Adeline turned to Luna again. Her sharp gaze was directed toward her.

'How can this woman be so useless? Do I have to do everything for her?' Adeline thought as she mentally shook her head.

Meanwhile, Luna's eyes caught Oscar taking out his phone. She hurriedly walked toward him and held out her palm. "I'll talk to him. Give me your phone," she said.

Oscar sighed and followed her command. Luna took the phone and went to the backyard. She dialed Grayson's number and put the phone near her ear.

Luna's eyebrows furrowed when Grayson didn't answer his phone. She pressed the call button again and waited. On her seventh try, the man finally picked up the call.

"This better be good news, Luna. Have you changed your mind?" Grayson's cold voice asked.

Luna pursed her lips. "No."

"Then, what did you call me for? You're just wasting my time!" Grayson growled on the other line. Luna could picture his scowling face in her head perfectly.

"My mother kept on asking me about you. She said you haven't visited our home and eaten a meal here for a long time. She wants me to invite you. If you're busy with work, I'll just tell her," she replied timidly. She looked down and waited for his answer, slightly kicking the grass under her feet.

Grayson scoffed inwardly. Luna couldn't even hide the disinterest in her tone. She made it clear that she was obeying her mom's orders. "I'm not in the mood to eat. Stella had just died. What's the point of eating or whatever anyway," he answered with indifference.

'Can a dinner or something solve all of my problems?' he thought to himself.

Luna heaved a deep sigh and stared at the sky. To her, it felt like he was implying that since Stella is already dead, she shouldn't live her life anymore as well.

That shouldn't be the case. Stella was already gone, but life would always continue. The sun would still rise. People would move forward in their lives. Time would never stop. Nothing could change Stella's death, but that was not Luna's responsibility anymore.

Grayson was the first one to end the call. Luna clicked her tongue as she turned the phone off. Instead of returning to the house, she stayed in the backyard for a while. The gentle breeze and the sight of the bright sky were able to calm her down.

After a while, she went inside and found her mother sitting on the sofa, obviously waiting for her news.

"So?" Adeline raised her brow.

"Grayson said that he's swamped with work. He can't spare time to come here," Luna replied in a monotone.

Adeline's lips twitched. Her daughter's answer and obvious disinterest made her blood boil.

"What?" Luna asked upon seeing her mother's reaction. "He's really busy. He told me that he'll just come here next time."

"Call him again. Ask him where he is right now, then pick him up and bring him here."

Luna's mouth went agape. She stared at her mother in disbelief. She thought of not obeying her mother for a moment, but she also realized that her mother would probably do worse if she didn't follow her. She would probably go and find Grayson by herself, which would only make things worse than they are right now.

"Haven't you noticed anything wrong or strange in the past three years, Mom?" Luna asked.

"Stella's role is very important. Without her, I wouldn't be able to marry into the Tatum family."

This wasn't just as simple as it looked like. It was a matter of true love. A meal or even a grand feast wouldn't solve the problem at all.

Luna felt that, after all, she was still a woman. A human. She still had her dignity and self-consciousness.

She shook her head and walked out of the house, leaving her enraged mother. She could hear her mother's angry litany, but she didn't look back.

"You ungrateful brat!" Adeline's voice echoed throughout the entire house.

Luna bit her lower lip and fisted her hands tightly. Right now, she was facing the huge framed photo of Stella. She didn't even expect that a single phone call from Grayson would change everything.

Grayson called Adeline and informed her about the negotiation he had with Luna. Adeline was so pleased that she immediately escorted Luna to Grayson's house in just a snap.

Luna stood stiffly until a painful pinch on her waist from her mother made her move forward. Luna glared at Adeline before facing ahead again. She wouldn't be surprised if a bruise formed on her waist tomorrow.

Eyes glazed with unshed tears, Luna raised her head and stared at Stella's picture. The woman's smile seemed gentle and sweet, as if she enjoyed looking at what was happening in front of her.

Luna swallowed hard. She didn't know why, but she could sense a trace of sarcasm in Stella's graceful smile.

'I feel bad for you, dear Luna. When I was still alive, you had to live under my shadow. Now that I'm dead, you're still trapped in my footsteps. What's worse is you have to bow to me and pay respect. The tables have turned, but you still can't escape. I will be a shadow in your life forever. You will never escape.' These words played inside Luna's head repeatedly. She shook her head and blinked her eyes, unable to erase Stella's smile and voice from her mind.

Grayson stood near Luna with a stoic expression. His eyes showed nothing but indifference as he looked at her.

