After I Die, He Has No Love In His Heart

We were camping when my husband Adrian Gibson's ex, exgirlfriend, Kayla Turner, came down with a fever. Adrian asked me to fetch some water for Kayla while he stayed in the RV to take care of her.

Staggering towards the RV, I weakly pushed open the door. "Honey, help me. It hurts so bad..."

Adrian glanced over, annoyed, catching sight of the blood. "You got your period? Don't get blood on Kayla's new seat cover. She'd hate that."

Little did Adrian know, just two hours earlier, some thugs had knocked me out and stolen my kidney. That blood wasn't from my period. It was coming from my abdomen.

I was dying.

1

Dragging my feeble body, I staggered toward the RV. "Honey, open up..."

Inside, Adrian was close, comforting his ex, Kayla. They were nestled together.

The pain from being cut open spread all over my body, every limb numb with pain.

The RV door remained shut, but I could clearly hear them laughing inside.

I knocked as hard as I could. "Adrian..."

Just when I felt like I couldn't hold on any longer, the door suddenly opened.

Adrian looked pissed and snapped, "I sent you for water. Why'd it take you so long? Where is it?"

I weakly looked at Adrian, grappling with intense pain, and pleaded, "I'm dying. Please, can you... Take me to the hospital..."

Each word I spoke pulled at my abdomen. The agony was unbearable, spreading through my whole body.

Adrian glanced at me with disgust as he saw the blood.

He frowned slightly. "You got your period?"

I tried to climb into the RV, but Adrian pushed me away without a second thought.

I couldn't keep my balance and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Adrian's look of disdain grew deeper.

He said, "Kayla's got a fever. I need to take her to the hospital.

You're covered in blood. Take a cab home, okay? Don't get blood on Kayla's new seat cover. She'd hate that."

The pain chilled me to the bone.

Adrian didn't realize that while he had sent me to fetch water, I had been ambushed by thugs who had stolen my kidney. All that blood was from my abdomen.

I was pale as death, but he didn't see it.

I was covered in blood, but he didn't care.

All he cared about was getting Kayla to the hospital because of her fever.

All he worried about was if I stained Kayla's new seat cover, she would be upset.

As the RV door closed, I gave up struggling.

Lying there on the ground, I looked up at the sky with a faint smile.

I thought, "Maybe dying like this isn't so bad after all."

"Yvette!" Norman called out to me, panting as he got closer.

He found me sprawled out on the ground just as the RV roared to life.

Norman banged a fist against the window.

"Adrian, get your ass down here!" he shouted.

"Yvette's hurt bad, and you're just gonna drive off? Get her to a damn hospital!"

Adrian's face turned cold when he saw it was Norman.

Adrian scoffed through the glass. "Just look at Yvette, all messed up. It'll upset Kayla seeing her like this.

And you say Yvette's hurt? She's just putting on a weak act because I'm caring for Kayla. You really think I can't see through her drama?"

I barely got the words out. "I'm dying... And our baby..."

"Adrian, I feel so terrible," Kayla whined, cutting me off.

Predictably, Adrian's heart melted for Kayla. He rolled up the window, not even giving me another look.

The RV sped away.

The intense pain from the wound was a grim reminder that I might die any moment.

Just two hours earlier, I was perfectly fine.

Norman, realizing he couldn't stop Adrian, rushed over to me, his face filled with panic. "Yvette, how are you holding up?"

The camping trip was supposed to be just Adrian and me.

But when Kayla said she wanted to join, Adrian didn't hesitate to bring her along.

Annoyed, I called my friend Norman to come join us too.

Now Adrian had left me here, and new blood was steadily soaking my clothes from my abdomen.

Norman was in a panic. After a moment's hesitation, he lifted my shirt to check the wounds.

Norman gasped, "Yvette, hold on!

I'm calling a cab right now! We're getting you to a hospital. Just hold on!"

I shook my head, my face deathly pale.

I said in a weak voice, "Norman..."

I knew I was losing too much blood. Those bastards who took my kidney hadn't done a thing to treat me afterward.

Out here in the wild, I wouldn't last much longer.

