Chapter 1

I stood alone at the crematorium, watching the only family I had left leave this world.

At the same time, I said goodbye to the child I lost.

Everyone I loved, I personally sent into that small furnace.

They turned to ashes in my hands.

But I no longer cared.

Soon, I'd be gone too.

Both of my parents were professors, mentors to so many students.

Their funeral had a big turnout.

But the one person who should have been there, Caleb, my husband, was absent…

A student my parents had helped in the past stood by the grave, angrily condemning Caleb's lack of filial piety.

Their eyes turned to me, full of pity.

They avoided me, whispering behind my back:

"Time shows a person's true colors."

"Caleb always acted like a dutiful son, but turns out he's a heartless bastard!"

…

The doctor told me I had about six months to live.

I had once lost a child.

Since then, having Caleb's child had been my secret desire.

But in the end, I ended that life myself.

Given Caleb's disdain for me, maybe not bringing a child into this world was for the best.

I decided to spend my remaining months traveling the world,

With my parents' and child's ashes, living the rest of my life without Caleb.

I stood by my parents' grave, thinking long and hard, before finally deciding to call him.

The phone rang and rang, but no one answered.

I heard the familiar automated voice.

"Your call is being connected, please wait…"

In the past, this would have broken me.

Now, I just felt tired.

After calling thirteen times, I was ready to give up when the phone finally picked up.

But it wasn't Caleb.

It was Sophia, his childhood friend.

She answered with a tone of annoyance:

"Miss Blake, it's rude to call so early. It's 7 AM in London."

In the past, I might have been angry and yelled at her.

But now, I was calm. I replied softly:

"I need Caleb."

Sophia huffed, sounding even more irritated:

"Caleb's cutting fruit for me."

"What's this about?"

"We've got an important meeting later."

"We both need our rest. Just tell me what you need."

I paused, my eyes falling on the urn in my arms, expression unchanged, and replied:

"It's nothing."

"Just tell him, when he's free, to come sign the divorce papers."

I hung up before she could respond.

I had once loved Caleb for ten years and tried to keep him in a marriage for five.

But I couldn't warm his heart.

Now, I was completely done.

Chapter 2

The next day, I got a call from Caleb.

His voice sounded impatient:

"Madison Blake, what's going on now?"

"I told you, Sophia is a colleague, we're here on business!"

"You called to upset her and then said you wanted a divorce because of her?"

"Do you think this is some kind of joke?"

Sophia was Caleb's favorite,

And Caleb, usually so sharp in business, couldn't see through this obvious lie.

In the past, I might have argued with him.

But now, I didn't care.

I quietly wiped the photo of my parents and replied:

"Fine. When do you have time to come back?"

"Let's handle the divorce."

There was silence on the other end.

I thought he was considering the financial split, so I reassured him:

"Don't worry, I won't take a dime. I'll leave with nothing."

I didn't have much time left to live, and Caleb's money repulsed me.

But Caleb clenched his teeth, angrily retorting:

"Madison, you're beyond help."

"Get it through your head— I'm not agreeing to this divorce!"

He hung up.

I was stunned.

Wasn't it you who said you wanted a divorce before leaving for business?

"Madison, don't think you can just do whatever you want because of how my family helped you."

"If you keep acting like this, we'll just get divorced."

I had seen the divorce papers in his study.

We'd fought for days about it.

He'd claimed they were his colleague's divorce papers and asked him to take a look.

I'd told him to never bring them up again.

And now, it was me who had written the divorce papers, after giving it serious thought.

I knew Caleb had brought up divorce because Sophia had accidentally broken the urn with our first child's ashes.

I slapped her.

Caleb rushed in after hearing the commotion, but when he saw the ashes on the floor, he showed nothing but disgust.

Sophia, crying, explained:

"Caleb, I didn't mean it! I just got scared…"

Caleb, after hearing her, slapped me.

His voice filled with disdain:

"Who keeps ashes around after someone's gone? It's bad luck!"

That was when I understood.

The child was his, but because I carried it, he couldn't stand it.

So, on the day my parents died,

I ended the life of our child myself.

Chapter 3

That summer afternoon.

My parents had just attended my cousin's wedding, and they were driving home, sharing funny stories from the event.

I had just told them I was pregnant, and they were over the moon.

I hung up the phone, planning to text Caleb to share the good news when I suddenly got a voicemail from an unknown number.

The message was just Caleb's voice.

He said:

"Mr. and Mrs. Blake have done so much for me, I can never repay them."

"If it weren't for them, I would've divorced you a long time ago."

"Thank god Madison's first child didn't make it."

"Otherwise, I honestly wouldn't know how to face her kid…"

My whole body shook.

I had always known Caleb didn't love me.

But I never imagined he could hate me this much.

I chose to give up.

In that moment, every last ounce of love I had for Caleb vanished.

I went straight to the clinic for the procedure.

But I never expected that, as soon as I got off the operating table, I'd receive the news that my parents had died.

They were rear-ended by a truck.

That was how they left this world.

…

Caleb came back three days later.

At that point, I had just gotten home from the hospital, holding a bag of painkillers in my hand.

The doctor had warned me not to make any decisions alone, but there was no family to keep an eye on me.

I had managed to hide the truth for a while, but not forever.

I told the doctor that my family was gone, that no one cared about me anymore.

I still remember the look in his eyes—full of pity.

It was a hot day, but I felt freezing cold.

I tightened my coat, opened the door to the house, and saw Caleb sitting on the couch.