- 8.
Their wedding was extravagant, a spectacle
of wealth and romance. Everyone talked
about David’s devotion, their epic love story.
No one mentioned me, the forgotten wife
who’d died three years earlier. I watched the
guests shower them with blessings, David and
Emily beaming with happiness. A familiar
pang of sadness hit me, but I knew it was
over. He was no longer mine. Who would want
a wife who was nothing but a ghost of the
past? The ceremony began. David held a
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bouquet, facing Emily, her eyes shining with
love. “Emily Carter, do you take this man to
be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness
and in health, for richer, for poorer, till death
do you part?” “I do!” she said, her voice
ringing with joy. As the officiant turned to
David, the lights went out. A video appeared
on the large screens. “Ms. Miller, there’s no
more of your blood type available. You’re
going to die.” “Instead of dying needlessly,
why not donate your heart to Ms. Carter? It
would save her life, and… well, it would be a
gift to Mr. Walker.” The man on screen was
Emily’s private doctor. On the hospital bed,
barely alive, was me. The room gasped. Even I
was shocked. I was too weak to speak in the
video. The doctor nodded, and a nurse guided
my hand to sign a form. Then, before I could
react, they removed my IV, and while I was
still alive, they cut out my heart. The image
L
was gruesome. David stared, his face ashen,
then turned to Emily. “Three years ago, your
doctor told me you needed massive
transfusions, that your blood type was rare,
that I had to clear out the entire city’s supply.
What a coincidence that Hannah had an
accident that same day. What a coincidence
that she died from blood loss.” He advanced
on Emily, his voice ice cold. She stumbled
back, fear in her eyes. “David, it’s not… it
wasn’t like that… it was an accident!” The
more she explained, the less he believed. She
backed away, tripping and falling off the
stage. The crowd gasped. Emily lay there,
bleeding from her legs. David showed no
concern. “Did you tell your doctor to say that? Answer me!” He grabbed her collar, his
grip tight. Emily, already in pain, struggled to breathe. “No! It wasn’t me! I had nothing to do with it!” But David wasn’t listening. He
L
threw her back down, then turned to the
stunned crowd. “I’m sorry. The wedding is
off. I will never marry this woman.”
