Phillip picked up the divorce papers from the floor and glanced at me with irritation.

"You want to divorce me?"

He then sneered.

"All because Elaina threw a little tantrum?

"You throw the word 'divorce' around so casually.

"Why are you so petty, Charlee?"

Well...

So in Phillip's eyes...

Elaina setting her dog on my grandmother was nothing more than a tantrum.

"Stop overreacting. Tomorrow, I'll go with you to apologize to your grandmother.

"She's been craving the seafood I cook for a while, hasn't she? I'll make them myself for her tomorrow."

As he spoke, Phillip crumpled the divorce papers into a ball and tossed them into the trash can.

What he did not know was that he would never get the chance to apologize.

Elaina's dog had torn through my grandmother's carotid artery.

By the time she reached the hospital, it was too late. She had died from excessive blood loss.

I looked at Phillip's self-satisfied face, filled with disgust. I even felt like vomiting.

I did not even want to say another word to him.

I flattened the divorce papers again and laid them out on the table, my expression calm and cold.

"No need for that. Just sign the papers."

The truth was, my grandmother had been craving seafood for a long time.

But every time, Phillip would use his busy work schedule as an excuse to push it off again and again.

Only I knew that during those times, he had been busy spending time with Elaina.

I had kept quiet about it, not wanting to worry my grandmother.

"Charlee! You're being ungrateful! I've been tolerating you for a long time now!

"It was just a dog bite. Plenty of people get bitten by dogs, but somehow, you're the only one making such a fuss about it!

"Besides, Elaina washes her dog every day. She didn't even complain about it, so why are you getting so worked up?"

In other words, Phillip was implying that my grandmother was filthier than Elaina's dog.

His words pierced my heart like a dagger.

And yet, I found myself laughing.

"Getting so worked up? Phillip, if I set a dog on Elaina, would you still say..."

Before I could finish my sentence...

Phillip acted like he was going to slap me.

His cold eyes, filled with malice, looked as though he just wanted to kill me.

"If you dare to do anything to Elaina, I swear I won't let you off."

A chill ran all over me, leaving me feeling as if I had fallen into an icy abyss.

Phillip always claimed that nothing was going on between him and Elaina, telling me not to overthink things.

But now…

His reaction exposed him.

The cigarette in my hand had burned down again.

I closed my eyes and then opened them.

Then I grabbed my bag from the sofa and left the house.

"If you don't sign the divorce papers, I'll go to court and sue for divorce."

I was a lawyer.

Phillip knew that if I filed for divorce, he would not win.

Before the door even closed behind me...

I heard the sound of the coffee table shattering in the living room.

"Charlee, if you leave, don't even think about ever coming back!"

I could already picture the way he must have pointed at the back of my head when he said that.

Suddenly, the night sky lit up with a violent flash of lightning.

The torrential rain poured down, pounding the ground, and quickly formed a dirty puddle at my feet.

I took a deep breath and resolutely stepped into the rain.

Suddenly, something flew past me and splashed into the filthy water at my feet.

It was the token of love between Phillip and me.

It was a white clay vase we had made together at a pottery shop.

Elaina had broken it once before.

But I had glued it back together.

Now, it lay shattered in the dirty water, beyond repair.

After leaving the Murray's house, I went to the hospital.

I was going to collect my grandmother's death certificate and ashes, intending to bring them back to the old house.

But before I even left the parking lot after finishing it...

I ran into Elaina.

I had not had the chance to put my grandmother's photo on the urn yet due to the urgency of the situation.

Elaina glanced at the urn in my arms, a flicker of confusion passing through her eyes.

Then, with red-rimmed eyes, she rushed toward me, her voice choked with sobs.

"Charlee, it was all my fault. I should have held on to Ryan better. It's because of me that your grandmother got hurt.

"I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad at me. And it's not all Ryan's fault. Your grandmother has to take some responsibility."

She was still defending her dog.

I was in a rage.

Whatever was going on in Elaina's mind, I could not care less.

