Chapter 2

Adrian's funeral was kept simple, with only a few friends and family in attendance.

I wore a black dress, holding six-year-old Lily as we stood in a corner.

Lily's small hand gripped my clothes tightly, her big eyes full of confusion:

"Mommy, where did Daddy go? He promised to build blocks with me."

My heart felt like it was being pricked with needles. I gently stroked her head:

"Daddy went to a far away place. He'll watch Lily grow up from heaven."

Adrian's ghost floated in mid-air, his face pale as he looked at us with complicated eyes.

After the cremation, he'd been following me like this, constantly cursing me as vicious. When he tired of cursing, he'd fall silent, but the resentment in his eyes never diminished.

Now, hearing my conversation with Lily, a crack appeared in his hateful expression, and his body trembled slightly.

He reached out to touch our daughter, but could only pass futilely through the air.

Suddenly, a woman's shrill cry came from outside, along with chaotic footsteps and several men and women's voices echoing.

Melissa wore a garish white dress, followed by her brother Marcus and sister-in-law Jennifer.

They broke through the blockade of friends and family, rushing at me like madwomen:

"Evelyn! How can you be so vicious!"

Melissa pointed at my nose, her voice piercingly shrill.

"Adrian clearly agreed long ago that after death, he'd donate his heart to Noah. What right do you have to cremate him behind everyone's back?"

Marcus immediately chimed in, his tone indignant: "Exactly! How can someone be so heartless? A living child is waiting in the hospital for his life to be saved, and you can be this selfish!"

Jennifer also fanned the flames, her face full of contempt: "Adrian loved Noah like his own son when he was alive. You won't even fulfill his last wish? People like you will face divine punishment sooner or later!"

The three of them looked righteous, as if they'd really come for Adrian's dying wish.

The originally noisy scene instantly fell into deathly silence. All eyes turned toward us, filled with scrutiny and curiosity.

Lily was so frightened by their fierce manner that she trembled and quickly shrank into my arms, her small hands tightly hugging my neck.

I held my daughter tighter and looked up, coldly sweeping my gaze over Melissa and her group:

"This is a place to honor the deceased. Stop making a scene here."

"Making a scene?"

Melissa laughed coldly. "You bitch, you still have the nerve to say I'm making a scene? Tell me, what right do you have to block the heart donation? Adrian was willing. He wanted to save Noah! Who are you to decide on your own?"

"Because I, Evelyn, am his legal wife."

I stepped forward, my gaze sharp as a knife, my tone full of undisguised mockery.

"According to the law, I have the absolute right to decide what to do with his body. You say he agreed to donate his heart—what evidence do you have? He never mentioned donating his heart after death to me."

I turned to look at Marcus and Jennifer, my tone icy: "As for you two, who are you to criticize my rights over my husband's body?"

Melissa still wanted to argue, craning her neck: "Adrian said it himself before he died. He even wrote a letter! The letter said he'd give his heart to Noah!"

"A letter?" I sneered, my voice not loud but clearly reaching every corner. "Adrian wrote a letter, and I, his wife, didn't know about it? Can you produce it?"

Melissa froze in place.

Of course she didn't have the letter, because I'd already burned it.

I hadn't expected them to be so bold as to not even keep a backup.

Looking at her stunned expression, I continued:

"What right do you have to question me? During the days when Adrian was bedridden with a brain tumor, you came by frequently enough, but every time it was either saying Noah needed expensive imported medicine or high-end rehabilitation therapy. The money Adrian gave you was squandered in the blink of an eye. Now that he's dead, you remember to play the good guys?"

When Adrian and Melissa were dating, Melissa left him for a wealthy man and went abroad.

Adrian was devastated, and it was I who stayed by his side as he rebuilt his life.

Just when life was finally getting better, Melissa came back with her sick son.

That spineless man actually softened.

He kept lying to me, saying he just couldn't ignore them for old times' sake.

Though I had my doubts, I decided to trust him, until I saw his letter.

My words were like thunder. The faces of Melissa's family of three instantly turned deathly pale, bloodless.

Marcus instinctively looked away, not daring to meet my eyes. Jennifer also pressed her lips tightly together, unable to say a word, their earlier arrogance vanishing without a trace.

I didn't bother saying more and signaled to the people at the door with a look.

Several people immediately stepped forward, restraining the three who were still trying to struggle.

"Don't touch me! Evelyn, you'll die a horrible death! If something happens to Noah, I'll never let you go!"

Melissa struggled frantically but to no avail. She could only be thrown out of the funeral hall.

Adrian's ghost hovered nearby, frantically circling but unable to do anything, only staring at me with hateful eyes.