My Ex Let My Mom Die and Now He Wants Me Back

My CEO boyfriend of five years suspected my loyalty.

He demanded I collect 10,000 messages of goodwill from strangers before he'd even consider marrying me.

Yet, his ex, Seraphinawho had dumped him three timesjust had to ask him during a game of truth or dare if he'd marry her, and he immediately plastered their official announcement all over the city's giant screens.

My mom, who had just arrived in the city to meet her future son-in-law, saw the announcement and was so enraged she suffered a heart attack and collapsed, ending up in the hospital.

I rushed to the public announcement site, fell to my knees, begging Julian to give me back my savings for her medical bills.

But he frowned, claiming that once my money was given to him, it was his.

He had no obligation to fund my family's problems and told me to figure it out myself.

Then, he turned around and used my savings to order a luxury car for Seraphina.

Because I couldn't pay the medical fees on time, Mom missed her crucial treatment window and tragically passed away in the hospital morgue.

With tears in my eyes, I arranged her simple burial, then accepted a job offer from a big overseas tech company and applied for my resignation.

Julian, though, just thought I was playing games.

He nonchalantly said:"At your age, where else would you go without me? Stop playing hard to get. Later, I'll take your mom out for a couple of days, just doing my duty as a son-in-law."

But then, when he saw me at the airport, why did his eyes turn red, begging me on his knees for forgiveness?

After my visa was approved, I went home to pack. The moment I opened my closet door, Julian Sterling, my boyfriend, jumped out, startling me.

"Ava! I'm the hunter, and I've caught my prey!"

He was beaming, his cheeks flushed, laughing heartily.

I knew he'd been using a "business trip" as an excuse these past two days, but he was actually traveling with Seraphina Hayes to avoid me.

The old me would have greeted him with a smile, doting on him and asking how he was doing.

Now, I just shoved him aside and started rummaging for my clothes.

Julian stood there, looking a bit helpless.

After a moment, he said:

"Ava, what's wrong? Are you still mad about me not lending you money that day? I was trying to complete Seraphina's dare; we're friends, after all, and she was about to fail in fifteen minutes. I didn't have time to transfer money. Didn't I eventually relent and ask HR to approve your salary advance?"

I let out a self-deprecating laugh, fighting back the sting in my nose as I continued to stuff clothes into my suitcase.

That day, Mom had just arrived in the city when she saw her future son-in-law on a giant billboard, holding another woman's hand and making their relationship official. She collapsed on the spot.

I rushed to the scene, falling to my knees in front of Julian, begging him to return my savings for Mom's medical bills.

It would have taken less than three seconds to pull out my bank card from my bag.

But he shoved me away with an indifferent look, telling me to figure it out myself. Then, he drained my account and bought Seraphina a luxury car.

Later, when I went to HR for the advance, Brenda, the HR rep, rolled her eyes at me:

"Ava, you think you're Cinderella trying to snatch a prince? Seraphina and Julian Sterling are the perfect couple."

She deliberately dragged out the process.

I ran around the company, completing eighteen different procedures, spending three grueling hours just to get a $200 advance.

Brenda just shrugged, saying it was Julian's instruction and there was nothing they could do.

By the time I rushed to the hospital, Mom had already passed away.

Julian saw I wasn't speaking, snatched the clothes from my hands, and threw them onto the bed:

"So what if I spent some of your money? Do you have to get so angry and pack your bags?"

"That's what I hate about people from your background, so provincial. You hand over a few hundred thousand, and then you're constantly trying to claw it back. Honestly, buying Seraphina that sports car was to make sure you stop thinking my money is yours!"

My heart felt like it was squeezed hard. I took a deep breath.

I thought if I was just sincere enough, if I gave him all my salary, Julian would eventually let go of his suspicions.

But I never expected he'd still think I was a gold-digger.

Seraphina and he had an on-again, off-again relationship three times. Every single time, he'd win her back with luxury cars and mansions.

Why was it suddenly my fault for being "provincial" when it came to me?

I finished packing, grabbed my suitcase, and forced a sarcastic smile:

"You won't have to worry about that anymore. You can keep all your money for Seraphina."

Julian's eyes widened. He grabbed my arm.

Crash!

A storage box was knocked over, and countless slips of paper with messages of goodwill fluttered to the ground, like a sudden snowfall.

These were all the blessings I had begged endlessly for, stopping people on the street one by one.

He had told me he'd suffered too much heartbreak, and unless I collected 10,000 messages of goodwill from strangers to prove my sincerity, he wouldn't marry me.

