Chapter 4

Seeing the devastated look on his face, all I felt was a wave of bitter irony.

“If you had come to the hospital when I called, maybe your mom wouldn''t be dead,” I said coldly. “Your coworkers and friends were looking for you, but Eve was all you cared about. You ignored my messages and blocked my calls. You killed your mom.”

Something in my words must have struck a nerve. His eyes widened like an enraged animal as he shouted, “If you hadn’t been so jealous as to kill Eve, none of this would’ve happened! This is all your fault. You’re a murderer!”

I was stunned. Even after everything, Xavier blamed everyone else for what had happened. I knew he was running from the truth, from something he couldn’t bring himself to accept.

So, I said nothing. I just told the workers to keep digging for a hole deep enough for Christine’s ashes to rest. I carefully gathered the ashes back into the urn, though some had already mixed with the soil, forever part of the earth.

Xavier stood there, eyes red as he watched in silence. His mother had raised him on her own and given him everything—education, love, support. She’d even seen him through to earning a PhD.

His life had been smooth, with his greatest hardship being when Eve left the country. Now, in just a few days, his whole world had crumbled. It wasn’t surprising he couldn’t handle it.

When the workers finished, the place grew quiet again.

I glanced at Xavier’s defeated expression and spoke softly, “Xavier, your mom didn’t want us to get divorced. It was her last wish. She’s watching over us. She wouldn’t want to see us torn apart.”

He cleared his throat but said nothing for a long time. His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke, “We’re getting divorced when we get back. There’s nothing left to discuss.”

Surprisingly, I felt a strange sense of relief at his answer. Maybe it was because I no longer had to bear the weight of his mother’s dying wish.

Xavier looked blankly at me and explained, “I owe it to Eve. I can’t spend the rest of my life with the person who killed her.”

We were right back where we started.

I took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. “Xavier, how many times do I have to tell you? I didn’t kill her. This is all in your head! If you want a divorce, fine. Tomorrow morning, we’ll meet at the courthouse.”

In the five years we’d been married, I had never raised my voice at him. He was always busy with work, and we hardly spent time together. The moments we did share were so rare and precious that I never wanted to cause any friction.

I’d given everything to this marriage, but in the end, nothing could compete with a word from his first love. It was time to end it.

Xavier’s face grew darker, and he left without saying another word. When I got back to the apartment, I started packing.

The place belonged to Xavier; he’d paid for it in full. Hence, after the divorce, I’d have to leave.

He sat on the couch, watching silently as I packed my clothes, and I caught a glimpse of resentment in his eyes.

“Sara, if you hadn’t killed Eve, maybe I wouldn’t have pushed things this far,” he muttered. “Eve’s gone. Mom’s gone. Did you ever think about how much this would hurt me when you did all of this?”

Hurt him?

I laughed bitterly. “How dare you ask for sympathy? Xavier, you brought all of this on yourself. This is your karma!”

As I dragged my two large suitcases to the door, Xavier grabbed one of them.

“I’ve got surgery tomorrow,” he said, his voice flat. “I don’t have time to get divorced.”