They All Regretted It After I Died
Agatha Christie · Completed · 6.2k Words
Introduction
For twenty-two years, I had been the hardest-working but most invisible daughter in the Sterling family, forever living in the shadow of my gymnastics prodigy sister.
Running a high fever, I begged my family to take me to the hospital, only to hear: "Don't you DARE ruin Bella's award ceremony!"
When I was tricked into the abandoned equipment room and used my last breath to call my boyfriend while lying in a pool of blood, all I heard was: "Grace, quit the drama! Bella's accepting her award on stage!"
On stage, thunderous applause erupted as Bella lifted the "Young Gymnast of the Year" trophy.
And I drew my final breath.
When they returned home triumphant, thinking I had run away in a tantrum, they had no idea I was already dead right under their noses.
Chapter 1
I was dead, and the whole world was celebrating for my sister.
For twenty-two years, I had been the hardest-working but most invisible daughter in the Sterling family, forever living in the shadow of my gymnastics prodigy sister.
Running a high fever, I begged my family to take me to the hospital, only to hear: "Don't you DARE ruin Bella's award ceremony!"
When I was tricked into the abandoned equipment room and used my last breath to call my boyfriend while lying in a pool of blood, all I heard was: "Grace, quit the drama! Bella's accepting her award on stage!"
On stage, thunderous applause erupted as Bella lifted the "Young Gymnast of the Year" trophy.
And I drew my final breath.
When they returned home triumphant, thinking I had run away in a tantrum, they had no idea I was already dead right under their noses.
Grace's POV
I was dead, but nobody knew.
At this moment, my family had just returned from Bella's award ceremony, ready to celebrate at the club. And I was floating above them as a spirit, watching it all unfold.
"Where the hell did Grace go?" My brother Marcus looked around. "Didn't she say she had a fever this afternoon?"
But I couldn't answer. I could only drift silently beside him.
Marcus pulled out his phone and dialed my number. No answer. He said irritably, "Playing the disappearing act again? Jesus Christ."
"She's probably home sulking," Mom said without looking up from arranging the trophies. "That's just like her - make a big deal out of every little illness and expect the whole family to revolve around her."
Dad snorted. "Want us to babysit her at the doctor? Today was Bella's BIG day. She better not have screwed it up."
Screwed it up?
I gave a bitter smile as I watched them. Growing up, I never dared to trouble my family. When I got sick, I toughed it out alone. When I got hurt, I kept quiet, afraid of being a burden. This time, I was burning up so badly that I finally worked up the courage to ask for help just once.
Marcus shook his head. "Grace is getting more and more selfish. Look at Bella - she would NEVER pull this crap."
"Exactly," Mom immediately chimed in. "Our Bella is so considerate."
Then Bella rose from the couch, biting her lower lip. "What if something really happened to Grace? She's been emotionally unstable lately... always saying life isn't worth living, that we don't love her..."
I stared at her hard. Six hours ago, she was the one who tricked feverish me into that abandoned equipment room: "Grace, just stay here and rest quietly. Don't ruin MY big day."
Now she was putting on this worried act.
Dad's face darkened. "Threatening us with that kind of talk? That's going TOO far!"
"Using suicide threats for sympathy - that's sick!" Mom trembled with anger.
More lies. Complete and utter lies.
My thoughts drifted back to a few hours ago—
After Bella left, I was trapped in the equipment room, suffering through my high fever, when suddenly the door opened. I thought joyfully that my parents had come back, but instead I saw three drunk construction workers.
"That girl said you were stealing stuff. Told us to teach you a lesson."
I was pinned to the ground and assaulted, struggling desperately: "I didn't steal anything! Bella's LYING!"
They ignored my pleas and violated me while I begged them to stop.
I fought back with everything I had. In the chaos, my head slammed hard into the equipment rack, and blood immediately gushed out. Seeing the blood, those men panicked and fled.
I used my last strength to call my family, only to hear:
"Stop faking it! Today is Bella's day - you better not screw it up!"
Finally, I dialed Derek's number with trembling fingers.
"Derek... save me... I'm dying..."
"Grace! ENOUGH!" Derek's voice was ice-cold. "I'm at Bella's award ceremony. Can you please stop the dramatics? Today is her moment to shine!"
"I'm really dying..." I whispered weakly.
"There you go again! I told you I'd buy you that necklace to make up for it! Can you just let me have some peace?" He hung up immediately.
Marcus waved dismissively. "Forget about her. Grace is just jealous of Bella."
"Why would Grace be jealous of me?" Bella put on an innocent expression.
"Do you even need to ask?" Mom sneered. "She can't stand that you're better than her. Even Derek says you're more talented."
Bella said softly, "Maybe Grace just needs time... Coach Derek really cares about her."
What an act. If they knew she had gotten me killed, how would they react?
"Come on, don't let Grace ruin our mood," Marcus stood up. "Tonight is Bella's night."
"Right, let's keep celebrating," Dad also rose. "As for Grace, she can come home or not - I don't care."
With that, they all left together.
I floated in the air, watching them walk away. They would never know that I would never come home again.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
Kaged In
Follow Kage's journey as he tries to heal, falls in love and faces his inner turmoil.
