"Jacob, are you listening?" Natalia's voice rang out once more.
Jacob glanced at the phone still pressed to his ear and hurriedly replied, "Natalia, I'm busy right now. I'll hang up first."
On the other end of the line, Natalia froze upon hearing the disconnected beeping sound.
When she finally came to her senses, she slammed her phone against the wall, gritting her teeth as she muttered, "Josephine, even in death, you refuse to rest peacefully."
In the same car as Jacob, I was stunned to hear his conversation with Natalia. I couldn't believe he wasn't worried that she might be scared of thunder and just hung up on her.
The Jacob of the past wouldn't let Natalia suffer the slightest injustice, even abandoning me countless times for her sake. Today, he seemed different. But why would he worry about me?
Back when we were fighting and on the brink of divorce, he even complained that I lacked the grace and elegance of Natalia. Now, I could only look at Jacob's darkened expression, utterly confused about what was wrong with him.
Then, in the very next moment, he redialed Natalia's number. "Natalia, let me take you somewhere."
I, who had no physical body, habitually curled the corners of my mouth. Jacob truly couldn't let go of that woman.
After getting in the car, Natalia still looked fragile, clinging tightly to his arm. "Jacob, it's so late. Where are we going?"
However, Jacob seemed unusually distracted as he replied absentmindedly, "You'll see when we get there."
Looking at the familiar house before me, I realized he had driven to my home.
Natalia frowned in surprise. "Jacob, whose place is this old house?"
"Josephine's," Jacob said as he strode inside without waiting for her.
I clearly saw a flash of resentment and bitterness cross Natalia's face before she reluctantly followed.
The person who opened the door was my mother. Her once jet-black hair had turned completely white. My eyes stung with pain and I lunged forward to embrace her, only to grasp at thin air.
The moment my mother saw Jacob, her pallid face twisted in fury. "You heartless monster! Look what you did to my daughter! I'll beat you to death today and avenge Josephine!"
She grabbed a stick from behind the door, then swung it at Jacob. He didn't dodge; he even took the blow straight on.
Blood instantly streamed down his forehead, but he didn't wipe it away. Instead, he shouted towards the room. "Josephine, come out! I know you're in there!"
My mother froze, then quickly erupted into curses. "What the hell are you talking about? My Josephine is dead!"
Jacob refused to believe it. He grabbed Natalia beside him and continued shouting, "Josephine, come out! If you don't come out now, I'm leaving with Natalia."
Still, there was no reply.
His expression grew increasingly anxious, but he didn't give up. "I'm really leaving with Natalia. I'll never come back for you," he barked.
Overcome with fury, my mother stormed into the room, grabbed a newspaper and flung it at his face. "Look for yourself! Josephine is dead. That bastard stabbed her dozens of times. He's utterly heartless."
Jacob's eyes locked onto the blood-soaked photograph in the newspaper, his face turning pale by the second.
The woman in the picture lay in a pool of blood, her face riddled with countless cuts, making her almost unrecognizable. Lying beside her was a tiny baby.
Jacob could vaguely make out the blood-soaked clothes; they were the very ones his son had worn at his one-month celebration.
He collapsed to his knees with a thud, burying his face in the paper and weeping uncontrollably. "I don't believe it. Josephine loved me so much, she wouldn't have left me like this! This must be a trick you all set up!"
Unable to bear the sight of Jacob's state, my mother wiped away tears and cried out in anguish, "How ridiculous! You signed the form to claim Josephine's body and now you're denying it!"
Jacob flinched, suddenly feeling a splitting headache. He clutched his head and slumped to the ground, his eyes staring blankly ahead.
He finally remembered. He had witnessed the horrific scene himself. Both our child and I were dead for real.
