Chapter 2

That afternoon, I really had to go pick up my cousin, so I drove straight to the airport.

On the way, I was crying so hard that I nearly slumped over the steering wheel.

By the time I got my cousin and made it back to the funeral, my eyes were puffy and bloodshot.

My mom saw me and walked over, her brow furrowed. "What's wrong? Why are your eyes so puffy all of a sudden?"

My throat felt tight and sore.

Especially when I caught a glimpse of Phillip Sherman sitting at a card table, playing poker with Lily. The ache in my chest grew even sharper.

I blurted out the first excuse that came to mind. "I missed Grandma, so I couldn't help but cry on the way to the airport."

My mom didn't respond to my excuse. Instead, she glanced at Phillip and Lily. "Isn't Lily's boyfriend the spitting image of your husband from those photos you showed me?

"By the way, did you call your husband and ask him to come to your grandma's funeral?

"The relatives were talking about it earlier. You've been married for two years, but you've never brought your husband home, not even for your grandma's funeral."

I couldn't find the words to answer her.

It wasn't that I didn't want to bring Phillip home. Something always came up.

I had scheduled the trip to my hometown a month in advance, to introduce him to my parents, yet he always had last-minute conflicts.

Either his company scored a big deal, or some shipment overseas got held up by customs.

So even after two years of marriage, we still hadn't managed to get our parents together.

And now, with my grandma gone, the man who claimed he had an urgent contract and couldn't make it to her funeral was here, appearing as Lily's boyfriend.

My chest felt like it was being stabbed. I forced back my tears, clinging to my mom's arm. "Come on, he's busy with work. You can't expect him to drop a multi-million-dollar deal to attend Grandma's funeral.

"Besides, didn't you say it yourself? It's not like Grandma was that close to him. If my husband really can't make it, then so be it. Why are you bringing this up again?"

"But..." my mom began, clearly not ready to let it go.

"Mom," I interrupted her.

"Fine, whatever. Handle your own business," my mom said.

She brushed my hand away, visibly annoyed, and headed toward the refreshment table.

Watching my mom's back as she walked away, it felt like needles stabbing my chest. I knew she was definitely suspicious now.

But what could I do? As Phillip said, this was my grandma's funeral. I couldn't ruin Grandma's funeral because of some guy.

My chest hurt so much, I hadn't eaten all day, and I'd been crying nonstop. I was in no mood to stay at Grandma's funeral, so I plopped down on the couch in the lounge.

As soon as I sat down, Lily, who was at the card table, suddenly called out to me. "Yara, can we order coffee here? I'll have my boyfriend treat everyone to coffee."

As soon as Lily finished speaking, Betty Smith, who was sitting at the same table, chimed in, "So, you're Lily, right? Your boyfriend looks really distinguished. What does he do?"

Lily glanced at me instinctively. "Oh, he runs an import-export company. Doing pretty well. Turns a decent profit. Pulls in a few million a year, give or take."

"A few million? Dang, that's loaded," Betty whistled.

Lily tossed a card onto the table. "It's not about the money, really. What matters is how he treats me. For my birthday last month, he took me on a week-long trip to Velmaris.

"We barely got back, and he's already talking about taking me to Kaelon next month. He says I'm a natural-born party girl, so he's going to show me the world."

Betty grinned, "Girl, your boyfriend's amazing. You really hit the jackpot."

I was walking over with my phone, about to order coffee for everyone. Hearing their conversation, I froze in place.