Love Me When I'm Dead

My fiancé sent me overseas and immediately burned my wallet, threw away my phone, and tore up my visa. He did it all to make sure I couldn't return home and ruin his wedding to his first love. His friends tried to warn him. "Don't go too far. What if your fiancée really gets angry?" But my fiancé didn't care at all. "She's gotten too spoiled because I've always treated her too well. I'm just teaching her to be more understanding. Besides, Yvonne and I aren't really getting married. I'm only doing this so her dying grandmother can pass away without regrets. Nothing will happen between us. Once the wedding is over, I'll make it up to Winnie." The moment his wedding ended, he rushed to find me and apologize. But he never got the chance to see me. Later, he even took my documents and planned to register our marriage first as a way to make it up to me. It seemed he truly had no idea that I had already died the night he sent me overseas. Chapter 1 When I opened my eyes after dying, my fiancé Liam Fullerton's wedding was already at its most lively moment. His first love, Yvonne Jenkinson, was wearing the wedding dress that had originally been made for me. She held Liam's hand and shared a champagne toast with him while the crowd cheered. Both of them were wearing the diamond rings I had spent two months designing by hand. Liam had once told me that the rings were the result of my hard work and a symbol of our love. He said he would keep them safe and put them on my finger during our big, highly anticipated wedding. But now, he had given the diamond ring to Yvonne instead. I felt a little hurt. They had barely finished their champagne toast when someone started shouting excitedly. "Come on! Kiss already!" That voice sounded very familiar. When I looked over, I saw that the person shouting was one of Liam's friends. There were also many friends that Liam and I had shared at the wedding. They all joined in, cheering loudly. Some even sprayed confetti over Liam and Yvonne while congratulating them. But I remembered that when I told them Liam was going to marry Yvonne, every one of them had called him a jerk. They had even sworn they would stand by me and promised they would never attend the wedding. After staying silent for a long time, I laughed. Actually, this was how it should be. Not long after I helped Liam build his business into a success, I returned to taking care of the family and handed the company over to Liam. These friends all had some kind of connection to Liam's company. Some worked there, while others had business deals with the company. So to them, pleasing Liam was clearly more important than pleasing me. I gave a bitter smile as I looked at Liam standing there with Yvonne in his arms, smiling like he was the happiest man alive. My feelings were complicated, but I wasn't surprised. A month before the wedding, he had suddenly asked me to let him marry Yvonne. Her grandmother's health had been getting worse, and her dying wish was to see her beloved granddaughter get married. "Winnie, Yvonne was my best friend when we were kids. I should help her. Besides, this is her grandmother's dying wish. Helping her would be a good thing to do. I'll make it up to you by giving you an even bigger and more romantic wedding later. What do you say?" I froze when I heard that. I even thought I must have heard him wrong. Chapter 2 Once I realized what he meant, I flatly refused, "If she wants to get married, she can find someone else. She could even pay someone to do it. So why does it have to be you? And why does she have to use our wedding?" It was obvious. She had made up this excuse because she wanted to marry Liam. But after hearing my words, Liam's expression turned cold. He called me selfish and suspicious, then slammed the door and walked away. After that, we gave each other the silent treatment for an entire month. I tried everything to make peace with him. I wanted to change his mind. Three days ago, he finally agreed to hear me out. I thought I had made some progress, but I never expected that meeting to be the moment I pushed myself toward a dead end. Now, as I looked at the smile on his face and the pleased look he wore while everyone cheered for him, I couldn't tell if he was pretending or if he was truly happy. "You two are such a perfect match." "I'm posting this picture to my story right now. Everyone is going to be so jealous." One of our friends had captured the perfect moment between Liam and Yvonne. As she spoke, she lowered her head and got ready to post it on social media. But Liam, who had been greeting guests with Yvonne, suddenly turned around and snatched the phone from her hand. "You can't post this on social media." His brows drew together, and his long fingers pressed the delete button without hesitation. But when the confirmation screen appeared, he paused for a moment. In the end, he tapped Cancel and handed the phone back. "A lot of people will see it on social media. If you really want to post it, just send it to me privately later." A friend beside him nodded. "Exactly. We absolutely can't post this where everyone can see it. If Winnie happens