Isla, Stella’s mother, and Chloe, Stella’s sister, were standing next to Grayson. Both women wept and mourned beside him. Their swollen eyes were a clear indication that they had been crying for so long. They only stopped crying when they saw Luna standing in front of Stella’s altar. All of a sudden, anticipation was written in their expressions as they watched Luna bow in front of their dead loved one.

Seeing Luna bow in front of Stella meant only one thing. She was admitting her mistake. Stella would finally be able to rest in peace. In addition, Grayson would continue to support and take care of the James family since it was Luna’s fault after all.

Besides Stella’s mother and sister, all of her present relatives thought the same way as they watched Luna give respect to Stella.

Meanwhile, Luna sniffled as she slowly moved toward Stella’s altar. She fisted her hands so tight that she could feel her nails digging into her flesh. Her body trembled despite her constant tries to calm herself down.

She looked at Stella’s picture again and, in an instant, tears brimmed in her eyes again.

Adeline moved her body closer behind Luna. Without any word, she tightly gripped her arm and forced her to lower her head even more. Luna groaned in pain and tried to remove herself from her mother.

Unless someone cut her head off, no one could make her lower her dignity and submit herself to them.

Luna gathered all her strength and broke free from her mother’s hold. She stepped forward but unfortunately, her foot tripped on the carpet. Panicking, Luna held the tablecloth so she wouldn’t fall to the ground.

However, the tablecloth moved, making the candles on the table fall. The wax oil spread on the table, and flames consumed the cloth.

The entire house was enveloped with smoke and fire in just a blink of an eye. Stella’s framed picture burned into ashes almost in an instant.

Luna stood frozen in her spot as she watched everything turn into mere ashes and smoke. Her mind went blank. Her body became numb as cold sweats formed on her back and forehead despite the heat of the fire. She could feel her throat hurt. She felt suffocated.

Luna repeatedly coughed, feeling the burning sensation in her throat. Screams and cries surrounded the place. She gasped in panic, causing her to inhale more smoke. She turned her head sideways and saw people running. Some people were slightly panicking as they tried to put the fire out. The others were busy running away from the scene.

The fire continued to grow rapidly. Luna, still frozen on her spot, watched the scene unfold before her eyes. Her mother was already gone.

Luna blinked her eyes when she saw something. In the midst of the thick smoke and scorching flames, a tall figure suddenly appeared. The figure rushed toward the altar table and grabbed Stella’s urn and all the other items laid there.

Luna stepped closer as she narrowed her eyes. Not long after, she finally recognized who it was.

Grayson.

Luna swallowed a huge lump in her throat as she stared at Grayson’s figure.

‘He’s willing to endure that fire just to save a mere urn? Stella’s that important to him, huh?’ she thought to herself.

Without any word, Luna turned around and ran away. She didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt about the fire. She didn’t care about what people could say to her—even Grayson.

Luna looked back and saw the house of the James family get consumed by the fire. The loud sirens of the fire trucks blared from a distance. People and passers-by started to form a crowd near the burning house.

Luna turned around and continued to walk away. Suddenly, a pain shot through her stomach. She stopped in her tracks and covered her belly with her hand. She coughed and coughed. Her sight started to become hazy with each minute. Her breaths began to become heavier.

Her lips trembled as fear started to rose in her system. She looked to her right and saw Grayson’s shadowy figure. At that time, Grayson was actually busy searching for Luna.

A sad smile curved into Luna’s pale lips. She swallowed hard before starting to walk away again, not minding the agonizing pain in her stomach.

What happened at Stella’s funeral instantly became the talk of the town. Rumors began to spread. One of those was about Luna. It was said that Grayson’s wife completely unleashed her true colors, turning Stella’s family’s house into a sea of fire during her funeral. Some people even said that Luna not only killed Stella but also killed the moment for Stella’s loved ones to mourn for her.

Even to her death, Luna managed to destroy everything for Stella. They said that she really wanted to vent all her anger on her.

People talked about Luna with great enthusiasm in the streets, markets, malls, hospital corridors, and even inside houses. At this point, what happened at Stella’s funeral blew up so badly that people couldn’t stop talking about it. Worse, adding details to stories that were not even true.

Days after the fire, the James family held another funeral for Stella. But then, they kept everything private and buried Stella’s ashes with only their close family, friends, and relatives.

Meanwhile, Luna suffered greatly from the fire. She inhaled a lot of smoke which damaged her throat. She wasn’t able to speak for days because of it.

What was worse was the doctor informed her that the baby in her belly also wasn’t able to make it.

The baby was in an unstable state as soon as she arrived at the hospital. They weren’t able to save it. Luna thought that it must be Stella’s way of revenge against her. Or because of the fire she started at the house of Stella’s family.

Luna spent days resting in their home alone. The only person who knew about her miscarriage was Daisy.

