Chapter 3

The cry was sad. It was as if emotions that had been suppressed for far too long were finally breaking free.

I followed the sound and saw Xavier. He was kneeling by a grave, his eyes red.

How ridiculous. For days, I had tried countless times to reach him, only to fail every single time. To make it worse, Christine’s ashes lay quietly not far from him, yet he was there grieving at Eve''s grave.

Sensing my gaze, Xavier looked at me, his expression quickly turning cold. He stood up abruptly and stormed over, grabbing my shoulders in a fit of rage.

"When are you going to stop clinging to me? Sara, can’t you stop following me around? How shameless of you to disturb Eve''s peace!"

My emotions hit me like a wave, and I slapped him hard across the face.

"Can you get a grip? You were grieving for Eve when your mother died, and now, while your mother is about to be buried, you’re still grieving for Eve! Is Eve the only person who exists in your world?"

Xavier froze for a moment, holding his face, speechless. He followed my gaze and saw the urn on the ground too. Confusion flashed across his face before it twisted in anger.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? You’re using the urn to provoke me! You’re proud that you killed Eve, aren’t you?”

I felt like I was about to go insane. How could anyone reason with a person like that?

"The lake isn’t that big, and Eve’s body never surfaced. How could you possibly think I had anything to do with her death?

“Now, Eve may not even be dead, but your mom really is. And it’s because of you! She could’ve been saved, but you refused to save her because of your obsession with your maybe-dead first love!”

For a moment, there was a silence.

Xavier’s eyes flickered, like he might be moved by what I said. I thought he believed me, but the next thing I knew, he grabbed the urn from the ground, his expression looking even crazier.

“You’re still lying to me, huh? I’m a doctor, Sara! I know my mom’s illness has almost no chance of relapsing. You and she are in on this together!”

I panicked as he raised the urn high above his head, trying to stop him.

“Xavier, this is your mom’s ashes! I’m not lying to you. If anything happens to them, you’ll regret it.”

He snickered, and at that moment, I understood what his laughter meant because he threw the urn to the ground with all his strength.

I lunged forward but couldn’t catch it. All I could do was watch helplessly as the urn shattered, spilling most of the ashes across the ground. My knees scraped the ground in the process, leaving me bleeding.

Xavier’s cold voice sounded from above me.

“What are you trying to pull now? Why would I ever believe anything you say? Sara, even if you threaten to kill yourself right here, I won’t believe a single word you say.”

I bit my lip and started gathering the ashes back into the broken urn. Xavier, however, clicked his tongue in irritation and kicked the urn farther away. More ashes spilled out, scattering everywhere.

I watched as the urn became dented beyond recognition. Pain and sorrow flooded me, paralyzing me in place.

Xavier, seeing my pause, took it as guilt.

“Stop pretending! What, did you fill that thing with flour or something? What a performance! I never realized you had this talent when we got married.”

Suddenly, his phone rang. Xavier shot me a glance before answering. He spoke loudly, and I could hear the conversation.

“Mr. Grey, I’m your mother’s lawyer. I’m calling to discuss her estate. She left a will stating that everything goes to Ms. White. I just need confirmation that you’ve been informed.”

Xavier’s grip tightened on his phone, and his voice grew tense. “Can you stop with the games? Do you think it’s fun playing a fool of me?”

The lawyer’s voice remained cold. “No one is playing a fool of you. Your mother was buried today. We’re handling her affairs as she requested.”

Xavier abruptly ended the call. He walked over to the urn, crouched down, and picked up a bit of the spilled ashes. Ashes were nothing like flour, and the difference was obvious.

Time passed slowly as I watched his frustration and anger gradually fade. In its place came shock and pain. After all, he’d never seen Eve’s body, but right there, right then, those were undeniably his mother’s ashes.

Xavier wasn’t a fool. He knew exactly what that meant.

I watched as his disbelief gave way to realization, and in the end, he collapsed to the ground. He stared blankly at me, his voice trembling as he whispered, “Is this really my mom’s ashes? My mom is dead?”