to see it, she'll definitely get jealous again." "But we've gone this far. How are you going to explain this later? Mr. Fullerton, aren't you afraid she'll get angry and refuse to marry you?" Liam let out a mocking laugh. "Of course not. We've been together for so many years, and she's been looking forward to this wedding for so long. She won't call it off. I've spoiled her too much, and that's why she's become so spoiled. If I push back on her a few more times, she'll get used to it." Yvonne nodded too. "Liam has a special status, and he's seen a lot of the world. If you're going to be his wife, you can't sweat the small stuff. Otherwise, how are you going to help him take care of the whole family? Winnie was simply spoiled too much, so that's why she's acting this way. If I were Liam's girlfriend, I would agree to anything he asked me to do." Everyone laughed and cheered, praising Yvonne for being so understanding. Liam looked at her with clear approval. He then told everyone to enjoy the wedding and not worry about me. If there was any problem, he would wait until I returned home before talking it over with me. But when I heard that, I couldn't help letting out a bitter laugh. Return home? He still didn't know that I was already dead and could never return home again. Without me there, the wedding went incredibly smoothly. When the party wound down, their friends cheered and teased them, urging Liam not to hold back. Yvonne blushed and playfully protested, but Liam carried her upstairs amid everyone's laughter. The others followed behind them, still cheering and laughing. As Liam and Yvonne entered the room, someone whispered, "I think Mr. Fullerton and Yvonne make a great couple. Why don't they just make it official and stay together?" Another friend was about to tease Liam and Yvonne, but when he heard that, he immediately turned around and said, "I agree. Mr. Fullerton would be better off marrying Yvonne than Winnie." Chapter 3 "The most important thing is that Winnie has asthma. What if she suddenly has an attack one day, doesn't have her medicine, and dies?" As soon as the man finished speaking, I saw Liam ask seriously from across the room, "What did you say? Who has asthma?" The room instantly fell silent. The friend looked a little unsure after being questioned and explained, "Winnie told me before that she has asthma. The last time she went on a business trip, she even asked me to help her buy some medicine." Liam's face turned serious. Yvonne, who was standing beside him, spoke as if she were joking. "Liam, you've been with Winnie for eight years, and you two still live together. Don't tell me you really didn't know she has asthma?" Her words seemed to remind Liam of something, and the doubt in his eyes slowly faded. I couldn't help but find it funny. I developed asthma from working myself too hard when the company was going through its hardest days. But I was afraid Liam would worry, so I never told him. Later, I went back to taking care of the family. After several years of rest and proper treatment, my condition improved a lot. This time, my asthma came back because I had been busy with the wedding and because of the stress Liam put me through. Since I could no longer travel overseas to buy my medicine, I had to ask a friend to help me get it. Liam really didn't know about my asthma. But there was medicine for it in our home first-aid kit, and I had already shown signs of several attacks at home while we were giving each other the silent treatment. If he had been willing to pay a little more attention to me, he would have noticed. But all he cared about was Yvonne. Yvonne then asked the friend, "When did she ask you to buy her asthma medicine?" "Last week." Everyone still didn't understand why Yvonne was asking. Then she covered her mouth and laughed. "Wasn't that when Winnie and Liam were fighting the worst? Winnie is so clever. If I were her, I might have thought of the same trick. She used her friend to casually let Liam know about her asthma." Only then did everyone understand what she meant. The friend slapped his forehead. "Oh, so by telling everyone now, did I just ruin Winnie's plan?" The others treated it like a joke and burst out laughing. Liam clearly believed them. Once his doubts were gone, he relaxed and gave a dismissive snort. My asthma was treated like nothing more than a small joke, and everyone quickly changed the subject. After they spent some more time laughing and fooling around, Liam finally went downstairs to see them out. After all his friends had left, he took out his phone and made a call. The other person answered quickly. "I told you to keep Winnie locked in the hotel. How is she doing now?" Liam asked calmly. "She's fine. She was just angry and yelling at me, telling me to let her go back." I almost laughed from anger because the man was lying. I clearly remembered what happened before I died. I had an asthma attack, and while struggling to breathe, I helplessly clutched my chest and begged him to take me to the hospital. But he flatly refused, "Mr. Fullerton told me not to believe you. Everything you say is a lie." Then he dumped me on the side