During a heavy rainstorm, my husband abandoned my mother-in-law on the highway to accompany his internet-famous lover for a livestreaming.

As a result, my mother-in-law had a heart attack and passed away before reaching the hospital.

Because his lover was upset, my husband hung up on my mother-in-law's last call before she died.

I received a call from the hospital, and despite having a high fever, I dragged myself there. When I arrived, my mother-in-law was still tightly clutching the phone that had been cut off.

With tears in my eyes, I called my husband, only to unexpectedly see their livestream on a nearby big screen.

On the screen, my husband was holding hands with his lover, saying, "Being in love with you is the luckiest thing in my life."

***

"If only the patient had been brought here a little earlier, there could have been hope, but unfortunately..." the doctor said, looking at my drenched and dazed self with eyes full of pity.

My trembling hand signed the death certificate, and in a daze, I arranged my mother-in-law's funeral and brought her ashes home.

In the dimly lit living room, I sat with her urn in my arms, the only light coming from my phone screen where the livestream of my husband and his lover was still going.

"We're not married," Ida White said shyly as she nestled into Jeff Hawking's embrace, her cheeks flushing.

Jeff, acting protectively, smiled gently, "Alright, don't tease her anymore, she's shy."

The surrounding crowd cheered even louder.

The comment section was filled with sugar-coated compliments, "Ahh! This is divine love!"

"A match made in heaven!"

"When are you two getting married? If you don't, I'll drive a forklift and force you to the altar!"

Meanwhile, I, the legal wife, sat in front of the screen watching strangers ship my husband and his mistress' relationship!

Blinking through dry eyes, I numbly dialed the number that had been hung up countless times.

I asked every one of Jeff's friends, but the response I got was that he was filming a show and had his phone taken away, so no one could reach him.

The son my mother-in-law had raised for decades had left her, with her heart condition, on the side of the highway during a rainstorm because of another woman!

My mother-in-law had often said that before she died, her biggest wish was for her son and daughter-in-law to be by her side. Ever since I married into the family, she had treated me like her own daughter.

This was her last wish, and I want to try my best to fulfill it.

"Sorry, the number you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please try again later..." The cold, automated voice repeated once again.

My consciousness grew foggy, and each breath felt hotter and heavier.

In my hazy state, I felt as though my mother-in-law was still with me.

"Diana, my only wish is that when I die, my children will be by my side." Her voice, with its rural accent, echoed in my ears.

"You know, in the countryside, we believe in returning to our roots, with children paying their respects."

I wiped my tears, swallowed two fever pills, and looked at the screen.

Inside, Jeff gently tucked a stray lock of Ida's hair behind her ear. With the background music, the crowd started cheering again.

My gaze fell upon the urn sitting on the sofa, and my resolve grew stronger.

Mom, I would definitely bring Jeff back to you.

Barely holding myself together, I made my way to where Ida's livestream was being filmed.

As soon as the staff heard I was Jeff's wife, their expressions changed, and they quickly let me in.

I pushed through the crowd and finally found Jeff, who was hugging Ida and competing.

The two of them clung to each other, their faces filled with happy smiles.

"Jeff! Mom is gone, come back and see her off on her final journey," I shouted, ignoring the cameras still rolling around us.

Annoyed by my interruption, Jeff shook off my hand and gently placed Ida on the ground.

"Wait here for me. I'll take care of this, alright?" Jeff said as he draped a coat over Ida.

Ida coyly nodded and tugged at his hand. "I'll wait for you."

The livestream viewers were confused by my appearance.

"Who is she?"

"No idea, she looks like some kind of crazy woman."

"I think I heard the staff say she's Jeff's wife..."

"What?! Impossible! Isn't he supposed to be Ida's perfect match? They look so good together!"

The people around me started pointing and whispering.

A troublesome matter? To him, my mother-in-law's passing and our family were just a 'troublesome matter'.

I took a deep breath, holding back my tears, and said, "Come back with me to see Mom off on her final journey. You know her greatest wish was for us to be by her side when she passed."

A staff member moved to cut the livestream, but the director raised his hand to stop them.

"What? Did Jeff's mother pass away?"

"Does that mean this woman is really Jeff's wife?"

"So what does that make Ida?"

For a moment, Jeff's gaze towards me turned ice-cold, filled with disgust and hatred.

He grabbed my chin harshly and spat, "Diana Smith! You can cause trouble all you want, but now you're cursing my mother's death, aren't you?!"

"My mom was always so good to you, and you dare bring her into this for some other man. You're so vile!"

"Yeah, Diana," Ida chimed in, disapprovingly shaking her head at me.

"Auntie always said she treated you like her own daughter. It was you who forced Jeff into marriage. Now, how can you joke about her death?"

"Turns out this woman forced him into marriage!"

"And she's even joking about someone else's mother? Despicable!"

"No way could a crazy woman like her compare to my little angel, Ida."

"Just divorce already! The one who's not loved is the real third wheel!"

I shook my head in disbelief, stepping back a few paces. I removed the backpack from my shoulders and carefully took out my mother-in-law's urn.

