Buried alive

Chapter 1

My deadbeat, superstitious husband, and his manipulative younger sister.

At our wedding, she claimed I was cursed. He called it off.

On our anniversary, she said I had a deathly pallor. He left me.

Then, on Easter Sunday, at my husband, Lucas North’s, family’s gravesite, while we were burning money for the dead, his sister, Lucy North, lunged at me.

“Sister-in-law, Mom and Dad visited me in a dream last night. They said this year’s money needs to be hand-delivered, not burned, or they can’t move on!”

Lucas cradled Lucy’s slightly singed hand, his face etched with concern.

Apparently, my disrespect towards his deceased parents and my accidental injury to his sister warranted punishment: I was to deliver the money to his parents… underground.

Bound with rope, I was shoved into a pit, struggling, pleading for mercy. Lucas just kept fussing over Lucy.

“Lin Xi, you made a mistake, so you’ll face the consequences. A few days underground is more than enough. I’m being lenient,” he declared. “Once you deliver the money, I’ll have you released.”

Two days later, he relented and had me rescued. But he didn’t know I’d already suffocated. And I was carrying his child.

1.

As despair consumed me, Lucas sat bedside, feeding Lucy porridge. The bowl? A porcelain piece I’d painstakingly crafted over three months—my engagement gift to him. He used to coddle it, terrified of breaking it. Now, he uses it to feed his sister.

“Brother, this porridge tastes awful. Try it?” She coquettishly pushed her used spoon towards Lucas.

He hesitated, then ate a spoonful.

“Yeah, it’s bad. I’ll have the maid make you a fresh bowl.”

My spirit shuddered. Lucas had a notorious germ phobia. Before holding my hand, I had to wash. Before hugging, I needed a full body cleanse. He even made me brush my teeth before every kiss. Sharing a spoon was unthinkable.

Whispers reached my ears.

“Mr. North sure dotes on Miss Lucy. Mrs. North was an accident. They’re the perfect pair.”

“Yeah, and they aren’t even related! If Miss Lucy asked for the moon, he’d get it for her. Mrs. North doesn’t have that luxury.”

Familiar voices. The maids, once showering me with wedding wishes, now gossiped. They were quick to take sides.

But they weren’t wrong. Since Lucy’s return, I’d been sidelined. Lucy’s curse claim scuttled my wedding. On our anniversary, Lucy’s “deathly pallor” lie drove Lucas away. He spent the night with Lucy.

We fought, but he believed Lucy’s superstitions. That Easter Sunday, Lucy’s lie resulted in my death.

I thought my inability to change his views caused our conflicts. Now, from this vantage point, I see it was his unhealthy attachment to Lucy.

“The people involved are confused, but the onlookers are clear.”

Why didn’t I notice his favoritism before?

“Crash!”

The porcelain bowl shattered. Lucy’s eyes flashed with satisfaction, quickly masked by feigned distress.

“Brother, I accidentally broke the engagement gift!”

Lucas frowned, his eyelids twitching.

But then, seeing Lucy’s tearful eyes, he changed his tune.

“It’s just a bowl, we can get another. You’re not hurt, that’s what matters.”

Even as a ghost, my heart ached.

I reached for the shards, just as I could never grasp his love.

Lucas called a maid to clean up. It was Aunt Liu, a long-time family employee, who treated me like a daughter.

After cleaning, she hesitated.

“Sir, weren’t you out with Madam? Why hasn’t she returned?”

“She’s pregnant, she needs to rest.”

Lucas froze, disbelief on his face.

“Pregnant?”

Lucy acted swiftly.

“Aunt Liu, what are you saying? How can she be pregnant? Is she making you say this?” She then added, “Brother, she’s so evil, knowing about your condition, she’s just rubbing salt in the wound!”

Lucas’s face darkened.

“Hah, some trick. I’m infertile. She couldn’t possibly be pregnant. Aunt Liu, you’re getting senile!”

“Lin Xi, you made a mistake, and you’ll face the consequences. I’ve been lenient. She’ll be back soon. You can go now.”

Their conviction made Aunt Liu doubt her memory.

I found it comical. Infertility doesn’t mean sterility. Why couldn’t I get pregnant?

Seven years, and one lie from Lucy was enough to change Lucas’s mind about me. Suddenly, I was manipulative and conniving. Enough for him to let me and his child be buried alive.

“Brother, it’s Easter, full of ghosts. I’m scared. Can you sleep with me?”

Another absurd request.

And Lucas obliged, yet again.

“Sure, but we’ll keep a distance.”

Watching them share a bed, my mind exploded. Even with the “line,” one of Lucy’s coos would erase any boundary.

Adults are transparent in their desires. But Lucas constantly enabled Lucy.

What was I to him?

Seven years of devotion, all for nothing.

Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t bear it anymore. I tried to leave, but my spirit was tethered to Lucas.

I floated, listening to their lovemaking. My thoughts wandered.

Lucas and I met in college. My family died in a car accident; he encouraged me to keep going. We moved in together after two years.

He told me, “Lin Xi, I’m a neat freak. I’ll never touch another woman.”

