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Auteur: Primapoint
I picked up the torn bags and walked out.

Adrian followed me for a few steps.

"I'll text you the hotel address."

I didn't turn around.

"Adrian, after eight years together, did you ever stop to think that I could get hurt too?"

He didn't answer.

The keypad lock beeped behind me.

I wasn't just locked out of the condo.

I was locked out of my own life.

By the next morning, the family group chat had exploded.

Someone had posted a video of me in my black mourning dress, demanding to know why my mother was still alive.

Everything that happened before that had been cut out. They kept only the moment I finally snapped.

"You might as well have let me finish burying her."

Nina posted online claiming I couldn't accept that she and Adrian were together. She said our mother was perfectly fine and that I'd staged a funeral because I wanted her dead.

Our relatives immediately turned on me.

I tried to explain, but then a second video appeared.

In the video, Nina was crying, saying she'd give Adrian back to me, while I stood silently amid the mess.

Nobody saw the garbage bags.

Nobody heard Adrian say the condo was in his name.

Adrian finally said something.

I thought he would tell everyone the truth.

Instead, he wrote, "Evelyn isn't a bad person. She's just been under a lot of stress lately. Please stop attacking her."

Someone asked, "Should we take Evelyn to a psychiatrist?"

Adrian didn't answer for a long time.

Finally, he replied, "I'll arrange it."

He hadn't defended me.

He'd made everything worse.

Now everyone thought I really was losing my mind.

A minute later, he messaged me privately.

"I covered for you. Stop making a scene."

I wrote back, "Did you cover for me or cover up the truth?"

Adrian only wrote, "Evelyn. Be sensible."

A knock came at the door.

When I opened it, Adrian was standing there with a cup of warm milk.

I asked, "Was that you posting in the group?"

"I was helping you."

"By making everyone think I'm crazy?"

He held the cup toward me.

"Don't make yourself sick just to get back at me. You know I'll end up being the one worrying about you."

I looked at the cup.

"If you care so much, why not tell the truth?"

"Telling the truth now would only make things worse. Nina is already scared."

"She's scared, so she gets to edit videos to make me look insane? She gets to live in my condo? And what about me? Where were you when I was scared?"

Adrian looked at me, exhausted.

"You're different."

There it was again.

You're different.

Which apparently meant I could take whatever they did to me.

I was always the one expected to give in.

"Did you come here to comfort me, or did they send you to shut me up?"

He lowered his head and rubbed his forehead.

"I'm begging you. Just don't make a scene today. Let them have today. Can you do that?"

"And what if I can't get through today?"

"I'll stay with you tonight. We'll get through it together."

I left the family group chat right in front of him.

He saw it and sighed with relief.

His phone rang.

It was Nina.

He picked up, and his voice softened immediately.

"Nina, don't cry. I didn't scold her. Yeah, she's already left the group. I'm coming back now."

I asked quietly, "Are you still coming back tonight?"

He smiled and promised, "I'll come. When have I ever lied to you?"

After the door closed, I slid down the wall.

My lower stomach ached with a dull, heavy pain.

My boss at the studio messaged me. The video had made its way into one of our client's project channels.

Someone asked whether our team could still guarantee the project would run smoothly with a designer who was mentally unstable.

A few minutes later, my boss told me to stay off the next few projects. "We'll talk once this blows over."

My mother was alive.

But my home, the man I loved, and my reputation were all gone.

Adrian didn't come that night.

At two in the morning, he messaged me.

"Nina just fell asleep. Don't wait up. Remember to eat breakfast. Take care of yourself."

I ran to the bathroom and threw up until my vision blurred.

As I gripped the sink, one thought suddenly hit me.

My period was late. Very late.
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  • The Funeral That Ended Us   10

    By the spring of my third year abroad, I got my long-term work visa.Helen threw me a small party.My name was on the cake.Evelyn Whitmore.I looked at those words for a long time.For years, I had thought my name would always come with someone else's.Adrian's fiancée. The older Whitmore daughter. Nina's sister.None of those titles belonged to me anymore.Losing them had hurt. For a while, I'd felt empty.But I was still here.I moved into my new place.The balcony was small, but it got plenty of sunlight.I bought a few pots of flowers. Two died. The rest slowly bloomed.On weekends, I went to the market and cooked for myself. When it rained, I put a warm towel over my calves. And some nights, for no reason at all, I thought about the baby I never got to meet.It still hurt.But afterward, I would open the window and let in some fresh air.Some wounds don't heal.Life goes on anyway.Every year after I left, Adrian emailed me on the anniversary of the miscarriage.The first year, h

