Out of the blue, Caleb returned home that night. He brought home an exquisite birthday cake.

I was slightly shocked. After all, this was the first time Caleb made a move, showing that he wanted to reconcile.

A long time ago, I had just gotten engaged to Caleb. Back then, I was still caught up in my fantasy. I casually brought up my birthday. The closer it got to my birthday, the more I was looking forward to it.

But on that day, not only did I not see a cake, but there was no sign of Caleb either. I had given him a call, but he snorted and said, "You forced me to break up with Julie. Now, you expect me to love you. Natasha, don't you think you're being too greedy?"

That was when I realized that Caleb had hated me for a long time. Ever since that incident, I never mentioned anything about myself ever again.

All this while, I assumed that Caleb had forgotten my birthday. I was surprised he still remembered. That showed he had been intentionally hostile toward me.

"Happy birthday." Caleb smiled at me, acting rather relaxed. He was always really good at covering things up. As long as he did not bring up the incident, he could pretend that nothing ever happened. Life would go on peacefully.

I stared at Caleb and did not respond.

His smile froze. He looked around, desperate to find a new topic. "Why are your things gone, Natasha?"

I immediately noticed a faint red mark on Caleb's neck. Even after multiple layers of concealer, he still couldn't hide it. He probably just got out of Julie's bed and hurried here.

I took a deep breath. "Lots of those things were rather old. Keeping them would be a waste of space. Also, didn't you always complain that I like collecting useless stuff?"

My tone was rather aggressive. I didn't even bother to hide my displeasure.

Lately, I had been acting out of character, and that probably made Caleb feel uneasy. He was acting gentle with me out of nowhere.

"I've thought about it. Julie did go overboard for some things she did recently." Caleb reached out to stroke my hair.

In the past, all I ever wanted was for Caleb to come close and touch me. But now, all I felt was disgust. I backed off to avoid his touch.

"I'll get someone to get rid of those photos and screenshots. I've also fired those who knew the inside story. Your work and daily life won't be affected, so no need to worry."

Caleb scooped up some cake and brought it to my mouth. "We've not visited your dad in a long time. I wonder how he's doing.

"After our monthly dinner with Mom, we'll go and visit your father. I heard the hospital just brought in a new miracle medicine. Perhaps that'll help with his treatment." Caleb was still talking, but I was no longer listening.

At this point, he still had no idea that Julie's overbearing attitude had upset Dad so much, causing him to die in a fit of anger. Caleb was still fantasizing about having a harmonious family and a happy marriage.

An intense rage rose within my heart. I smashed the entire cake onto the floor.

"Caleb, why are you still acting so concerned? Get lost!" I yelled angrily.

I had refused Caleb's attempts to reconcile. At that moment, he could no longer put up with my nonsense.

His expression was extremely grim as he silently got up and looked at me.

"Natasha, when will you stop being so domineering and stubborn? If you were just as kind and gentle as Julie, we wouldn't have ended up this way."

I shoved Caleb out of the room before slamming the door. I stepped on the buttery floor as I made my way to the bedside table. I crouched down and slowly picked up Dad's urn.

I had placed the urn by the bedside table, yet Caleb didn't even notice it.

I had had enough of being shunned and ignored. I also refused to put up with Caleb always making decisions on his own.

Tomorrow, I would definitely leave him.

I decided to bring Dad's urn with me to the Reed family's dinner.

It had been seven days since he passed away. I decided to scatter his ashes into the sea once the dinner was over. After his death, Dad's soul could freely explore the world and go wherever he liked.

But I never expected Julie to show up as well. She and Caleb sat next to each other at the table. Neither of them even bothered to look up at me.

I set the urn on the table, causing Caleb's expression to twist with displeasure. But it was Julie who spoke first. "Natasha, why'd you bring that urn? Are you trying to make everyone here uncomfortable?

"Mrs. Reed has always been good to you. But look at what you've done. You purposely brought the urn to make all of us uneasy."

Caleb scowled too. "Natasha, throw that thing away. I'll pretend I never saw it."

