Chapter 9
Antonio grabbed Lucile’s wrist. “What did you say? Cremated?”
“Antonio, you’re hurting me.” Lucile weakly struggled. “Mom and Dad. said we couldn’t keep the body around, so we had her cremated. But we bought a really nice spot for her grave. Don’t worry, we didn’t mistreat
her.
Really?
When Grace was already dead, how could Lucile say that they didn’t mistreat her?
Antonio let go of Lucile, went downstairs, and confronted Silvia and Eloy, “Who said you could cremate Grace?”
Silvia was startled by how he looked. “Antonio, we couldn’t leave her body…”
“She was my wife. It should be my decision, not yours!”
Antonio’s eyes were cold and piercing as he glared at them. “Where are Grace’s ashes and grave?”
“She had said she wanted her ashes scattered at sea before she passed, and we already did that. As for the grave, we’ve looked at a few places but haven’t decided yet…”
“You scattered her ashes into the sea?”
Antonio asked very slowly and clearly, which made Silvia a bit nervous. “Antonio, it’s not like you’re saying. That was what Grace wanted. I don’t know why she would…”
“You know very well whether it was what she wanted, or you decided on your own.”
Antonio looked at them coldly. “If I find out you acted without asking, I’ll make sure you pay the price for what you did!”
“Antonio!”
Eloy stood up. “How can you talk like that? We’re your elders, and Grace was our daughter. Besides, you agreed to everything before. After Lucile’s surgery, you didn’t even ask how she was. Instead, you stayed there with Grace’s body. I did this for you and Lucile!
“With Lucile right here, alive and well, you chose to hold onto a dead body. Antonio, have you ever thought about treating Lucile properly?”
The more Eloy spoke, the more excited he got. “Also, you said before that you would marry Lucile. Now that Grace is gone and Lucile has recovered, you should go and get the paperwork done. Don’t keep putting it off. Lucile’s mental state…”
“Hmph,” Antonio sneered. “Grace just died because of Lucile, and you. guys rushed to cremate her and scatter her ashes. Now you’re already pushing me to marry Lucile. Did you ever treat Grace like she was your daughter?”
“We didn’t want it to be like this, but it is. What else can we do? Should our life be ruined because of her?”
Eloy gritted his teeth. “This is how things turned out. After all, Grace owed this to Lucile.”
“You!”
“Mom! Dad! How can you talk about Grace like that?”
Lucile caught up. Seeing that things were getting out of hand, she tried to
2013
calm everyone down. “We should respect the dead. Grace was Antonio’s wife, so it’s normal for him to be sad. Why are you pushing him so hard. right now?”
Then she looked at Antonio. “Antonio, don’t worry. We have plenty of time, and I won’t force you. Let’s talk when you’re ready.”
Antonio glanced at her coldly and walked away.
He went back to the house he and Grace lived in, but he found out that she had thrown away all the gifts he had given her. Even the photo albums were burned, and the wedding pictures were nowhere to be found.
He looked everywhere in the house, but he suddenly realized he couldn’t find a single photo of Grace.
She hadn’t left him anything.
No person, no photos, not even…her ashes…
Antonio slumped down on the floor, his mind in total turmoil.
Recalling Eloy’s words that Grace owed this to Lucile, he punched the wall in anger.
He had said those same mean words to Grace.
He was one of the people who had pushed her to her death!
Just then, his assistant walked in with a tablet in hand.
“Mr. Kaufman, I think you should see this. It’s something Mrs. Kaufman sent you before she passed away.”
