Chapter 4

The room instantly fell silent. When Belinay came to her senses, her eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Do you really have to make such a scene? Why can’t you just behave yourself?”

As soon as she finished speaking, the others chimed in.

“That’s right, Albert. It’s Hubert’s birthday today. Don’t steal the spotlight from the guest of honor.”

“You’ve already had a child with her. You need to take responsibility. You can’t leave the baby without a complete family, can you?”

“Don’t do anything shameful just to be petty and jealous. Wouldn’t it be better to get along peacefully?”

Everyone chimed in, shifting all the blame onto me.

I knew that ever since I married into her family, everyone had looked down on me.

“Social climber,” “good-for-nothing,” and “lowlife” were some of the things they called me.

The insults hurled at me were vile.

However, I was no longer the timid Albert I used to be, the one who would burst into tears at the slightest provocation.

“Belinay, I’m serious about the divorce. Charlotte is a girl, so I’m sure your family won’t value her much anyway. Let’s part ways amicably.”

With that, I picked up my mother’s urn and headed for the door.

Belinay furrowed her brow and coldly grabbed my wrist.

Just as I was about to say something, one of Hubert’s friends suddenly roared in anger.

Pointing at the urn in my hand, he shouted.

“No wonder Hubert’s been having heart palpitations lately. So, you are the one who’s been harming him in such a despicable way. You beast!”

My head buzzed. I had no idea what he was talking about.

The others were just as baffled. Hubert’s face was deathly pale as he explained fearfully, “For the past few days, I’ve been vomiting nonstop for no apparent reason, and I’ve been having heart palpitations and tremors, so I found a psychic. He said someone in my family has placed a cursed object close to me. They mean to do me harm.”

Hubert’s lips trembled as he looked at me with a terrified expression.

“Albert, since you hate me, I’ll just leave. But please, spare my life!”

As he spoke, he staggered forward and knelt before me, looking utterly helpless and victimized.

The people in the room instantly erupted in fury at me.

“Albert, you’re horrible. How could you do something so despicable?”

“Kick him out immediately! He’s shameless. There’s not a smidge of humanity in him.”

I shook off the hand gripping my arm and snapped angrily, “What nonsense are you spouting? These are my mother’s ashes, not some evil spell. You must have hit your head. How could you believe Hubert’s nonsense?!”

As soon as I said that, several people’s faces turned red instantly.

However, someone still sneered and said, “Some people are just shameless. They’ll never admit what they’ve done.”

The metallic tang of blood rose in my throat. I was sick of arguing with them.

Belinay grabbed me by the arm and snatched the urn from me in an instant.

A warning bell went off in my head. I held out my hand and shouted, “Give it back to me! Give me back the ashes!”

Belinay pushed me away. Her eyes were filled with disappointment.

When she bent down to open the jar, she discovered the seal was completely unbreakable.

Hubert’s friend snorted coldly.

“If you can’t open it, then smash it! Let’s see what’s inside!”

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to leap out of my throat. My voice was choked with emotion.

“Please, just give me the urn back.”

Mocking laughter rang out around me. Someone shook their head and said slowly.

“What a drama queen. I can’t believe you staged all this by yourself.”

Belinay had intended to smash it right then and there. However, when she spotted the tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, she hesitated for a couple of seconds.

Finally, she ordered coldly, “If you want the urn, apologize to Hubert. Be sincere, or I’ll throw the contents down the drain.”

My blood ran ice-cold in an instant, and I shot Belinay a bloodshot glare.

Without a moment’s hesitation, amid the contemptuous whispers of the crowd, I bowed my head toward Hubert.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bullied you or laid a hand on you. Please forgive me.”

Everyone held their breath in anticipation. During those agonizing few seconds, I felt as if my pride was being thrown to the floor and trampled on.

Finally, Hubert gave a soft chuckle and helped me to my feet.

“I forgive you, Albert. From now on, we’ll be good friends.”

Belinay’s expression softened considerably as she held out the urn.

“Don’t bully Hubert anymore. I hope—”

“Ah!”

Hubert suddenly let out a scream. He clutched his chest and collapsed backward.

His body crashed down right next to Belinay’s hand.

The urn slipped from her grasp in an instant. With a crash, it shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering the ashes all over the floor.