I Refused the Proposal—Now Bury Me / Chapter 3: Secrets, Sickness, and Guilt
I Refused the Proposal—Now Bury Me

I Refused the Proposal—Now Bury Me

Author: Rachael Morris

Chapter 3: Secrets, Sickness, and Guilt

← Prev
Next →

But he didn’t know that it wasn’t just Mrs. Carter who was sick—I was, too.

Three years ago, right after my sweet sixteen, my dad told me about the engagement with Mason. That night, I started having heart palpitations and coughed up blood. Dad panicked, called every specialist he could find. The doctor said my illness was rare and severe—only a special mountain flower from Colorado could save me.

Dad went to the Rockies himself to find one, but he fell from a cliff and died. Just like that. I was an unmarried girl with a deadly illness, and my dad died trying to save me. If word got out, my reputation would be toast. No one would let their son near me.

The estate manager and a few loyal staff who traveled with my dad kept the truth secret, telling everyone else he’d been killed in a carjacking. Even when Mrs. Carter came to check on me, the manager made sure she never found out the real story.

For three years, I mourned my dad and basically never left the house. Mason, always the gentleman, barely visited. Miraculously, my health started to improve, and for a while, I thought maybe the worst was over.

But after seeing him today, I coughed up blood again that night. The text above my head kept cursing me as a jinx, and suddenly, I was wide awake, heart pounding. Was this real? Or just some cosmic joke?

The words felt like a curse, coiling around my heart. I sat in my room, staring at the moonlight on the floor, wondering if fate really was out to get me—or if I’d just let everyone down, one after another. I wanted to scream, but all I could do was clutch my chest and hope I made it through the night.

Maybe my illness really was tied to Mason. Why else would my heart race and my lungs fail every time someone mentioned our marriage? And my dad—if he hadn’t gone to save me, he’d still be alive. The guilt was suffocating. I pressed my palm to my chest, feeling the frantic flutter of my heart, and wondered if I’d ever breathe easy again. Maybe I was the jinx after all.

Now I was alone in the world, and if I really did die soon after marrying Mason—just like the text said—wouldn’t all my family’s money end up with the Carters? Mason could just marry someone else, and together they’d use my inheritance to start over. Even dead, I’d be stuck watching them from the sidelines. No thanks.

I decided to take Mason’s name to church the next day and ask the pastor to say a prayer for him—just in case I was blaming him unfairly. What could it hurt? Maybe I’d get some peace of mind, or maybe I’d just feel silly. Either way, I had to try.

It was the kind of thing my father would have done—just to be sure. I figured a little extra insurance never hurt, even if I didn’t believe in curses. The church was quiet at dawn, the pews washed in pale light. For a second, I almost felt hopeful. Then reality crashed back in.

