Spring Without Return

I stood there, staring blankly at the gravestone, when the old cemetery caretaker walked over and spoke to me.

“Miss, what relation are you to the elderly couple from the Ferguson family? I do not think I have seen you here before.”

His simple question struck me like a knife to the chest.

Yeah. What was I?

The place beside Ethan Ferguson, the place that should have belonged to his wife, already had Olivia’s name carved into it. The letters were neat and permanent.

I stood under the sunlight, yet I felt like a rat that belonged in the shadows. I felt small and ashamed, like a person with no identity I could admit out loud.

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat and answered quietly, “Just a distant relative.”

The old man nodded.

“That makes sense. If you were close family, there is no way you would have missed the memorial ceremony Mr. Ferguson held three years ago.”

“You should have seen it. The whole thing was grand. Mr. Ferguson organized a private memorial for his parents and invited relatives, friends, and many important business people.”

“His wife was there too. She held their little son in her arms while the three of them placed white roses in front of the grave.”

“After that, they hosted several nights of dinners at the manor. It was the first time Mr. Ferguson introduced his wife and son to everyone. Almost all the Ferguson relatives and business partners were there.”

“Mrs. Ferguson was gorgeous. Young too. Looked like a movie star. I even saved a photo.” He pulled out his phone and showed me the picture.

On the screen, Olivia Lynch wore a white dress and held a swaddled baby in her arms. Her smile looked gentle and peaceful.

Ethan stood beside her with one arm around her waist. He looked down at her with a soft smile in his eyes.

It was only a photograph, yet the love in his gaze was clear and strong. It pierced straight through me.

I had never seen him look at anyone that way.

My eyes drifted to the date in the corner of the photo, and my breath caught.

November 6. Three years ago.

The day before that was the day I found out I was pregnant.

I had been so happy then. I believed that once Ethan heard the news, he would cry happy tears like I did. I thought he would rush to marry me and give our child a complete family.

However, the moment I told him, the smile vanished from his face.

“Vivian, I have told you many times. Marriage and children are not part of my plans for the next few years.

“This baby came at the wrong time. Let us not keep it for now. When the timing is better in the future, we can talk about it again, okay?”

As I listened to those cold words, I felt, for the first time, that the man in front of me was a stranger.

In the past, no matter how unreasonable his demands were, the second I saw him angry, I always gave in without hesitation.