The car crash that killed my parents happened while I was on the operating table, undergoing an abortion. It was our second child, mine and Jace Frost’. At my parents’ funeral, I called Jace again and again. Until his childhood sweetheart, Nora Vance, answered, her tone sharp with impatience: “Jace is washing strawberries for me. What do you want?” Clutching the urn with my parents’ ashes, my expression was distant. “Nothing. Just tell Jace, after you’ve finished your strawberries, that I agree to the divorce.” 1 I cremated my parents’ bodies alone. Along with the second child I had deliberately ended, the one I shared with my husband, Jace Frost. All my loved ones in this world were confined together in that small incinerator. Reduced to a handful of ashes. But it didn’t matter anymore. I was dying too. My parents had been kind people their entire lives; many relatives and friends attended their funeral. The only one conspicuously absent was Jace. My parents’ dearest friend, Uncle Ben, mentioned Jace’s name and shook his head with resentment, his eyes full of pity when he looked at me. They all said very similar things: “The Peterson couple, kind their whole lives, ended up supporting an ungrateful viper like Jace Frost!” Dressed in black mourning clothes, clutching the urn, I walked along the path to the burial site. The sky was overcast. My lower abdomen still throbbed faintly; I slowly touched it. It had once nurtured two unborn children. What a pity… Never mind. Their father didn’t love me, so he wouldn’t have loved them either. The half of my wrist exposed from the sleeve of my mourning gown was thin and withered. I remembered the doctor saying I had three months left to live. In these three months, I would take my parents’ and baby’s ashes to see the world one last time. Without Jace. I took out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart. Again and again, no answer. Not until the 13th attempt did it finally connect. But it was Nora who spoke, her voice petulant and demanding: “Big sis, it’s four in the morning in Los Angeles!” In the past, I would have hysterically cursed her. But now, my heart was calm, devoid of emotion. I simply said, “I need to speak to Jace about something.” Nora scoffed, utterly impatient. “Jace is washing strawberries for me. What do you want?” Before I could answer, she sneered again, “Don’t you think you’re being too possessive? We just finished a big meeting, and Jace and I are both exhausted. Just tell me directly whatever you want.” I was silent for a moment, my gaze falling on the urn in my arms. My expression was detached as I replied, “Nothing. After you’ve finished your strawberries, tell Jace I agree to the divorce.” Without waiting for her reaction, I hung up. I had loved Jace for ten years, binding him to me through marriage for five. But I still couldn’t warm his heart. Now, I chose to let go. The next time I heard from Jace was the following day. I was sorting through my parents’ belongings. Jace’s voice on the phone was filled with disgust: “Liv Peterson, what are you stirring up now?! I’ve told you countless times, taking Nora abroad this time was just for business cooperation!” “You deliberately made Nora cry again last night, saying you want to divorce me because of her. Nora was heartbroken all night. Do you find that amusing?” Nora was clearly the apple of Jace’s eye. He chose to believe even such a clumsy lie. In the past, I might have felt wronged and tried to explain. But now, he could believe whatever he wanted. I carefully wiped my parents’ photos, softly replying: “Alright. So when are you coming back to the country? We can go to the courthouse for the divorce.” His voice stopped then. A moment of silence. I thought he was considering the property division, so I reassured him: “Don’t worry, I don’t want a single penny from you. I’ll leave with nothing.” Anyway, I wouldn’t live much longer. Jace’s money? I didn’t want it; it felt dirty. Jace, however, gritted his teeth, his voice venomous: “Liv Peterson, I’m not divorcing you! You can forget about it!” With that, he hung up directly. I was speechless. He had left with a harsh threat before going abroad: “Liv Peterson, your family forced Nora away back then. You ruined her chance at happiness.” “If you keep acting up like this, we’ll get a divorce!” He had made that threat because Nora had shattered the urn containing my first child’s ashes. I had slapped her. Jace, who arrived when he heard the commotion, showed only disgust when he saw the ashes on the floor. Nora, crying, explained: “Jace, I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, I was just scared…” Jace, hearing this, slapped me on Nora’s behalf. His voice filled with revulsion: “They’re already dead. Why keep the ashes in the house? It’s bad luck!” It was then that my heart finally died. He truly didn’t love me, to the point of utterly despising even the child I carried for him. So, on the third day of his trip abroad, I aborted the second child. It was a beautiful, sunny day. My parents had just attended my cousin’s wedding. They didn’t know I was pregnant yet, but they were so happy. They had just received an investment, and with that money, their bankrupt factory could reopen. Just as I was about to call them, I received a recording from an unknown number. The recording contained only Jace’s voice. He said: “…Nora’s brother’s leukemia is a ticking time bomb. Luckily, Liv is still useful. I’ll have another child with her. The baby’s cord blood can save him…” I was thunderstruck. I had always known Jace didn’t love me. But I never imagined he would manipulate me to such an extent! So I gave up. In that