His Ex Played Ghost and Killed My Baby

In three years with Ethan, I've moved ten times. All because of one woman who keeps breaking into our home like a ghost. Her name is Sienna Moore. Ethan says she was his first love. He says she's the one still hung up on him. But he swears he's done with her. Every time she finds our new place, she turns it into a nightmare. The first time, she sneaks in before our wedding and hangs my dress from the living room chandelier. The chest is cut open, and across the white satin, she writes in red paint: HE'S MINE. Our wedding has to be pushed back. Ethan calls security without blinking and has her dragged out. The second time, I wake up at three in the morning and see a woman standing at the foot of our bed. Her hair covers her face. She holds a pair of scissors in one hand. I scream so hard I start bleeding that night. I lose the baby before sunrise. Ethan sends a cease-and-desist letter to her workplace the next morning. By the end of the week, no decent company in her field will touch her. Today, Sienna breaks into our home for the tenth time. Every photo frame in the hallway has my face cut out. In each one, she has taped a picture of herself over me. In the bathroom, there is a smiley face drawn on the mirror with red lipstick. This time, Ethan finally snaps and calls the police. Sienna fights him the whole way out. She claws at his sleeve, crying and yelling his name. He grips her wrist and drags her toward the patrol car. I follow behind them, cold from head to toe. Then my phone buzzes. A local Reddit post is going viral. The poster is Sienna. [My first love has moved ten times to avoid me, but his smart lock still has my fingerprint saved. Every time he moves, he also makes sure our mutual friends "accidentally" tell me the new address. He says he's over me, but he's engaged to someone else now. Be honest. If I fight for him now, do I still have a chance?] Almost every comment says no. [He's engaged. Leave them alone.] [If he wanted you, he'd be with you.] Only one person votes yes. The profile picture burns my eyes. It is Ethan's burner account, the same account he uses to look up courthouse marriage license appointments. I look up at the two people in front of me. Their backs are almost touching. Then I tap yes, too. Three years. Ten homes. So it was never that she couldn't stay away. It was that he never really wanted her gone. I am done being the side character in their haunted love story. In the police station mediation room, Sienna sits across from us with red eyes and a soft voice. "I didn't mean to scare anyone," she whispers. "I got off my shift late. Someone was following me. I panicked." She looks at Ethan like he is the only safe thing in the world. "When I got near your place and saw all that creepy stuff inside, I got scared. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." There is a police booth right down the street from our building. She doesn't go there. She comes to our house. Everyone in the room knows it is an excuse. But Ethan's hand pauses over the mediation agreement. I stare at the black streak his pen leaves on the paper. My fingers go cold, one by one. Ethan does not notice. He keeps his face hard and says, "If you're in danger, call the police." His voice is low. "Don't come to me. I don't want anything to do with you anymore." The words sound cruel. But his eyes stay on Sienna for one second too long. He is checking if she is okay. The officer at the desk looks tired and annoyed. "Police resources are for real emergencies," he says. "If this is some couple drama, don't waste our time again." I look straight at Ethan. His brows pull together and says nothing. I almost laugh. A stranger figures it out in five minutes. It takes me three years. The officer slides the agreement toward me. Ethan says flatly, "Sign it." I don't take the pen. I have acted out this peace-making scene too many times. "I don't accept mediation." Ethan finally looks away from Sienna and turns to me. "No one got hurt. Why are you making this a big deal?" He calls it no one getting hurt when our wedding gets delayed over and over. He calls it no one getting hurt when I lose a baby because I wake up to his ex standing over our bed with scissors. "She is your first love," I say. "She is not mine. She broke into my home. Treat it like a break-in." "Stop it." Ethan rubs his brow. "We can talk at home. Don't embarrass me in front of people." I push the agreement back across the table. "I'm not the one embarrassing you." His jaw tightens. "She explained what happened. Someone followed her. She had nowhere else to go. Don't hold on to this like it's some crime." Every time, he finds a reason for her. On my birthday, Sienna breaks in and writes countdown numbers on every mirror in the house. Then my mom cuts into the cake and finds a dead mouse inside. My mom's blood pressure spikes so high that we spend the whole night in the ER. Ethan says she survives, so I should let it go. The night before our courthouse appointment, Sienna gets into my study and cancels our marriage license slot. My laptop screen repeats one line over and over. YOU'RE NOT HIS WIFE. YOU NEVER WILL BE. Ethan says we can book another date. Now she is being followed. Now she has nowhere else to go. When I still refuse to sign, Ethan grabs my wrist under the table. His voice drops. "Enough. I know you're mad because she ruined the honeymoon trip." He leans closer. "When this project is done, I'll take time off and we'll go somewhere better. Okay?" Then he says it again. "Stop making a scene." This is what he always does. He protects Sienna first. Then he pays me back later with a trip, a gift, or a promise. As if every crack in my heart can be covered with something shiny. I used to think everything would be fine if Sienna stopped finding us. Now I watch Ethan stand in front of her, even here, even now. And I can't lie to myself anymore. Then I say, "Let's break up."