For His First Love, He Let Me Die in an Avalanche

1

Dale carried Grace step by step, getting farther and farther away from me in the snowstorm.

I was buried in snow that was about 3.5 feet tall, desperately seeking help.

The snowstorm grew stronger, and I couldn't keep my balance. I fell straight into the snow.

The snowflakes hit my face, almost blocking my mouth and nose. The shrinking feeling from my heart made me want to curl up in pain.

My limbs had already been frozen, and my heart was gradually numb. Only the tears in my eyes still had some warmth. I looked straight at the sky and gradually lost consciousness.

Last week, Grace booked two tickets for the ski resort and invited me and her to go skiing together. Yet we encountered an avalanche.

Dale was a rescuer, and he was nearby. I knew he'd definitely come to save me.

Although we just had a fight, we had been together for seven years, and he was not a cold-hearted person.

Besides, I was pregnant. He'd definitely be very careful and wouldn't leave me alone.

But I didn't expect that on this heavily snowy day, he was actually shouting Grace's name in a panic.

And he clearly saw me. In the heavy snow, rescuers were searching for victims everywhere, but only Dale came to the deepest part where Grace and I were.

He picked up Grace who was trapped in the snow. My clothes all over my body had been soaked by the snow water. I dragged my frozen legs forward in the heavy snow, tightly holding onto his clothes,

"Dale, I can't walk anymore."

Dale pushed me away.

"Don't hold onto me. Don't drag me and Grace down with you."

My body had started to stiffen, but my heart ached so much more. Burning tears flew from my eyes, and my lips were frozen purple.

"Dale, but I'm already pregnant..."

Even though he didn't love me, it was our baby. He was the father.

He snorted, "You came up with such a clumsy excuse just to make me save you? You are dreaming!"

The disgust in his eyes was shown in his words.

He even thought I was lying to him about being pregnant.

"I'm not lying. It's true, and..."

I wanted to tell him that I was in poor health and that being pregnant was not an easy thing for me.

"Enough! You're always so selfish. Grace has asthma, do you know? She will die if she stays here!"

I was almost buried under 3 feet of snow, looking at him absentmindedly.

Grace suddenly had difficulty breathing, her face pale while she clung to Dale's neck. Dale angrily kicked me away, and I fell into the snow weakly, unable to even feel the piercing cold.

The warmth occasionally surging in my belly told me that there was a life inside me.

I struggled to get up, dragging my frozen pants.

"Dale, you can't leave me here. I can't survive here alone..."

Dale had just taken a few steps. He didn't expect me to still hold onto him.

"The second batch of rescuers will be here soon. Can't you wait for a little more while?"

I looked up at him and saw a hint of mockery in his eyes under the wind and snow.

"Besides, I remember you have strong wilderness survival skills. You can even push Jerry down the cliff so as to win."

I gasped, looking at the man in front of me in disbelief.

"No. It was not me..."

He wouldn't hear me out, and my words were drowned in this snowstorm.

He held Grace and pushed me down in this heavy snow again. The icy cold wind entered my nostrils and spread to every part of my body.

My body temperature had already dropped below normal, and my hands had no strength at all.

But this time, I couldn't muster the strength to get up anymore. I could only watch him leave with Grace, while my heart sank into an icy abyss.

I loved him deeply for ten years and married him for seven years. I thought I could at least make him have a little kindness towards me.

But I got nothing.

The snow was heavy. I turned to look at his figure which had already become a black dot, with snowflakes blocking my mouth and nose.

Tears fell from my eyes once again.

He probably never knew that I had a congenital heart disease and that I didn't know how to survive in the wilderness.

2

When the second batch of rescuers arrived, a whole hour had passed.

Rescuing in heavy snow was not an easy task, and it took the search and rescue team a long time to find me.

Keith Shepherd came with the search and rescue team, and he even brought a police dog.

But the wind and snow were so strong, and even the police dog couldn't find my location.

I had already frozen in the snowdrift, mixed with the ice and snow. It made sense.

I saw Keith getting angry because he couldn't find me, and he called Dale again and again, and the busy tone almost made him smash his phone.

Finally, when Keith made the twentieth call, Dale answered.

"You saw Estelle, right? Why didn't you bring her out?"

"She will be fine. Maybe she's hiding and playing with you. She loves these boring games."

Dale sneered. My death became a joke in his mouth.

At that time, I had a heart attack, and the first time I called him to beg him to take me to the hospital, he ignored me, saying that I lied about having heart disease.

He came back the next day. It was Keith who took me to the hospital to get the medicine, and thanks to him, I recovered.

But Dale had no idea. He sneered at me for lying and deceiving him, and he still believed so until now.

Keith's voice, filled with a hint of anger, interrupted my thoughts.