"When I'm gone, take my ashes back. Give them... to my sister," I managed to say.

Only my elder sister Jennifer Stewart, who had raised me since I was a child. Jennifer had finally seen me settled into married life, ready to find her own happiness.

But now, I was about to die.

The thought of how devastated Jennifer would be weighed heavily on me.

Looking at the horizon, feeling cheated, I thought I saw my parents in the bright white light coming to get me.

A faint smile crossed my lips as my hand dropped lifelessly.

"Yvette!" Norman screamed, desperation in his voice as he frantically made the emergency call.

Tears fell on my face as his voice grew more distant. I tried to move, but my body wouldn't respond anymore.

I died. My soul slipped out of my body. Floating there, I couldn't resist one last look back.

Norman was a wreck. He clutched my lifeless, pale body in a tight embrace.

I was ready to move on and reincarnate, but then a voice stopped me. "You've still got ties to sort out in the world of the living. Wrap that up, then you can move on."

My soul, seemingly pulled by some unseen force, drifted over to Adrian.

Adrian was dialed in, driving the RV, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, brow slightly furrowed.

Kayla, who was supposed to be sick, suddenly perked up with a smile and handed Adrian a bottle of water.

"You must be thirsty, huh?" Kayla asked.

Adrian took a quick look. "You had water?"

Kayla's eyes darted away, and she quickly laughed. "Oh, I forgot I brought two bottles with me. If I'd remembered, I wouldn't have sent Yvette out to fetch water."

Adrian looked away, not taking the bottle.

Noticing his odd expression, Kayla asked what was wrong.

Adrian held the steering wheel with one hand and rubbed his forehead with the other. "I don't know what it is. Just got this uneasy feeling, like something's wrong."

Understanding, Kayla said, "Is it about Yvette? Maybe we should go back and pick her up."

Adrian shook his head, his look dismissive.

"Did you see how bloody and dirty she was? What if she had messed up your new seat cover? Besides, she's always been tough. She'll be fine."

Now just a spirit, I still felt a pang of sadness at Adrian's words, and my head drooped.

Adrian never believed in me. Even in death, I doubted he would believe I was really gone.

Adrian soon ended up taking Kayla to the hospital.

The doctor checked Kayla out and found it was just a mild fever. It was nothing serious at all.

Kayla didn't even need any treatments. She just had to keep an eye on her fever, and maybe take some medicine if it didn't go away by night.

Adrian finally let out a sigh of relief.

He held Kayla close, and as they stared into each other's eyes, the room filled with a sickeningly sweet vibe.

Watching them was like being stabbed with a thousand needles in my heart.

My husband, whom I'd loved deeply for three years, was now cozying up to his ex on the very day I died.

Adrian was freaking out over Kayla's little fever, worrying like crazy.

And there I was, dying, begging him to take me to the hospital, and he just coldly accused me of putting on an act.

In a moment of quiet, Kayla seemed to think of me. Her eyes got all teary as she asked with concern, "Yvette is still out there. Do you think she's okay?"

Adrian gave a soft laugh and playfully pinched Kayla's nose. "Here you are sick, and still worrying about someone else."

As he thought about me, his tone turned annoyed. She was perfectly fine. She came back all messed up and put on that act just to make me worry about her. She's always so scheming, not innocent and sweet like you."

"Besides," Adrian narrowed his eyes and said, "Norman's with her. What could go wrong?"

Kayla lowered her head, but I caught a glimpse of a sly, triumphant smirk on her lips.

After leaving the hospital, Adrian, worried about Kayla being alone and not resting well, brought her back to our house.

Furious, I floated back home.

If I could have touched Adrian, I would have given him a good slap.

When we got married, Adrian and I had an agreement.

No matter how bad things got between us, whether we fought or went silent, we agreed never to bring someone of the opposite sex to stay the night at our home during our marriage.

Otherwise, the house would no longer feel like a home.

I couldn't believe Adrian would completely ditch our agreement for Kayla.

I floated into the master bedroom. The gift I'd prepped for Adrian was still there on the nightstand, untouched. It was meant to be a surprise for him.

