“Don’t forget that when your precious Bruce found out Jacob went blind, he disappeared without a trace! Yet here you are, still taking care of Jacob so devotedly.”

Rosie’s face turned red with anger. She slapped me so hard that people outside peeked in to see what was happening.

I ran my tongue over my lip and tasted blood.

“Jacob went blind because of Evelyn! If she hadn’t pushed him, he wouldn’t have gone through this. While you’re enjoying your life, I’m here paying for her mistakes!

“Bruce didn’t abandon Jacob! Jacob grew up without a mother, and Bruce raised him on his own. He’s not the kind of person you think he is!” Rosie’s voice grew louder.

“Evelyn got what she deserved. She has to pay for what she did.”

My heart sank. I opened my mouth to respond, but then I heard footsteps behind me.

“Jacob, you can see again?! I came as soon as I heard!”

Bruce burst into the room. He bumped my shoulder without a glance and went straight to Rosie. He hugged her tightly in excitement.

Rosie looked surprised. Tears flowed down her face as she hugged Bruce tightly. Jacob, who had my daughter’s eyes, waved his hands in excitement and called out, “Daddy,” to him repeatedly.

The scene in front of me pierced my heart. They looked more like a family than we ever did.

Rosie wiped her tears and turned to me. She spoke in a softer voice. “You should go back and have Evelyn cremated. There’s no reason for you to stay here.”

I forced a bitter smile, stepped closer, and looked her straight in the eye. “Give me back my daughter’s eyes. I never agreed to donate them.”

Just as I finished speaking, Bruce grabbed my collar. His expression twisted in anger. He gritted his teeth and spat, “If it weren’t for Evelyn, Jacob wouldn’t have been blind for a long time!

“This is what she deserves! Who does she think she is, wanting her eyes back? You should have sent her off sooner, so she wouldn’t have to deal with a neglectful father like you!”

Rosie quickly stepped in front of us to keep us apart. She was afraid I would lash out at Bruce. “I signed the papers. If you want to blame somebody, blame me. But Bruce is right. Eve owed Jacob.

“Everyone saw what happened. Jacob lost his sight because Evelyn pushed him down the stairs. Bruce didn’t even press charges. What more do you want from us?”

“Eve is your daughter too. As her mother, you should—”

Before I could finish, Bruce interrupted me. He pulled Rosie behind him and looked at me with a sneer. “Jacob just had surgery, and Rosie is his primary doctor. She can’t go anywhere.”

It was clear what he meant.

Even though I already knew what had happened, I still found myself looking at Rosie.

She turned away and picked up Jacob without hesitation. Without looking at me, she said, “I’m not just your wife. I’m a doctor, too. I have to take care of my patients.”

At that moment, my heart felt completely crushed. Neither I nor Evelyn mattered to her as much as her first love.

I took a step back. I felt my eyes starting to sting. The three of them were still happily chatting away. Meanwhile, my daughter lay cold in the morgue.

I turned away. The tears I had been holding back finally fell and streamed down my face. I contacted the crematorium to make arrangements for Evelyn.

In the end, I stayed with Evelyn in the morgue. I changed her into the dress I had brought back from my business trip. It was a birthday gift for her. During our video call, she had shown me the style of the dress she wanted. Unfortunately, she could not see how beautiful she looked in it.

When I lifted her sleeve, I froze. I noticed how skinny Evelyn had become. Her arms were covered with tiny needle marks. I had never seen anything like that before.

Rosie was humming when she got home late that night. She was in a great mood.

She shivered as soon as she stepped inside.

“Tom! Why are you blasting the air conditioning in the middle of winter?”

A second later, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“What’s wrong with you?! Didn’t I tell you to take her to the crematorium? Why would you bring her here? Isn’t it creepy to have a dead body on our couch?!”

Rosie pressed herself against the wall. Her chest heaved as she stared at Evelyn’s body like it was some kind of nightmare.

I calmly adjusted Evelyn’s dress and smiled.

“Rosie, what are you afraid of? She’s your daughter too, right? Or did you do something to her? Are you afraid she’ll come back for revenge?”

“Enough with that nonsense!”

Rosie was visibly shaken. She tried to hold it together, but she still kept her distance from me and Evelyn.

“I’m just as heartbroken as you are, but there’s a time and a place for everything. Why bring her body home? She’ll start to decompose! Is this how you want Ev to leave us? Without any dignity?”

I kept my eyes on Rosie’s face. She did not look sad. She just wanted to get Evelyn cremated as quickly as possible.

I did not budge. Rosie thought I was just being difficult.

“Tom, can’t you understand me for once? I had five surgeries today. I’m exhausted! Can you stop acting crazy?”

Sure, she was busy at the hospital.

I nodded, took a deep breath, and pulled out my phone. It had been on the whole time.

