Love Was No Match for Convention

Margaret's voice pulled me out of my memories."Yvonne, James came back with Wendy. They're planning to get married next month."I nodded. "I know. I ran into them at the hospital earlier."Panic flashed across Margaret's face. "What... what did James say to you?""Nothing. He just congratulated me on getting what I deserved." My voice was flat.Margaret flushed, then went pale. She took a deep breath, as though she'd finally made up her mind."Yvonne, I know I've wronged you." Her voice dropped. "But the Zane family never would have recovered these past five years without the Shaw family's support."I came here today because I still need to ask you for something." At last, she got to the point."James has never completely gotten over you. But he and Wendy have finally made it this far. The wedding can't afford any more complications."If James finds out the truth about what happened back then, if he finds out you were actually sick when you left him, I'm afraid he..."She stopped shor

When I woke again, Yara was bustling around, taking care of me.Her voice was full of anger. "James doesn't know you're sick, does he? He thinks you really left him for money?"I stayed silent."I knew it!" Yara looked at me in exasperation. "You two were so good together back then. Yvonne, why didn't you tell him the truth?"You went through so much for him, and now he's treating you like this—""Yara." I cut her off, my voice hoarse. "What's done is done. Let it stay in the past.""But...""No buts." I took a deep breath. "James and I ended a long time ago. He's doing well now. That's enough.""And that gives him the right to humiliate you?" Yara shot back."Yvonne, you're such an idiot! You ruined yourself for him, and what about him? He's successful, with a beautiful fiancée by his side. How is that fair?""Because of the choice I made back then," I said softly. "I chose this path myself, so the consequences are mine to bear."Yara fell silent for a long time before finally saying,

After James left, my world settled back into its stagnant calm.But beneath that calm, something was always stirring.My health continued to deteriorate. I coughed up blood more and more often, and the painkillers worked less and less.My doctor called and gently asked whether I would consider chemotherapy or getting in touch with hospice care.I declined.I didn't want to spend my final days in some unfamiliar place, covered in tubes and stripped of all dignity.I only wanted to stay in this tiny rented apartment, the place that had once held a brief stretch of warmth between James and me, and quietly wait for the end.Yara helped me contact a funeral home, and I made the arrangements in advance, paying the deposit myself.I chose a simple memorial, with nothing but my name and the years of my birth and death.I had no family. I didn't need any hollow words of mourning.Having a place to rest was already more than enough.Once everything was arranged, I felt much lighter, as if a heav

James used every connection and resource he had to transfer me to the best private hospital in the city, where he arranged consultations with top specialists.He tried to keep me alive with the best medical care money could buy, but the cancer had already eaten away too much of my body.My attending physician told him privately that my condition was extremely poor.The cancer had spread extensively. The treatments available could only slow its progression. They couldn't reverse it.I was able to get out of bed less and less. Most of the time, I could only lie there, relying on machines and medication to keep my vital signs stable.James canceled almost all of his work and came to the hospital every day.He stopped bringing up the past. He didn't ask about the future either. He simply stayed with me in silence.Sometimes he read to me. Other times, he just sat beside the bed, holding my hand without saying a word.His hand was warm around my cold fingers.In my haze, I would sometimes f

Third-Person POVJames took Yvonne's ashes to the stretch of coast they had often visited back in college.Following her wishes, there was no funeral. James went alone.The sea wind blew hard, tousling his hair.He opened the urn and slowly scattered the fine white ashes into the waves."You're free now, Yvonne," he said softly.No more pain. No more suffering. No more being bound by the burdens of this world.The waves carried her ashes out to sea until they disappeared into the endless blue.James stood there for a long time, until the sun began to set.The phone in his pocket kept vibrating with calls from work.He didn't answer.Right now, he was simply a man who had lost the love of his life.He reached into his pocket and pulled out a yellowed note. He had found it not long ago while going through some old things, tucked inside one of his college textbooks.It was in Yvonne's handwriting, and the words were something he had never seen before.[James, if I go before you someday, d