I tried hard to pull myself together and asked him, "What are you talking about?"

"Well... Your parents said you stole their money, so they forcefully canceled your order," he said.

My mind went blank.

That was the last money Maggie left me. How could they accuse me of stealing something that belonged to me in the first place?

I shouted, "I didn't steal the money! I'm going to die soon. You can't let them cancel my order like that!"

"Ms. Sullivan, I don't think your parents will slander you..."

The words of the funeral staff and my parents echoed in my ears like a symphony.

I could even recite this sentence.

But why did I want to rest in peace was wrong?

Having a good end was my hope in my next life.

The priest also said that even if I died miserably, I would at least live an easier life next time as long as someone buried me properly.

I didn't dare to hope for love; I just hoped that I wouldn't suffer in the next life.

Was it that difficult?

Hearing the busy tone on the phone, I was at a loss for a moment.

The commitment to resting in peace made me limp to Maggie's grave.

Since there was no coffin or proper funeral for me, I would rather die beside the person that truly loved me.

When my life began to count down, I paid someone to dig a hole for me.

Now, all I had to do was lie down there and bury myself in the soil. Then, my wretched life would be over.

The pit was just enough for me.

I scooped up the soil and buried myself bit by bit.

I thought, "Maggie, I'll come to you."

When the dirt covered my face, I smiled and closed my eyes.

Now, I could finally rest in peace, right?

After a long time, there seemed to be noises.

I moved my eyelids and found that I was not dead yet.

I also heard the sound clearly. It was Hazel crying.

"Toby... My Toby..." she said.

Alice also wept, "My daughter has such a hard life. She finally came home but lost her closest friend. Don't worry, baby, O will buy you another puppy..."

Hazel refused with sobs, "Mom, even if it's the same dog, it's not my Toby anymore! It's all my fault! It died for me!"

Winston comforted her softly, "My dear, this is not your fault! You should blame that goddamn Leah! If she hadn't injured Toby, how could it have died?"

"That's right! It's all that bitch's fault! I'll bring her here to apologize to Toby! Oscar, come with me!" Clark said.

Then, something heavy fell on me.

"Dad, Mom, there is a small hole here. Can I bury it here? With Grandma's blessing, it will definitely have a better next life!" she said.

So, they put the dead dog on me.

The horrific memory of being bitten by mixed with the sharp pain from my wounds made me tremble uncontrollably.

Before Clark and Oscar left, they noticed what was going on in the earth pit.

"Who's there? Get out!" they shouted.

I couldn't suppress the pain any longer and coughed.

After hearing my voice, Clark and Oscar pulled me out, who was covered in blood.

After a moment of shock, their faces were filled with disgust and hatred.

"Leah, do you think we will forgive you if you behave like this?"

"You really are a pisser. This is the grave Hazel picked for Toby. Why are you lying in it?"

Clark roughly pulled me out of the pit.

I knelt on the ground before Oscar did something to make me kneel.

"Hazel just came back, and you killed her dog. You are really born to be cruel and ruthless. Can't you even be easier on a dog?"

I raised my head stubbornly and pointed at the dirt pit. "I paid someone to dig this grave for myself. What does it have to do with you?"

Alice threw a rock at my forehead. I felt warm blood dripping down my cheek.

"Because I'm your mother! Your life belongs to me, not to mention a grave! What's more, it's our family grave, and I don't want you to rest in peace here!" she shouted.

I pointed woodenly at the dog in the hole and said sarcastically, "What about it? You will bury a dog in the family grave?"

Winston immediately interrupted me with a slap. "Bullshit! That's your sister's savior, and you can't be compared to it at all!"

I spat out the three teeth that were knocked out of my mouth and sneered.

I couldn't be as good as Hazel when I was alive and wouldn't be even matter than a mad dog after death.

I couldn't hold back my anger any longer and yelled at them, "If you hate me so much, why did you give birth to me?"

Clark furiously shouted at me, "How dare you ask? If it weren't for you, would Mom have been so weak these years?"

Hearing this, Alice hugged the crying Hazel and glanced at me coldly, "If killing people wasn't against the law, you would have died long ago."

Oscar was silent for a long time before pointing at Toby with a question.

"You ordered a funeral service just to kill Hazel again? Or do you want to curse her?"

I turned to look at Oscar and asked him bitterly, "You think so too?"

He saw my diagnosis once.

He knew I was dying.

He also knew that I ordered the funeral service just to allow myself to die in dignity and not be miserable and helpless in the afterlife.

When I placed the order for that service, I had no idea Hazel was still alive!

But even though he knew the truth, he still reprimanded me, "Leah, you almost fooled me if Hazel didn't make it!"

"The fake blood must have cost a lot of money, right?" he said.

I laughed bitterly and started to cry.

No one even believed I was going to die!

They couldn't see my tears but only heard my laughter.

Winston couldn't contain his anger any longer and kicked me on the back.

"What are you laughing at?!"

I fell in front of the dog's corpse and vomited blood.

Hazel exclaimed, "Toby!"

