Todos los capítulos de He Betrayed Me, but I'll Bury Him Gently: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 9

To be honest, in the first few years after Mom brought Jose home, I resented him a lot and felt like he had stolen the love that was rightfully mine. So, I intentionally ignored him on his birthday.When Mom walked through the door and hugged him first, I threw a tantrum and smashed his toys all over the floor. But he would pack everything neatly away in silence, wait for me to calm down, tug the hem of my shirt, and hand me a note that read "I'm sorry, Vicky".He was always so quiet and sweet.Gradually, I began to accept him. We read books, did our homework together, and walked home from school side by side.On my 12th birthday, Mom was caught up with a surgery and couldn't make it home, so Jose brought out a cupcake to wish me a happy birthday. When I demanded to know where he got the money for it, he would cautiously ask if I liked it.I forced myself to swallow the strawberry, the fruit I hated most, nodded eagerly, and told him I loved it—that strawberry cake was my favorite

One night, my phone rang while I was happily singing at a bar.Jose's furious voice exploded through the speaker before I could even say hello. "Vicky! What the hell did you do to me that day?"The music was too loud for me to hear him clearly, so it wasn't until I stepped out of the private room that I understood what he was saying.It turned out that, over the past few days, Jose had been suffering from loss of appetite, numbness in his hands and feet, and nerve pain. None of the medication he took worked.Of course it didn't work. Those were early symptoms of ALS, after all."Go to a hospital if you're feeling sick. I'm not a doctor," I said before hanging up the phone. I returned to the bar to continue singing.I never expected Jose to show up at the bar half an hour later. Rachel, with red eyes from crying, was practically forcing him along. They did look like a tragic pair of star-crossed lovers at first glance.When she noticed that many of our classmates were in the room

When Joanna had a family emergency and needed to take some time off, I felt terrible for Mom to see her looking for replacements.She was already working overtime with surgeries, and the last thing she needed was to waste her energy on vetting new candidates. So, I volunteered to send Jose his meals for a few days.Mom immediately declined the offer. It was only after I insisted that she reluctantly agreed, on the strict condition that I leave right after dropping off the food. I promised I would.…When I pushed the door and entered the ward, Jose was sitting by the window, soaking in the sun.His eyes went wide the moment he saw me, and it wasn't until I walked up to his bed that he finally believed his eyes."Vicky… Are you here to visit me?""Don't get the wrong idea. Joanna had to go home for a few days, so I'm just filling in."The light in his eyes briefly dimmed before brightening again. "For a few days?""Don't worry. You're not dying in the next few days."He choked

Jose was right about one thing—Mortuary Science was a perfect fit for me.I used to hate hospitals. Part of it was because Mom was always working and rarely came home, but it was also because every time I went looking for her, I saw wards packed with critically ill patients.They ranged from the elderly to teenagers and toddlers. I used to try to make friends with them, but every single one of those friends eventually passed away.Over time, I grew to resent hospitals and developed a deep fear of facing death.I thought I would live with that fear for the rest of my life, until I began helping plan funerals and realized death wasn't the bleak, black-and-white world I had imagined. It could be colorful and full of warm, cherished memories.The grief of family and friends attending the funeral wasn't from pure despair either. If anything, it gave them renewed hope to move forward and live well.I stopped avoiding hospitals. If anything, I started picking Mom up from work and talkin