I'd also bought a new outfit for my sister Jennifer's birthday after the camping trip.

Sadly, I'd never get to wear them.

From outside, Kayla's voice floated in, all sweet and sugary. "Adrian, can I sleep in the master bedroom tonight?"

Adrian paused, then affectionately rubbed Kayla's head. "Nope. Yvette would've hated anyone else sleeping in her room. Let's get you set up in a nice guest room, okay?"

Adrian led Kayla away, but she soon crept into my room.

She looked around, opened my closet, and grabbed my favorite nightgown before heading to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, she came out smelling like a bouquet. Wearing my nightgown, she went down to the living room.

Adrian was there, sitting with his legs crossed, glued to his phone.

He looked worried, furrowing his brow. I drifted closer and saw he was paused on our chat thread.

He hesitated a long while before typing: [Had enough fun? Aren't you coming back?]

Kayla saw Adrian on the couch and walked over with a smirk, confident she had him wrapped around her finger.

She snatched his phone, tossed it aside, and climbed onto his lap.

Every move she made screamed seduction. She leaned in and whispered, "Forget the phone, Adrian. I want..."

Adrian seemed taken aback for a moment, then gently pushed her off. "Knock it off, Kayla.

You're sick, remember? You need to rest. Head upstairs and get some sleep."

Adrian grabbed his phone off the sofa and went upstairs, leaving Kayla dumbfounded.

Kayla stared after him, disbelief painted across her face. It was the first time Adrian had ever turned her down.

Adrian went back to the master bedroom and closed the door behind him.

He didn't bother taking off his shoes or changing his clothes. He just flopped down on my bed.

I was seething.

Just two weeks ago, we'd started sleeping separately because of his thing with Kayla.

He'd been sleeping in his study lately. I couldn't figure out why he'd suddenly decided to crash here tonight.

[Yvette, do you even remember the way home?]

[Started not coming home at night, huh? Don't think I haven't figured out you're screwing around with Norman.]

Adrian fired off these two messages. Ten minutes ticked by without a response.

Adrian was acting off today. He skipped his usual nighttime routine and wasn't even glued to his phone.

Instead, he just sat there staring blankly at his phone screen.

I wondered, "Is he waiting for me to text him back?"

Sadly, he'd never get another message from me.

As Adrian waited, his eyes wandered to the unopened gift on the nightstand.

Curious, Adrian sat up, toyed with it for a bit, and then unwrapped it. It was a keyboard I had designed myself.

Adrian liked to unwind with computer games, and he had complained about how even the expensive keyboards he'd bought didn't cut it.

I kept that in mind.

As a keyboard designer, I tailored it to fit his habits, adding ergonomic features. It took me two whole months to design it just for him.

On the keyboard's box, I had written: [To my dear Adrian. Happy third anniversary.]

Adrian froze. It seemed to dawn on him that today was our third anniversary.

He looked at the note for a long while, a smile slowly forming on his face.

"Typical of her messy handwriting," he said.

After setting the gift aside, Adrian picked up his phone again, only to see that I still hadn't replied.

His face had just relaxed when it tightened up again. "Yvette, just never come back..."

After five tense minutes, he couldn't wait any longer. He pulled up my contact and called.

I shook my head, thinking no one would answer.

But suddenly, the call connected.

Adrian's face softened in relief, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yvette, you..."

But he was cut off by the person on the other end.

"Yvette's dead," came Norman's hoarse, despairing voice.

Adrian's frown deepened. "Norman? It's this late, and you're with my wife?" He got up, his voice rising without control.

He scoffed, his face twisting cynically. "So, are you two at a hotel? Listen, just bring Yvette back now!"

Norman paused before responding sharply, "Adrian, are you deaf?

Yvette's dead. She died because you left her out there.

Because you ditched her for that bitch Kayla."

Adrian's hand clenched the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Adrian demanded.

Norman scoffed and hung up.

The line went dead with a beep. Panic gripped Adrian. He frantically redialed my number over and over.

Norman didn't pick up again.

Adrian repeatedly muttered to himself, "Norman, what the hell are you talking about? Spell it out!"