Jason said my mother had been his sister’s
teacher and had cruelly bullied her because
she wasn’t smart and didn’t give her gifts.
She’d even encouraged classmates to bully
her, leading to her mental breakdown and fall
from a building.
“Impossible!”
Jason pulled out a diary and a photo,
throwing them at me. I trembled as I turned
the pages.
It detailed how my mother humiliated her in
class and rewarded the bullies.
The photo was a class picture. My mom, the
teacher, and Jason’s sister in the back row.
My voice shook. “Impossible, my mom… she
r
wasn’t like that!”
Jason snatched back the items and stared
coldly. “Your mother’s dead. I wanted her
dead from the moment I approached you.
Dying from anger was too easy for her, but
who will pay for what happened to my
sister?!”
I shook uncontrollably. “No, she wouldn’t, she
was a good teacher, she even helped
students in need!”
I broke free and started gathering my
mother’s ashes.
Jason didn’t stop me, only pulling me back to
the villa after I was done.
“Sherry, you need to atone for your actions
until my sister wakes up!”
Back at the villa, I begged him.
“Jason, if it’s true, I’ll atone. I’ll do anything!
Please, let me bury my mother.”
Jason smiled. “Anything?”
Г
I nodded frantically. I’d do anything to have
my mom buried.
He took the urn and pressed me against the
wall, his hand reaching inside my clothes.
“Your mom wanted to see you happy, right?
We haven’t reached the wedding night yet.
How can we say the wedding is finished?”
“Let’s show your mom how much we love
each other; she will be happy.”
I was stunned, my body trembling. “Jason, no!
Please, not in front of my mother…”
The more I resisted, the more insistent he
became. He tore at my clothes and kissed
- me.
I cried until there were no more tears.
“I’m sorry, I apologize on behalf of my mother.
Please, not in front of her.”
My nails dug into my flesh, blood welling up.
Despair and shame overwhelmed me.
I struggled with all my might, and in my
<
agitation, I fell, hitting my head against a
cabinet.
Then, everything went black.
In my hazy state, I dreamt of our past.
I worked in design and liaised with his
company. After the project ended, he
contacted me.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but if I don’t see you
again, I think I will be miserable.”
Those romantic words were all lies.
The rain and shock had given me a fever.
When I woke, I instinctively looked for my
mom’s ashes.
“Where’s the urn? Where are my mother’s
ashes?”
Jason stopped me, gently touching my face.
“They’re gone, Sherry. Don’t look for your
mother’s ashes anymore. I threw them away.
Who knows what landfill they’re in, or if the
wind scattered them.”
Terror filled me.
“You’re lying! You have to be lying!”
I tried to get up, searching the entire villa in
vain.
Jason chuckled. “I said I threw them. Why
don’t you believe me? My sister is my only
family, and we were separated. You don’t
need any keepsakes, it’s only fair.”
I sobbed, “Jason, you bastard!”
I ran to the outdoor trash cans, ignoring the
filth and stench.
But I found nothing. I asked the garbage
collectors about their transfer station. I
searched through mountains of garbage until I
was exhausted.
I still found nothing. I didn’t know what true
despair was until that moment.
When I got back to the villa, it was night. The
woman, Jessica, who was with Jason at the
wedding, was there again.
く
She pinched her nose when she saw me.
“Jason, is this your wife? She’s so dirty and
ugly. Is she a beggar?”
Jason waved his hand dismissively. “What
happened to you? You’re disgusting. You
really want to be a beggar for your mom? I
can fulfill your wish.”
Jason made a call, and soon I received a
message from HR.
I was fired.
I didn’t care anymore. I knelt before Jason.
“Please, tell me where my mother’s ashes
are.”
Jessica laughed. “Is this the modern age?
Wives still kneel to their husbands?”
“Jason, let’s go inside. This is so unlucky; I
don’t want to be near her.”
Jason coldly looked at me,
“Kneel if you want to, looking for dead things,
rolling around in the trash, really disgusting
things. I will let you clean up before I go out!”
He took Jessica into our bedroom, our former
wedding room.
Their intimate laughter echoed, and I curled
up on the floor, my tears soaking the carpet
until their sounds ceased.
Jason sent Jessica away–she had a fit and
wouldn’t leave easily—and then knelt before
me, lifting me into the bathroom.
I spoke, tears streaming down my face.
“Jason, what more do you want me to do?
Can we divorce after I atone?”
Jason silently placed me in the bathtub,
speaking only after a long pause. His
movements were gentle, his words ruthless.
“Sherry, if my sister doesn’t wake up, I’ll never
let you go.”
I felt utter despair.
To increase my guilt, Jason forced me to care
for his sister daily.
Looking at her pale face, I felt suffocated.
She was a pitiful girl, but I still didn’t believe
my mom had hurt her.
I tried contacting classmates from her sister’s
class.
Every day, after leaving the nursing home, I
searched for my mother’s ashes.
I hid this from Jason; he punished me
whenever he found out.
I returned late one day, and Jason came
home earlier than usual.
Expecting his wrath, I was surprised when he
smiled.
“Sherry, don’t say I didn’t warn you, the
landfill is far and dangerous. You’re my wife,
of course, I worry about you.”
I shrank back. “Okay, I won’t go anymore.”
Jason smiled, satisfied. But the next day, I
still went to the landfill. It was my mother; I
wouldn’t rest until I found her remains.
く
But something unexpected happened. As I
was leaving, someone dragged me into a
corner of the landfill.
Someone covered my mouth, silencing my
screams. A bag was placed over my head,
and I was overcome by the fumes.
I heard the kidnappers talking.
“Boss, don’t you think rich people are
strange? Why would Jason hire someone to
kidnap his own wife?”
Tears streamed down my face, and I felt utter
despair.
Was it really you, Jason?
