After This Life, We’ll Never Meet Again

Avery's POV

I looked up at Kevin and gave him the gentlest smile I could manage.

“Don’t worry,” I said quietly. “I’ll take care of it.”

He didn’t hesitate. Not even for a breath. The second the words left my mouth, he turned and rushed off like he couldn’t get away fast enough.

The nurse who came in to draw my blood gave me this tight, uneasy look.

“Miss Summers, your vitals aren’t looking good,” she said softly. “You really shouldn’t be donating blood in your condition.”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I’m the same blood type as Miss Leighton. And it’s two lives we’re talking about.”

In my last life, Tiffany died from this.

And that was the root of Kevin’s hatred toward me. That moment. That loss.

This time, I was going to fix it.

After the blood was drawn, everything went sideways. I felt my whole body cave in, and before I could even try to sit up, everything went dark.

...

When I woke up, Kevin was sitting right beside me. For once, the anger in his eyes was gone, and all I saw was gratitude.

“Tiffany’s surgery went well,” he said, his voice low. “Thanks… for everything. Here. Take this as a token of appreciation.”

He held out a small box.

Inside were sapphire earrings, still in their original case.

I remembered them; they were the bonus gift that accompanied the Blue Heart necklace when that necklace was supposed to be mine, back when Gregory and Eleanor were still referring to it as a wedding gift.

Still valuable. Still beautiful.

But I didn’t reach for them. I gently pushed the box back toward him.

“No thanks,” I said. “I don’t need them.”

Kevin paused, probably noticing how pale I looked. And this time, he didn’t argue.

He just nodded and said, almost gently, “You always said you wanted to see the flowers at Saint Jude’s, right? Once you’re better, I’ll take you.”

I gave the faintest smile—more reflex than sincerity—and stayed silent.

I didn’t tell him the truth.

Magnolias only bloom for a few days. They’re delicate like that. By the time he ever got around to taking me, they’d be long gone, just like everything else.

He set the earrings down on the side table.

“I’ll go get you something to eat. Wait here,” he said, standing. “Thomas is right outside. If you need anything, just call him.”

Then he left.

And I just sat there, watching the door close behind him with this quiet, bitter ache blooming in my chest.

'Kevin, this time, I really can’t wait for you anymore. Your heart’s already full of her. I know it. I’ve seen it. There’s no room left for me, and I’m done trying to squeeze into a space that was never meant for me in the first place. I won’t be the distraction you keep having to push away.'

Not anymore.

...

Kevin's POV

I walked back, food in hand, and found the room empty. The moment I realized she was gone, it felt like a punch to the gut.

I called out, my voice sharp and frantic. “Where is she?”

Thomas, my assistant, rushed in, pale and stumbling over his words. “Sir, I swear, I was right outside the door the whole time. She never passed by me. I didn’t see her leave.”

Then a nurse walked past, muttering under her breath, thinking no one could hear. “What a shame. So young. She jumped from a high place. Her face was barely recognizable.”

I froze.

Turning to her, my voice broke as I shouted, “What did you say? Who jumped? Where?”