Lara then asked, "There's no reason to go that far, alright? I've forgiven Ms. Smith already, and those flowers look quite nice. We could just leave them be."

Seeing her ashen face, John had a vague feeling that something was strange. "What's gotten into you? What's the issue with uprooting those flowers and planting your favorite moth orchids instead?"

Lara took a deep breath, feigning calmness as she said, "That's not what I mean… Ms. Smith has been with you for years, and I don't want to ruin your relationship…"

John looked downwards and continued mincing the ginger then. "Relationship? Well, it's a relationship, but not a romantic one—one that comes from sympathy.

"To me, she looked like a pathetic stray. When one looks at you with those wet puppy eyes, you can't help throwing it a bone.

"But then it would cling to you and refuse to leave, and all you feel is annoyance.

"I never loved Claire Smith—I was just allowing her to stay with me.

"It was only when I met you that I felt that heart-pounding, relishing taste. That's love."

My heart skipped a beat.

I would never have believed it until John said it out loud, that he had just been treating me like a tool.

When Garnett Corp needed partners, I would go with him to social drinking events with potential partners, enduring the itch and migraines despite my alcohol allergy.

If he so much as said he felt cold, I'd brew soup overnight for him.

If he said his stomach hurt, I would hire the most expensive private doctors.

But after so many years of that, I ended up no more than a pathetic stray to him.

All of my sacrifices were trampled over as if it was only right, treated ever so cheaply.

Nonetheless, the kitchen was swirling with steam, and a plate of pasta was soon finished.

As John brought it to Lara, he then remembered and asked quietly, "Did Claire really leave the other day? Didn't she say anything?"

Lara tensed up, but quickly hid it as she purred, "You still don't believe me, John? I tried to reason with her when she left, but she refused to listen.

"She said she's going to leave you, so that you'd regret it for the rest of your life… I then watched her run out into the street like she was crazy, but didn't chase after her."

John raised a brow. "Crazy woman. Who does she think she is? She's not even fit to lick your shoes! Who would want her aside from me? She's just trying to make herself look sympathetic, and in the end, she just wants me to feel for her!"

He rubbed his chin, his eyes sweeping across the drawing room at everything that belonged to me, and called Alfie, "Send people to the villa. I want everything belonging to Claire Smith thrown out and burnt."

As he hung up, he huffed, "She thinks leaving is her way of getting back at me? I'll show her that I don't need her—that means she wasn't the one who dumped me!

"She can disappear all she likes. And since she has left, she should never come back!"

Lara pretended to look shocked, tugging on John's sleeve as if taking my side, "Just forget it, John. Ms. Smith will get upset with me when she comes back and sees that her things are gone…"

John's gaze turned even more sinister. "She'd never dare! I burnt all of it, and that means I'm cutting all ties with her! From this moment on, Claire Smith is never to set foot in Garnett Villa! She will be left wandering outside, just like a stray!"

I stood, staring blankly from the stairs and utterly devastated.

I watched as the piano John had given me was carried out, still remembering how his smile had glowed so tenderly under the sun.

He was eleven, and played a duet with me.

The dim floor lamp standing at the corner was dragged out too.

I weaved the lampshade as a gift to John, and I remember cutting my finger and bleeding profusely.

When John found out, he flashed a pained smile as he patted my head, "You're so silly. I forbid you from getting hurt because of me from now on."

That was when Alfie came over, keeping his head lowered as his expression was slightly hesitant. "Are we really going to burn all of it, Mr. Garnett? All these items embody your memories with Ms. Smith since childhood."

John's breath clearly left his lungs.

However, he promptly turned away, not looking at the stacks of my possessions sitting in the backyard as he snorted coolly, "Don't give me that crap. Or are you taking her side? If she could leave so quickly, why should I be considerate toward her?!"

"Burn them all!"

-

After the inferno died came a raging downpour.

With the nourishment from the ashes of my possessions and my corpse, the black roses bloomed devilishly, albeit with a faint stench.

I only felt exasperated—after a month since my death, love and hate no longer concerned me.

However, I was tied to this world by a grudge, preventing me from reincarnating.

But John didn't care if I lived…

In fact, he was sitting in his study, taking a deep puff on his cigarette.

His Adam's apple rolled slightly as smoke swirled out of his mouth.

Soon, he growled, "Alfie, did you record a video of Claire's possessions when you burned them? Upload it to our group chats. Don't compress the video quality—let her see it in 4k."

Alfie scowled, hesitating as he spoke, "Mr. Garnett, Ms. Smith might really be in trouble. We had specialists access her phone, but it's been turned off for so long, and the last known position was this villa…"

John's eyes narrowed, but soon chuckled as he snuffed out his cigarette on an ashtray. "So she's right here? That means she was hiding here all this while… Trying to keep an eye on me and Lara?

"Seems to me that she's not just jealous—she really lost her mind, hiding just to do something so unseemly!"

Alfie hesitated again before speaking, "Mr. Garnett, I don't think it's that simple. Ever since we started monitoring Ms. Smith's accounts, there haven't been any transactions at all…"

John tapped his fingers on the desk, irritable and growled coldly, "She's the one who planted the black roses, didn't she? Always playing such nonsensical tricks just to get me to go looking for her… Just to make me cave to her whims!

"Go! Bring some men with you and search every inch of this villa. If she's really in this villa, make her kneel before Lara and apologize!

"Also, dig those black roses out, root and all. The very sight of them irritates me!"

-

Thirty minutes later, Alfie rushed into the study, clearly panicking. "Mr. Garnett! We've searched the whole villa, but there's no sign of Ms. Smith! But… But…"

John clicked his tongue, pursing his lips as he narrowed his eyes sharply. "But, what? Speak properly!"

Alfie took a deep breath, and did his best to finish his sentence. "We found Ms. Smith's clothes and phone in the soil beneath the black roses… along with a human skeleton!"

The entire room was suddenly deathly silent, until John sprang to his feet in shock, "What?!"