Chapter 2
When I suggested we pick a nicer place, he frowned and said, "Money doesn't just fall from the sky.
"We've been married forever. Why bother with all that flashy stuff?
"Wouldn't it be better to save it for something else?"
Sure, something else. Right.
So that's where all the money went, not on the living, but on the dead.
Grace broke down and threw herself into her best friend's arms, crying her heart out. "I don't have a dad anymore. What am I supposed to do now?"
Her best friend gently patted her back. "Hey, don't talk like that. You still have Charles, don't you?
"We've all seen how he's treated you these past five years."
Rage shot through me, my whole body burning.
Five years? They've been together for five whole years?
God, how could I have been so clueless? I never even saw his betrayal coming.
Grace's best friend kept comforting her. "Back then, Charles booked out the best five-star hotel in the city for your wedding. That alone shows how much he cares, he's always been your strongest support.
"And let's not forget the roughly 1.7-million-dollar cash gift and the Porsche he gave you at the wedding. Even if he isn't reliable, at least you still have money, right?"
My defenses were crumbling. I could barely keep it together.
So it wasn't just five years together, they'd even had a lavish wedding and a fortune in wedding gifts.
I never even realized Charles's company was making that much money.
The wedding that had been delayed for seven years was just for show, nothing but an empty gesture.
No cash gift, no sports car, just a token ceremony. The groom didn't even bother to show up.
Comparison really is the thief of joy. Every word cut right to the bone.
I stood off to the side, stiff as a board.
They didn't care if I heard them talking.
"Grace, now that Mikael's gone, is Emma moving in with you guys?" one of them blurted out.
"Charles said he's not comfortable with her living alone, so he wants her to stay with us," Grace answered.
"Anyway, your house is huge."
"Yeah, it's a huge place. Charles is hardly ever home, so I get kind of freaked out living there by myself."
'That feeling stabbed right through me again. Was that envy, or bitter sadness?' I wondered.
Savings, a sports car, a sprawling condo of over two thousand square feet.
Everything Grace had now was what I'd always dreamed Charles would give me.
But in the end, it was another woman who got it all instead of me.
For a moment, I couldn't even tell who was the real wife and who was the impostor.
If city hall weren't still right there where we registered, I'd have thought my marriage certificate was fake.
Grace broke down again, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mikael was only in his fifties. How could he just be gone?
"He never even got to meet his own flesh and blood grandson."
Her friend gasped, "Grace, you're pregnant?"
Grace nodded through her tears, her sobs coming even harder.
"Didn't you say Charles had a low sperm count? So how did you get pregnant?" her friend asked.
"We did IVF," Grace replied.
That was another gut punch. I froze, completely numb.
I already knew about Charles's low sperm count,' I reminded myself.
After three years of marriage and still no baby, we went to the hospital together for tests,' I remembered.
I wanted to try IVF, but he just said we should let things happen naturally.
Turns out, he was just going with the flow, with someone else.
I stumbled back a few steps, grabbing the wall to steady myself.
Just then, a middle-aged couple burst into the funeral hall, my in-laws, Lucas Rivers and Mary Rivers.
I slipped into the back of the crowd, trying to stay out of sight.
They went straight to Grace, their eyes red and swollen.
"Grace, we're so sorry for your loss. We went to the temple to get a safety charm for your dad, but we didn't even get the chance to give it to him before..." Mary said, her voice trembling.
She pulled a charm out of her bag, her voice choked with emotion. "This charm is still warm, and now he's gone."
Grace took the charm, sobbing so hard she couldn't even speak.
I stood there, feeling like my blood had turned to ice.
Turns out my in-laws had known all along that Charles had a whole other family, and they even treated Grace's folks like their own in-laws.
What a joke. What did they take me for? And what about my parents?
No wonder they didn't even bat an eye when Charles didn't show up for the wedding today.
They kept making excuses for him, saying he must've had some urgent business at work.
The whole family was playing me for a fool.
Mary patted Grace's hand, her heart aching for her. "Oh, sweetheart, you're pregnant and still trying to tough it out here. You've really had it rough."
"Where's Charles? The funeral's about to start. Why isn't he here?"
Grace's voice was choked with tears. "Emma couldn't take it anymore, so he took her to get some rest."
Mary nodded, then asked, "Has everything been arranged for the burial?"
Grace replied, "Charles took care of everything. He said he'd handle it all."
Mary wiped her eyes. "Charles did mention to me that he owns an estate up in Northwood. The setting there is perfect.
"It'd be perfect for Mikael's final resting place."
'The estate in Northwood?' Something in my mind snapped.
Two years ago, I told Charles I wanted a house with a yard and a mountain view, somewhere I could grow vegetables and flowers on weekends.
For once, he actually cared and took me out to see a place in Northwood.
Gray bricks, faded tiles, and an old locust tree standing in the yard.
The second I laid eyes on it, I was hooked.
After that, I was always dropping by every few days to check on the renovations, hands-on with every little thing to make sure it turned out just the way I wanted.
Last month, the renovations were finally finished.
And now, before I've even spent a single night there, that house is going to be used as a grave for the mistress's father?
Mary kept gushing, "That place is amazing, backed by a mountain, facing the water. The consultant said it would bless the family for generations.
"Once you have your baby, Mikael will be able to smile down from heaven."
Grace nodded, still sobbing.
I was just about to march up and demand some answers.
But right then, my phone started ringing.