Laura rushed over from the staff lounge the moment she heard.

“Felix, have you lost your mind? Doctors aren’t gods. Your mom died, and you want to blame me for it?”

I answered calmly, “I’m not blaming you. I just don’t want to stay married to you anymore.”

Laura frowned deeply, forcing down the anger rising in her chest.

“Anthony and I both did everything we could during your mom’s surgery. I know you can’t accept it right now, but don’t joke about divorce, okay?”

Beside her, Anthony finally seemed to understand what was happening. He let out a startled yelp and then pointed at his own nose blankly.

“Felix, if you’re not blaming Ms. Laurie, then are you blaming me for this?”

His eyes reddened, and he bent down, his hand covering his face.

“I’m useless. I couldn’t save Mrs. Hampton. It’s my fault. Felix, if you want to let it out on someone, let it out on me, but don’t divorce Ms. Laurie. Ms. Laurie is innocent!”

Laura quickly pulled him up and snapped at me, “Anthony is already under a lot of pressure because this happened. Do you really have to push him like that? You want to divorce me? Felix, get this straight. Your mom is gone, and your dad is old. Do you really think you’ll have your parents backing you up? You’d better get it in your head that the person you can rely on from now on is me, not those parents of yours who already have one foot in the grave!”

I looked at her quietly. Her ugly expression was reflected clearly in my eyes.

“Laura, you’ve finally spoken your mind. You’ve been eyeing my parents’ money all these years, eating, taking, and benefiting from them. And now that ridiculous pride of yours is acting up again. Honestly, I can’t stand the way you’re acting right now.”

Laura’s face instantly flushed red. Anthony, meanwhile, looked confused, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of us.

“Fine! Let’s get a divorce! Let’s do it now!” Laura wiped her face fiercely, her eyes bloodshot as she said, “You’ve got money, Felix. Good for you! You’d better pray your dad never gets sick. Don’t come begging me to treat him later. My door is closed!”

Before she left, she glanced at the mess of my mother-in-law’s body and made a call to the crematorium.

She sneered, “It’s just a useless pile of rotting flesh. Come and take it away quickly. This is a waste of the hospital’s space!”

Originally, I had wanted Laura to see her mother one last time, but now it seemed unnecessary.

A few hours later, the crematorium called me. I went to collect the ashes, set up a funeral for my mother-in-law, and notified Laura and the rest of the family. After all, we had been family through marriage, and as the son-in-law, I had done everything I could.

After spending the entire day preparing, I returned to the funeral hall, only to freeze in shock. Dog blood had been splashed all over my mother-in-law’s memorial portrait, and someone had crudely drawn a huge X across the face. The dark streak ran from the forehead all the way down to the chin, cutting straight across both eyes.

The long table meant for candles was now covered with beer cans and bags of chips. The speakers that should have been playing solemn songs were blasting eerie, discordant music instead.

“Ah, now that’s more like it!”

Anthony laughed as he kicked the urn aside. Ashes scattered across the floor. Then, he grabbed a paint marker and began scribbling all over the deceased's name until it was completely defaced. I stood there in a daze, staring at the scene in front of me with a lump in my throat.

At that moment, the door to the funeral hall was pushed open. Laura walked in on her high heels, her gaze sweeping across the chaos filling the room, yet there wasn’t the slightest hint of anger on her face. If anything, there was a faint, cruel smile hidden in her eyes.

Anthony winked at her and ran over eagerly, as if asking for praise. “Ms. Laurie, you said funerals shouldn’t be so depressing. Isn’t this creative of me?”

Laura walked up to the portrait. She looked at the face that had been defaced beyond recognition. She couldn’t realize at all that it was her own mother’s memorial photo. Casually, she straightened the frame before nodding in satisfaction. Her voice was calm and unhurried.

“Not bad. What’s the point of having a bunch of people crying here anyway? You should light the place up and make it lively. That way, she wouldn’t have died in vain.”

Even if the deceased wasn’t my own relative, the dead should be treated with dignity. Whoever it was, they didn’t deserve to be humiliated like this.

I stared straight at Laura, my voice trembling as I suppressed my anger. “How are you… laughing?”

Laura looked completely calm. She even chuckled as she replied, “This is supposed to be a celebration of life. Do we really need a bunch of people crying their eyes out for it to count as respect? Besides, your mom loved lively gatherings when she was alive. I’m just respecting her wishes.”

“A celebration of life?” I stepped closer and questioned, “This is a funeral. It’s a place for people to mourn, yet you turned it into this mess. You even defaced the memorial portrait so badly that no one can recognize who the deceased is anymore… and you call that respect?”

My voice kept rising until I was almost shouting. “You’re not comforting the dead. You’re insulting them!”

Anthony was stunned for a moment after being scolded, but soon enough, he smirked.

“Oh come on, why are you being so old-fashioned? It’s just a dead person. Why make such a big deal out of it?”

He looked completely unconcerned.

At that moment, I suddenly laughed and said, “If you don’t care, why should I bother interfering? Fine. Let’s do it your way and have a celebration of life.”

Laura paused for a second, her brows knitting slightly. She clearly didn’t notice the chill hidden in my words.

Instead, thinking that I had finally agreed with her, she smiled.

“Felix, you should’ve been this obedient and sensible earlier. Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll treat you well.”

Seeing that I wasn’t resisting anymore, Anthony immediately cheered and brought in a group of weird friends from who-knows-where. The only thing missing was someone starting a dance party right beside the urn.

I quietly turned and sat down, watching the ashes sticking to the bottoms of their shoes. My expression remained indifferent.

Right on schedule, the funeral celebrant walked in, holding a funeral service program in his hands. The moment he saw the scene in front of him, he froze in place.

“Well? What are you standing there for?” Laura said calmly. “Get started.”

The funeral celebrant forced himself to begin. “Everyone… today we gather here to… uh… celebrate the life of the deceased…”

A few people below couldn’t hold back their snickers.

“I’ve been to prank weddings before, but messing around at a funeral? That’s a first!”

“If the deceased knew her funeral was being turned into this circus, she’d probably never rest in peace!”

“Not even in death can she find peace. She must have plenty of enemies!”

Anthony laughed smugly and deliberately tried to provoke me.

“See? Even the funeral celebrant said it’s a celebration of life! Honestly, you’re just so uncultured, shouting your head off earlier. This kind of thing is popular overseas!”

Laura also glanced at me with disdain.

“Some people are just too stubborn. The person is already dead, yet they insist on putting on a bitter, grieving face. Who are they trying to impress? We went through so much effort to prepare such a thoughtful funeral for his mother, yet he still doesn’t appreciate it.”

I didn’t get angry. Instead, I spoke slowly and calmly. “My mother definitely wouldn’t like this ‘thoughtful’ funeral. As for whether your mother would like it, I wouldn’t know.”

Laura’s expression suddenly darkened.

“What do you mean by that?”

I simply smiled and didn’t answer.

She snorted. “You think being sarcastic will bring your mother back to life? How ridiculous.”

Seeing this, Anthony immediately grabbed Laura’s hand affectionately.

“Ms. Laurie, ignore him. He’s just jealous of you!”

At that moment, the funeral celebrant cleared his throat and moved on to the next part of the ceremony.

“Next, we invite the relatives and friends of the deceased to come forward and pay their last respects.”

With that, the main doors opened slowly, and a middle-aged couple walked inside. The moment Laura saw them, her face froze.

I stood up and walked toward them.

“Dad. Mom. You’re here. The funeral was Laura’s idea. She said her mom liked it this way.”