"What?! Could she really be dead?" someone typed in the comments.

"It doesn't seem like she's faking..."

"Is she carrying an urn to ruin my little angel's love show? Why doesn't she just die already?"

"Hold on, folks, I'm heading over now. I want to see what tricks this vile woman is trying to pull!"

As I held up the urn, the staff anxiously looked at the director, who wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was no longer something he could stop even if he wanted to.

Jeff stared in disbelief at the photo on the urn, reaching out as if to touch it but then pulling back.

I trembled, clutching the urn tightly. My voice quivered as I said, "I didn't lie to you. Mom... Mom passed away that rainy night..."

Tears fell onto the urn, one after another, as I hugged it tightly. I didn't force Jeff into marriage, nor did I curse his mother's death.

I grew up without a mother. My father, a compulsive gambler, made beating me a daily routine.

Whenever he lost, he'd come home demanding money. If I didn't have any, he'd beat me and threaten to make me quit school so he could sell me off for bride price money.

To continue my education, I would wash dishes after school. That pitiful wage held all my hopes for the future.

But as his gambling debts grew, I had no choice but to start selling my blood.

Eventually, he got caught up in a police raid, and I finally had a brief respite when he was sent away.

In college, word spread about my gambling-addict father, and everyone started avoiding me.

That's when Jeff, who was a student counselor, took notice of me. Over time, we became close.

After hearing my story, he held my hand tenderly, saying he'd give me the loving home I'd never had, making up for all the love I had missed.

But then Ida came back from abroad, and I learned that she was his high school sweetheart.

Just like the cliché in a novel, Jeff drifted away from our family and gravitated toward Ida.

He even abandoned me when I was pregnant, causing me to miscarry.

While I was grieving the loss of our child, he was with Ida, supporting her during her livestreams.

Yet because of my mother-in-law, I never divorced him.

He gave me a very good mother, and after we got married, my mother-in-law treated me like her own daughter.

I experienced motherly love for the first time in my life.

I couldn't let go of the man I once loved deeply. I thought if I just waited a little longer, if we had a child, if enough time passed, he would come back to the family and become the husband who once treasured me.

I clung to the love Jeff had given me, praying that he would return to my side.

But I waited and waited, and all I got in the end was my mother-in-law's corpse and the news that Jeff was appearing on a dating show with Ida.

Now, the last person in this world who loved me had been killed by her own son!

Jeff's chest heaved as his eyes, bloodshot, locked onto mine.

Suddenly, he grabbed my throat. "I used to think you were just manipulative," he growled.

"But now, you dare put my mom's picture on an urn."

Breathing became more and more difficult, and tears—this time from the lack of oxygen—streamed from my eyes.

After several years of marriage, my husband, whom I loved deeply, was now full of doubts about me.

Despite the suffocating grip around my neck, I looked at him and smiled bitterly. "Since yesterday, has Mom appeared even once?"

Jeff's grip loosened slightly. Right, why hadn't he heard from his mother since yesterday?

I coughed violently, gasping for air, while Jeff frantically pulled out his phone, trying to call his mother—only to be met with no answer. Deep inside, I felt a strange satisfaction.

"No way!" He threw his phone in anger and snatched the urn from my arms, laughing and crying at the same time.

"My mother can't be dead," he said, his voice trembling.

I closed my eyes, the image of my mother-in-law lying on the side of the road, desperately dialing her son over and over again, only to be hung up on, filling my mind.

Mom, just wait a little longer. I'll bring Jeff back soon to arrange your funeral.

"Jeff! Don't believe her!" Ida suddenly rushed forward, shoving me away.

"Your mom is not dead!"

"What? A shocking twist?" Viewers in the livestream chat exploded with comments.

"See? I knew that crazy woman was lying!"

"I hate people who curse others' parents. Get ready, I'm on my way to teach her a lesson!"

"I support you! She should pay the price!"

"What did you just say?" Jeff turned to Ida, glaring.

Ida waved Jeff's phone in front of him. "I just got a call from the insurance company. They said your mom took out a policy recently and needed confirmation."

"You tell him to keep her here! I'll go find Mom!" Jeff yelled.

I collapsed to the ground, my palms digging into sharp stones. Hearing this, I screamed in disbelief.

"No way!"

"That policy was taken out a few days ago. Maybe it just arrived at the insurance company today." I scrambled to get up, trying to explain.

"Call them and check! Ask them!"

"Enough!" Jeff shouted, losing patience. Ignoring the cameras around him, he raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.

Barely containing his anger, he pointed at me with tears in my eyes, "Once I bring Mom home, we're getting a divorce!"

Before he left, he glanced at the urn. In my desperate sobs, he threw it to the ground, smashing it to pieces.

I stared at the scattered ashes on the floor, utterly devastated, looking at the enraged Jeff.

At that moment, the man who had once smiled so warmly at me died in my heart.

Now, we had become the most familiar strangers.

"Good God!" Ida gasped, covering her mouth and stepping back. "Diana, Auntie isn't even dead. You already stuck her photo on the urn, but how could you also..."

She glanced at me with reproach, further inciting Jeff's uncontrollable rage.