I smirked mockingly. "Sorry. Can't do that."

Caleb raised his voice. "What's wrong with you lately? If you continue being so arrogant, I'll really divorce you!"

Caleb thought marriage would be my Achilles' heel, but I no longer cared about that. I stared at him calmly before decisively pushing the urn to the center of the table.

"You're being so disrespectful to Mrs. Reed!"

"That's enough. Caleb and Julie, it's rare for us to have dinner together. Let's not make things awkward for everyone." Belinda spoke up for me. "Natasha can bring whatever she likes. I don't mind. You two should mind your own business."

Julie looked embarrassed and decided to keep quiet.

As for Caleb, he frowned slightly. Something felt off, but no matter how much he racked his brain, he still had no idea what the problem was.

Throughout the meal, Julie kept trying to strike up a conversation with Belinda, who simply ignored her. Although Julie had spent 300 thousand dollars on a famous painting, Belinda casually threw it to the floor.

The protection bracelet I had personally made for Belinda was on her wrist. She looked extremely pleased with my gift.

"Natasha, I can tell how much effort you put into making my gift. Unlike others, who tried to win me over with dirty money."

Belinda was obviously looking down on Julie, whose smile froze.

"In the future, you must be more careful since you'll be on your own." Belinda patted my hand. The calluses on her hand reminded me of Dad.

I bent my head to hide the tears in my eyes.

Caleb spoke up. "Mom, why do you make it sound like I'm dead? I'm Natasha's husband. Of course, I'll take good care of her."

Belinda glared at him icily. Her tone sounded grim as she retorted, "How do you take care of Natasha? By sleeping with your mistress?"

For the first time, Belinda did not hold herself back and exposed Caleb and Julie's affair without mercy. The truth was laid bare for everyone to see, and their disgusting affair was finally brought up.

Julie instantly turned pale. Tears began welling up in her eyes. "Mrs. Reed, Caleb and I are in love. If Natasha hadn't interfered…"

Julie looked aggrieved as she buried her face into Caleb's chest. Seeing her reaction, he could no longer sit idly by.

"Mom, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, so I forced myself to stay married to Natasha for the past five years. But I really can't stand seeing others looking down on my beloved.

"Julie isn't a mistress. I'll divorce Natasha so I can marry Julie. I want to make her my wife!" Caleb sounded determined.

Upon hearing what he said, Julie immediately stopped sobbing. She smirked, looking slightly insane.

After Caleb finished speaking, his gaze landed on me. "Mom, eventually, you'll understand that Julie, who spent so much time choosing your present, is a far better daughter-in-law than Natasha ever could be! Don't forget that Natasha purposely brought an urn to our family dinner just to make us uncomfortable."

Caleb's gaze was filled with disgust. He picked up the urn so he could get rid of it. I instinctively wanted to stop him, but he pushed me aside.

He lost his grip on the urn, and it fell to the ground.

I hit my breaking point instantly. My heart jolted as I shrieked in despair. "No!"

My legs immediately gave way beneath me. I slumped to the floor and crawled toward the fallen urn and its contents.

Tears rolled down my cheeks onto Dad's ashes. "Dad, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I shouldn't have brought you here!"

Next to me, Caleb tensed up. He kept looking back and forth between me and Belinda.

"Natasha, what are you up to now? Julie got a call from the hospital a few days ago, saying that David's condition has improved. You must've bought these ashes online just to disgust me, right?"

Caleb spoke at lightning speed so he could cover up his uneasiness. Out of habit, he came up with an excuse so he could avoid taking the blame for dropping the urn.

I wiped my tears away and got up to grab him by his collar. Before I could land a punch, Belinda slapped him first.

Caleb's face jerked to the side. The corners of his mouth became swollen, and there was a trickle of blood.

"Why do I have a son like you?" Belinda's eyes were filled with disappointment. "Seven days ago, everyone learned of your affair with Julie. On the very same night, Natasha's father passed away in a fit of anger!"