only keepsake of her. The least I could do was let it accompany him on his final journey. I carefully tucked the photo into the ashes,
preparing to leave
Footsteps sounded suddenly outside the door, and a harsh, familiar voice echoed: “Well, if it isn’t Valerie’s lapdog, stripped bare and
crawling back home?”
Jasper leaned against the doorframe, his eyes brimming with contempt. I merely looked at him, saying nothing, tightening my em-
brace around the cloth–wrapped ashes. His eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, reaching out to snatch the bundle from my arms.
“What did you take?!”
I clutched it tighter, my voice raw. “Don’t touch my things!”
At my words, Jasper scoffed, his tone dripping with disdain. “What in this house is yours? Not even your wife, she’s mine. A man as useless as you might as well just die!” He puffed out his chest, revealing faint, suggestive marks there, a blatant display of trium-
- ph.
In the past, I would have fought him, even if it killed me. But now, all I wanted was to properly lay my son to rest. I didn’t even glan- ce at him, just numbly tried to walk past him, out the door.
But Jasper suddenly exploded, kicking me hard in the lower back. He grabbed my hair, brutally yanking away the cloth containing the ashes. “You worthless piece of garbage! You don’t deserve to touch anything of mine!”
The cloth ripped, and the pale–gray ashes scattered across the floor. A heart–wrenching scream tore from my throat. I stumbled, desperate, scrambling on hands and knees to gather the ashes. But a high heel crushed my fingers, pinning me down. I looked up, following the leg, to see Valerie towering over me, her eyes overflowing with unconcealed disgust.
“Caleb Thorne, you are truly disgusting.” Her icy voice cut through me like a sharp blade, piercing directly to my soul. I bit down,
teeth clenched, but no sound escaped.
Jasper, brazenly wrapping an arm around Valerie’s waist, whined pitifully, “I was just worried that he might take the wrong thing. and then he just attacked me all of a sudden. I guess I shouldn’t have interfered. After all, he’s the man of the house… I guess I
deserved to get hit.”
I reached for the photograph, my voice a pathetic whisper as I knelt on the floor. “I’m sorry. I just want my things back. I promise I’ll
never appear before you again.”
Valerie looked down at the photo beneath her foot, then bent to pick it up, shaking off the ashes. As the image became clearer, she chuckled, a cold, dismissive sound. Without a hint of hesitation, she tore it to shreds.
“No!” My eyes burned, bloodshot, as a desperate scream tore from my throat.
2013
Chapter 1
20:12
“A worthless piece of paper, and you cherish it so much? How ridiculous!”
The fragments fluttered down, mirroring the shattered pieces of my own heart. I lifted my head, my throat raw and hoarse, deman-
ding: “Valerie Stone, do you have a heart? Leo was your own flesh and blood! He was so small, he used to clutch your picture even
in his sleep and call for ‘Mommy‘!” “What did he do wrong, that you wanted him dead?!”
No sooner had the words left my lips than Valerie’s hand flashed out, delivering a stinging slap across my face. “What are you,
some kind of saint, to lecture me? You two useless parasites, you eat my food, use my money, and you dare defy me?” Her voice
rose to a shrill crescendo. “His only mistake was having a worthless father like you!”
I clutched my burning cheek, blood seeping from the corner of my mouth. Jasper stepped forward, a smug grin plastered on his
face, feigning concern. “My bad, I honestly didn’t know you’d wrap his ashes in your shirt. But he’s dead, and keeping his remains is
just bad luck. How about I clean it up for you?” As he spoke, he picked up a vacuum cleaner, ready to switch it on.
Blood rushed to my head. I lunged forward, pushing him with all my might. But before I even touched him, Valerie’s foot lashed out,
kicking me to the ground where 1 retched up a mouthful of blood. “How dare you lay a hand on Jasper?” Her voice was laced with
menace. “Touch him again, and I’ll make your life a living hell!”
I clutched my chest, gasping for air, my eyes filled with a desolate despair. “Valerie, let’s get a divorce.”
At my words, she scoffed, as if I’d just uttered the most hilarious joke. “You owe me money, and you think you can just divorce me?
You don’t deserve to!” Her voice sharpened, venomous. “Until that debt is paid in full, you won’t take a single step outside this hou-
se!”
I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to stand, tears welling in my eyes. The once kind and gentle Valerie had died long ago, buried in
distant memories. The ridiculous truth was, until this very day, I had still clung to a sliver of hope. That someday, she would reme-
mber the good in me, and our family could return to what it once was.
Through blurred vision, I managed a bitter laugh, meeting her gaze once more, my voice resolute. “Fine. I’ll pay you back.”
No sooner had the words left my lips than I snatched the dagger from the table, plunging it fiercely into my abdomen! The wet, tearing sound of the blade sinking into flesh echoed eerily in the silent room. Valerie’s brow furrowed, her pupils dilating in shock. I
swallowed the metallic tang in my throat, a grim smile on my face as I looked at her. “Will my organs be enough to pay you back?”