The Third Day After

Three days after her death, Jake received the call to identify the body.

He was casually holding a woman close, his words dismissive. “She’s dead, so she’s dead. Just cremate her and then call me.”

My body was sent to the crematorium. After turning to ash, they called Jake again.

He let out an annoyed sigh. “Alright, I'm on my way.”

When Jake arrived, it was two hours later. His clothes were rumpled, and there was a glaring lipstick stain on his collar. It wasn’t hard to guess he'd just left a battlefield.

He found the staff member and sneered, “Where’s Chloe’s ashes? That’s why you called me, right?”

The staff member, confirming his identity, handed him a box containing my remains. Jake took it with a careless shrug, a mocking glint in his eyes.

“Are you sure this is Chloe’s? Or did you just scoop up some cat and dog dust to fool me?”

The staff member was taken aback. “Mr. Evans, this is definitely Ms. Baker’s remains. We have records. Do you want to check?”

Jake smirked. “No need, I believe you.”

I sighed in relief. For some reason, even though I was dead, my spirit remained. I figured it was because I hadn’t been properly laid to rest. Now that Jake believed I was dead, surely, even if he hated me, he’d still bury me somewhere out of old times' sake.

But before I could celebrate, Jake suddenly gasped.

The urn slipped from his hands, and my ashes scattered across the floor. He gave a cruel laugh. "Oops, my bad. Slipped.”

Then, he stepped on my remains, grinding them into the floor with his shoe.

I was stunned. I stared at him, my mouth moving silently, but no sound coming out.

He didn't stop until my ashes were completely lost in the cracks and dust. Only then did he withdraw his foot, satisfied.

He laughed, while the stunned staff just stared. “Tell Chloe, this trick was unique but a fail. My mom’s memorial is in a few days. She better show up at her grave to make amends, otherwise, even if she's really dead, I'll dig up her corpse myself and whip it."

The last words sent chills down your spine. I knew he was capable of it. I was suddenly thankful that my body had been cremated, otherwise, that would have been awful.

Before the staff could even react, Jake was called away. Strangely, my spirit followed him.

I was stuck in the passenger seat of his car as I listened to him chat on the phone with a woman. I knew that voice – it was Sarah, the adopted daughter of Jake's family.

When Jake and I were together, she’d asked me to leave him. I refused, and she started targeting me, spreading rumors about my company and getting people to harass me.

When Jake found out, he came down hard on her, saying that if she ever bothered me again, he’d throw her out. Sarah had finally backed down.

Jake's face hardened at the mention of me. “Why bring her up? It’s bad luck, and she’s not even really dead.”

“What if she was? Jake, what would you do then?” Sarah's voice was tentative.

My heart clenched. I turned to look at Jake. The old Jake ...