At the funeral, I had just placed a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in front of my mother-in-law's portrait when Jade rushed in.
"Sophia! What are you thinking?"
Jade was wearing a jeweled gown, the hem of her skirt sweeping across the white flowers on the ground. She rushed straight to the altar and overturned the wreath next to it.
White chrysanthemums were scattered all over the floor. She stepped on the petals and pointed her finger at my nose. "I'm having my wedding today , and you're holding the funeral in the next room! You did it on purpose, didn't you? You just want to annoy me and make my wedding unhappy!"
"This is the seat arranged by the funeral home. I booked it a week in advance." I stood up, my voice as cold as ice. "But you, showing up at a funeral in a suit, do you have any respect for others ?"
" Respect ?" Jade sneered and stretched out her hand to sweep towards the altar .
The candlestick fell to the ground with a clang , but she was still not satisfied, so she grabbed the fruit basket on the altar and threw it to the ground .
"Stop!" I rushed forward to stop him, but it was too late .
Jade lost her balance when she turned around and her elbow hit the portrait hard.
The photo frame fell to the ground with a "bang", the glass shattered into spider webs, and the mother-in-law's gentle smile was broken into pieces. One of the pieces was crushed by the tip of Jade's high heels, making a harsh "crunch" sound.
The face of the person in the portrait is no longer clearly visible.
At that moment, the blood in my body seemed to freeze. I bent down to pick up the broken glass, but as soon as my fingers touched it, they were pulled away by a strong force .
James rushed in, holding Jade behind him, the disgust in his eyes almost overflowing.
"Sophia, you've gone too far!" He pointed at the mess on the floor, his voice anxious and angry. "On such a happy day, you insisted on holding the funeral here, deliberately bringing bad luck to Jade! Are you jealous of us not doing well?"
"Can't bear to see you guys doing well?" I watched him protecting Jade, then the crushed portrait on the ground. I suddenly laughed, tears streaming down my face. "James, open your eyes and look! Whose portrait is this? It's your mother, Linda ! You even messed up your mother's funeral to protect her murderer?"
James' face paled for a moment, but he still said stubbornly, " How is it possible? You vicious woman, how dare you curse my mother ! Jade is still pregnant, can't you give her some leniency?"
"Give her some slack?" I dug my nails into my flesh. "She ruined my mother-in-law's funeral and crushed her portrait, and you want me to give her some slack? James, has your conscience been eaten by a dog?"
Just then, I heard steady footsteps at the door of the mourning hall. I turned around and saw my mother, wearing a well-tailored black coat, walking in .
She looked thinner than in the video, but still had a strong aura. Following her was Henry in a dark gray suit.
James' eyes suddenly widened, and he subconsciously took a step back, his tone changed: "Mom? You...how could you... "
My mother ignored him and walked straight to me. She reached out and gently wiped the wax off the hem of my skirt, her eyes full of pity.
Henry bent down and carefully picked up the fragments of the portrait on the ground. His movements were so gentle as if he was afraid of breaking some treasure. He also took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to me.
Jade looked at the scene and her arrogance weakened a lot, but she still insisted: "James, why is your mother here? Isn't she..."