“So you can trust me, I’ll never cheat.”

Looking at them entwined, my heart shattered.

Lucas, you liar.

You broke your promise.

I heard Lucas’s murmur, “Xi Xi.”

My stomach churned.

He’d whispered my name while holding another woman.

He was thoroughly despicable.

3.

The next day, I followed Lucas to his office. Around noon, he called his assistant.

“My wife hasn’t brought lunch?”

“No sir, I called her, but she didn’t answer.”

A female voice called from the doorway.

“Brother, I brought your lunch.”

Lucas scowled. “Where’s your sister-in-law? Did she force you to come?” It seemed he’d willingly use violence against me at Lucy’s word.

“Brother, you forgot? Sister-in-law was punished and left at the gravesite.”

Lucas seemed to remember.

A pang of guilt hit him, and he sent his assistant to get me.

Panic flickered in Lucy’s eyes, followed by manufactured tears.

She threw herself at Lucas.

“Brother, if I’d returned earlier, wouldn’t you have married Lin Xi?”

“Maybe.”

“Brother, I love you. Can you divorce Lin Xi?”

Lucas hesitated. He almost said “Lin Xi,” but instead said, “You.”

Knowing the answer, my heart still shattered.

That was the man I’d loved for over a decade.

“Hah, you’re the poster child for outdated ideas. You want two wives now?”

Lucy clearly wasn’t satisfied.

“Brother, you can only choose between me and Lin Xi. Who do you choose?”

Lucas paused for two seconds.

Before he could utter “Lin Xi,” he changed his mind, “You.”

Even knowing it, my heart shattered.

This was the man I’d loved for over a decade.

In the afternoon, I accompanied Lucas to a bakery. Familiar; it was where we’d celebrated our anniversary. He left me there.

He’d mentioned the bakery’s cakes, but he never remembered it. Now, he remembered for Lucy.

He didn’t use his money to bypass the line; he waited.

He did have genuine feelings; I just couldn’t reach them.

His phone rang; it was his assistant.

“Mr. North, Madam… she’s dead.”

Lucas’s hand froze.

“Impossible! Lin Xi is pulling some stunt.”

“Sir, it’s true. Please come see.”

“I’m buying Lucy a cake. Tell Lin Xi if she doesn’t want further punishment, to come home now.”

He hung up. My numbness was ironic.

“Lucas, you’d rather buy Lucy a cake than check on me.”

“I’m not even worth a cake to you.”

He couldn’t hear me.

After buying the cake, Lucas saw a flower stand, and bought a bouquet of roses.

I sat on the cake box, confused. Cheap, ugly roses for Lucy?

Lucas explained later.

“Lucy, those were roadside flowers to appease Lin Xi. If you want, I’ll have fresh roses air-freighted from Holland tomorrow.”

Lucy smiled sweetly.

Aunt Liu saw the roses.

“Sir, why bring roses? Madam is severely allergic!”

Lucas hesitated, guilt flashing in his eyes, saying nothing.

His phone rang.

Thinking it was me, he answered.

“Lin Xi, are you finally done…”

“Hello, is this Mr. North?”

A stranger. His smile faded.

“Yes.”

“Mr. North, your wife scheduled her first prenatal checkup, but we can’t reach her. Please bring her for the appointment.”

Lucas’s face turned black.

“Tell Lin Xi I’m losing patience. If she pulls another stunt, she can die.”

Even now, he thought I was playing games. He didn’t believe I was dead.

Lucy chimed in.

“Brother, I think Lin Xi went too far this time! She’s bribed everyone!”

“Aunt Liu, the assistant, and the doctor – they’re all in on it. Don’t let her get away with this.”

If I hadn’t seen Lucy’s bodyguard dig up my face, check for my pulse, then rebury me, I’d have fallen for her act.

“Okay, I’ll handle it. Let’s eat cake.”

“Brother, stay. Try these rice dumplings, I made them for you.”

Lucas ate one. His frown showed his displeasure.

He lied, “Delicious.”

At four o’clock.

Lucas went to the kitchen for water.

His stomach rumbled.

He texted me.

[Lin Xi, make me some rice dumplings.]

I used to reply instantly. This time, he’d never get a response.

Frustrated by the lack of reply, he saw the withered roses in the trash. He felt uneasy. He recalled his assistant’s words.

Without a coat, he grabbed his keys and rushed to the cemetery.

Dark clouds gathered.

Bodyguards stood with flashlights.

Lucas stopped several feet away, expressionless.

“Lin Xi, come out!”

My spirit laughed.

“Lucas, I’m not a goddess. Burial kills.”

He couldn’t hear me. “Lin Xi, I’m warning you, come out!”

His assistant intervened.

“Sir, let’s exhume Madam. You’ll see.”

Lucas didn’t understand, but complied.

As my body was revealed, a stench filled the air. Seeing my lifeless face, Lucas trembled.

“What happened to Lin Xi?”

The assistant said, “Sir, check her pulse.”

Lucas hesitated, then slowly approached. His hand trembled. He hovered his finger near my nostrils.