He Found Me After I Died

Five years after our divorce, I saw my ex-husband, Noah Whitmore, beneath a magnolia tree. He had grown much thinner, but clothes looked more than twice as expensive as they used to be. "It's been a long time. How have you been?" [I've been fine, just a little bored. What about you?] "My company went public. Things have gone fairly smoothly, though I've been a little busy." [Oh, that's good.] After a long silence, he let out a sigh. "Belle, the magnolias in our hometown have bloomed again. Where did you go?" I looked down at my transparent body and answered his words once more. [I'm right here.] Unfortunately, he could no longer hear me. Chapter 1 I had been trapped in this place for more than four years. After my body was completely cremated, my spirit drifted here. The reapers said my attachment to the living world was too strong. They couldn't take me away or set me free, so they told me to wait. I stayed beneath this magnolia tree day after day, year after year, until Noah Whitmore came here. This was where we first met, and we hadn't seen each other in five years. I vaguely remembered our first meeting. He wore an ill-fitting suit to attend a college seminar. I was posing for photos beneath the magnolia tree with my best friend, Linda Rivers, while wearing a dress. I never expected to be harassed, and I certainly never expected him to step in. He chased the thug away. His skin was scraped raw in several places, yet he blushed when he looked at me. "I only helped because I happened to see someone in trouble. I should get going." I gathered up my skirt and ran after him, reaching out to stop him. "Hey, could I have your contact information? I'll buy you dinner sometime." He stood there grinning sheepishly until my puzzled look reminded him to take out his phone and offer me his number. By the time he reached the seminar, he was already late. He ran there with a limp in his ill-fitting leather shoes. That was when I fell for him and slowly grew closer to him. Now, his expensive suit fit him perfectly. The leather of his shoes looked exceptional, and he had grown much more mature. I wanted to hold his hand, but someone interrupted me. "Mr. Whitmore, we should leave, or your fiancee will start calling again." His assistant looked somewhat anxious. I pulled my hand back, catching the key word—fiancee. So, in the five years since we parted, he had found someone new. My heart clenched for a moment, then quickly settled. I had tried to desensitize myself to this possibility countless times. It wasn't a big deal. I simply hadn't been prepared for it. His fiancee must be gentle and wonderful, right? At least she couldn't be any worse than me. Before I could collect myself, his presence pulled my spirit along, and I followed him into the car. He seemed listless throughout the journey, and I could see the deep exhaustion in his eyes. [Noah, if you're tired, get some sleep.] When I was in the hospital, my mother always urged me to rest like that. Now, it was my turn to urge him. Noah slowly closed his eyes as if he sensed something, and he actually fell asleep. His lips moved as though he was calling my name. "Belle... Belle..." [Yes, I'm here.] Noah's assistant stared at him in surprise. The sleep study report in his briefcase was still warm from his fingertips. [The patient suffers from severe sleep disturbances. A preion has been issued, and medication is required.] When we reached the parking spot at home, even the assistant couldn't bring himself to wake Noah. I pouted as I watched Noah beside me, studying every line of his face. My transparent fingertips traced his features again and again, as if I had returned to the days when I slept beside him as his wife. The car door suddenly opened. The woman standing outside swept her sharp gaze across the car, as though warning the invisible third party inside. I froze for a moment when I saw her face. She was Linda, my best friend. Why was it her? She shook Noah awake, her voice filled with resentment. "How could you fall asleep in broad daylight? Are you really that tired? Did you go see Belle behind my back?" Noah pinched the bridge of his nose and blurted out, "She cheated on me so shamelessly back then. Why would you suspect that I went to see her?" My body went rigid. I was shameless. That was right. After being bound to this place for so long, I had forgotten the most important thing. I was the one who abandoned Noah and drove him overseas. I was the one who had the least right to miss him. Back then, he had knelt before me and begged me again and again. "Belle, you were only trying to make me angry, right? Let's pretend none of this ever happened and start over. Please?" I pushed him away and embraced another man, delivering the cruelest words I had ever spoken. "You have no money, and you can't give me anything! You're only begging because you're pathetic! "Now I want a divorce! Don't you understand?" He stared at me in despair. After mumbling for a long while, he finally managed to say one word. "Fine." Him resenting me and no longer missing me—wasn't that exactly what I had wanted? So why did I regret it now? Chapter 2 I forced a smile that looked as though it might break into tears. Fortunately, spirits couldn't cry. I followed Noah inside, but an unseen force drew me toward the framed photograph of his mother displayed on the mantel. It was a photograph of Noah's mother. I never expected her to have passed away too. When I was diagnosed with a terminal illness, I hadn't had time to tell Noah. His mother saw my diagnosis report first. Her shrill voice felt sharp enough to pierce my eardrums. "Belle, you need to divorce Noah. Our family simply can't afford to pay for your treatment!" I had worn the same smile then, one that looked as though it might break into tears. When I first married into the family, she called me their lucky star. "I won't use your money for my treatment. I'll pay for it myself. I only want to spend my final days with Noah…" "Absolutely not! Noah can't become a widower. People would say he was cursed—that any woman he married was destined to die!" Noah's