Avoid Her Like the Plague

After school, Eliza made it a point to get onto Carl Jamison's bicycle in full view of me. Ignoring her antics, I got on my bicycle and rode slowly behind them, keeping a distance between us.

Eliza and I were childhood sweethearts.

My family, the Harpers, and Eliza's family, the Stewarts, both came from the countryside and moved into the city for a better life. At the time, our families maintained a good relationship. They decided to let Eliza and me get engaged to each other, even though we were still children.

However, as we got older, the relationship between our two families slowly changed. It had been 13 years since our families became neighbors in the city. I could sense that the Stewarts didn't like me.

They continued to treat me fairly courteously. However, they had long since begun taking Eliza to various social events and introducing her to the sons of powerful and influential families. Among the ones they met, they were most pleased with Carl.

In my previous life, I had no clue this was happening. I even became estranged from my own family just so I could dedicate myself to taking care of Eliza.

Thus, when Eliza and Carl were busy flirting with each other, her parents fully supported their relationship and completely disregarded me. Carl even showed up at our wedding to steal her from the altar, and right in front of everyone, her parents stopped me from intervening.

"Carl is a key figure in charge of a national research project. How can you compare to him when you're just a househusband who can do nothing but cook and clean?"

"You should already be thankful that we allowed you to be a part of the family for this long! Just stay at home and take care of the kids!"

My parents were also infuriated by my behavior.

"Look at you! You're acting like a total loser right now! Who would choose you?"

"We told you to focus on your studies, but you refused to listen! You brought this whole mess on yourself."

By then, I was too dependent on the Stewarts. All I could do was weep in silence and agree to their request, hoping that Eliza would turn around someday and acknowledge the sacrifices I made for her.

Ten years passed without Eliza showing any sign of coming back to me. Instead, I was diagnosed with cancer from having overexerted myself throughout the years.

To my shock, my son and daughter immediately celebrated that.

"How marvelous! Mom and Mr. Jamison can finally get their happy ending!"

"Hurry up and sign the divorce papers. That way, even if you die, we won't have to settle your affairs for you."

Even Eliza, who was a doctor, remained silent through it all.

Their words and actions cut me deeply. In the end, I was forced to sign the divorce papers. They joined forces to kick me out of the house. I ended up dying on the streets on a snowy night.

…

Blinking, I saw Mom scowling as she berated me, "Why are you just standing in the doorway instead of coming into the house? We don't accept fools into our family!"

When I first announced my decision to become Eliza's househusband, my parents spent ages trying to talk me out of it.

Pressing my lips together, I said earnestly, "Mom, I've decided to apply for college and major in education."

Mom stared at me for quite some time. Once she realized I was serious, a smile bloomed across her face. Grinning with joy, she pulled me into the house while shouting the good news to Dad.

For the first time in a long time, my family shared a blissful dinner with smiles all around. As I watched them around the table, I had to take huge bites of food to stop myself from crying.

I failed to be a good son and take care of them in my previous life, but I wouldn't be making the same mistake this time.

In the middle of the night, Eliza sent me a text.

"You ripped up the school withdrawal form?"

Soon after that, she sent me a screenshot of her conversation with Mr. Duffy, our physics teacher. She was better at physics than I was, and Mr. Duffy mentioned what I did when he asked her to tutor me.

I swiftly replied, "That's right. I've thought things through. My mom and dad are right. I should at least finish college first before thinking about anything else."

However, Eliza couldn't understand my decision. She questioned indignantly, "What's the point of you working so hard? Both our families are doing perfectly well financially. Who's going to look after me if you focus all your time and energy on your studies?"

I wanted to tell her to get Carl to do it. Alas, even though I typed that message out several times, I kept deleting it. In the end, I didn't send that message to her.

Carl didn't know Eliza that well. She was born with a weak constitution and needed a great deal of tender, attentive care in order to remain in good health.

However, the Stewarts were busy with work and didn't want to hire a caregiver for Eliza, either. That was why I got the idea of becoming her househusband.

Well, since she knew the truth, I figured I should just break things off now, so I texted back, "Let's end our relationship."

