One night, Natalya and her first love, Matthew, the campus prince back then, went to a bar for dancing. I jumped off the 18th floor with my daughter, Linda, in my arms the same night.

I didn't want my young daughter to be burned alive in the fire.

Natalya forgot that she had promised us to come back home tonight. Linda mistakenly opened the door for a criminal.

After the crime, the criminal wanted to ruin all the evidence, so he set my house on fire.

After I died, my mom, Kate, scattered my ashes into the sea.

Later, Natalya frantically searched for my trace, kneeling to beg Kate.

Kate indifferently placed my portrait in front of her and said, "You should kneel to my son!"

Natalya collapsed.

--

When the doorbell rang, Linda thought it was her mom coming back. She happily ran over to open the door.

I was a little puzzled, thinking, "It's almost 11 p.m. Why hasn't Natalya come back yet?"

My wife, Natalya Sue, was afraid of the darkness. She used to tell me so herself while leaning on my shoulder. If it was dark, she would have fun outside all night and not come back.

Natalya was the daughter of the chairman of a listed company. To make her more courageous, the chairman often put her in a dark room when she was a child.

Such an inhuman training method didn't make her a courageous woman. Instead, she was afraid of the darkness.

After falling in love with her, I found the fact that she was afraid of the darkness the most heartbreaking thing.

When she was scared, I would always let her lean on my shoulder.

Unfortunately, the person she was used to leaning on now was no longer me.

But I remembered that Natalya had promised me during the day that she would come home at night to celebrate Linda's birthday.

Looking at the small cake made by Linda on the table, I couldn't bear to stop her for a moment.

My few seconds of hesitation got my six-year-old daughter and myself killed.

Two thugs rushed in and held Linda hostage, demanding that I hand over all the valuables.

With a knife pressed against Linda's neck, a trickle of blood seeped out. She was terrified. Her screams echoed throughout the room.

The thugs took away most of our valuable belongings, including the diamond ring I had given to Natalya.

Then, two burly men began to torture me and Linda.

I clenched my teeth and used my body to shield Linda from most of the butchering.

Linda's screams of agony echoed in the room. I, as her father, was crippled with one leg chopped off and bleeding heavily. I was unable to protect her.

After Linda and I were on the verge of death, they poured alcohol all over the room and set it on fire.

As the fire was about to engulf us, I struggled to prop up my battered body, moved to the window, and opened it.

At this moment, Linda, with her face covered in sweat from the pain, gasped, "Daddy, it hurts so much."

Seeing Linda's injuries, I felt so hopeless.

"I know I can't protect Linda. We are both going to die."

Tears mixed with blood flew down my face. Holding Linda tightly, I murmured, "Be good, my darling. Daddy will take you to heaven now, where there will be no pain."

Linda nodded slightly. I jumped down from the 18th floor while holding her in my arms.

"Bang!" Our bodies suddenly hit the ground.

After my death, my soul floated in the air. Taking a glance at my body, I couldn't bear to look at it anymore.

I wondered if the police could detect the fingerprints of the culprits.

But it would be better than being burned to ashes by the fire.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar scream. It was Natalya's voice!

Natalya was holding Matthew Hawk's arm. Looking at the terrifying scene in front of her, she screamed in despair. Then she fainted.

The people around were screaming too. Natalya, who was the closest to our corpses, suffered the greatest impact.

I watched as Matthew, with a pale face, sent Natalya to the hospital. I couldn't help but feel worried. "Did Natalya faint because she saw the condition of my and Linda's bodies?"

Natalya had been physically weak since she was young, often falling ill. To take care of her, I studied medicine a bit over the years, becoming somewhat proficient in medicinal knowledge.

The last time Natalya fainted was when we caught Matthew cheating in a hotel during university. She was so angry that she stayed in the hospital for three whole days. I took three days off to take care of her.

At that time, Natalya had many complications in her body. She almost didn't make it through.

"If she knew that it was her lie this time that indirectly caused the death of me and Linda, would she regret it?"

...

I hated her having an affair recklessly, but she was not the one who had killed me and Linda anyway.

"She is someone I once deeply loved. I hope that she can quickly overcome her sadness and live a good life."

I followed the two of them to the hospital. Along the way, Natalya's cell phone kept ringing. After Matthew discovered that it was Kate calling her, he decisively turned off the cell phone.

Although I was dead, my heart ached for a moment when I saw it was Kate's call.

"Mom, I am unfilial. I failed to take care of you in your old age!"

I dared not go back to face my grieving family, so I had been staying with Natalya in the hospital.

A few days later, Natalya finally woke up. I breathed a sigh of relief.

As I was about to leave, I saw Matthew turning on Natalya's cell phone for her and calling Kate.

At the sight of the numerous calls Kate had made to her during her unconscious days, Natalya had a hint of anger on her face.

"Hello, Mom, what's the matter?"

"Natalya, come over and take a last look at Asher."

I heard Kate sobbing on the call. My heart ached.

However, Natalya shouted at Kate angrily, "Don't use such despicable tricks to make me go back to your side! Haven't I given enough money to him and Linda?"

Natalya had never respected Kate, but this was the first time she had shouted at Kate angrily.

My mother was stunned.

I was stunned too. "Didn't Natalya recognize that the two people who fell to their deaths were me and Linda?"

"Originally, it was unlucky to see two people fall to their deaths in front of me before going home! Now, you, an old lady, came to bother me. I will let Asher Shawn wait!"

After speaking, Natalya hung up the call without hesitation. Then she started coughing violently.

Matthew smiled hypocritically when comforting Natalya. Seeing this, I felt that Matthew seemed intentional.

From childhood to adulthood, Matthew had always wanted to surpass me in all aspects. He liked to be better than me in academics. He snatched my awards away in competitions... Natalya's efforts to save him were based on such a mentality, that was, he wanted to crush me in all aspects.

"So, the girl I like must be his."

"All of this is because my father used to be his father's superior, which embarrassed him in front of his classmates."

Natalya had a secret crush on Matthew in college. The two of them broke up and got back together countless times. And I was Natalya's loyal follower, flattering her from college until now.

In the seventh year of our marriage, Natalya rekindled her passion with Matthew, her first love, who had abandoned her eighteen times.

She used her family's money to subsidize her destitute first love. She went out dancing with him every night, ignoring Linda.

As a result, Linda became mildly autistic. She had to go to the hospital regularly for psychological counseling.

Although I loved Natalya, I couldn't tolerate such a big betrayal. Nor can I let her hurt Linda. I decided to divorce her.

But she refused to sign the divorce document. She kept saying that she couldn't divorce me for the sake of the child.

I was afraid that my young daughter couldn't handle it for a while, so we were in a deadlock.

Later, the evidence showing how we had been passionate once became a weapon to harm me.

Matthew secretly stole the diamond ring I had given to Natalya. He went to auction it.

After I caught him red-handed, Matthew made a scene in front of Natalya.

Natalya indulgently said that Matthew could do with the ring whatever he wanted, saying that she could compensate me with another one.

So, in front of me, Matthew threw my diamond ring from the top floor of the company.

To buy a diamond ring that could satisfy my beautiful and rich wife, I used to work throughout day and night. My heart often ached.

As the diamond ring was thrown away, I felt like Natalya had grabbed my heart and kicked it away.

I gradually gave up on Natalya. I found a lawyer to draft a divorce agreement, but I hadn't found a suitable opportunity to ask her for a divorce.

Originally, I planned to divorce her after Linda's birthday.

Now, our divorce agreement was hidden in the burning room, waiting for her to sign it. It should have turned into ashes by now.