of the road like a piece of trash and drove away. Liam didn't suspect a thing. After hearing that, he was clearly completely reassured. "Give the phone to her. But don't let her come home yet. I still have some things to take care of after the wedding." The man agreed and hung up the phone. Chapter 4 I couldn't help letting out a bitter laugh. Even without a physical body, I could still feel the unbearable pain in my heart. I couldn't understand how Liam could trust a stranger instead of trusting me. Liam turned and went upstairs. Yvonne was sitting at my vanity. After casually looking through my things for a while, she picked up one of my earrings. She noticed the initials of my name and Liam's were clearly engraved in the center of the inner ring. It was a birthday gift Liam had made for me himself when we had only been dating for a short time. I had been so happy when I received it that day. I even posted it on social media. Liam knew how much I treasured that earring. I hardly ever wore it, and I always washed my hands carefully before touching it. But Yvonne grabbed the earring with one hand and the dangling tassel with the other. With a look of disdain, she pulled hard and snapped the earring. The tassel fell to the floor, its tiny beads making soft clicking sounds as they scattered. Liam happened to walk upstairs at that moment. He stopped for a second when he saw the broken beads scattered across the floor. "I'm sorry, Liam. I thought this earring looked pretty, so I couldn't resist picking it up to look at it. I didn't expect it to suddenly break." Yvonne stood to the side, pretending to be helpless and confused. Liam frowned slightly. But after a few seconds of silence, he smiled as if it didn't matter. "It's okay. It's just an earring. It's broken, so forget about it. Besides, I hardly ever saw Winnie wear it anyway." "Liam, I'm honestly so jealous that Winnie has such a sweet boyfriend like you. I really wish I could be her." Yvonne looked at him with loving eyes. They stared at each other, and the mood slowly became more intimate. Yvonne took his hand, but he pulled it back. "You're drunk. Stay here tonight. I'll go find a hotel." He had only taken a few steps when Yvonne wrapped her arms around him from behind. Liam froze for a moment, but he didn't push her away this time. Yvonne seemed to understand what his reaction meant and smiled brightly. "My grandma really likes you. At the wedding today, she kept telling everyone around her how great you are. Liam, come home with me tomorrow. After all, if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well." Everyone knew what she meant by "come home." Liam was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "But don't get the wrong idea. I'm only doing this to help fulfill her wish. It has nothing to do with you." I laughed. Even he probably didn't believe those words himself. He had told me that he and Yvonne had been neighbors when they were kids. He had liked her ever since they were young. But after a misunderstanding, Yvonne moved overseas, and they lost touch. Over the years, he had kept photos of Yvonne hidden away. He had even used business trips as an excuse to secretly visit her. He thought I didn't know about any of it. But I knew everything. I just believed that after everything we had been through during our eight years together, our love should have been worth more than his short-lived crush on her. I was wrong. I had overestimated the strength of our eight-year relationship and underestimated how deeply Liam was attached to Yvonne. I never imagined he would go this far for her. In the end, Liam stayed at the house with Yvonne. He gave the bedroom to her and slept on the couch himself. He had a hard time falling asleep that night. I couldn't tell if it was because he was excited or because of something else. Chapter 5 In the end, he sat up and called me, but of course, the call wouldn't go through. At first, he was only confused. But after calling three times with no answer, he frowned, and his mood grew irritated. "Winnie, stop pretending. I'm giving you one minute to call me back." This was Liam's usual way of ending the silent treatment between us. But this time, it didn't work because I was already dead. Even after a minute, there was still no reply. Liam frowned even deeper. "Fine. If you don't want to answer me, then never answer me again." He lay back down and went to sleep. But he could never have imagined that the woman who always smiled and made up with him after every fight would never wake up again. Instead, I was lying somewhere in a dark corner, quietly waiting for my body to decay and begin to stink. The next day, when Liam saw that I still hadn't replied, he angrily cursed a few times. Then he drove Yvonne back to the Jenkinson Residence. All of Yvonne's relatives gathered around Liam, holding his hand and praising him for being handsome and capable. After flattering him, they casually asked about how his company was doing. Yvonne's parents, David Jenkinson and Maria Jenkinson, sat proudly on the couch and added a few words now and then. I also saw Yvonne's grandmother, Elizabeth Jenkinson. Her