mother had always been superstitious about such things, and I stood there in a daze. Part of me was helpless because I had only just learned about my illness. Another part of me didn't want Noah to carry such a strange accusation because of me. He still had a long life ahead of him. I trembled as I prepared to agree. But afraid I would refuse, Noah's mother crouched before me and begged first, her voice growing gentler. "Belle, you're beautiful, and your family is far wealthier than ours. Please let Noah go and give him a chance at a better life. "He's already been accepted for a fully funded scholarship abroad. If he finds out that you're sick, how will he be able to concentrate on his studies? "Our family is poor. I'm a single mother, and raising him has already taken everything I have…" That was when I learned that Noah's scholarship acceptance and my diagnosis had arrived on the same day. His mother didn't want a dying woman to hold Noah back from his future. I didn't blame her, not even a little. But on the day I hired an actor to help me stage an affair, I could barely lift my head and cried the entire time. What a melodramatic scene. [But Noah, unless I made you suffer, neither of us would ever be able to move forward.] Even the actor helping me put on the act had trembling hands that day. "What a cruel twist of fate… This is awful… I won't take any money for this. "Miss, I hope your treatment goes well. If you ever want to get back together with him, contact me. I'll explain everything!" But in the end, I never got the chance to use his contact information. That day, Noah was still holding the birthday cake he prepared for me. He planned to celebrate my birthday and tell me that we could study abroad together. He wasn't going to abandon me. Instead, I smashed the cake to pieces. Noah watched me kiss another man with reddened eyes. In the end, he signed the divorce papers with me and left without looking back. He never returned home before I died. Now he was back, and Linda was by his side. Linda leaned against him dependently. "I saw Belle in bed with another man back then. I told you, but you refused to believe me. You had to marry her and catch her in the act before you were willing to let her go. "I've been worried ever since you came home this year that you still couldn't let her go and had returned to find her. "But given how proud and ambitious she is, now that she's found someone richer, she probably has no intention of returning." My eyes widened as I listened to Linda. My spirit flew frantically around Noah. When had I ever done anything like that? Even in that staged scene, the actor and I had only pretended to kiss! Linda had been spreading lies about me to Noah even before I married him! Noah stayed silent for a long while. When he finally spoke, his voice was slightly hoarse. "Why would I look for her? She means nothing to me. Just remembering what happened makes me sick." "If you have time to think about her, you should spend it taking better care of yourself." It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over me. Linda was still half-convinced, but she finally settled down and placed a hand over her lower abdomen. "That's good. After all, I came back so our baby could know where it came from." Chapter 3 Linda was pregnant. I stared at her baby bump and felt cold all over. I thought I would accept the reality of Noah having a happy family. But I couldn't accept that Noah was with Linda, especially when she had fabricated all those stories about me. I followed Noah around resentfully. He didn't believe her, did he? [Noah! Use your head! How could I possibly be that kind of person?] Noah couldn't hear my frantic shouting, but during a break from work, he drove his Cullinan to my former home. No one had lived in my old home for years. My mother couldn't bear to face my death. She couldn't bring herself to rent the place out either, so it remained empty and gathered a thick layer of dust. Noah stood helplessly in front of the rundown door, looking like a lost child. Whenever someone passed by, he stopped them and asked, "Excuse me, do you know Belle Hart? She used to live here." "Oh, young man, I'm getting old. I can't remember. No one's lived here for ages, has there?" He asked several people, but none of them remembered me. Five years had passed. Who would go out of their way to remember me? Besides, the neighborhood was now mostly occupied by elderly residents. With no other choice, he went to the property management office to ask whether they had my mother's current phone number. Her old number had stopped working long ago. When he got the number, the look on his face was like a man who had found buried treasure. I couldn't help laughing. [Noah, you clearly still miss me, yet you pretended otherwise in front of Linda.] His hand trembled as he held the phone. Then the call connected. "Mom… Hello, ma'am. Do you remember me? This is Noah Whitmore. I need to speak with Belle in person about something…" My mother remained silent for a long time, and even I grew nervous. My mother and I had agreed that she absolutely couldn't let anything slip. As expected, she refused him. "Our Belle is doing very well now. Please don't bother her again." She hung up before he could respond. Noah sat frozen for a long while before finally starting the car and driving away. A cigarette dangled from his lips. Smoke curled around him, but it couldn't dispel the restlessness weighing on him. I glared at him unhappily. I hated the smell of cigarettes. Noah had never smoked before. He used to cheekily tell me that he was a good man who didn't smoke. After smoking for a while, he suddenly stopped, stubbed out the cigarette, and opened the windows to air out the car. Then he pulled over and went to check the things on the back seat. That was when I noticed the delicate wig inside the box. The fine strands easily absorbed the smell of smoke, and no amount of washing could get rid of it. I had complained about that repeatedly whenever we went shopping. I stared blankly at the wig. I still remembered spending six months in the hospital. My hair had