Evelyn had just passed today. Still, Rosie could not wait to have dinner with her first love and his son to celebrate Jacob’s restored vision. Bruce posted photos on social media, and the comments were flooded with well-wishes.

Rosie glanced at the photo. She looked uneasy, but she brushed it off like it was nothing. “The dead can’t come back. Instead of causing a fuss here, why don’t you just take Ev to be cremated right away—”

“I want an autopsy.” I cut her off and gently lifted Ev’s sleeve to reveal rows of needle marks.

“I’ve never seen these before. What have you done to her?”

Rosie’s expression darkened. She sneered and tossed her bag at my feet. “You were always away on business trips. Did you ever care about Ev? She was sick all the time, and she constantly needed hospital visits. And now, you’re questioning me?

“She went so suddenly. There was no saving her. My colleagues can back me up on that!

“You’ve yelled and caused a scene. Just let Ev rest.” She shoved me and tried to take Ev, but I pushed her away.

“I want an autopsy. If she was always sick, where are the medical records? You never told me any of this. Why did she have to suffer like that?” My voice cracked with anguish. My grief was too much to bear.

Rosie did not say a word when I confronted her. She glanced at Evelyn for a moment and quickly looked away.

Then she said in a loud voice, “I’m a doctor. Evelyn has been dead for a while. Do you really think an autopsy will bring her back?”

Her voice was so loud that it caused the family photo to fall and shatter on the floor. The tension in the room intensified.

Just then, Rosie’s phone rang.

When she saw who was calling, her frown eased. A smile spread across her face. It was Bruce. I could hear Jacob’s happy laughter in the background.

“Mommy, I miss you. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Sure enough, Rosie said yes right away before hanging up. She turned back to Evelyn on the couch. I could see some disgust in her eyes.

Before she could speak, I calmly said, “Let’s get a divorce. Then you can go be with your first love and take care of a kid that isn’t even yours.”

To be honest, it had been one-sided for me all these years. I married Rosie and did everything I could to make her happy, but it never seemed to work.

I had to beg her to have a child with me. She always thought I wanted to trap her with a child. She was especially cold to Evelyn.

Rosie would not even let Evelyn call her “Mommy.” Evelyn could only call her “Ms. Rosie.” But Jacob, who was not her biological child, could call her “Mommy” without a second thought.

“Tom, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m Ev’s mom. How could I possibly hurt her?

“Both of us should calm down.”

After she said that, she grabbed her bag and left. I knew Rosie could easily abandon me and Evelyn for Bruce and Jacob.

I stood there in a daze. I used to look forward to coming home because, as soon as I walked through the door, I could hear Evelyn cheerfully calling me “Daddy.” Since her passing, the house felt incredibly cold.

After that incident, I did not see Rosie for several days. The autopsy needed to follow certain procedures, so Evelyn had to lie in an ice coffin.

I refused to believe that Evelyn would die without a reason.

One day, I got off work and discovered that Evelyn’s body was missing. I felt flustered and lost as I opened the home surveillance footage.

To my shock, I saw Barbara Caddel, my mother-in-law. She looked around the house. Seeing that no one was home, she and Rosie took Evelyn’s body away.

My heart sank when I saw that. I called Rosie, but she hung up right away.

Without hesitating, I jumped in my car and drove straight to the crematorium. Rosie must have felt guilty. That was why she wanted to get Evelyn cremated so quickly.

When I arrived at the crematorium, I saw Rosie and Barbara there.

Barbara covered her face and cried heart-wrenchingly. She pounded on my chest and cursed at me. “What did you do to my granddaughter? Why aren’t you letting her be cremated? Don’t you want her to rest in peace? If Rosie hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known what you were planning for Ev!”

Barbara loved Ev the most. She cared for her deeply. I felt especially grateful to Barbara.

“Mom, you love Ev so much. You have no idea what Rosie has done to her! Ev is covered in needle marks. She got weaker every year. I refuse to believe Rosie hasn’t done anything to her! Don’t stop me. I need to retrieve Evelyn’s body.”

As I said this, I tried to push past them, but Barbara pushed me back.

“You’re not going anywhere! Ev is also Rosie’s daughter. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt her!”

Barbara firmly blocked my way. The heat from the fireboxes around us made me uncomfortable. I understood the emotional connection between them. In the end, no matter how much Barbara loved Evelyn, I was the only one Evelyn had. I was the one who truly loved her.

I pursed my lips and ignored their attempts to stop me. I pushed past Barbara and rushed inside.

I saw that Rosie was about to push Evelyn into the incinerator. Barbara held tightly onto my sleeve.

“Rosie, hurry up and press the incineration button! Tom, you’re crazy! My granddaughter can’t be treated like this!”

“No, don’t cremate her! Rosie, that’s your daughter!”

I shouted in despair, but Rosie did not hesitate to press the incineration button. Flames surged in, and the heat made me instinctively close my eyes.