She didn't mind wiping the blood off the dog's body with her own hands.

"What did my Toby do wrong? Why can't it rest in peace even after death?"

Hazel wept bitterly on its body, and my blood stained her hands and face.

It was as if she had suffered the harm.

But I was the only one who discerned this was not Toby at all.

Before I was about to express my suspicion, Winston said arbitrarily, "Leah! If you don't kowtow a hundred times to Toby today, I will personally send you to jail! I should have sent you there before you hurt your own sister."

Winston's words inspired me.

After a brief consideration, I actually found it was a good idea.

If I went to jail and died of illness, someone would collect my body.

It was better than dying without being buried.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and nodded seriously to my father, "Okay, send me to jail!"

I happily turned on my phone and called 911.

However, Hazel didn't care about her favorite dog and pounced at me, grabbing my phone and smashing it on the ground.

She cursed me with disappointment and anger on her face,

"Leah, just come to me if I inadvertently offend you, but why did you insist on killing Toby? Now, you're threatening our parents. Do you know how distressful they will be if you're really imprisoned? They have taught us to correct our mistakes in time. Why did you forget all of their words?"

"Is this how you pay them back for painstakingly raising you up?" she said.

Her sensible yet heartbroken education of me made my already angry parents furious.

They started to punch me again.

"You want us dead, don't you? Do you want us to die?!"

"Why did you mess around our family?"

"You almost killed your mother, and then you almost killed your sister. Now, you've killed her dog. You even tried to pollute the family grave. Are you going to drag the entire Sullivan family into hell?"

Clark forced me to kowtow to Toby's body again and again.

My forehead, which was already bleeding, now looked even more gory.

But it didn't stop the violence.

Oscar quietly counted the number of times I kowtowed.

If my head didn't hit the right spot, I had to redo it.

Before finishing the punishment they set for me, I almost died.

Hazel was the first to notice something was wrong with me and shouted, "Clark, stop it! If she dies in front of Toby's grave, her corpse will only dirty the path of its reincarnation."

Hazel was skilled at destroying her enemy's mental defense.

I actually envied this dog.

It made me even want to be one of them in the next life because they had the love I couldn't have for a second.

Clark let go of my head and neck, and I lost my support and fell to the ground with my gradually dilated pupil.

"Why don't you beat me to death... You can just throw me into a hole after I die..."

I wished they ceased to be angry so that I could have my grave back.

However, Clark angrily picked up a shovel.

"Dad, Mom, please get out of my way. I'm going to bury this jinx alive today! I'll kill her for Toby's sake!" he said.

The sum of his hitting me with the shovel and other pain all over my body couldn't outweigh the despair in my heart.

I really had no idea what I did wrong.

Was it because Alice almost died from excessive bleeding after giving birth to me?

But the nurse clearly said that her hemorrhage was because Hazel was too big as an infant!

I had been inexplicably rejected because of my frail appearance since I was born.

The exhaustion made me want to fall asleep.

Maybe in my dream, I could see Maggie.

Only Maggie truly loved me.

If it weren't for her, I would have died a long time ago.

"Clark, stop hitting her! She is the only sister we have. If you keep hitting her, she'll die!" Hazel shouted.

Then, Clark handed the shovel to Oscar, panting. "Why didn't you say anything? Did you really fall in love with her since you almost got married?"

The last trace of reluctance and sympathy disappeared from Oscar's eyes.

Or maybe I saw it wrong.

He took the shovel and spat on me, "She doesn't deserve to be my wife. The only person I love is Hazel. Leah is just my plaything."

Even though I knew I didn't deserve love, my heart still uncontrollably ached after hearing those words from Oscar's mouth.

He always focused on Hazel through my appearance.

But I thought that there was a different kind of true love in his affectionate eyes towards me.

I thought it was something exclusive to me.

Now, I understood that they didn't even care more about me than a dog.

Oscar dragged me into the hold and buried me alive with a shovel without hesitation.

I didn't struggle.

The priest only told me to bury myself here to have a better next life and required no more other things, such as being buried with a dog or not being cremated.

Oscar's sweat dripped onto the soil, but he didn't feel tired.

"No! Oscar, no! She's my sister. You can't treat her like this!" Hazel's crying made Oscar pause.

He turned around to console her, "Hazel, you have to be tough, okay? She should deserve that! Did you know that when you were out there isolated and desperate, this bitch tried hard to replace you? If you hadn't come back, I would have almost been deceived by this bitch!"

Oscar angrily threw some dirt on my face.

I spat out more blood again, but it was quickly absorbed by the soil.

Just when I thought I could get what I wanted, Hazel stopped Oscar.

"After all, she is my sister, so forget it," she said.

Then, he dragged me out again.

"Leah, never appear again!"

I watched them bury Toby in my grave but was too helpless to stop them.

Crawling to Maggie's grave, I curled myself up into a ball.

I kept thinking about the words Hazel said before she left and didn't even have the strength to cry.

On the seventh day after that dog's death, those scumbags came to its grave.​

They pointed at the rotten corpse and said in panic, "Who's that?"