"Gosh, you are like a little succubus! How come you have so many tricks? Every time I cannot stop myself, only you can only think of this kind of method. Fine, I will listen to you. Do you want to sleep in Joanne's bed for once?"

My son's half-scattered spirit was still guarding the bed. At such a young age, he could not understand what his father was doing and without a real body, his spirit could not see or feel clearly. My heart broke completely and tears quickly filled my eyes.

Just when I was about to lead my son's spirit away, Charles found me.

As if he wanted to take revenge on me, he hugged Anette even tighter.

"You still know how to come back?" he coldly asked.

"I thought you were too busy preparing the funeral and refused to leave the hospital morgue."

"You only think about dead people all day long. Just looking at you is unlucky! If you like preparing funerals so much, why did you not just marry a corpse? Wouldn’t it be great for you to embalm corpses like crazy every day?"

"Since you are the young Mrs. Orville, you should behave like one. Stop acting crazy like this! If you had not been embalming corpses all year round, your son would not have needed a blood transfusion and Annette would not have been cursed either!"

"Letting you stay in the Orville Family is already the biggest kindness I've ever given to you, so don’t you ever push your luck!"

When Charles said that, Annette's eyes were full of pride as if she wanted to provoke me, which almost made me lose my mind from hatred.

I knew very well that the so-called blood transfusion was just a trap she had planned against me. From the bottom of my heart, I wanted so much to tear her face apart. In fact, I even wanted to kill the baby growing inside her and let it be buried with my Alex.

But the words Alex said before his death kept ringing in my ears, over and over again.

"Mum, do not blame Aunt Annette. Dad will get mad at us … "

"Mum, is my blood really dirty? Why does Dad never hug me?"

"Mum, I am so tired ... and I feel so cold ... Mum, Grandma said you are a royal embalmer. Can I follow you after I die? I am really useless… Mum, do not fight with Dad. I will always be Mum's child in the next life."

The endless hatred in my heart was forced back by the memories of Alex's voice. I turned away from the two people lying on the bed and waved at my son's spirit as I was preparing to take him away. But just as I got closer to the bed, Charles suddenly reached out and pulled me over.

Without further ado, I was thrown under him roughly. He grabbed my chin with one hand while the other hand reached up under my clothes. I could only lie there without moving. My face turned emotionless like a lifeless body, refusing to respond no matter what he did.

Charles' pride was hurt by my coldness as his face darkened immediately. He then leaned down and bit the corner of my mouth cruelly. Clearly, he was mocking me.

"Why are you pretending to be like a pure virgin now? Are you not jealous that Annette and I are together?" he shouted.

"You purposely left the child for my mother to take care of, just so you could sneak into my bed, right?"

"I will satisfy your wish then! Besides, this is just perfect. I have not tried playing with three people together yet. Let Annette watch and see the body of a royal embalmer. Hurry up! Take off your clothes!"

"Right here, on your son's bed! Let him feel with his own spirit how shameless his own mother is! A woman who only cares about climbing into a man's bed, even after her child died!"

Facing Charles' crazy shouting, I closed my eyes in despair. Tears rolled silently down from the corners of my eyes and soaked the pillow under me. This was unforgivable!

"Charles," I whispered, my voice trembling.

After that, I continued to speak, "My son is dead. I did not throw him to anyone."

He stopped pulling at my clothes, then laughed coldly, full of disbelief.

"Joanne, do you think I am a fool? If your son really died, would you still be so calm right now?"

"I was just spending Alex's anniversary with Annette. You really have the heart to joke about Alex with me? I really underestimated you. A cruel woman like you does not deserve to be Alex's mother!"

Charles stared hard at my face, trying to find any sign of lying. Yet, there was nothing left on my face except complete dead silence. Nevertheless, it didn’t cause him to stop.

"You really are a royal embalmer," he said through gritted teeth.

"Living with corpses all year round has made you colder than any normal person! My mother might be tricked by you, but I will never believe a single word you say. Joanne, you'd better give up your stupid idea soon!"

"Alex was the heir of the Orville Family when he was alive, so he would remain the ghost of the Orville Family after death. No matter how deep you hid him, I would dig six feet under into the ground to find him!"

After venting his anger, Charles continued his deed with Annette and left without looking back.

