, don’t worry. Mom, Dad, and Natalie are all doing well. Wait for me a little longer on the other side.”

“In the next life, let’s be husband and wife again, okay?”

On the other end of the video call, Jason Warren froze for a second, a flicker of guilt passing through his eyes.

“Lily,” he said, “I promised Natalie that I’d be her husband again in the next life.”

I went still. “What do you mean, again?”

Jason took a deep breath.

“The truth is, I never died.”

“After my older brother, Graham Warren, died, I felt sorry for Natalie. She was a widow raising a fatherless child with no one to rely on. But you wouldn’t let me be a husband to both of you, so I had no choice but to fake my own death.”

“Then I secretly married Natalie.”

“For the last ten years, you’ve taken care of my parents for me all by yourself. At your worst, you were working five jobs a day, and you even collapsed from exhaustion while unloading boxes.”

“Lily, in this life, I’m the one who failed you.”

***

The call was abruptly ended.

I stood there, frozen, unable to process what had just happened for a long time.

In a panic, I unlocked my phone, but there was no record of the call at all.

It was as if everything that had just happened had been a hallucination.

But as I stared at Jason’s face on the headstone, it still felt as if a boulder had slammed down on my chest. A suffocating unease pressed so hard against my ribs that I could barely breathe.

Before I could think it through, my phone suddenly rang.

Jason’s mother sounded unusually cheerful on the other end.

“Lily, once you’re done at the cemetery, come home right away.”

“Stop by the grocery store on your way back. Natalie and your nephew are coming over today.”

I quickly agreed, arranged the flowers and memorial items I had brought, then slowly forced my stiff body upright and turned to leave.

By the time I came home with bags in both hands, I could hear laughter spilling out from inside even from a distance.

When I pushed open the door, Jason’s mother was sliding a gold bracelet onto Natalie’s wrist.

The moment she saw me walk in with the groceries, the smile on her face froze for a split second.

“Go make dinner,” she said. “Natalie and the boy are hungry.”

Natalie smiled too. “Thanks, Lily.”

I nodded. Before heading into the kitchen, I glanced instinctively at the little boy tearing around the living room.

Maybe it was that strange video call. Maybe it was the look on Jason’s mother’s face. Or maybe it was the boy’s face, which looked far too much like Jason’s.

Either way, the unease inside me only grew stronger.

After dinner, Jason’s mother sent me into the kitchen as usual.

“Lily, you go clean up first. I’ll sit and talk with Natalie a little longer.”

I nodded, but some instinct still made me turn back and walk toward her bedroom door.

When I saw her chatting with Natalie as if nothing were wrong, I almost laughed at myself for being paranoid.

But just as I was about to leave, I saw her pull an envelope from a drawer and quickly stuff it into Natalie’s purse.

“Natalie, take this $20,000 for emergencies. Tell Jason not to tough it out if he’s short on money. If he needs it, he should use it. Don’t let him scrimp.”

My feet stopped cold, and my heart sank.

Jason?

My Jason?

Natalie smiled and accepted the money.

“Mom, I know. Jason said he’ll bring you and Dad over to stay with us for a while soon. When the time comes, just tell Lily you’re going on a trip.”

“Yes, yes. We’ll wait.”

The room spun in front of my eyes.

Jason really had faked his death and married his late brother’s widow.

Not only had his parents known all along, but now they were taking the money I had scraped together through years of hardship and using it to support them.

For the past five years, after my day job, I had gone straight from one part-time shift to the next.

I barely ate proper meals. I never bought new clothes. When I got sick, I simply endured it, and I couldn’t bring myself to take time off.

Penny by penny, I saved every dollar I could.

Just yesterday, Jason’s mother had held my hand with tears in her eyes, saying she felt guilty for dragging me down.

Today, without a second thought, she handed away the money I had saved for their long-term care.

I hurried back into the kitchen and stayed there until I managed to force down the shock and rage churning inside me.

When I came out, Natalie stood and straightened her clothes.

“Mom, Dad, it’s getting late. I should head out.”

Jason’s parents started to get up to see her off, but I spoke before they could.

“Mom, I need to take the trash downstairs anyway. I’ll walk Natalie out.”

Jason’s mother froze for a moment, then nodded. “All right. Go ahead.”

I picked up the trash bag by the kitchen door and followed Natalie out.

When we reached downstairs, Natalie smiled at me.

“Lily, you don’t have to see me off. I can get a cab myself.”

I watched her cab turn the corner and disappear. Then I quickly walked to the curb, hailed another cab, and quietly followed her.

When the car stopped, I watched Natalie get out with the boy’s hand in hers.

A familiar figure walked over and took the purse from her hand.

The moment I saw his face clearly, it felt as if lightning had struck me straight through.

It really was Jason.

He was the husband I had mourned as dead for five years.