Fatal First Love Returns

I staggered back to the hospital, barely able to stand. Olivia was on the brink of death.

"Olivia, it's all my fault..."

Her hands slowly slipped from mine, and she took her last breath.

My tears flowed until I was completely spent.

At dawn, I gathered the strength to start making arrangements with the funeral home, preparing for Olivia's final farewell.

That evening, I sat in the living room, hoping Jason would come home to see Olivia one last time.

I believed Olivia would have wanted that too.

But Jason never returned that night.

When the morning sun rose, I went to the maternity clinic without hesitation.

As I signed the consent forms, the doctor repeatedly assured me that the pregnancy could still be saved if I wanted to continue.

"No, that's not necessary."

Since Emily had returned, Jason had become utterly heartless towards everyone around him. Despite Olivia being just a mile away, fighting for her life, he chose to offer emotional support to his ex instead of spending even a moment to save his sister.

I no longer wanted any ties with such a man.

The procedure went smoothly.

I lay at home, waiting for Jason to return, and for my body to heal.

But he never called, not even once.

Three days passed without a word from him.

I managed Olivia's funeral arrangements despite my weakened state.

After the cremation, I wept over the urn containing her ashes.

"Olivia, don't blame me. We waited for him, but he never came. I hope in your next life, you are born into a good family. You've suffered too much in this one."

My phone buzzed, and I quickly checked it, hoping for some word from Jason. Instead, it was a video message.

The video showed Jason and Emily on a beach vacation. They held hands, laughing as they chased the waves, strolling like a couple in love across the soft sand.

[Maddie, this time, I'm determined to win Jason back.]

I felt nothing as I watched it.

My heart had gone numb.

When Jason finally returned, I was sitting in front of Olivia's portrait, lost in thought.

He had been gone for a week.

Smiling, Jason started explaining, "Maddie, I went on a trip this time. I brought you a gift..."

He approached but stopped short when he saw Olivia's black-and-white photo in my hands.

Fury washed over his face.

"Maddie, you're really losing it! I just took Emily to buy some furniture, and you stoop to this level of malice? You know Olivia means everything to me, and you went and made a funeral portrait for her as revenge?"

He grabbed the frame from my hands and hurled it to the floor with all his strength.

Olivia's photo slipped out and lay there, smiling up at the raging Jason.

I dropped to my knees, carefully picking up the photo and dusting it off, clutching it tightly to my chest.

"Do you want me to send you to a mental hospital?

"Doing this to Olivia is unforgivable! Maddie, if you hate me, don't take it out on Olivia. If you'd made a funeral portrait of me, I wouldn't be this angry."

Jason's hands tightened around my throat. I didn't resist, letting him vent his anger.

As the air left my lungs, I reached toward the side of the sofa and grabbed the cremation certificate.

I thrust the document into Jason's face.

He stared at the words above, reading them over and over in disbelief.

Finally, his grip loosened, and he collapsed onto the floor.