The Curry family didn’t want to be the receiving end of Grayson’s anger about what happened. They didn’t even dare to speak with Luna at all. Even the name of Grayson’s family was dragged into the rumors. Maeve made it clear to Luna that she should deal with the matter by herself. On the other hand, Grayson didn’t talk to Luna after the fire yet. He would always picture the fire whenever he heard her name or pictured her face.

Daisy put the hot bowl of soup in front of Luna. The latter muttered her thanks before grabbing her spoon.

“Uhm… About Grayson,” Daisy started. Luna looked at her. “Did he talk to you yet? Didn’t he want to divorce you?” Daisy asked in a low voice.

Luna bit her lower lip.

Luna slowly mixed the hot soup using her spoon before looking at her friend. She shook her head at her.

“Will he report you to the authorities? Tell them about what you did?” Daisy asked in a low voice.

Luna managed to find her way out of the issue about Stella’s operation. But this time, she knew that what she did at the funeral wouldn’t let her get away that easily.

She shook her head again and ate the soup.

The truth was that Luna felt conflicted about what Grayson would do. She thought that he wouldn’t do such a thing to her, but at the same, she couldn’t be so sure.

Daisy tsked and sighed heavily. She crossed her arms on her chest while staring at her silent friend. She couldn’t believe Luna had just set Stella’s family’s house on fire. On the day of her funeral!

“Do you have a death wish, Luna?” she asked. “You literally burned that family’s house down! You kept on telling me before that you were good at enduring everything. What happened? What had gotten in your mind that you did that?”

Luna pursed her lips. She put the spoon down and grabbed her phone. Daisy remained looking at her as she typed something. Not long after, she showed her phone screen to Daisy.

“No matter what, I must end my marriage with Grayson. Even if he sends me to jail,” Daisy read. Luna nodded her head. Determination was etched on her expression.

All she ever wanted was to live like a normal person.

Rich or poor, there was no difference. A human was still a human at the end of the day. Everyone had respect and dignity for themselves, regardless of their status in life.

Perhaps it wasn’t Luna’s intention to set the house on fire just to get away from that place. Maybe she subconsciously wanted to do that and didn’t regret it at all. She didn’t know anymore.

One was for sure, though. If the Tatum family disowned or rejected Luna, Adeline would just find another wealthy family her daughter could marry into. It wouldn’t matter if that family were not as wealthy or influential as the Tatums. As long as they could support the Curry family, Adeline would be at ease.

The worse part was, that Luna didn’t even need to marry a rich man anymore. Even just being a mistress would be fine for Adeline.

Obviously, she treated her children like her assets. Especially her daughter.

Adeline had spent so much effort and money on her daughter as she grew up. She sent her to a prestigious university and applied her to different extracurricular clubs so that Luna could gain more skills. Not to mention that Luna was a diligent and gifted child.

Not only did she become a doctor at a young age, but she also excelled in the field of arts. Ballet? Painting? She was also very good at those. Her beauty, charm, and grace never ran out of men trying to woo her.

Luna and Grayson had only been married for three years. Her family was still not satisfied with the money they had acquired yet.

Luna scoffed. ‘Can they let me go? I don’t think so.’

She raised her gaze and looked at her friend. There were so many words in her heart that she couldn’t say, even to Daisy.

Even life had its way of suppressing her. The fore badly damaged her throat so that she couldn’t speak.

Silence enveloped her and Daisy.

It wasn’t as if she could utter a word.

A week had passed. Grayson finally decided to face Luna.

Luna’s eyes slowly scanned his body. He seemed like he had lost some weight. His expression looked colder and more ruthless. If stares could kill, Luna would probably be dead on the spot.

Luna still couldn’t speak. A medicinal plaster was placed on her throat to help her recover faster. She grabbed her phone and typed something.

After a few seconds, she stretched her arm and showed the screen to Grayson.

[Why are you here? If you’re planning to send me to jail, do it. I don’t care.]

Knowing that Luna wouldn’t be able to talk because of her condition, Grayson had no choice but to read whatever she wrote on her device. He scoffed after reading her words.

“Sending you to prison is not enough for me. You deserve to suffer more,” he coldly said, making Luna nervous.

She spent the past few days planning what she should do if Grayson turned her to the police. If the police came to investigate, she could tell them that she accidentally grabbed the tablecloth and couldn’t put the fire out since she was so shocked about what happened.

She didn’t even intend to set the house on fire, but her mother was too much that she couldn’t control herself and grabbed the cloth.

The police could conclude that she accidentally caused the fire and didn’t do it on purpose. Unless… Grayson is determined to send her to jail and use his family’s power to make that happen.

With such thought, Luna had already prepared herself for the worse.

