Chapter 3

That night, I saw Sophia showing off on Instagram, celebrating how she dodged jail time.

Her lavish party was stacked with expensive gifts, and the priciest of all was the 1 million Heart of the Ocean necklace.

Edward had won it at a charity auction last month, promising he'd give it to me at our wedding to let everyone know who mattered most to him.

Now, that necklace was around Sophia's neck.

Sophia beamed and said, "Thanks, Edward. You've saved me so many times. You're the only light in my life."

On Instagram, I saw Edward had liked her post.

We'd been together for ten years, and Edward had never liked any of my posts, but he liked every single one of Sophia's.

Whenever I brought this up with Edward, he'd always say, "She's young and immature. If I don't give her a like, she'll throw endless fits."

I never made a fuss about Sophia. I just wanted Edward to call me mature for once.

But now, Sophia was the reason my grandma was gone, and Edward was out there celebrating Sophia's new beginning.

Staring out at the endless downpour, it finally hit me. I picked up the phone and called the hospital.

"Hi, I'd like to schedule an abortion," I said.

I looked down at my still-flat belly. This baby was supposed to be my surprise for Edward. I had planned to surprise him with this news after he gave me his gift at the wedding.

But now, that gift would never see the light of day.

Just like that wedding that stopped halfway, there'd never be a next chapter.

I held a funeral for my grandma, and the chapel was covered in her favorite white lilies.

Outside, a misty rain was falling, and the air was filled with a biting chill.

That day, Edward was in the funeral hall, holding Sophia's hand.

When I saw them, Sophia was just standing up to lay flowers by the casket.

"Who told you to put those there?" I snapped.

I snatched the flowers from Sophia's hand and pushed her outside.

Sophia fell to the ground, her white dress splattered with mud, and her knees scraped.

The next second, her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Edward. She cried, "Edward, it hurts so much."

Edward rushed to help her up, checking her scraped knees. When he turned to me, his eyes were blazing with anger.

He snapped, "I asked Sophia to come here to apologize to your grandma and you. Lily, what did you have to go and hurt her for?"

Sophia, teary-eyed, clung to my hand, looking all hurt. She said, "Lily, I'm sorry.

"Edward wouldn't let me go to your wedding that day, but I really wanted to be there.

"So I figured I should go with your grandma, but somehow, everything just went wrong.

"My parents and Edward already punished me. I know I messed up."

She'd pulled this "sincere apology, never learns her lesson" routine a thousand times, and Edward always let her off the hook.

I used to swallow it all for Edward's sake, but not anymore: not here, at my grandma's funeral.

I demanded, "Get out! This is my grandma's funeral. Even from beyond the grave, she wouldn't want to see you, the one responsible for her death."

Everyone knew Sophia was to blame for my grandma's death, and now they were shooting her dirty looks and whispering behind her back.

Sophia's innocent, wounded act slipped for a moment, and I caught a glimpse of the real venom underneath.

Sophia sneered, "She's just some old lady. Even if I didn't kill her, she wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway.

"If Edward hadn't made me come here and say sorry, do you really think I'd bother showing up?"

Sophia's face turned icy in an instant. She stormed up to the memorial table and, before anyone could react, snatched up my grandma's urn and hurled it out the door with vicious force.

She spat, "You won't let me pay my respects? Then no one gets to."

I watched as the urn traced a blinding arc through the air, my pupils contracting sharply, my heart clenching as if gripped by an invisible hand.

"No!" I shouted, my voice broke.

With a loud crash, the urn hit the rain-soaked ground, ashes bursting into the air and scattering everywhere.