The ten-thousandth blessing was from my mom. She'd asked a fellow passenger on the train coming to the city to write it. When she handed it to me, she wished Julian and me a long and happy marriage, filled with enduring love.

But Julian still went public with Seraphina just because of a single word from her.

All my boundaries, all my expectations, were a joke.

Julian picked up a slip of paper, his handsome eyebrows relaxing as he sighed:

"Alright, Ava, stop throwing a fit. I'll give you another three hundred. Take your mom to get some nice new clothes and buy some good food. Then I'll take her on a trip later, fulfill my filial duty as a son-in-law."

The old me would have gladly accepted his apology and praised him for being a good husband.

But now, my heart was heavy with resentment, and I couldn't swallow my anger.

I placed my hand over his payment transfer screen and said coldly:

"No need. You're not her son-in-law. We're breaking up."

My words were swallowed by the sound of a key turning in the lock.

"Julian, I'm here to pick you up. Weren't we going out to dinner to celebrate?"

Seraphina walked in and looked surprised:

"Ava, what are you doing at Julian's place?"

Julian coughed and pulled away from me:

"Ava's mom needed some money, so she just asked if she could get an advance on her salary."

We had been in a secret relationship for five years, and he always kept me at arm's length. I couldn't even post about him on Ins.

I thought he just disliked office romances.

Turns out, hiding it from everyone was just to hide it from one person.

Seraphina put on a righteous face and sharply scolded me:

"Ava, don't be so excessive! I didn't say anything when you caused a scene at the announcement, but you have hands and feet. Just because Julian is kind, you can't treat him like a cash cow and demand money!"

Julian frowned, about to speak.

I forced a smile.

"You're right, that's exactly what I think. So I'm leaving now."

With that, I picked up my suitcase and walked past Julian, heading downstairs.

He took a step as if to follow, glanced at Seraphina, then casually said:

"Be careful on your way."

As I stepped out of the building, Julian sent me a SnapChat message:

"Ava, don't worry. This is the last time I'm helping Seraphina out. In a couple of days, I'll make time to take your mom on that trip, and we can discuss our wedding plans and fast-track the ceremony."

I scoffed, opening the chat window with William, the HR from the overseas company:

"William, my visa is approved. Flight's tomorrow afternoon. See you then."

I hailed a cab to the company to pick up my files, but Brenda, the HR rep, looked completely annoyed:

"Julian has been deliberately delaying your resignation application. Come back next Monday to ask again."

I tried calling Julian, but it just went straight to voicemail.

It was always like this whenever he was with Seraphina.

I should have made him approve my resignation before I left.

Frustrated, I frowned and left the company.

Behind me, a burst of mocking laughter erupted:

"When Seraphina and Julian made it official, she was there singing and dancing, then she kneeled and begged Julian for money! So embarrassing!"

"You should have seen her face just now when Julian didn't pick up his call! If I were him, I'd block such a clingy nuisance too!"

I was already used to these taunts.

My phone chimed with a notification. It was Seraphina, sending a message to gloat.

The photo showed the slips of paper, meant for goodwill, stuffed into a filthy garbage can filled with slop.

"One word from me, and Julian threw away your 10,000 blessings. I heard you spent a year collecting them; how tragic. So much effort for nothing."

"What good was five years of dating? The moment I came back, you were swept aside. He's with me eating dinner right now, peeling shrimp for me. His hands are covered in sauce; you've never seen him do that, have you? If you're curious, come to the restaurant's private room. You can watch all you want."

My grip tightened on my phone.

Ever since she returned to the country, I'd seen plenty of messages like thisJulian, who was such a clean freak and so arrogant, would now wash her clothes, cook for her, wash her feet, and make her bed.

Usually, I dreaded Seraphina's messages, yet I'd morbidly watch Julian's special treatment of her.

I even tried to tell myself it was all Photoshopped, that she was just trying to stir up trouble, and that by not seeing the truth, I could continue to delude myself.

This time, I went.

Not out of jealousy, but only to make Julian sign my resignation so I could finally be rid of him.

Half an hour later, I arrived at the restaurant, only to hear Julian arguing with someone by the staircase.

I instinctively hid around the corner.

"Julian, are you insane? Seraphina dumped you three times, each time worse than the last. She even tricked you into going to a cliff and almost got you crippled! How could you go public with her? Ava was with you for five years, and you never gave her a title. Don't forget, she almost died saving you once!"