← Prev
Next →

You may also like

Buried for Him, Bound by Death
Buried for Him, Bound by Death
4.9
Death was only the beginning—now I’m stuck in the afterlife’s endless line, desperate for a second chance. Forced into a ghost marriage and buried alive, my spirit lingers, tethered to the world by the wish for justice. When a wild bouquet leads rookie detective Quinn Harper to my lost grave, he becomes bound to my fate by a single broken bone. As Quinn investigates the tangled secrets of Maple Heights and my family’s hidden betrayals, every revelation draws him deeper into a web of lies, love, and vengeance. Can the truth set my soul free—or will the living and the dead both pay the price for what happened thirty years ago?
I Died, But He Couldn't Let Me Go
I Died, But He Couldn't Let Me Go
4.9
Death was supposed to set me free—so why am I still haunting the man who broke me? Five days after my funeral, Nathaniel Holloway parades his new bride in the dress I bled to sew, never knowing my ghost lingers in every shadow. Trapped between worlds, I watch the man I once loved spiral into obsession and violence, wielding my memory as a weapon in his ruthless quest for power. Betrayed by blood, bound by a locket’s curse, and hunted by secrets that refuse to die, I must choose: forgive, revenge, or finally break the chains that bind us. Will Nathaniel’s regret set me free—or will our love destroy us both, even beyond the grave?
I Refused Him—This Time, For Me
I Refused Him—This Time, For Me
5.0
Death didn’t free me—it just sent me back to the moment my life fell apart. In Maple Heights, I was the girl who 'tricked' her way into the Whitmore family after a scandalous fall in the river, never believed, always alone. But now I’m reliving my past with memories of every betrayal—especially from my jealous half-sister and the husband who never truly saw me. This time, I won’t let the same lies define me. When Harrison, the town’s golden boy, tries to claim me again, I refuse to play the grateful wife. But as my old rivalries reignite and new suitors emerge, I face one impossible question: can I finally choose my own happiness, or will the past repeat itself? What if the man who once saved me is the one I must save myself from?
Rejected 100 Times: His Bride’s Final Mission
Rejected 100 Times: His Bride’s Final Mission
4.8
Rachel only needs one more rejection from Jason to escape this loveless world—but on the eve of her freedom, he proposes instead. Trapped in a fake engagement and haunted by his first love, Rachel sacrifices everything in a deadly hostage swap, only to die forgotten and unloved. When Jason finally realizes what he lost, it’s too late: the woman he took for granted is gone forever, and her secret mission is complete.
I Faked My Death, He Bled for Me
I Faked My Death, He Bled for Me
4.9
I faked my death to escape a loveless marriage—only to return years later and find my own grave missing, my family broken, and my supposed widower bleeding out in a cheap motel. I was always the dutiful daughter and the obedient wife, until disease—and betrayal—forced me to disappear. Now, back in Chicago, every secret I buried claws to the surface: my father’s death, my brother’s heartbreak, and Ethan Blackwell’s sudden, desperate return. He risks his life for a woman he never loved—why? As old rivals and buried passions collide, I must decide if I’ll stay hidden, or finally claim the life—and love—I was never meant to have. When the past won’t stay buried, what happens if my heart refuses to die?
I Was His Safe Choice—Now I’m Gone
I Was His Safe Choice—Now I’m Gone
4.9
He called me ‘marriage material’—but not worth loving. On the eve of our wedding, I discovered Mason’s spreadsheet: every woman ranked, every feeling reduced to a checklist, and my own column stamped ‘suitable for marriage.’ His heart still belonged to Jordan, the wild first love he’d never dare choose. My world collapsed, but instead of breaking, I ran—straight into the life I’d buried, the mother I’d lost, and the courage I thought I’d forgotten. As family secrets and old wounds ignite a public showdown, I must decide: will I keep living for someone else’s rules, or finally claim my own story? If you were chosen for convenience, can you ever become someone’s first choice—or is the bravest thing to walk away?
He Loved Her, Not Me
He Loved Her, Not Me
4.9
He loved her—just not me. On the night of our fourth anniversary, I watched Carter Langley slip further away, his heart claimed by another while our marriage became nothing but a headline. I was supposed to smile, play the perfect wife, and pretend not to notice the pitying looks or the silence that suffocated our home. But pain demands a witness. When betrayal cuts deeper than bone, how far will a woman go to make her absence felt? Carter’s indifference is legendary—until my final act leaves him with a haunting question and a secret he can never bury. If love is dead, what’s left for the living to regret?
My Husband, the King of the Dead
My Husband, the King of the Dead
4.9
He was my husband—until a siren in the moonlit lake whispered that the real Caleb Whitaker was dead, and the man in my bed was a monster wearing his skin. Torn between a town’s suspicion and the chilling touch of a husband whose scars tell centuries-old secrets, I spiral into a nightmare of betrayal, murder, and the supernatural. With every storm, the line between love and vengeance blurs—neighbors die, ghosts rise, and the king of the dead demands a bride. Now, with a knife in my trembling hand and the truth clawing up from the lake, I must choose: betray the monster or become one myself. When the wedding march echoes through the land of the dead, who will wear the crown—me, or the man I was doomed to love? Would you trade your soul for revenge, or is love just another curse waiting beneath the surface?
I Died Begging—Now I Refuse to Love
I Died Begging—Now I Refuse to Love
4.9
I jumped to prove I mattered—but even my death didn’t make them love me. When I’m sent back to the day I was adopted, I see every lie and manipulation for what it is. My parents and brother treat me like a burden; my so-called sister sets traps with a smile. I won’t beg for scraps of affection this time—I’ll carve my own place, even if it means being alone. But freedom comes at a price: every move I make, Ava is there, twisting the story, turning my family further against me. Each memory is a warning: loving them almost destroyed me. Now, I’ll risk everything to love myself instead. Can I break the cycle before they break me again—or is it too late to escape their web?
He Cheated, I Gave Away the Ring
He Cheated, I Gave Away the Ring
4.7
On my birthday, my fiancé’s mistress crashed the party—pregnant and desperate, while the whole town waited for me to break. Instead, I slipped the engagement bracelet onto her wrist and walked out, leaving Maple Heights and my old life behind. But when Ethan tries to win me back with public humiliation and a new 'apology' bracelet, I’m forced to choose: reclaim my dignity, or let him—and my family—destroy what’s left of my heart.
I Died the Night He Married Her
I Died the Night He Married Her
4.9
Death was supposed to be my ending—but the night Eli married someone else, my story truly began. As Autumn Jennings, I was never meant to be the heroine—just the shadow, loving from the sidelines, destined to die in a blaze for someone else’s happy ending. But when fate rewrites the script, I’m thrust back into a world of tangled family loyalties, forbidden longing, and a love that won’t stay buried. As the Midwest’s first female commander, I gave everything for the man I could never have—until a single bullet, a lost memory, and a chance encounter years later threaten to unravel destiny itself. If I can’t break free from the story written for me, will I lose Eli forever? Or is some loves strong enough to defy fate—even if it costs us everything?
I Died Hating Him—Now I Love Him
I Died Hating Him—Now I Love Him
4.9
Death gave me clarity, but a second chance gave me courage. When I awoke in my old life, I discovered my quiet, patient husband Shane was anything but simple—his love ran deeper and darker than I ever knew. Now back at the night that changed everything, I’m haunted by regrets and faced with a choice: repeat my mistakes or fight for the man I once overlooked. Family pressure, small-town whispers, and old wounds threaten to pull us apart, but this time, I’m determined to make him see how much he matters. Can I rewrite our story before fate repeats itself—or will my confession arrive too late for us both?