This woman had not only let her dog attack my grandmother, but she had also shifted the blame.

Rage surged through me.

I raised my hand, intending to slap Elaina across the face.

But before I could land the blow, Elaina grabbed my hand and pulled me down.

It looked like I had pushed her to the ground instead.

Under the dim lights, her palm had scraped against the gravel, drawing blood.

Tears welled up in Elaina's eyes.

"Charlee, I know you're angry, but why did you push me?"

Everything happened so fast that I barely had time to react.

So when Phillip's slap landed on my face...

I stood there, frozen in shock.

"Charlee, are you out of your mind?! Didn't I warn you not to lay a finger on Elaina?!"

Phillip held Elaina tightly in his arms, shielding her as though she might melt in the rain.

The downpour battered the umbrella he held, splashing filthy water all over me.

He had hit me so hard that I stumbled backward.

The urn slipped from my grasp and fell to the ground.

In the rain, my grandmother's ashes spilled out everywhere.

I stared at the chaotic scene in front of me, crazed, as I threw myself onto the ground, desperately trying to gather my grandmother's ashes back into the small box.

My tears mixed with her ashes, only to be washed away by the rain.

"Grandma... Grandma..."

But no matter how much I tried to scoop her ashes back together, my grandmother could never return.

Elaina, hearing my cries, feigned sympathy and approached to help.

"Charlee, what are you saying? Is this… your grandmother's ashes?"

Yet before she could get too close, Phillip yanked her back.

"Don't go near her. It's dirty.

"Charlee, you're out of your mind.

"You brought some random box of ashes to stage a tragic scene. Do you honestly think I'll believe this nonsense?"

Because I was a lawyer, I often handled pro bono cases for elderly people with no family.

Sometimes, when I came across someone particularly pitiful, I would always offer help.

Among them were a few elderly people who fell seriously ill, and I took care of all their funeral arrangements.

Phillip always hated this about me.

He used to say that those old people were probably riddled with germs and that I should not get involved with them.

At the time, I just thought he did not understand me, so I did not take his words to heart.

But now...

That was my grandmother's ashes urn.

Kneeling in the pouring rain, I raised my head and glared at the man standing under the umbrella.

"Phillip, you disgust me."

He looked down at me with nothing but contempt in his eyes.

He stood there for a few seconds as if his disdainful gaze alone was not enough to satisfy Elaina.

Then, with his shiny leather shoes, he ground my grandmother's ashes into the mud, adding another mocking comment.

"So now you're insisting that these old bones are your grandmother, right? Fine, Charlee, I'll pretend this is your grandmother's ashes.

"But what difference does it make? Who knows what kind of disease she might have been harboring?

"Well, wasn't she bitten by Ryan? Maybe she was carrying rabies. I'm doing you a favor by helping clean her up!"

For a moment, I thought my hearing had failed me.

Otherwise, how could I possibly be hearing such vile words from him?

But he was the man who once promised to help me take care of my grandmother in her old age.

Now, his every word suggested that even in death, my grandmother was still filthy.

I lunged forward and grabbed onto Phillip's leg, but instead of stopping, he only pressed down harder.

Amidst the noises, I thought I heard the sound of bones shifting out of place.

Even though he knew he was stepping on my hand, Phillip did not stop.

All because he believed I had pushed Elaina.

I didn't know when Phillip finally decided to stop.

All I knew was that by the time I lay exhausted in the rain...

He took two steps toward me. But then, Elaina gasped in pain, holding her hand.

"Phillip, my hand hurts so much."

Through my blurred vision, I saw Phillip immediately turn back, holding Elaina's hand and blowing on it to soothe her.

"Why is there so much blood? Does it still hurt, Elaina?"

"I'm fine, Phillip. Please take Charlee to the doctor. Her hand seems injured too."

"Why bother with her? Elaina, you're too kind. If Charlee had the strength to carry around an urn, then she surely has the strength to walk herself to the hospital. She's just faking it."

Before I blacked out...

I saw Phillip wrap his arms around Elaina as they left the parking lot together.