It was Leo, Julian's closest friend.

I touched the uneven scar on my forehead.

A year ago, Julian and I were in a car accident during a business trip. To protect him, I was impaled by shards of windshield glass.

I had more than a dozen steel plates implanted in my body, and a scar above my left eyebrow disfigured me, turning my previously gentle eyes into something fiercer.

Colleagues secretly whispered "Scarface" behind my back, avoiding me and even spreading rumors that I was beaten by creditors.

Julian, however, never bothered to set the record straight, always too worried about appearances.

The next second, Julian's reply hit me like a lightning bolt:

"It's because she had that car accident, and the scar near her eye... she doesn't look like Seraphina anymore."

Leo was furious:

"So you were still using her as a stand-in! No wonder when she proposed, you set an impossible task for her. Ten thousand blessings? Even if you asked thirty people a day, it would take a year! If you didn't want to marry her, you didn't have to play games with her! What kind of spell has that rotten Seraphina cast on you?"

"Enough!" Julian barked.

"Don't you dare slander Seraphina like that! She said she's turned over a new leaf. I'm just making up for past regrets. Give me two more days, and I'll break it off with her."

Leo was speechless:

"Aren't you afraid Ava will truly give up?"

Julian sounded completely confident:

"I got Ava her job, she lives in my apartment, she has nothing without me. I'll take responsibility for her. We've been out too long; Seraphina will get anxious. Let's go back."

Watching their retreating backs.

I stood there for a long time, then collapsed to the ground, hugging myself.

When my mom first fell ill, I brought her to the city for treatment. Desperate because we had no money, Julian was the one who approached me, inviting me to work at his company.

He was gentle and compassionate, like a god, and I fell for him completely.

Looking back now, I remember wearing a face mask at the time, only my eyes visible.

And his eyes, they were filled with the joy of finding something lost and finally recovered.

Whenever he spoke of his ex, Julian always spoke through gritted teeth, a mix of love and hate.

Then he would bury his face against my chest, sighing how grateful he was to have me.

After Seraphina returned, he would deliberately "bump into" her several times, confronting her, but it was just an excuse to argue and subtly express his longing.

No wonder Julian suddenly grew distant after the car accident.

I, foolishly, thought it was because Seraphina was back and he was torn.

Turns out, the original had returned, and I, the stand-in, was no longer needed, so he came up with the impossible task of 10,000 blessings as an elaborate excuse to turn me down.

After a while, I took a deep breath and pushed open the private room door.

Inside, everyone was already tipsy, clapping and cheering:

"A dramatic reunion! An epic romance! I'm totally shipping them! Julian, you have to kiss Seraphina!"

Julian kissed Seraphina's lips openly.

His long lashes fluttered, betraying a flicker of emotion.

After an unknown amount of time, he realized the cheering had stopped and opened his eyes in confusion.

He saw me standing behind Seraphina, my face utterly blank.

He jolted upright, his face pale:

"Ava, I can explain everything! It's not what you think!"

His clumsy attempt to cover it up made it all the more ridiculously absurd to me.

"Julian, let's break up."

The next second, I pulled out my resignation letter:

"Also, please sign this so I can resign."

Julian stood there, dumbfounded. Everyone present had a mix of shock and amusement on their faces; some hesitated, wanting to intervene.

But then,

Splash!

Seraphina swept the wine and fruit platter off the table, as if she'd been utterly humiliated:

"You two are a couple?!"

"Julian, I told you, the love I want is one where your eyes are only for me! If you have a girlfriend, just say so! There's no need to try and get revenge on me like this!"

She stormed out of the room.

Julian snapped back to reality, then, losing all composure, slapped me across the face:

"Who told you to cause a scene in front of Seraphina?! Why did you expose our relationship? Don't you know she's too sensitive to handle this kind of shock?"

My head was flung sideways, my eyes cold and empty.

The burning rage in his eyes suddenly died down, replaced by a flicker of pain.

The hand that had struck me trembled violently. He turned his head away and said sharply:

"You just want to force me to marry you, but your plan failed. I'd like to see how you're going to cause trouble for Seraphina without the job I gave you!"

He snatched my resignation letter and signed it.

The next second, he shouted "Seraphina!" and sprinted after her.

I traced the crumpled paper, then, with a sense of relief, walked out amidst the bewildered stares of the crowd.

Now, only one thing remained.

After Mom's death, I decided to take her away, so I'd only arranged a simple funeral and a symbolic tomb.