I stood there, looking at my son's broken spirit floating beside me. My tears quickly blurred my vision without me even noticing. Before this, I had never thought that my ability to embalm corpses would one day be used on my own child. But now, it had truly happened.

The five-year agreement was the last chance I had given myself, a final bet on Charles' heart and on a future between us.

At the beginning, when he first came to me asking for help with the Orville Family curse, his eyes were full of hope and admiration.

"A royal embalmer must be very powerful, right?" he had said.

I had never seen eyes so bright, so my heart could not help but be shaken by them. However, I knew that my family’s inheritance could not be interrupted. I had to save people to build a good afterlife. So, I could only make a five-year agreement with him.

On the day I married into the Orville Family, their fortunes, which had been declining for a long time, suddenly began to rise again. The company grew quickly when I got married to him. Not to mention, my mother-in-law became much healthier.

At that time, Charles gave me all the credit. In order to make me happy, even during his busiest times, Charles was willing to put down all his work and take me abroad for a honeymoon. Back then, he never said that royal embalmers were unlucky.

Instead, Charles only said that I was different from ordinary people. That I was someone special, someone worthy of being his beloved wife. It made me happy.

When I became pregnant, Charles hired three nannies to take care of me at home. For nine whole months, he did not work overtime even once. Every free moment he had, he spent it with me.

He told me that the child of a royal embalmer had to be powerful from the moment he was born. He said he would raise Alex to be his successor and give him the best of everything in the world. But later, when Annette appeared, everything began to change.

Charles became colder and colder. Every time we were together, there was always a look of disgust and disdain in his eyes that he could not hide. My son was influenced by him and grew quieter and shyer.

I could not bear it anymore, so I finally found the courage to ask him about it once. But he just looked at me coldly and spoke with a tone full of contempt.

"Joanne, the Orville Family is one of the most elite families in London. Marrying you, a royal embalmer, already made me lose face. You have no right to cause trouble."

"Don't think I don't know. That so-called suppression curse was just an excuse for you to marry into the Orville Family. Your lies are so poor that they make me sick!"

When a man loved a woman, the woman would be treated like a treasure. When he stopped loving her, she would be treated like an old shoe. It was an old saying that turned out to be true. After all, I finally realized what it meant to be treated like an old shoe.

I thought that if I could just make it through the five-year agreement, I could take my son and return to my old home and wake up from this dream. But now, I could not even protect my child. This dream, after all, had to end. Because I wanted to take Alex's body away.

Since the funeral we had planned had no burial, we intended to just hold a memorial service for Alex that was being held in the garden. The relatives of the Orville Family filled the mourning hall. One by one, they came forward to kneel, make a prayer and pick a rose to be put next to Alex’s photo.

But there was no sign of Charles.

My mother-in-law became so angry that her face turned red. She kept calling Charles again and again, cursing him loudly.

"That stupid, ungrateful son! Today, I will make him kneel in front of Alex’s portrait and confess his guilt!"

I knew Mrs. Orville truly loved Alex. She did not say a single word to blame me. Rather, she just kept calling and calling, but Charles never answered.

There was only a cold, busy tone on the line.

After running out of patience, my mother-in-law started contacting Charles’ assistant. She turned on the speakerphone as the assistant’s helpless voice echoed throughout the mourning hall.

"Mrs. Orville, today is Miss Grey’s prenatal check-up appointment. So, Mr. Orville-"

Before he could finish speaking, Charles’ angry voice came through.

"Does the young Mrs. Orville have to wait in line when she is pregnant? Don’t blame me for withdrawing my investment and shutting down the hospital if you dare to make Annette wait! Throw out all the other patients! I don't want to see anyone else!"

"Today, there can only be one pregnant woman in the obstetrics and gynecology department. It has to be Annette."

Instantly, the faces of the relatives changed.

My mother-in-law hung up the phone angrily and rushed toward the hospital.

I stopped her and said, "Mum, don't bother. Alex will not be buried here. It doesn't matter whether Charles comes or not. I am here to take Alex to the afterlife."

"You have taken care of me and Alex for the past five years. I am sorry, but I cannot take care of the Orville Family’s future anymore."

My mother-in-law burst into tears and bowed to me in thanks.