Without a doubt, the Tatum family valued their image the most. They wouldn’t want a daughter-in-law who was sent to prison. Even if she became the ex-wife of Grayson later, they wouldn’t dare let someone like Luna tarnish their name.

But surprisingly, Grayson had no intention of sending her to jail.

Luna didn’t know if it was for the better or worse. Looking at his dark expression and menacing eyes, she felt more terrified.

Grayson saw the hint of fear on Luna’s face, making him smirk evilly. “What? Are you scared? You didn’t look like that when you set Stella’s house on fire and ruined her funeral. Why do you look scared, Luna?” he asked.

The woman only swallowed hard.

Grayson's smile widened as he stared at Luna's terrified eyes. Then, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket. His long, slender fingers flicked the box twice until a cigarette came out. Grayson put it in between his lips and lit it with his silver lighter. He didn't even care that the smoke was bad for Luna's throat.

Staring straight into the woman's eyes, he slowly puffed the cigarette's smoke, mixing it with the air. The way he smoked made him look more manly and rough.

"I never knew that you were that confident and brave, Luna." Grayson took a step closer. His fingers slowly made their way to her chin and made her face him.

The two of them held each other's gaze. Luna could almost feel his breath touching her skin.

Grayson scanned her face carefully. It had been years since they first met, but he could still remember what he felt the moment he saw her for the first time.

He found her beautiful. When he met her, he instantly sensed her gentleness. It seemed like everyone could easily control her. She was obedient and always willing to do what people would ask her. And because of her pretty face and personality, she was quite popular in their circle. Luna was definitely someone that every rich man could ask for. Quiet. Beautiful. Submissive.

Not to mention that it was her mother's upbringing that made Luna act like that. Adeline was very keen on making her daughter the perfect wife to be.

But after the fire, Grayson's perception of Luna changed completely. She could look like an angel or a saint on the surface, but her character was the opposite.

'An angel-looking demon,' he thought. His eyes became sharper as he looked at her.

Luna noticed it immediately. She held her breath when she felt him hold her chin tighter. Not long after, her face started to turn red.

She repeatedly coughed, feeling the burning pain in her throat. Grayson didn't even care. She glared at him and fisted her hands.

"You will never be like Stella. She was gentle and kind, unlike you. What happened to her is all your fault," Grayson uttered with menace.

Luna looked away. It was as if a bucket of cold water splashed on her face. She realized that Grayson would never be willing to listen to her side. He had already made up his mind that she was the villain.

She reached out her hand and tried to grab her phone, but Grayson let her go. He took out an envelope and showed it to her.

Inside were papers for divorce.

Luna breathed slowly. She was also about to tell him about the divorce. What surprised her was that Grayson took the initiative to end their marriage. She thought that he wouldn't do such a thing because their marriage would be an advantage for him - for his revenge.

'At least I won't have a hard time dealing with this,' Luna pondered to herself, relieved that they were both in the same boat about the divorce.

Luna didn't grab her phone anymore. She thought Grayson might change his mind if he knew she also liked the idea of ending their marriage. Instead, she took the papers and read them.

Grayson, on the other hand, glanced at her phone. There were no traces of any emotion on his face.

Luna's eyes scanned the papers carefully. She flipped each page and read them with a calm look on her face. She couldn't help but think about what her future life would look like after this.

Three years ago, she agreed to marry Grayson Tatum on two conditions. First, she shouldn't interfere with Grayson and Stella's relationship no matter what. Secondly, she had to bear a child with Grayson. It was Grayson's parents who proposed such an idea.

But aside from that, there was another condition that Luna had to follow. After giving birth to her and Grayson's child, their marriage would end immediately. Luna also would not have the right to take custody of their child nor make opinions about the child's future stepmother.

However, since Luna just had a miscarriage and Stella passed away, her marriage with Grayson was already pointless. They needed to end it.

The document clearly stated that Luna would get nothing from Grayson after the divorce. No money. No property. Not even a car. She would also lose all the shares she had from the company of the Tatum family.

Luna couldn't care less. She would be fine if she was free from Grayson and his family.

She glanced at Grayson, who was also looking at her nonchalantly. She grabbed the pen and looked at the document again. Without any word, she started signing the paper.

She was almost done writing her name when she stopped. A thought popped into her mind.

She could feel Grayson's intense gaze on her, making her very uncomfortable. She felt something off about him. It was as if she was in his trap. Like something bad would happen to her if she signed the divorce papers.

Grayson exhaled again, letting the cigarette's smoke linger in the air. He raised his eyebrow when he noticed Luna stopped and looked at him.

"What's wrong? Have second thoughts? Did you realize that you didn't want to divorce me?"