I stopped my hands, slowly raised my face, and looked at him. My breath trembled, not from hurt but from suppressed anger. I wanted to scream at him, tried to blame him, wanted to thrust this pain into his chest. But I chose silence.
Calmly, I placed the urn in the hole I had dug. However, William, who seemed to have just realized the urn's existence, stretched out his hand and grabbed it.
“What is this?" he asked, his voice weakening at the sight of the engraved name and Laura's photo on the urn.
His hands trembled as his face turned pale. The urn almost slipped from his grasp as he fell to the ground. Tears that I rarely saw from this man began to fall.
"No." his voice trembled. "This isn't Laura. This can't be!"
"Why is it impossible? Laura called your name many times. In her pain, she expected you to come to her, but what? Did you defend someone else's child? You're evil, William! You're a monster!"
"Enough, Katty! Stop it!"
I just looked at his expressionlessly. I wouldn't give him any comfort, not after what he did.
Another step was heard behind us. Carol appeared with Priska hiding behind her body. The little girl looked cheerful and healthy without the slightest injury from the fire that occurred.
“William," Carol whispered, touching the man's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but isn't this the result of Katty's negligence? If only she had been more responsible, Laura wouldn't have..."
I stood stiffly, clenching my fists at my sides. I could feel my blood boiling at his words.
William looked at me with a hatred I had never seen before. "She's right. This is your fault! You were supposed to look after Laura, but instead, you let our child die! You're careless!"
I chuckled sarcastically and painfully. I shot Carol a glare. "Very funny, Carol. You who only thought of your safety during the fire but now stand here as a victim? Didn't you take refuge only with Priska, leaving the others behind?"
Carol's face changed instantly, but she quickly pulled herself together. "I did what I had to do. You're the one who can't take care of your child. No wonder Laura…”
I didn't let her finish her sentence. "If you really care about William and his family, why did you come to Laura's birthday? Why did you have to be there, in my family's happy moment? You've told me before that you want to snatch my husband. So tell me, Carol, is this part of your plan?"
I looked at William sharply. "And you? Do you realize we reached out for help, but you helped them instead? You're the one who seriously injured our daughter. You should be able to choose who needs to be saved first!”
William shook his head, reluctant to hear anything I had to say. "I don't want to hear more of your nonsense, Katty. I've had enough."
"Yes," another voice came from behind.
I turned and saw William's family standing there, looking at me with disgust and disappointment. "That's enough. We all agree that William should not keep this marriage. You only bring bad luck to this family," my mother-in-law said with a cold stare.
I stared at them all, feeling surrounded by hungry wolves ready to tear me alive. But I wasn't going to let them win this game.
I took a deep breath, then looked William right in the eyes. "I don't need you to divorce me, William. I'll end it myself.”
Everyone was silent.
I stepped into the house without looking back, leaving them all with a surprise they probably didn't expect.
I returned home and put all my clothes and some of Laura's favorite clothes into a suitcase. After that, I grabbed my cell phone and called my mom. "Mom, I'm going home."