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
Human Capture (Up North #2)
Raised in a starving settlement choked by a vast, unforgiving forest, Lara learned early that survival has a price. To keep her family alive, she became a master hunter—agile, silent, and deadly with an array of mismatched blades. But the forest has eyes, and one evening, the shadows dragged her away.
Nine months later, Lara breaks free from a concrete dungeon, only to find herself stranded in the lawless, rogue-infested wilds of Avers Land alongside four captured werewolf girls. Seeking refuge in the neighboring territory of Illyen, she expects to find a way back to her human life. Instead, she is brought face-to-face with Alpha Rowan, the terrifying, ruthless ruler of the frozen North.
One look into Lara’s eyes, and the Alpha’s world shatters. His eyes turn an absolute shade of black. The bond is undeniable. She is his fated mate.
But a human cannot survive the brutal political landscape of the North, and Rowan openly rejects the bond, dragging her onto a warship bound for a kingdom that views her as a fragile liability. Trapped between a mate who refuses to love her and a court of monsters waiting for her to break, Lara must use every hunter's instinct she possesses. Because in the realm of wolves, a human must either grow claws of her own—or perish in the snow.
Twin Prince Alphas Student Mate
As her 18th birthday approaches, her brothers warn her about the powerful pull she might feel toward dominant wolves. But it's not just any wolves they need to worry about—it's her teachers. Cameron and Samuel are more than just older, wiser, and off-limits; they might just be her fated mates.
While navigating complex relationships, academic pressures, and the normal trials of young adult life, an unexpected threat jeopardizes the academy. Explosions rock their world, forcing Lyla and her love interests into a chaotic swirl of heroism, heartbreak, and hard choices.
Will Lyla follow her heart and let destiny lead the way, or will the very rules that bind their world tear them apart? Amidst turmoil and taboo, Lyla must make choices that could forever change the course of her life and the lives of those she holds dear.
Discover a story where love isn't just complicated—it's forbidden, ageless, and defies all rules. In a world of supernatural beings and extraordinary stakes, will Lyla's love life be another casualty, or her saving grace?
The Ice Between Us.
Then comes Jax Miller.
Jax is a hotheaded rookie with a lightning-fast puck and a reputation for burning bridges. He doesn't follow playbooks, he doesn't respect authority, and he’s determined to melt Julian’s icy composure. When a viral video of their on-ice collision threatens to bankrupt the program, Coach Clain delivers an ultimatum that feels like a death sentence: they must live together in a cramped, two-bed dorm for the duration of the season.
Forced to navigate the high-stakes world of sports fame, "forbidden" locker-room tension, and the mysterious blackmailer who caught their first mistake on camera, Julian and Jax must decide what’s more dangerous: losing their careers, or losing themselves to the person they were supposed to hate.
Where The Ice Gives Way
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)
Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Let Them Kneel
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.
But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.
Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.
When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.
For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.
Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.
But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.
And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.
Especially him.
She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.
Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Cursed Fates
Taste of Fate: The Vampire King's Human Mate
He reached for the back of my head and pulled me up just enough to reach my neck. When his fangs slid into me, the pain was instant, electric. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. My hands found his shoulders, clawing for something to hold. My legs kicked. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
He moaned against my throat as he drank, and the sound was devastating.
The Alpha King's Human Mate
“I have waited nine years for you. That’s nearly a decade since I’ve felt this emptiness inside me. Part of me began to wonder if you didn’t exist or you’d already died. And then I found you, right inside my own home.”
He used one of his hands to stroke my cheek and tingles erupted everywhere.
“I’ve spent enough time without you and I will not let anything else keep us apart. Not other wolves, not my drunken father who’s barely holding himself together the past twenty years, not your family – and not even you.”
Clark Bellevue has spent her entire life as the only human in the wolf pack - literally. Eighteen years ago, Clark was the accidental result of a brief affair between one of the most powerful Alphas in the world and a human woman. Despite living with her father and her werewolf half-siblings, Clark has never felt like she really belonged in the werewolf world. But right as Clark plans to leave the werewolf world behind for good, her life gets flipped upside down by her mate: the next Alpha King, Griffin Bardot. Griffin has been waiting years for the chance to meet his mate, and he's not about to let her go anytime soon. It doesn't matter how far Clark tries to run from her destiny or her mate - Griffin intends to keep her, no matter what he has to do or who stands in his way.
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Pregnant by My Husband's Rival Alpha
Those words should have destroyed me, but the truth was worse: I'd been used as a broodmare by the man who swore to love me, set up in a hotel room with a stranger because My husband Alexander Cross couldn't father children himself, and now I carried the secret babies of Damon Lester—the most powerful and dangerous Alpha in San Loris—while my own family replaced me with the daughter they'd always wanted. But when that same stranger's doctor appeared at my door, when twenty million dollars exchanged hands over a fake perfume bearing my secret identity, and when Damon's gray eyes locked onto mine with recognition I couldn't afford, I realized my carefully hidden life as the legendary perfumer Vera was colliding with a pregnancy that could cost me everything.
Could I protect my babies from the husband plotting my death, hide my true identity from the Alpha who's been hunting me for years, and reclaim the freedom I'd buried along with my dreams—even if it means standing alone against the wolves who see me as nothing more than a womb to be used and discarded?