Tomorrow, I needed to go to the hospital to pick up her ashes and belongings.

The next morning, I arrived at the hospital right on schedule, planning to grab Mom's things and head straight to the airport.

As I passed a medical room, I heard a doctor call out Julian's name.

"You young people are crazy for love. Now your chest skin is inflamed, ulcerated, and bleeding. It could easily get infected internally! You can't keep doing this!"

I involuntarily slowed my steps.

Then I heard Seraphina's sugary voice:

"Julian, I was just saying yesterday, out of spite, that I'd only forgive you when your heart was completely full of me. How could you actually tattoo my name all over your chest?"

Julian's voice was full of devotion:

"For you, it's nothing."

I turned my head and saw Julian's open collar.

His chest skin was red and festering, and I could faintly make out Seraphina's name tattooed densely across it, each letter seeping with blood.

But before, when I had just bought a pair of matching couple's rings, he had reamed me out, saying I was deliberately trying to claim him and tie him down, restrict his freedom.

Turns out, when it came to love, everyone was equally pathetic.

I continued towards the morgue. Seraphina had already spotted me and deliberately picked a fight:

"Ava, Julian said you're just a persistent stalker. What do you want now?"

Julian, however, didn't seem annoyed at all.

He quickly buttoned his collar, smoothed his hair, and a slight smile played on his lips:

"Ava, I know you came to find me on purpose. As long as you promise not to overstep again, I can still let you come back to the company. I heard your mom is in our city recently. I can be generous and take her on a trip."

My eyes were full of sarcasm.

What exactly counted as "not overstepping"?

Continue to be his secret lover, smilingly bless him and Seraphina, then wait until he'd had his fill and settled down, gratefully marrying him?

He still didn't know that Mom had died long ago, and her last words were for me to find someone who truly loved me.

The nurse, however, couldn't wait. She rushed out to find me, handing me Mom's ashes and belongings:

"Ava, I have other families to attend to. Just sign here, and you can take your mother's ashes."

Julian's smug expression froze:

"What ashes?"

The nurse shot him a puzzled look:

"Ava's mother passed away two days ago because she couldn't afford the medical bills."

Julian was speechless, finding his voice only after a long moment:

"How could this be? Ava, didn't you use the money I gave you for your mom?"

I lowered my head to sign the ash claim form.

Seraphina frowned, then suddenly spoke:

"Julian, I suddenly feel a bit unwell. Could you ask the doctor to check me? Ava and I are both women, maybe I can comfort her properly."

Julian hesitated, then finally called out to me:

"Ava, stay right here! Wait for me to get the doctor, then we can talk properly!"

The moment he left, Seraphina's eyes filled with malice. She swept her hand across the table, knocking over my mother's urn.

She whispered mockingly:

"Ava, you really are a persistent ghost. It was me who deliberately told HR not to give you the funds. Your mom died because you didn't know your place. And Julian said he's going to give your old position to me. If you're smart, you'll get lost!"

My pupils constricted.

So, my mom's death was her doing!

Filled with fury, I didn't hesitate to slap her.

She immediately crumpled to the floor, shrinking into the corner, groaning in pain, begging repeatedly:

"Ava, don't kill me! I'm so sad your mom died too!"

Bystanders, unaware of the full story, all assumed I was just venting my anger.

They had all seen Julian and Seraphina's public announcement video, and now they were indignant:

"Her own mom died, and she's taking it out on another patient? Where's security? Get this person out of the hospital!"

"Don't you know that's Mr. Sterling's fiance? The Sterling family is loaded; you've messed with the wrong person! It's not too late to get on your knees and apologize now!"

My face was numb as I knelt to pick up the shattered ceramic pieces of my mother's urn.

The sharp edges of the fragments cut my fingers, leaving streaks of blood, but I felt no pain.

As everyone condemned me, Julian finally rushed back with the doctor.

They spoke over each other, trying to take credit:

"Julian, your fiance is being bullied! Aren't you going to stand up for her?"

Seraphina, looking smug, weakly cried out:

"Julian, I'm fine. Ava didn't mean to hit me. I was just kindly helping Ava with her mom's ashes, and I accidentally dropped them. She didn't intentionally push me or slap me. I'm okay; I probably didn't break anything."

Julian took three steps and was suddenly in front of me.

I didn't even lift my head, just gathered my mother's ashes.

He'd probably just say a few words to me, nothing more.

But to my surprise, the next second, he knelt directly in front of me, carefully cradling my hands and asking:

"Does it hurt?"