Chapter 7

After I returned home, I was so weak I could barely stay on my feet.

I leaned against the doorframe to catch my breath for a long time before I finally made it into the bedroom.

Those few short steps made my vision go black several times. I nearly collapsed on the floor.

The entire day, I stayed in the room sorting through everything related to Erwin.

There were photos, gifts, and journals. Every single thing that carried our memories ended up in the yard.

When it came time to light the fire, my hands trembled so badly that I dropped the match three times before the flame finally caught.

Through the fire, I saw a photo we had taken at Moonlight Lake.

In the picture, Erwin stood behind me with his arms wrapped around me. His chin rested on my shoulder. His smile was so gentle and endearing.

"When we're old, we'll show these photos to our pups."

I suddenly laughed. As I laughed, my tears fell into the fire.

On the final day of my life's countdown, I forced myself to go to the cemetery.

It was only a mile away, yet it took me three full hours to get there.

"Dad, Mom." I gasped for breath as I gripped on gravestones and slowly climbed up. "Wait for me a little longer. I'll be there soon. I'll come and keep you company."

By the time I finally reached halfway up the hill, my legs gave out and I dropped to my knees.

I saw something I couldn't believe. Alyssa stood there with several workers. They were digging up my parents' graves.

The gravestones had been pushed over. The burial mounds were already dug open. Alyssa was even holding my parents' urns.

"What are you doing?" I lunged forward and tried to grab them.

Alyssa stepped aside easily. She smirked as she shook the urns in her hands. "I wasn't satisfied with your apology yesterday. Since Erwin can't bear to punish you, your parents can take the punishment instead."

I dropped to my knees with a thud. My forehead slammed against the gravel.

"I'll apologize again. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

"Please give the urns back to me."

Blood streamed down past my brows into my eyes, but I kept slamming my head against the ground. "Please. I'm begging you."

"Fine," Alyssa suddenly said with a smile. "I'll give them back."

She smiled cruelly.

Under my horrified gaze, she slowly tilted the urns.

"No!" I screamed and lunged forward, but I caught nothing.

I watched helplessly as my parents' ashes spilled into a feeding bowl. The wolfhound wagged its tail excitedly and began licking its mouth.

At that instant, it felt like the world was falling apart.

I used every ounce of strength I had left to slap Alyssa's face.

She stumbled and fell to the ground, but there was a satisfied smile on her face.

Sure enough, the next second, Erwin ran over and shoved me away violently.

"Lara!" His furious roar echoed through the cemetery. "You've got a death wish!"

The back of my head slammed against a cracked gravestone. Blood immediately gushed out.

Ignoring the pain, I clutched the small handful of ashes left in my hand and screamed hysterically. "I do have a death wish! I wish I could kill her!

"Do you know what Alyssa did? She dug up my parents' graves and fed their ashes to a wolfhound!"

Erwin bent down and lifted Alyssa into his arms. His gaze was cold. "Well done."

He wiped the blood from the corner of Alyssa's mouth and added coldly, "Even if Alyssa hadn't done it, I would've come to dig them up myself. When your dad caused my dad's death, you should've expected this day to come."

I collapsed into the mud and watched helplessly as Erwin carried Alyssa away.

His fur coat shielded her from the rain. It was just like the way he used to hold an umbrella over me years ago.

The cold rain struck my face and mixed with my warm tears.

I lowered my head and looked at the tiny bit of ashes left in my palm.

Suddenly, I laughed until a mouthful of blood gushed from my lips.

It kept going on until my blood splattered across the gravestones.

My vision began to blur, yet I stubbornly traced my parents' names on the gravestones with trembling fingers.

"Dad, Mom." My voice was barely louder than a whisper. "Wait for me. I'll be with you soon."