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All Chapters of Ashes She Never Claimed: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Everyone, pay attention. I've brought out the cremated remains that have exceeded their storage period. Each urn has the corresponding file beside it."Register everything according to procedure, then contact the families as soon as possible so the remains can be claimed."The storage cabinet opened.A familiar voice reached my ears.Hot sunlight spilled into the narrow compartment, and my eyes stung so badly that I almost recoiled.I had been trapped in darkness for too long.When I finally managed to focus, the first face I saw was the one I had missed more than any other.My fiancée, Anya Lockridge."Anya..."I tried to say her name.No sound came out.Of course not.I was already dead.I watched her move around the cremation storage room.A strange sadness settled over me.She ran Linden Hill Funeral Home.How had my ashes sat in one of her own storage cabinets for so long without her ever coming to claim them?My spirit had been trapped beside this urn for so lon

Chapter 2

Another coworker grinned."At this rate, Anya and Cyrus are going to announce their wedding any day now."I felt as if something inside my dead mind had stalled.Anya and Cyrus?They had been together for three years?Then the man her coworkers said had saved her life was Cyrus.But I was the donor.Before I could make sense of it, Cyrus spoke with carefully arranged hesitation."Anya... Milo still hasn't contacted you?"My entire spirit seemed to tighten.My cancer diagnosis had only ever been seen by Cyrus.He found the report by accident.I'd begged him not to tell anyone because I didn't want my parents or Anya worrying before the transplant was done.I told him that once Anya's surgery succeeded, he could explain everything.Listening to him now, I understood immediately.He had lied.Anya's face darkened."Why are you bringing him up?"Cyrus forced a sad smile."I'm just worried about him."Living overseas alone can't be easy."Before everything happened, Mil

Chapter 3

"Is... is that what it says?"Cyrus took the file and pretended to read it calmly.His fingers weren't.His voice came out wounded."How could Milo put false information in something like this?"Anya immediately took his hand."Everyone knows you were the one who donated to me."Don't worry."I won't be fooled by Milo's lies."Pain tore through me.The truth was sitting in her hand.She still chose not to believe me.Anya tossed the file aside."Even dead, he finds a way to be disgusting."If nobody claims overdue remains, the funeral home has procedures for disposal."Leave it. Let's go eat."Cyrus stopped her.He picked up my urn with a mournful expression."We should still take him with us."No matter what happened, he was still my big brother."He deserves to be laid to rest with family, not left behind as a lost soul."Anya looked reluctant."Cyrus, you're too softhearted."Fine."Whatever you want."I watched him suspiciously.Cyrus had every reason to w

Chapter 4

"I brought him here because I wanted him to see how happy Anya and I are."Maybe, wherever he is now, he'll watch over our family."My parents immediately grabbed his arms to stop him from reaching into the trash."Cyrus, you're still young. You always think the best of everyone."That softness will only hurt you."My father frowned."Milo brought disaster wherever he went."His ashes should be scattered and forgotten before his bad luck rubs off on you too."Anya nodded."They're right."Cyrus, he already hurt you once."He doesn't deserve your sympathy."She called over a server."Please remove this trash bag."And dispose of it away from the dining area."The server tied the bag and carried it out.Only then did everyone relax, as though my remains had been no more important than spoiled food.My mother brightened again."Cyrus, didn't you say you prepared a surprise for Anya?"Now is the perfect time."Anya blinked."What surprise?"Cyrus pulled a velvet ring

Chapter 5

Anya went completely still.Her phone slipped halfway down from her ear.Dr. Kessler kept speaking."Ms. Lockridge? Are you still there?"This follow-up is important for your long-term health."Please let us know when you're available."Anya slowly lifted the phone again.Her voice shook."Are you really from Wrenfield General?"This isn't some kind of scam?"Dr. Kessler paused, then answered patiently."I understand the concern."Our record shows your transplant took place three years ago, on September fourteenth."Your diagnosis was renal failure."We also have the original organ donation form."I've just sent a scanned copy to your phone."Anya opened the message.There it was: her name in the recipient field and mine in the donor field.Not Cyrus. Me.The form carried the hospital seal and the signature of the transplant physician Anya knew from her own surgery.One document was enough to crack the lie open.Anya's face changed.Her phone hit the floor."Anya

Chapter 6

Just hearing her voice over the phone broke my heart.I bought the earliest flight home.At three in the morning, I stood outside her apartment with cold medicine in one hand and my luggage in the other.Anya burst into tears when she saw me, sobbing so hard she could barely speak."Milo, you big idiot!"You flew all the way back for a cold?"What about work?"Won't your boss be furious?"I wiped her tears away."Nothing matters more than you."And you told me you hated long distance, so I resigned from the overseas position. I'm staying."She hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe."Milo..."We're going to stay together forever."It was bitterly cold that night. The first snow of the year fell all around us.But I felt warm inside, as though I was holding the whole world.For a long time afterward, I believed that memory proved Anya would love me no matter what.But if she'd truly loved me, how could a few words from an outsider like Cyrus turn me into an unforgi

Chapter 7

Anya kept crying.I had nowhere else to go.Since leaving the storage cabinet, my spirit seemed chained to her.I sat on a bench in the hospital corridor and watched people hurry past.Most of them wore the same frightened expression.A thought surfaced in my mind.The place where people prayed most wasn't always a church.Sometimes it was the hallway outside an operating room.Every day, families in hospitals begged fate for one more hour.No one had begged for me.My death happened quietly.Nobody knew.Nobody waited outside a door praying I would wake up.After a long time, Anya finally stood, whispering to herself."The ashes."Milo's ashes."Panic returned to her face.She drove back to the restaurant.Cyrus had been left hanging, and he'd probably taken my parents home by now.Anya grabbed the server who had taken the trash away."Where did you take that trash bag from earlier?""In the green dumpster behind the restaurant."Anya overturned one bin after ano

Chapter 8

Anya cleared her throat."I had my phone on silent. I didn't notice. Sorry, Cyrus."I'm fine. I've just been working too much lately."Cyrus sat beside her and reached for her hand."I'm just glad you're okay. Take a few days off."Your health matters more."Her fingers tightened.Then she gently pulled her hand free."All right. Whatever you say."She studied his face."Cyrus..."I want to ask you something."Three years ago, when Milo left, did he really say all those things?"Cyrus's eyes shifted away."Why are you bringing him up again?"You told me you never wanted to hear his name."Anya didn't look away."I had a nightmare while I was unconscious."I saw Milo covered in blood."He kept saying his death was unjust."She watched every change in Cyrus's expression."The more I think about it, the less sense things make."Before my kidneys failed, Milo treated me well."If he wanted to leave me, he would have told me to my face."Vanishing without a word wasn

Chapter 9

Cyrus had barely put the ring on Anya's finger before she mentioned a wedding.He looked thrilled."A wedding?"You're already planning it?"Anya lowered her gaze to the ring."I accepted your proposal."Of course we should settle down soon."Cyrus pulled her into his arms."Anya, I'm so happy."I swear I'll make you happy for the rest of your life."I'll give you a wedding you'll never forget."Where he couldn't see, Anya's smile disappeared.She patted his back almost tenderly."I know."I'll give you a wedding you'll never forget too."Something in me stirred.There was something strange about the way she was treating Cyrus today.After that, Cyrus threw himself into planning.He spent so much time between work and wedding preparations that he and Anya actually saw less of each other.Most of their planning happened by message.What style of bouquet? What kind of wedding favors? He sent her pictures of all of it.Anya answered almost immediately every time.But

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