  • The Funeral That Ended Us   9

    Later, he sold the condo.It sat on the market for months. After paying off the mortgage, he wired me what was left with a note."Down payment, renovation, interest."I sent the money straight back.My note was two words."Not needed."Adrian looked at the refund record and sat there all night.Money had never been what I wanted from him.It was drizzling the day Helen came with me to see my new condo.It was small. I could barely turn around in the kitchen without hitting a cabinet, and the balcony had room for maybe two flowerpots.Still, I looked at the papers for a long time before I signed.On the line marked "Owner" was my name, plain and clear.Evelyn Whitmore.I had once sold my grandmother's cottage to buy a home I eventually got locked out of.This place was small.But I was the only one who knew the door code.The next winter, Mom really did get sick.Grant emailed me. The doctors had found a heart problem, and she needed surgery.He didn't ask me to come back. He only wrote

  • The Funeral That Ended Us   8

    The next day, Adrian actually showed up.When I left the project site, he was standing at the curb, much thinner than before. His coat hung loosely from his shoulders, and dark stubble covered his jaw."Evelyn."I stopped. I didn't hide from him, and I didn't cry."Are you doing okay?""I'm fine."Something in his eyes dimmed at my answer."I've been looking for you for three months. I'm sorting out the condo. I'll pay you back. Nina has moved out. Your family knew they were wrong."There was still frosting on my cuff from Helen's nephew. Adrian automatically reached into his pocket.He used to carry tissues everywhere. I was a messy eater, and he'd always complain while wiping my hands or clothes before I could do it myself.This time, his hand froze halfway. Then he slowly lowered it."If the baby were still here..."His voice shook."We'd be able to feel him move by now."I looked up at him."Adrian, don't use our baby as an excuse to get close to me."He stumbled half a step back.

  • The Funeral That Ended Us   7

    Nina kept going."Didn't you stay with her for eight years because you couldn't let go of her? Did I come up with this whole plan on my own? Sure, I edited the video. But you never told anyone the truth."A vein bulged at Adrian's temple."Shut up."Nina laughed, tears still streaming down her face."Don't forget, Adrian. You said it yourself that day in the car. You said she grew up with no one loving her, so all you had to do was be nice to her once in a while and she'd never leave you."Adrian said nothing.Nina went on through her tears."When she left the group chat, didn't you look relieved? You said she was finally behaving."He remembered standing outside the hotel that day with breakfast in his hand.When Evelyn left the group chat, he had been relieved. He'd even rubbed Evelyn's head and said, "That's my girl."He'd thought he'd finally gotten Evelyn under control.He didn't know that was the last time Evelyn would ever give in.He raised the cup as if to smash it against the

  • The Funeral That Ended Us   6

    The video was 27 seconds long.Nina stood in the bedroom doorway with his phone.Carol had just called him into another room.Nina watched the phone ring. She waited until the call was about to end before answering.The nurse's voice came through the speaker."Hello, is this Evelyn Whitmore's family? The patient is bleeding heavily. We need a family member here as soon as..."Nina cut her off."Adrian is taking care of someone else. Stop bothering him."The nurse's voice rose. "This is an emergency."Nina was quiet for a few seconds. When she spoke again, she sounded close to tears."Is she using her health to scare people again? Tell her Adrian isn't coming."Several messages followed the video."I'm Morgan Reed, the building manager who let in the oxygen delivery technician for Mrs. Whitmore that day."The younger Ms. Whitmore seemed upset, so Mrs. Whitmore asked me to keep my phone recording in case something happened."I didn't expect to film any of this."I wasn't going to get inv

  • The Funeral That Ended Us   5

    The first voice message was from Adrian.When I played it, his voice was hoarse."Evelyn, the hospital said you had surgery."There were two seconds of silence. Then he asked, "Where's the baby?"I didn't reply.The arrivals hall was crowded, filled with voices speaking a language I didn't understand.No one there knew I had just held a funeral for a woman who was still alive.No one knew I had just lost my baby.Helen, the project lead, was waiting for me.Her smile faltered the moment she saw me."You look awful. What happened?""I didn't sleep on the flight."She didn't ask anything else. She just draped her coat over my shoulders."Let's get you to the apartment. Your room is ready. You don't have to worry about anything right now."My eyes burned.The apartment was small. Helen set the keys on the table."Rest for a few days. Come in when you're feeling better."After the door closed, I sat on the edge of the bed for a long time.My phone kept buzzing.Adrian, Mom, Dad, Grant, Nin

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