Chapter 9
After the secretary left,Luke sat motionless in front of the steel bed,unable to bring himself to get up for a long time.
The image of Zelea’s tearful eyes and humiliated expression lingered in his mind,refusing to fade.
“You broke our promise…how could you leave me like this…”
Tears fell and though he tried to suppress his sobs,his shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
When the doctor reminded him that the body had to be cremated as soon as possible,Luke immediately lost his temper.
“She can’t be cremated!Who gave you permission to do that?”
His frenzied appearance made everyone too afraid to approach him and they instinctively stepped back.
From the end of the hallway came the sound of hurried footsteps. Myra,eyes swollen and red,stood at the doorway of the hospital room and shouted sharply,“I did! Luke,you scumbag!How dare you cry beside Zelea! You two are already divorced. Get away from her!”
The stark black–and–white divorce agreement was shoved in front of his face,stabbing painfully into his eyes.
“It was your family that forced her to sign it. The one who truly has no right to speak is you!”
Luke was left speechless,his fists clenched tightly.
He was shoved aside,helplessly watching as Myra moved to wheel Zelea away.
“No,you can’t take her!Zelea is my wife. She should be buried in my family’s plot,with Jose! You’re just her friend. You’re even less qualified than I am!”
Myra tried to pry his fingers away,but Luke held on so tightly that she couldn’t move them.
Furious,she snapped at him, “Zelea had no parents and I’m her legal guardian!If it weren’t for you,how could she have ended up like this? And now you have the nerve to bury her in the Gritorn Family plot?Can’t you let her go even after death?”
She yanked up Zelea’s sleeve,revealing the scars left from her time in prison,her voice laced with
scorn.
“Do you have any idea what she went through these past years? You have made her suffer. You threw her into prison,even bribed prison guards to hurt her. You don’t deserve to be her lover!”
Luke was rendered speechless by her retort,his face flushing with anxiety.“It wasn’t me!l clearly told the prison guards not to hurt Zelea!”
The two of them stared at each other in silence,the atmosphere heavy and oppressive.
“You’re saying…you didn’t do this?”
Luke nodded.
Myra sneered,her lips curling with scorn. “So what?Am I supposed to reward you now? Let me tell you.She’s gone and she should be cremated and laid to rest. You have no right to stop me!”
She forcefully pushed Zelea away,flinging off Luke’s arm in the process.
3:10 pm G
The body was wheeled into the vehicle and driven away without hesitation.
Luke could only run after the funeral van,shouting desperately,” Zelea!Zelea…!”
Dust flew along the dirt road as the wind howled. His legs grew weak,but he still chased all the way to the end of the road,until he could no longer stand.
The woman he loved most had died and he didn’t even have the right to see her off.
It wasn’t until the following evening that he finally found Zelea’s tombstone in the cemetery.
That once radiant,smiling face was now a black–and–white portrait,quietly affixed to the center of
the stone.
Luke stood there,soulless and dazed,her image filling every corner of his mind.
He had missed her for a full six years. For the rest of his life,he no longer wanted to leave any regrets for himself.
Ignoring the dirt and filth,Luke dug up the grave behind him with his bare hands. Thick layers of grime were lodged under his nails as he held the urn,carrying it back home.
Back at the villa’s backyard,he buried it next to Jose’s urn.
This time,they would never be separated again.
3:10 pm GO
لبا