moment, the last shred of my love for Jace vanished. I went directly to the hospital for an abortion. But I never expected that my parents would be rear-ended by a dump truck. And perish. Jace returned home on the third day. At that time, I had just returned from the hospital with my medication. A bag full of painkillers. The doctor who prescribed them had a solemn expression and asked me, “Ms. Peterson, where are your family members? Painkillers will only worsen your condition—” I curved my lips, a faint smile forcing its way onto my gaunt, hollow cheeks. “I know. But my family is all gone. I don’t want to live anymore.” The doctor’s words froze. He looked at me with pity. I wore the oversized coat my mother bought me, but it still couldn’t hide the cold that chilled me to the bone. I was truly sick; my physical condition was too poor. I tightened my coat and opened the villa door, only to see Jace sitting on the sofa. When he saw me, he stood up and walked over. But I recoiled a step, as if his aristocratic aura had stung my eyes. His eyes, which had initially held a flicker of expectation, were now covered by a thick cloud of gloom. “Where have you been?” He looked down at me, his voice harsh. I blinked, ignoring the cufflink on his wrist, and said nothing. I had seen that cufflink just two weeks ago on Nora’s social media. It was her birthday gift to him, a custom design. All the gifts I had given him over the years had been discarded for various reasons. A handmade cup, given to a subordinate as an ashtray; a coat that took six months to tailor, later used as a mat for Nora’s dog; even the pregnancy test results for our first meticulously planned child, torn up carelessly… For ten years, I had tirelessly pursued Jace, caring for him, worrying about him, loving him. Now, I was tired. “Why did you go to the hospital? Why do you look so pale? Do you have a fever?” He frowned, stepping closer, reaching to check my forehead, but I dodged him. “Don’t trouble yourself, Mr. Frost. I’m fine.” I lowered my gaze, suddenly understanding Jace’s past feelings. It turned out that when you no longer loved someone, even trying to make small talk with them was exhausting. “It’s still early. We still have time to go to the courthouse.” I returned to the master bedroom, put away my medication, and then went downstairs with our marriage certificate. Only to be met with Jace’s astonished expression. I asked him, “Didn’t you want a divorce? I agree. Let’s go.” Jace’s face instantly turned ashen. As if struck in a raw nerve, he pointed at my nose and roared, “Liv Peterson, what do you mean by this?!” “Why are all you Petersons so selfish? Your parents, seeing my potential, forced me to marry you just because your family supported me for a few years!” “And then used their power to force Nora to study abroad at a young age!” “Now that I’ve made a name for myself, your family is still insatiable, wanting to divorce me to get a share of my earnings so you can run off with your lover?!” He finished his outburst, like an enraged lion, his face contorted in a snarl. Yet, I couldn’t help but want to laugh. And I did. The tremors in my abdomen exacerbated the ache in my muscles, and tears streamed down my face as I laughed uncontrollably. So, my parents, these good people who spent years on charity. Sponsoring Jace Frost, a brilliant student whose parents had died, was that wrong? My secret decade-long love for Jace, begging my parents to secretly give Jace’s startup a project, was that wrong? My mother, believing Nora’s artistic talent was better suited for a prestigious foreign art school, sponsoring her studies abroad—was that wrong too? “…Hahahaha, yes, I was wrong…” My chest ached from laughing, my mouth filled with the taste of blood. “My whole life, I’ve been utterly, disastrously wrong…” Jace seemed startled by my hysteria. He stared at me coldly, grinding his teeth as he spoke: “Tell me, was this another one of your parents’ snobbish ideas? “Tell them to come speak to me themselves!” I closed my eyes, letting tears stream down my face. Remembering my parents’ bloody bodies after the car crash, only regret remained in my chest. Just then, there was a knock at the door. It was our next-door neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Davies. They were close friends with my parents but had settled abroad. They had rushed back after hearing the news of my parents’ passing. Mrs. Davies’ eyes were red and swollen from crying. She trembled as she hugged me: “I’m so sorry, Liv. We’re too late…” Mr. Davies wiped his tears, choking out: “The Petersons never did a bad thing in their lives. How could they just be gone like that?!” The grief and regret in their voices seemed genuine. Seconds later, Jace’s incredulous voice rang out: “Who did you say passed away?” I looked at Jace with red eyes and a cold sneer. “You hate my parents so much, shouldn’t you be happy they’re gone?” Jace, however, opened his mouth, speechless for a moment. Mrs. Davies hadn’t recognized Jace. As if remembering something, she asked me, “You didn’t end up with that young man your family sponsored, did you? Oh, back when your factory was struggling and cash flow was tight, your dad specifically borrowed thirty thousand dollars from me to pay for that boy’s tuition. He said the boy was very talented and would surely achieve great things in the future…” CRASH! It was the sound of Jace bumping into furniture. His face was pale, as if he couldn’t believe it. But I just tugged at the corner of my mouth, telling Mrs. Davies, “Let’s not talk about that, Mrs. Davies. I’ll take you to see my parents.”
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