Chapter 4

4

After leaving the prepared divorce agreement behind, I began packing my things.

I didn’t have much—besides what Joanna had already thrown away, the most important item was my mother’s urn.

Just then, Joanna entered the room, her high heels clicking against the floor.

With the Jack and Cameron out of the house, she no longer pretended to be gentle and kind.

Instead, her face turned sharp and vicious.

“Well, looks like the stray dog finally knows when to leave.”

“Since you’re already going, how about I tell you a little secret?”

She smiled and leaned close to my ear.

“That cornea of yours... was actually given to me.”

My fingers froze in place, and Joanna looked even more smug.

“Surprised? Your husband and son teamed up to deceive you, all for me.”

“To be honest, Laura, if I ended up like you, I’d have bashed my own head in already.”

She tore open my deepest wound without mercy, and though I remained expressionless, my fingers were digging into my palm.

Seeing that I wasn’t breaking down in despair, Joanna seemed a little disappointed.

Her eyes shifted to the urn in my hands.

I instinctively held it tighter, but she lunged forward to grab it.

The next second, the urn I treasured like my life was shattered in the struggle.

“No!”

All strength drained from my body as I crumpled to the floor, sobbing over the scattered, snowy ashes.

The emotions I had tried to suppress finally burst free.

I raised my hand, ready to slap Joanna.

Joanna screamed and fell dramatically into Jack’s arms.

Before I could react, a powerful shove knocked me to the floor.

My hand landed on broken shards, and blood poured out.

Jack’s face darkened. “Do you have a death wish, Laura?”

I ignored the pain and shouted at him through gnashed teeth, “That was my mother’s ashes!”

“So what? The dead will never be more important than the living!”

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Before my mother passed, the one she spoke of most was him.

How could he say something like that?

Before I could react again, Cameron, seeing Joanna’s pitiful expression, flew into a rage.

He grabbed a broom and swept up all the ashes, then opened the window and flung them out.

I scrambled forward, trying to stop him, but it was too late.

I could only watch, helplessly, as my mother’s ashes scattered with the wind.

It felt as if every bone in my body had been broken—I collapsed to the floor, my eyes empty and unfocused.

The child I had carried for 9 months had become a blade piercing my heart.

The overwhelming grief and despair nearly tore me apart—I collapsed, pain nearly causing me to faint.

Seeing my pale face, Jack rushed forward in a panic—but Joanna quickly clung to his arm.

“Jack, Laura is just trying to trick you.”

“She’s afraid of being punished, so she’s pretending to be sick to get sympathy. Think about it. When she donated her cornea, her body was perfectly fine.”

With just one sentence, Jack’s gaze turned cold again.

“That’s right. If Joanna hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve fallen for it. All these years, I must’ve spoiled you too much. Now you’ve picked up all these bad habits. Let me help you fix them today!”

With that, he grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the bathroom.

My body scraped across the floor—I was in so much pain I couldn’t even scream.

My eyes felt like they were being eaten by ants, the pain was excruciating.

Curled up in despair, I could hear Jack outside, gently coaxing Joanna in his arms.

Cameron chimed in too, cheering, “Mom, did you see how she looked just now? So funny.”

Outside, they turned my suffering into a joke to amuse Joanna.

And inside, I endured wave after wave of pain.

Until my vision blurred and I could barely stay conscious, I smelled the harsh stench of gasoline.

The next second, flames roared to life.

The fire consumed me mercilessly, my eyes burning and stinging as I rolled on the ground, screaming in agony.

But the firefighters were able to pull me out of the fire.

And just before I lost consciousness, I made one final request.

“If Jack asks about me... tell him I’m dead.”