hair was completely white, but she looked full of energy. She even seemed healthier than I was. She was very pleased with Liam as her granddaughter's future husband. She urged him and Yvonne to have a baby soon. Liam had always hated being pressured about things like this, but after staying silent for a few seconds, he agreed. The Jenkinson Residence was lively for the next three days. One evening, the Jenkinsons suddenly brought me up during dinner. David cursed. "That damn girl Winnie is useless—always nitpicking, and her attitude is explosive." Maria cursed too. Then she immediately held up a small scar on Yvonne's hand and deliberately showed it to Liam. "This is the scar Winnie gave Yvonne when she attacked her. Yvonne only said a few words to her, but she suddenly lashed out. A girl should be gentle and understanding. How could she behave like that? She's so poorly raised. If she ever has children, they'll probably turn out just as badly behaved. Yvonne is different. She'll make a wonderful mother and raise her children well." Yvonne blushed shyly. "Mom, that's enough." My mind felt foggy at that moment. After thinking for a while through my exhaustion, I finally remembered what had happened. Back then, her family had come to me and told me to leave Liam. When I refused, Yvonne angrily tried to slap me. I instinctively stepped aside, and she didn't react in time, so her hand hit the wall instead. That was how she got the scar. Sadly, I had no way to explain any of it anymore. When Maria saw that Liam wasn't saying anything, she took his hand in hers. "Liam, don't you think it's time for you two to start thinking about the important things now that you're married? I heard there's still an opening in the finance department at your company. It's a very important position, and you can't just trust outsiders. Yvonne happens to have plenty of time. You could let her..." To my surprise, Liam actually interrupted her. "Winnie is in charge of finance. We don't need anyone else. Besides, she's been doing an excellent job all these years, so there's no reason to replace her." Chapter 6 David's face darkened, and he was about to say something, but Yvonne quickly stopped him. "Dad, Mom, that's enough. We should respect Liam's choice. I love Liam, so whatever he wants to do, I'll support him." After saying that, she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Over the past few days, they had been very affectionate with each other. At first, Liam would remind Yvonne in private that they were only pretending. But over time, he slowly got used to it. In just two days, they had acted more like a couple than Liam and I had during our entire month of fighting. But this time, Liam suddenly pushed her away in front of the Jenkinsons. Everyone in the family froze. Liam seemed to realize what he had done too. He finally stood up and said, "I'm full. I want to go for a walk." After he left the table, Yvonne hurried after him. "I'm sorry, Liam. Please don't take it the wrong way. My dad and mom didn't mean anything bad. They just want me to help you. In the future..." Liam cut her off and turned around to open his car door. "There is no future for us. Yvonne, you should make this clear to your parents too. We're only pretending. We're not really getting married." "But I really love you, and I want to marry you." After Yvonne said that, Liam turned to her and answered seriously, "But I don't love you. There can never be anything between us." I never expected him to answer like that. I raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. Yvonne was even more shocked. She looked completely unable to believe it. "That's impossible. Don't you have even the slightest feelings for me?" Liam thought about it carefully before saying, "Maybe I did. But later, I realized it was only because I couldn't let go of my feelings for you. The person I love most is still Winnie." After saying that, he didn't even look back at Yvonne. He simply got into his car and drove away. When Liam returned home, he took my documents and went to city hall. When he found that city hall was already closed, he immediately paid someone to help him. He didn't relax until he finally got our marriage certificate. Then he opened our chat history. Over the past few days, he had sent me many messages, one after another, but I never replied. In the end, he had even miraculously admitted that he was wrong and said he would go pick me up. He had never done anything like this before. After calming himself down, he sent me another message. "Winnie, I'm truly sorry. Please don't be angry anymore." "Look, I already got our marriage certificate." Perhaps he was afraid I wouldn't believe him, so he even took a picture of the page with both our names on it. He had just sent the message when his phone rang. Thinking it was me calling, he smiled and answered. "You're not angry..." Before he could finish, a cold voice interrupted him from the other end. "Are you Winnie's boyfriend? Winnie's body was found overseas. It has already been brought back to the country. Please have a family member come as soon as possible to take care of the arrangements."