Chapter 5

As the last of the ashes emptied from the urn, Cecilia let out an obvious sigh of relief.

Joshua looked up at her and gently coaxed, "Now that he’s gone, you should finally be able to get a good night's sleep."

The three of them walked out hand in hand like a happy family.

Only after they had completely disappeared from sight could Sheila no longer hold herself together.

Crying uncontrollably, she rushed outside.

As if heaven itself were mocking her, it began to rain. The wind scattered the ashes, and the rain soaked them, washing them away little by little amidst the flowing water.

Sheila fell out of her wheelchair and hit the ground. Ignoring the pain, she crawled toward the drain, desperately trying to gather the ashes with her hands.

It was hopeless.

"My baby… My baby..." She could only watch as her child's ashes slowly disappeared.

There was nothing she could do. It felt as though someone had torn her heart apart.

She knelt in the mud, sobbing as she reached deep into the drain again and again. Her hands quickly became caked with filth, but she kept searching.

Over and over, she prayed to God.

Please...

Leave me something. Anything.

Just one small piece, so I can remember my child.

Perhaps God truly heard her prayers. Deep inside the drain, she found a tiny fragment of bone that had somehow remained.

Lowering her head, she stared at the tiny white fragment resting in her palm as tears streamed down her face.

This was her child — the baby she had risked her life to bring into the world.

She gently pressed the little bone against her chest and cried until she could barely breathe.

She did not know how much time passed before she slowly struggled back to her feet.

Later, she took the tiny bone fragment to a jeweler and had it permanently sealed inside a memorial pendant.

From that day on, she wore it over her heart.

On the way home, rain poured over her as she pushed her wheelchair through the streets, soaked from head to toe. The pendant rested quietly against her chest. She gently held it through her clothes, whispering over and over as though comforting her child, or perhaps comforting herself.

"Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. We'll never be apart again."

By the time she reached home, every inch of her was drenched. She looked exhausted and miserable.

The moment Joshua and Max saw her, they rushed over in concern.

"Sheila, where have you been? How did you end up like this?"

Max hurried over with a towel. "Mom, dry off quickly. You'll catch a cold."

Watching the two of them fuss over her, Sheila could see only one image: Joshua coldly pouring away their son's ashes.

That was all she could see.

Joshua gently dried her hair with the towel. His voice was full of concern.

"Sheila, it's hard for you to get around now. If you ever want to go anywhere again, just tell me. I’ll drop what I'm doing and go with you.

"If anything happened to you… I don't know what I'd do."

She said nothing. She simply watched his performance through the reflection in the mirror.

Just then, Joshua's phone rang. He stepped aside to answer it.

When he returned, his expression had changed.

"Sheila, something urgent came up at the office. Stay home and get some rest. I'll come back and keep you company as soon as I'm done, okay?"

Without waiting for her response, he hurried out with Max.

What kind of work emergency required him to take Max along? There was only one answer.

He was going to see Cecilia.

He had used excuses like that more than once before. How had she never noticed how clumsy they were?

Still, It was better that they were gone. At least she did not have to watch them keep pretending.

Left alone in the house, Sheila existed like a walking corpse. She barely ate or drank, and she rarely spoke.

Most of the time, she simply sat in front of the mirror, staring blankly at her own reflection.

Her hand rested over the pendant against her chest as silent tears slipped down her face.

Then, on her birthday, Joshua arranged a lavish celebration just for her.