fallen out in handfuls because of the treatment. In the end, no matter how reluctant I was, I had to shave it all off and wear a wig. I had once run into Noah's good friend, Chris Jones, at the hospital. I hadn't been wearing a hospital gown. I wanted to look beautiful, take some staged photos, and post them on social media so Noah would believe that I had fallen for someone else and was living wonderfully. I never expected Chris to deliberately bump into me. I nearly fell, and my wig slipped off. He looked surprised for a moment, then let out a quiet whistle. "Well, well. Did the good girl decide to change her style? "Or does that old man like an androgynous look? Is he into both men and women?" I said nothing, but Chris stepped on my wig and ground it under his shoe several times. I understood his anger. He was standing up for Noah. That was why I grabbed my mother's hand and pleaded with her when she rushed out and tried to call security to deal with him. "Forget it, Mom. I'm fine. Just let it go…" I didn't cry after Chris left. Instead, my mother held me and wept for a very long time. So, was Noah planning to apologize to me for this? There was no need anymore. He carefully placed the wig back in the box. He even sniffed it to make sure it hadn't picked up the scent of smoke. I let out a soft laugh. But in the next moment, he contacted someone to find out my family's current address. I panicked and reached for his phone, but my fingers passed right through it. The person on the other end sounded confused about his intentions. Noah explained calmly, "Linda and I are holding our wedding ceremony in Seaview City next week. I've moved on, so I want to invite Belle to our wedding. Why shouldn't I?" Chapter 4 The person on the other end clicked their tongue before hanging up. Something inside me collapsed with a deafening crash. So that was how it was. It made sense. Linda would only feel reassured if Noah proved that he had moved on. I forced a smile and crouched on the ground. A moment later, it seemed to be raining. Drop after drop fell onto the ground. I looked up and realized that Noah was wiping away tears, his voice strained with suppressed emotion. "Belle, where did you disappear to? You really are hard to find." I instinctively stood up and reached out to wipe away his tears, only to remember once again that I was nothing more than air. [I'm right here. You're searching for me so stubbornly. Does this wedding really need me to be there?] I sighed. Noah set off without hesitation after learning my address. I resigned myself to the passenger seat, just as I used to sit beside him while he drove me home. His car hadn't been nearly as expensive or spacious back then, but it had been the best one he could afford for me. Every day, he would tell me, "Belle, wait until I earn enough money to give you a better life! One day, I'll drive an even better car and give you a more comfortable ride." I would always argue with him on purpose. "You clearly just want a better car so you can enjoy driving it!" He would chuckle. "That too. I'll enjoy driving my wife wherever she wants to go." I leaned close to his ear and whispered, [Noah, you really did get a better car. I'm happy for you.] He rubbed his ear, startling me into shrinking back into my seat. He drove all the way to my home. It was a brand-new villa. My mother had moved there because she couldn't bear to be surrounded by reminders of me. She claimed she didn't want to think about the past, but she had shed more than enough tears. My eyes began to sting. My mother had grown much thinner too. The gentleness in her features had faded, replaced by a sharper, harder look. When my mother saw Noah on the security camera, she flatly refused to see him. But Noah refused to leave. He came prepared. He set up a tent outside my house and stayed there for two whole days, hoping to force my mother to meet him. My mother had no choice and finally gave in on the third day. The villa was cold and empty. Noah looked around, but there was no sign of me. "Mrs. Hart, where's Belle?" My mother answered coldly, "She settled overseas and hasn't come back. Say what you came to say." Noah's lips trembled. It took him a long while to remember why he came. Before he could speak, someone began pounding on the front door. Linda stood outside, slapping the door and shouting at the top of her voice. "Noah, you haven't come home for two days! I knew you came here to look for Belle! "That homewrecker still won't leave you alone after the divorce. Isn't she only after you now that you're rich? What a shameless bitch!" My heart lurched when I saw my mother get to her feet and walk toward the door. The moment she opened it, she caught Linda completely off guard with a slap across the face. Linda's eyes turned red. Through her tear-filled eyes, she mistook my mother for me and charged at her without backing down. I sucked in a breath and tried to support my mother, but I couldn't. Noah hesitated for only a moment before choosing to catch Linda as she nearly fell. I watched helplessly as my mother collapsed and struggled to get back up. I flew around them in panic. [Mom! Are you all right?] She had been living with a long-standing back injury… [Linda! Have you forgotten how kind my mother was to you?] [Noah! When my mother refused to let me marry you, you spent the entire night on your knees, begging her. You promised to care for her as though she were your own mother. [Noah! Have you forgotten everything?] I crouched beside my mother and glared at them. My voice came out shrill, but only I could hear it. Noah shielded Linda firmly behind him. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hart. Linda didn't mean to hurt you. She's pregnant." He hesitated before continuing, "I only came to ask whether Belle would be willing to attend Linda's and my wedding next week." My mother looked at him, deep anger burning in her eyes. She knocked away the hand Noah reached toward her and struggled to push herself upright. Tears filled her eyes, and the sight tore at my heart. "Noah, Belle can't come. I'll say it again. She can't come! She's gone!"