Indifferent to My Mother-in-Law’s Car Accident

Wendy's ashes were taken back to her hometown by her daughter, Carrie Smith. As a daughter-in-law of this family, I accompanied her to visit the place where Xavier grew up.

A mourning tent had already been set up, but the coffin placed in front of the memorial was completely empty. The moment my father-in-law, David Smith, saw me, he stormed over and started yelling.

“Lily! How could you make the decision to cremate Wendy without consulting anyone? Don’t you know that in our hometown, it’s a tradition for people to be buried where they were born?”

Other villagers joined in, scolding me with the same tired remarks.

All I could do was shrug helplessly. “What else could I do?”

“Xavier didn’t tell me anything about these customs, and I could only follow the hospital’s recommendations. If I could’ve reached Xavier, I wouldn’t have had to make this decision. But both his phones were off. What was I supposed to do?”

That was when they all realized that the ashes were already back, yet Wendy’s only son still hadn’t shown up.

Carrie, wrapped in mourning clothes and crying her eyes out, immediately sprang to Xavier’s defense when someone criticized him. “Don’t you dare badmouth my brother! He’s been so busy with work. Don’t you understand how important that is?”

“No matter how busy he is, how could work be more important than his own mother’s funeral?”

“Don’t listen to her nonsense!” Carrie snapped, glaring at me. “She must’ve done this on purpose! She didn’t tell Xavier on purpose. Otherwise, how could he not come?”

Carrie sounded so righteous that I didn’t even bother arguing. Instead, I took out my phone and played the recording of Xavier’s exact words:

“It’s just a car accident, right? She’s not dead yet. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it if she dies.”

David who had been sobbing quietly, immediately erupted in rage, shaking with anger. “Ungrateful brat! How could he say something like that?”

I stayed in the village throughout the funeral, following their many customs. While I was in the middle of the mourning ritual, my assistant from Jasper City sent me a message that Xavier had returned to the office. The moment he heard the news, he rushed back and was now on his way.

Jasper City was a two-hour drive from the village. By the time Xavier arrived, everything was over. All he could do was kneel in front of Wendy’s memorial and the empty coffin, crying hysterically.

“Mom!!”

Then he turned on me, tears streaming down his face. “Lily, why didn’t you tell me my mom had an accident?! You did this on purpose, didn’t you?”

Before he could grab me, David struck him with a wooden stick, knocking him to the ground. “Ungrateful brat! How dare you blame Lily? Wasn’t it you who said, ‘We’ll deal with it if she dies’?!”

Xavier froze, lying on the ground in stunned silence. After a long while, he began sobbing, mumbling, “I thought it was her mom who got in the accident… I didn’t know it was my mom…”

This time, it was Carrie’s turn to explode. Afraid his words would upset me further, she shouted at him, spittle flying. “What do you mean you thought it was her mom?! How could I have such a shameless brother? You married into her family, and everything you have now is because of Lily. And yet, you don’t even care about her family’s life or death?”

The whole family took turns berating and hitting Xavier. I, however, didn’t have the time or patience to stick around for the drama. I turned and left, heading back to Jasper City.

Watching their family put on a show in the countryside was a waste of my time. I would rather use that time to prepare for my divorce. A man like him, who had been living off my family while contributing nothing, didn’t deserve another dime from us.

So, I went to the most reputable lawyer in Jasper City. I handed over our prenuptial agreement and evidence of Xavier’s affair.

After reviewing everything, the lawyer confidently assured me, “Miss Carson, given this situation, it’s entirely possible to ensure Xavier leaves the marriage with nothing.”