Chapter 2

Indeed, Irene did not return home for the entire night.

She was usually not active on social media, but she kept posting long essays about Mary’s memorial.

Zac commented underneath each of her posts.

[Irene, thank you for spending the whole night talking to me. My mother would have been very happy.]

I silently lit a candle on my tiny cake and made a wish.

This was the first time and the last time I celebrated my birthday in the house that I had lived in for five years.

The next morning, I woke up to noise coming from downstairs.

I went downstairs and saw a huge mess before me.

There was a piece of leftover cake on the table, and the cream was everywhere.

Birthday balloons and banners were also scattered on the floor.

When I saw the words on the birthday cake written as “Happy Birthday, Zac!”, I suddenly understood that it was Zac’s birthday.

In the past five years, Irene would let go of all her responsibilities and obligations to prepare a celebration for Zac’s birthday. Not only that, she would do the same for their friendship anniversary, their fighting anniversary, as well as their make-up anniversary…

Irene came out of her study and saw my shocked expression. She did not look guilty at all.

“Because of the tantrum you threw at the cemetery yesterday, Zac was very upset, so I let him come over to celebrate his birthday.”

Irene saw that I did not speak, and she immediately softened her voice.

“If you mind, in the future, I’ll…”

“I don’t mind.”

Irene was shocked when I said that. However, she very quickly regained her composure.

“You don’t have to be dishonest. In the past, you hated when Zac celebrated his birthday here.”

In the past, Zac would come up with random excuses to come to our house and even slept in our bedroom once. I threw a huge fuss over it, and I chased him out of our house.

However, I had changed.

I did not even care about her anymore. Naturally, I did not care if Zac showed up.

At the same time, everyone suddenly started chatting in our company’s group chat.

[Zac is so smart! He’s just joined the company, but he can already come up with such a brilliant proposal!]

[He’s indeed Ms. Anderson’s childhood friend. With that much time spent together, he’ll naturally be as talented as her!]

[Our clients have praised Zac. Zac, it’s your treat next time!]

I clicked on the proposal that they mentioned, and my eyes widened in shock.

It was my proposal. I had written every single word and came up with every single idea.

Irene followed my gaze and spoke indifferently.

“Zac’s very pressured as he’s just joined the company. I gave him your proposal. You can just come up with another one.”

I looked up at her. In the past few days, I was the last to leave the office as I worked overtime to complete all the proposals. After I went home, I still had to work on revisions based on the clients’ feedback. My eyes were bloodshot from overworking.

She had witnessed all that.

I was stunned, and I felt my heart sinking.

“Oh, by the way,” Irene’s voice pulled me back to reality. “Zac liked your family’s cemetery plot. Apparently, it’s the best spot for his mother. You should give it to him as an apology for how you treated him yesterday.”

I stared at her in disbelief.

“Are you crazy? My father’s buried there, and the plot next to him is reserved for my mother!”

Those were my father’s last words. He reminded me to bury my mother next to him when it was time. I went to a few cemetery plots with him when he was alive, and together with my mother, we bought that plot.

Irene’s face immediately fell.

“It’s just a cemetery plot! You’ve angered Zac yesterday, so what if you give it to him?”

At that moment, I found her completely unreasonable.

“Impossible.” I bit down on the side of my cheek.

Irene seemed to have predicted my reaction. She slowly tossed a few receipts onto the coffee table.

“Your mother’s only alive because of my money. Compared to her life, is that cemetery plot that important?”

I felt my brain go numb, and my ears started to ring. When I thought of my mother, who was getting skinnier in her hospital bed, I almost could not breathe.

My words were stuck in my throat, and I finally swallowed them all.

“Take it if you want it. Tomorrow, I’ll find a new plot for my father.”

Irene’s expression softened after hearing my answer. It was then that she noticed the suitcase I had placed at the corner of the staircase.

“Why did you pack your luggage?”

I did not want to waste another word, so I simply lied.

“I’m going away for a business trip.”

After I said that, I turned around and went upstairs. Irene frowned and stared at my leaving back intently.