"Games? Dale, Estelle is buried in the snow while pregnant. Would she joke about this with you?"

"Enough. Keith, maybe Estelle has already walked out of the snow."

Dale's indifferent tone shocked me. It turned out that my years of efforts were nothing in his eyes.

"Don't call me if there's nothing important."

There was a hint of reproach in Dale's tone.

My heart was like shattered glass, broken into pieces gradually.

I took great care of him for years, but he still couldn't see what kind of person I was.

He never believed what I said, not even what my family said.

I reached out and touched my cheeks only to find that my eyes were filled with tears at some point.

Dale reached out and touched Grace's cheek as if she were a fragile doll.

"Dale, if you had come a little later, I would have had to have my leg amputated."

Grace hugged Dale, her tone tinged with a hint of grievance, and her tears burst out.

Dale gently patted Grace's back, afraid of scaring her.

I thought Dale didn't know how to take care of people, so I kept giving in, hoping to warm his heart with time.

And I went on for seven years.

Seven years ago, when we had just gotten married, I had a stomachache and felt extremely uncomfortable.

He could drive to the nearby 24-hour pharmacy and buy me painkillers in just ten minutes, but he blamed me for being stupid and not knowing what I couldn't eat.

I endured the pain until dawn. Dale said it was the best for me because I could remember the lesson clearly.

But what was he doing now? He was carefully examining each kind of medicine and asking the doctor if there would be any lingering effects on Grace's leg.

I felt my heart like hell.

"Grace, your leg is fine. If something happens again, you must call me immediately. Hear me? I don't want to lose you again."

I watched Dale tightly holding Grace's delicate hand. They really looked like a loving couple.

Watching them, I almost forgot that our marriage was initiated by Dale.

Dale and I were college classmates, and everyone knew I had loved him for many years.

That day was my birthday. I didn't expect to receive Dale's blessings at the end of my birthday.

But he was sad because Grace got engaged to another man.

His voice on the phone trembled a bit. Years of secret love prompted me to go to the bridge in the middle of the night to find him. I was afraid that something might happen to him.

"Marry me. I know you have always liked me."

Dale's words caused great mood swings in my heart. I knew that I could never stop loving him.

The joy filled my mind. For me, Dale's affection was like a belated birthday gift.

Although I knew that he only wanted to use me to get over the shadow of losing Grace, I didn't care.

Everyone's heart could be warmed. I believed Dale would one day see how good I was to him.

Everything between us seemed to go smoothly, but after that day, I never saw Dale again.

He deliberately avoided me, I knew. Because someone had tampered with the survival map of the wilderness survival training in the freshman year of me and Jerry Watts.

We took the wrong path. The steep cliff was almost impossible for us to climb. I held onto Jerry's hand tightly, afraid to let go. I didn't wanna die.

Jerry knew that I had a heart condition, so he let go of my hand and asked me to find someone else to save him.

But Dale had always thought that I caused Jerry's accident.

So, Dale hated me. Even though he was forced to marry me later, he had always been unwilling to get close to me.

Until two months ago, he went out for dinner. When he came back, he hugged me so tightly. I thought I finally managed to warm his heart.

But when I woke up, there was no one by my side.

And it was that night that I got pregnant.

However, the congenital heart disease made me terrified of whether I could keep my baby. I didn't resist children. On the contrary, I liked them very much.

I instinctively called Dale, afraid that my physical defect would bring hidden dangers to the baby.

My fear made me panicked. I hoped Dale could accompany me, at least give me some comfort.

I called him over and over again, but no one answered.

Until I suddenly saw a photo on Grace's dynamic share.

It was a photo of Dale taking her to the jewelry store to buy a ring.

I looked at my bare fingers and remembered when Dale and I got married, he only invited our parents to have a meal together. After we hastily got the marriage certificate, he never mentioned having a wedding ceremony.

He had never even bought me an engagement ring.

I never thought that one day, Dale, my husband, would give everything that should have been mine to someone else without any guilt.

Dale came home with a smile on his face, and for the first time, I couldn't control my anger and slapped him.

"Dale, where have you been?"

It was the first time I lost it and questioned Dale. He looked at me with hatred in his eyes, and at that moment, I felt that he was a stranger to me.

"Estelle, have I given you too much respect?"

Dale pushed me away, and I fell to the ground off balance. I instinctively protected my belly and looked at Dale, who looked calm.

I endured the pain in my heart, stood up with the support of the sofa, and opened my mouth, wanting to tell him that I was pregnant. But he slammed the door and left like a deserter.

"Grace, I bought the soup you love the most. Try it."

Dale carefully spooned the soup and fed Grace. When I heard him say so, I felt like my emotions were shrouded in a dark cloud and I was filled with sadness.

I realized he had given all his love to Grace.

3

The heavy snow lasted for two whole days, and the original snow-capped mountains were completely covered in white.

