Chapter 3
"Stefan, it really hurts," Kelly whimpered.
Almost at the same moment, she cried out in pain, and Stefan shoved me with all his strength.
"Miranda! If there's even a single mark on Kelly's face that shouldn't be there, I'll peel your skin off and feed it to the dogs!" Stefan roared.
Stefan scooped Kelly up in his arms and hurried away without looking back.
He didn't even spare me a glance.
He shoved me straight into the broken glass shards.
Blood kept spreading across my back.
I lay there on the floor, completely calm.
I just lay there, waiting for my blood to drain out and for death to take me.
Just before I lost consciousness, my phone buzzed. It was the funeral home calling.
The staff told me my daughter had already been cremated.
They said I could come pick up her ashes whenever I was ready.
They even asked if I wanted to set up a small funeral for Emily.
They said they'd got connections and could set everything up for me.
I wanted that.
Of course I did!
This was the last important thing in Emily's life.
Of course, I wanted her to have a beautiful and dignified farewell.
Biting down hard, I dragged myself off the floor.
I slapped on some bandages from the first aid kit, just enough to keep myself together.
On the road, with nothing left to lose, I started dialing up people I hadn't talked to in ages.
All I got in return was a flood of ridicule and curses.
I finally managed to pull together a decent amount of money.
After receiving the money, I slapped myself several times.
I was such a fool.
Why did I hold onto my dignity? Why did I always obey Stefan?
Now that Emily was gone, I had nothing left holding me back.
At this point, I'd throw caution to the wind for anything.
But really, what was the use?
I went to the funeral home and picked up Emily's ashes.
Then I booked the most luxurious banquet hall in the city and ordered an entire truck full of her favorite daisies.
Standing among the workers hauling flowers back and forth, I clutched Emily's photo tightly to my chest.
I clutched Emily's photo tightly, refusing to let go.
I hesitated again and again.
But in the end, I sent Stefan a message on Twitter with Emily's death certificate and the funeral location.
I knew full well that someone like him, a top-tier movie star, seldom bothered to check his private messages.
I sent him the message anyway.
I just wanted to make sure he couldn't come back later and make a fuss about being kept in the dark.
I'd barely managed to patch up the gash on my back.
After losing blood for so long, my head felt foggy and slow.
My foggy brain made me blind to so many details.
All I cared about was giving Emily a lavish, fancy funeral.
But I totally forgot this hotel was the same place as the night before.
As soon as the staff finished setting up the funeral hall and left, I heard a group of girls whispering behind me.
"Is that the crazy woman who grabbed Stefan's leg last night?" one of them whispered.
"Yeah, that's her. I was hanging around here yesterday, taking candid shots. I saw it all," another chimed in.
"Jeez, she's disgusting! Yesterday, she wouldn't shut up about her daughter being sick, and now she actually set up a whole funeral here!" a third scoffed.
"Oh my god! Stefan and Kelly are so unlucky to get mixed up with a psycho like her. Why doesn't she just die already?" one of the girls sneered.
The group of fans was openly gossiping and didn't care who would hear them.
Their voices were so loud that I couldn't ignore them even if I wanted to.
I turned around, frowning.
"This is my daughter's funeral. Please leave," I said.
The leader of the group was wearing the hotel manager's uniform.
She strutted over and slapped me hard across the face.
"You bitch! Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty?" she sneered.
She added, "I've been a fan of Stefan for ten years. I work here so I can be close to him whenever he visits.
"I've seen plenty of delusional fangirls like you!
"You see a successful guy and instantly fantasize he's yours, then try to get him to notice you. You're even nastier than those women who break up families!"
"Seriously! With your status, you think you even have a shot with Stefan?" another skinny fan snorted, crossing her arms.
Another one chimed in, "Listen up. Kelly is the only woman we fans will ever accept for Stefan."
Someone shouted, "Enough with the talking! Let's teach her a lesson today, so she never dares to show up and mess with Stefan and Kelly again!"
Someone in the crowd started it with a shout, and the whole group jumped in.
Everyone joined in right away.
They split up, each girl knowing exactly what to do.
A bunch of them went straight for the funeral setup, ripping it apart.
The flowers, balloons, and photos I'd picked out with so much care were trashed without a second thought.