Love and Hate, Great Sadness Without Tears

I endured the taunts and scorn of those around me as I bent down and picked up Liam's urn, holding it close to my chest. It's okay, baby. Daddy may not love you, but Mommy does.

Just as I was about to place the urn into the grave, Benny rammed into me with force, sending me stumbling backward. My grip loosened and the urn slipped from my hands, shattering into pieces upon impact. In a cruel instant, Little Treasure’s ashes spilled across the cold, unforgiving ground.

"Mom, are you blind? How can you be so careless?" Benny sneered, brushing imaginary dust from his designer suit. "Do you have any idea how much these clothes cost? My father bought them for me and now they're tainted with bad luck! Do you think you can afford to compensate me?" His voice dripped with arrogance and disdain.

I barely had time to process the horror of what had just happened before he pulled a water bottle from his pocket, its inside packed with cigarette butts. He tossed it toward me with an exaggerated smirk.

"Auntie, don’t say I’m heartless. Here, use this to collect your son’s ashes."

My hands trembled with rage as I turned to my mother-in-law, my last shred of hope clinging to the possibility that she might show a sliver of compassion. "Please," I whispered. "Help me get another urn. We need to keep Liam's ashes safe."

But she merely arched a brow, her lips curling in distaste.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped. "If you weren’t so useless, the urn wouldn’t have broken in the first place! That water bottle is good enough. Don’t expect me to waste money on that little ingrate. Now hurry up and bury him—I have a mahjong game to get to."

My breath caught in my throat. Before I could protest, Benny kicked me aside, scooped Liam’s ashes into the filthy bottle and carelessly tossed it into the grave. Without hesitation, the workers sealed the grave shut, burying my child in disgrace.

A scream of anguish built in my chest, but I swallowed it down, my body shaking with fury. How could they? How could they do this to my baby?

I turned and stormed into the funeral hall, searching for Willy. My heart pounded as I threw open the door—only to freeze in horror at the sight before me.

There, in front of Little Treasure’s altar, Willy and Sophia were tangled together, their bodies bare and shamelessly intertwined.

"Willy… Benny is getting older now and he must feel lonely," Sophia purred, her fingers tracing circles against his chest. "I want to give you another child."

Willy hesitated. "Sophia, all these years, I’ve already done so much to keep Benny hidden from your husband. I’ve separated you two to protect you. If we do this again, it’ll be too risky. And… this is Liam’s spiritual hall. We can’t…"

Sophia reached below him, her voice thick with seduction. "Willy, for you, I’m willing to endure anything. My husband is never home—he’ll never find out."

She arched her back, her lips brushing against his ear. "Besides, we’ve never done it in a spiritual hall before. Don’t you want to try? You’ve been so stressed these past few days. Let me take care of you..."

Veins bulged at Willy’s temple, his restraint slipping. A moment later, he crushed his lips against hers, his hands roaming freely over her body.

I couldn’t bear to watch another second. My hands trembled violently as I recorded everything, capturing every disgusting second of their betrayal before turning on my heel and running out. My knees buckled and I collapsed in front of Liam’s tombstone, my entire body convulsing with rage and grief.

Tears streamed down my face as I threw paper money into the fire pot, my hands shaking uncontrollably. Ten years of marriage and this was what it all came to. A joke. A cruel, twisted joke.

Just then, a foot struck the fire pot, sending embers flying. Sparks seared my skin, making me flinch in pain. Sophia stood before me, her lips curled into a victorious smile.

"Carol," she drawled, her voice laced with mockery. "Did you enjoy watching Willy and me have our fun? Even if you burn a mountain of paper money, your short-lived little brat will never come back."

I gritted my teeth, fists clenched at my sides, but she wasn’t finished yet. She took a slow step forward, her eyes gleaming with cruelty.

"You know, if you had just stayed barren, I wouldn’t have even bothered with you. But you had the audacity to have a child with Willy? That was your first mistake. No one—no one—will ever take a single cent away from my son."

Her voice turned cold as ice. "The family's fortune belongs to me and my child. Willy loves me. He loves us. He even got rid of your son for me." She leaned in, her lips nearly brushing my ear. "To be a woman as pitiful as you… it’s honestly humiliating. If I were you, I’d just bash my head against a rock and end it all."

Something inside me snapped. My hand flew up, ready to strike, but before I could touch her, Sophia suddenly let out a sharp cry and tumbled down the stone steps.

I barely had time to react before a strong hand shoved me backward. I stumbled, barely catching myself as Willy rushed forward—his arms reaching out to catch her just in time.

He cradled Sophia against his chest, his face twisted with fury as he turned on me.

"Carol!" he roared. "Are you insane?! Who gave you the right to lay a hand on Sophia?!"