During these two days, Keith tried to call Dale many times. Dale even blocked his phone number.

Keith struggled aimlessly in the heavy snow, and that was the first time I saw him cry.

Helpless, he had to turn to the hospital to find Dale.

"Dale, come with me to find Estelle!"

Keith restrained his temper just to make Dale tell him the direction of my disappearance.

Dale covered Grace with a blanket, showing no concern for either Keith or me.

Keith gritted his teeth and grabbed Dale's collar.

"Dale, do you know that Estelle is pregnant? You actually left her alone in that place. Do you know that she could die?"

Dale pushed him away, looking angry.

"Enough, Keith. She is not pregnant at all. You were deceived by her."

Dale looked at Keith as if nothing had happened, and there was even a hint of mockery in his eyes.

He never believed me. Now, he thought that I even lied to Keith.

"Dale, I don't feel well. Can you stay and accompany me?"

Grace looked so panicked and fragile. Dale saw her slightly reddened eyes and was about to hug her.

Keith punched Dale in the face, causing Dale to step back. He was getting even angrier.

"Keith, are you crazy? You're scaring Grace!"

"Grace? You sound so affectionate when you call her. If someone doesn't know, they would think she is your wife. Don't forget that you and Estelle are still married!"

Dale looked at Keith and snorted.

"Don't think I don't know. You are just an adopted son brought back by the Norris family. You have long loved Estelle, right?"

When I heard Dale's words, I felt so aggrieved. He could insult me however he wanted, but Keith and I grew up together, and he was not adopted.

Keith was the son of my father's childhood friend. Their family used to be well-off, but his parents died in a car accident.

His several uncles along with his grandparents took the opportunity to divide up the family property.

Back then, Keith had just learned to walk, and even his custody was passed around.

My parents couldn't bear to see it and took me to see him.

The first time I saw him, he was pushed down and fell hard on a big stone on his back.

I saw a big, dark bruise, but he smiled while giving me the candy in his hand.

Almost at that moment, I was sure that I'd be Keith's sister for a lifetime.

We grew up together since we were young, just like other siblings. I didn't expect Dale to portray our relationship in such a bad light.

"As expected, people without a heart are also blind!"

Keith left the ward in anger after saying so.

Grace sobbed softly and looked at Dale.

"Dale, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. You shouldn't have saved me at that time. You should have saved Estelle instead. But she still has family, and I only have you. I was so afraid to see you take her away. I might die..."

Dale wiped the tears from Grace's face.

"Don't worry. No one will disturb you again."

I looked at them as they cuddled each other, and sadness and grief overwhelmed me.

When the rescuers found me in the snowdrift, I was wrapped in ice and completely lost vital signs.

Dale's father, Neil Kemp, saw my body,he burst into tears.

Neil and my father grew up together as neighbors since childhood. When my parents were still alive and knew about me and Dale, they almost couldn't stop smiling.

Neil transferred the two shops he had under my name just to prevent Dale from doing anything foolish.

I looked at Neil. He looked old, and because of his heart attack, he could hardly breathe. I wanted to tell them the name of the medicine Neil often took, but now I was just a soul and couldn't help at all.

After the rescuers took Neil to the hospital and gave him medicine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as Neil was relieved, he picked up his phone and called Dale, but he only heard the sound of the call being connected and then hung up.

They had always been at odds, and Dale was very annoyed by the way Neil distributed his property. This time, he probably thought that Neil was calling him to tell him to apologize to me, so he directly blocked Neil's number.

Keith appeared next to my body with a scruffy beard.

After a long time, he finally spoke.

"Estelle, how could it be you? How could..."

Keith's tense nerves finally snapped at this moment, and he reached out, his hands trembling, afraid he'd upset me.

"Estelle, why didn't you divorce him? He was so mean to you. Mom and Dad are gone, but you still have me!"

Keith's voice choked, tears kept streaming down, and he didn't even dare to look at me again.

Listening to Keith's crying, I wanted to reach out and wipe his tears. He was right. Why didn't I divorce Dale?

Because time and time again, I held hope for Dale. After all, he was the person I deeply loved for many years and hoped to get a response from.

How could I give up just like that?

Neil took care of everything for me. As he looked at the death certificate with my name on it, he was furious. With that burst of anger, he went to the hospital.

Neil saw Dale smiling at Grace, and he stepped forward and slapped Dale hard.

"Dale, you still have the mood to entangle with another woman here at a time like this? How could you face Estelle?"

Dale glared at him angrily.

"You hit me for her? Did she say something to you again?"

I looked at Dale with a heart full of disappointment. He seemed to be used to blaming everything on me. He never even asked for the reason.

Neil looked at him with tears streaming down his face: "Estelle was dead. she was buried alive by the heavy snow..."