Chapter 2

I stood at the cemetery entrance for half an hour.

The staff member handed the credit card back to me.

“Ms. Sophia Wright, we’re unable to process the payment on your account.”

I looked down at my phone.

There was five thousand dollars left in my salary account, which could get me a slightly less desirable plot.

Yet no matter how many times I entered my PIN, the screen displayed the same message: “Account Restricted.”

No doubt he feared I would cut and run with the money, so he had frozen my salary account.

I called Lucas three times.

All went straight to voicemail.

On the fourth attempt, Sally picked up.

“Hey, Lucas is with me trying on wedding dresses.

“Anything you need, I’ll tell him after.”

I stared through the glass doors at the sample headstone engraved with a serial number.

“I would like Mr. Brooks to unfreeze my account.”

Sally paused briefly.

“Come to the bridal boutique.

“My bridesmaid hasn’t arrived yet, and I happen to need help with a few things.”

The boutique had been cleared of all other customers.

When I stepped inside, Sally was standing before the mirror, trying on a long gown encrusted with crystals.

Lucas was sitting on the sofa, looking down as he went through his emails.

He merely knit his brows when he saw me.

“Who told you to come?”

“Ms. Peters.”

Sally turned around with a gentle smile.

“I asked her to come.

“The train is too long. I wanted her to help me take a look.”

I knelt on the floor, smoothing out the cascading layers of white tulle for her.

The gnawing pain in my stomach grew more agonizing by the second.

Cold sweat trickled down my temple, dripping onto the snowy-white hem of the dress.

Sally suddenly shifted her foot, the tip of her heel pressing down on my fingers.

“Careful, you’ll spoil my wedding dress.”

I pulled my hand back, only to see a single transparent drop of sweat on the hem.

“I’m sorry.”

“Wipe it clean.”

A boutique attendant offered a tissue.

Just as I reached for it, Sally tossed a white rag at my feet.

“That won’t help.

“Bend down and do it properly. Be thorough.”

I lifted my eyes to look at Lucas.

He clearly heard everything, yet he never once raised his eyes.

I had no choice but to bend over, repeatedly wiping at a stain that didn’t even exist.

Eight years ago, during the hardest days of his startup, I had been on my knees in our rented room just like this, trying to get a coffee stain off his shirt.

Back then, he had held my hand and sworn he’d never let me suffer a single grievance ever again.

Now, I was being forced on my knees by his bride.

And he was sitting less than ten feet away.

“Is it okay now?” I asked.

Sally admired her reflection in the mirror.

“I heard you can’t even come up with ten thousand dollars now?”

“Yes.”

Sally let out a soft laugh.

Several boutique attendants bowed their heads, trying their best to suppress their chuckles.

She unclasped a diamond bracelet from her wrist and dangled it before my eyes.

“Lucas spent a million on this.

“As long as I ask, he’ll give me anything.”

I didn’t take her bait.

“If you get him to unfreeze my account, I’ll leave after the wedding and never appear before either of you again.”

Sally’s eyes flickered slightly.

She bent down as her voice dropped to a low whisper.

“Will you, really?

“You’ve been clinging to him for years. Haven’t you been waiting for a chance for reconciliation?

I shook my head. “I can’t wait any longer.”

Those words seemed to amuse her.

She pulled out a checkbook, wrote down ten thousand dollars, and tossed it down in front of me.

“Freezing your salary account is company business. But I can spare you a little charity.

“Straighten up on your knees and offer us your congrats. Voila, the check is yours.”

I looked at the check sitting inches away, slowly straightening my posture.

“Congratulations on your wedding. I wish you a lifetime of happiness.”

Satisfied, Sally handed the check to me.

Just as I reached out, a violent cough suddenly tore through my throat.

Bright red blood splashed across the pristine white wedding dress.

Gasps of terror erupted all around us.

Sally raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

“You did that on purpose!”

I collapsed onto the floor, the medical folder slipping from my hands and spilling its contents.

The blood-stained report landed against Lucas’s shoes.

He lowered his head.

His gaze landed on the diagnosis: “Advanced Stomach Cancer.”