Chapter 5

The marble gravestones were cold. In the black-and-white photos, my parents smiled warmly.

Looking at them, my heart ached with a dull, throbbing pain.

Chloe had sent Ethan to the administrative office to pay the fees.

Before leaving, Ethan had given me a warning look.

"Behave yourself. Don't cause trouble."

The pain in my stomach was getting worse, so I didn't bother replying.

I squatted down alone, my fingers tracing their photos.

I whispered, my voice barely audible:

"Mom, Dad... I couldn't save your third grandchild."

"I’m so tired. Once the 30 days are up, I’m leaving Ethan. I won't let them hurt me anymore."

Suddenly, Chloe’s mocking laughter echoed behind me.

She strolled over and dropped her sweet facade.

"If you had just accepted your place earlier, I wouldn't have had to go to such lengths."

"Know your place, Hazel. Stop clinging to the title of Mrs. Sterling."

I slowly stood up, not surprised at all by her sudden change. I let out a cold laugh.

"Even without me, Ethan would never look at a snake like you."

"I am leaving him. Now, get the hell away from my parents' graves."

My words hit her right where it hurt.

Chloe lost her mind. She lunged forward, grabbing my neck,

And slammed me hard against my parents' gravestone.

She whispered maniacally in my ear:

"I controlled you back then, and I can control you now. You will always be under my shoe."

Her cold words felt like venom dripping into my ears.

"You were too scared to tell your parents about the bullying back in high school, weren't you? Well, I was nice enough to tell them myself."

"I told them exactly what I did to you. They got so panicked they rushed out to find me... and that’s how they got into that car crash. They died because of you, Hazel."

The truth hit me like a physical blow. A wave of pure hatred surged through me.

I gathered every bit of strength I had and slapped her across the face.

"You monster! How could you be so evil?!"

"Hazel! Stop!"

Ethan's angry voice boomed behind us.

He rushed forward and caught Chloe, who had deliberately let herself fall to the ground.

He wiped away her fake tears, his face twisted in anger.

"I told you to behave! Why are you putting your hands on Chloe again?"

I looked at him, seeing how blindly he defended her.

All my love and hate vanished into thin air.

"She’s been lying to you this entire time, Ethan. She caused my parents' death!"

Ethan didn't believe a single word. He stepped forward, grabbed the back of my neck,

And slammed my head against the cold gravestone.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

His grip was so tight it felt like he wanted to break my bones. He snarled:

"Kneel here and think about what you did. Look at your parents and ask yourself if you deserve them!"

He picked Chloe up in his arms,

Turned around, and drove away, leaving me all alone at the mountain cemetery.

I knelt in front of the gravestone, tracing my parents' faces over and over.

Eventually, the sky darkened, and a heavy downpour began.

My thin hospital gown was soaked in seconds. My weak, post-miscarriage body couldn't handle the freezing cold.

Using the gravestone for support, I forced myself to stand and staggered down the mountain path.

The heavy rain completely blocked my vision.

As I rounded a sharp turn,

A pair of blinding headlights suddenly rushed toward me.

Before I could even react, the car hit me, and everything went black.

......

On the other side of town, Ethan took Chloe to the hospital for a check-up.

As they walked out of the clinic, a young nurse saw them.

Her face twisted in disgust, and she muttered under her breath:

"What a jerk. How does he even show his face here?"

Ethan frowned, about to confront her,

When his phone buzzed. It was a full refund notification from the cemetery.

He immediately called the cemetery manager.

The manager informed him that

I had paid off all the fees myself, canceled the lease, and arranged for my parents' urns to be moved to another cemetery.

"Damn it, Hazel. You're taking this tantrum too far."

He called my number repeatedly, but it went straight to voicemail.

A strange panic began to bloom in Ethan's chest.

He decided to drive back to the mountain to find me,

But as he walked toward the exit, a team of paramedics rushed past him, pushing a stretcher.

"Emergency! Clear the way!"

As the stretcher flew past him,

A pale, limp hand fell off the side. On her wrist was a faded, red braided bracelet.

It was the matching bracelet Ethan and I had woven together when we were teenagers. There was only one pair in the world.

The moment Ethan saw it,

His heart stopped.