I blacklisted her number right away.

Half an hour later, someone started ringing our doorbell furiously. The incessant ringing was accompanied by the sound of Eliza's coughing.

"Matthew Harper! Open the door right this instant!"

I pulled my blanket over my head and acted as though I couldn't hear anything. Eventually, my parents rushed to get the door after hearing the commotion.

"Where's Matthew?" Eliza questioned loudly.

Judging by how much louder she was than usual, she was probably hopping mad because of me. As she spoke, I heard the sound of her footsteps getting closer. Mom seemed to have stopped her in time, but Mom spoke too softly for me to hear what she said to Eliza.

After a while, Eliza left, and several moments after that, Mom knocked on my door.

She said to me, "Since you've broken things off with her, your dad and I think we should finally move forward with our plan to move out."

I quickly sat up in bed and nodded eagerly in agreement. That was perfect!

The next day, Mom and Dad called me out of school. Eliza camped outside my house, but she had to head to school alone when I didn't show up. A few more days passed before I finally started attending school again.

When I finally saw Eliza again, I noticed her face looked even paler than before. Even though it was approximately 80°F, she was still wearing our school's varsity jacket.

I was trying to get to my desk, but she stood in my path with a displeased expression.

"You blacklisted my number and moved out! Are you that reluctant to marry me?" she snapped.

Everyone began eyeing us curiously. Realizing that she was being a bit too emotional in public, Eliza grabbed my hand and started pulling me out of the classroom, saying, "We'll talk outside."

Once we got to a quiet corner, I shook her hand off me and said, "Whatever it is you have to say, hurry up and say it. Don't keep me from class."

Eliza pulled up a slightly stale sandwich and offered it to me for breakfast. This was her usual method of pacifying me. In the past, all she had to do was beckon me with her finger, and I'd happily brush aside everything to go back to my normal self again—all because I liked her.

No matter what she did, I always thought of her as the most perfect person in the world. But after the pain I experienced in my previous lifetime, nearly all of my feelings for her had disappeared.

Without accepting the sandwich, I said, "I've already eaten. You should give this sandwich to someone who wants it."

Taken aback by my reaction, Eliza looked at me with a frown.

"What on earth has gotten into you lately? Nothing is going on between Carl and me. We only hung out a few times with our families around. Is that reason enough for you to be jealous this whole time? In any case, Carl and I have never spent time alone together before."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Not only did Eliza and Carl behave flirtatiously in front of me, but they had already hung out in private as well. So what if they hadn't spent any time alone together thus far?

Everyone was keen for them to end up together. If things proceeded as they did in my previous lifetime, Carl was going to attend the college across the street from the one Eliza attended. They would remain intimately involved in each other's lives to the very end.

After recalling the way I'd died the last time around, I sighed. I didn't want to live that life again. At my silence, Eliza seemed to compromise, but her attitude remained lofty.

"Fine. I'll allow you to carry on with your studies. You can join me in Northcrest and attend college there. That way, you can still take care of me."

She made it sound like she was doing me a favor.

"Carl and I are only spending time together because it benefits both our families. In the end, you're still the one I'm marrying. As a guy, you shouldn't get jealous so easily. You should be more understanding and open-minded."

Eliza had more to say, but I interrupted her, saying, "I got it."

At last, I met her gaze. I was worried she could tell that I was lying as I continued, "When the time comes, I'll apply to a college in Northcrest."

Hearing that, Eliza exhaled in relief. "Was that so hard? You should've just gone with this from the start instead of making me waste so much of my time and effort on this."

Thanks to the strong morning breeze, Eliza began coughing rather heavily. She stood still, waiting to see what I would do. I shielded her from the wind and patted her back to ease her coughing, like I always did.

At last, Eliza's expression improved. She even looked a little smug. Resisting the urge to leave, I accompanied her as she slowly walked back to the classroom.

Once I got back to my desk, I started reviewing my lessons. I needed to improve my scores a bit if I wanted a guaranteed spot at Southwell University's School of Education.

However, as long as I got in, Eliza and I would be separated by the entire country. She would be up in the north while I would be down in the south.

We would never see each other ever again.