"You and Alex have protected the Orville Family for five years. You are the heroes of the Orville Family. I’m really useless and cannot take care of this idiot son ..."

"Just tell me what you need. As long as I can do it, I will give it to you. Just think of it as the fate between us for these five years … "

I wrote down the things I needed for the corpse embalming ceremony and gave the list to my mother-in-law. She immediately ordered someone to buy everything for me. However, Alex’s last spirit was still trapped at home, so I needed to find it and bring it back.

Without waiting for the memorial to end, I went home alone. What greeted me was the same messy clothes scattered on the ground. Two figures were rolling around on the sofa, their bodies entangled together. Their panting sounds stabbed my heart like knives.

Annette noticed me standing there and quickly placed her hand on the man's arm, explaining in an aggrieved voice, "Joanne, don't be angry. I am only staying at the Orville Family for a few months. Charles said there are many nannies here, so it will be easier to take care of the baby."

"Don't worry, I won't compete with you for Charles. I will leave after the baby is born. After all, I don't have the blood of a royal embalmer, so I cannot help the Orville Family … "

Charles hugged her tighter like he was showing off.

His expression turned cold as he mockingly spoke, "What royal embalmer? It's just a trick to fool people."

"If there is any difference between her and you, it is that the blood inside her body is even dirtier than yours. You smell like death. Frankly, it makes me sick."

"This is the Orville Family's mansion. I am the one who gets to decide who stays here, so I don't need to ask for your permission."

After saying that, Charles hugged Annette and walked past me, heading upstairs.

He paused for a moment on the steps and said, "Remember to splash your son's blood with pig's blood before he comes inside. If he scares Annette, don't blame me for throwing you out."

After speaking, he slammed the bedroom door shut. The panting sounds from upstairs grew louder and louder. I held the spirit-calling flag in my hand and, following its guidance, found my son's spirit hidden in a corner.

Unfortunately for Alex, he had already become a lonely spirit. I could see that he was tightly clutching something in his little hand. With heartache, I carefully put his spirit away.

Then, I saw clearly what he had been holding. It was a small baby windmill made from paper that was sprayed with holy water. Although Alex was only five years old, he was very smart. He knew that only if Annette were happy could the family stay peaceful.

After Annette became pregnant, he started making little toys for the baby, trying to please Charles and make him happy. The paper that was sprayed with holy water was something very complicated to make. It was a ritual of royal embalming. In fact, I did not have time to teach him properly.

I couldn’t help but feel stunned. After all, Alex made these windmills himself, using them as his wishing trees. The handwriting on the paper was crooked and shaky. Still, I read all of it.

Each one said something along this.

[I hope my little brother will like the gift and be nice to my mother. May my wish come true.]

The wish written on every piece of paper was the same. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. I tried my best to cover my mouth so that no one could hear me cry.

Meanwhile, the sounds coming from upstairs grew even louder. I packed up all the luggage that belonged to me and my son and quietly left the place where we had lived for five years. Just as I was about to start embalming Alex’s body, a message popped up on my phone.

It was from Charles.

He wrote something.

[Charles O: Send some warm water to Annette. She is thirsty. And also, give her that new pink dress you have not worn yet. Besides, you’re way too ugly to look good in pink.]

[Charles O: As long as you behave and listen, the Orville Family can leave a place for you. Remember, do not challenge my wish. This is the bare minimum for you to be able to live here!]

I could not help but laugh coldly. What a good head of the Orville Family! Let us see how long he could survive once the curse took effect after I left.

I did not bother to reply.

Instead, I took out the SIM card from my phone, lit it with a lighter and threw the burning piece into the trash can. Then, I chanted a small spell and shook a little bell in my hand. Holding my son's spirit close to me, I slowly faded into the darkness of the night.

Inside the mansion, Charles grew more and more impatient as he waited for me. When I still did not show up, he decided to storm out and question me. But before he could step outside, he ran into his mother who had just arrived.

"Mum? Why are you here? Did that bitch Joanne go crying to you again? She is so shameless. I'll make her leave right now!"

Before Charles could say another word, his mother raised her hand and slapped him hard across the face.

"You had no time to attend your son's funeral, but you had plenty of time to fool around with your mistress at home. Why did I ever give birth to an ungrateful son like you?"

"You are the one who should get out!"