"It's you, stop pretending!
"Sneaking around at a cemetery? Grayson knows how to play, huh?
"Come on, when did you start fooling around with him?"
That's when I realized.
The woman standing in front of me was my so-called stepmother, Aria Powell.
My dad had described her as simple and kind-hearted.
After slapping me, she started throwing insults without caring about what was right or wrong.
Maybe she just loved my dad too much, so I tried to stay calm and explain, "You've misunderstood. Grayson is my father. I asked him to come here to pay respects to my grandmother."
As I spoke, I pulled out my ID to show her.
"I used to have the last name Perry, but I changed it. You can ask..."
Before I could finish, she kicked me in the stomach.
I doubled over in pain as she grabbed my hair.
"You're a real storyteller, huh? Different last names, and you still pretend to be his daughter.
"That kick was for my mother-in-law. To cover your tracks, you even cursed her to die?
"You're a real piece of work, homewrecker."
My dad didn't even know Grandma had passed. How could she?
I knew explaining wouldn't help now. I pulled my hair out of her grasp and looked at her seriously.
"Even if you don't believe me, do you think Grayson would sneak around in a cemetery?
"You should figure out what's going on before you get yourself into trouble."
She let out a laugh, tightening her grip on my hair, yanking harder.
"Oh, look at you, missy. Got some fight in you, huh?
"You know he's a CEO, huh? Maybe he's bored of fancy hotels and just wanted excitement in a cemetery. Why not?
"And you want me to ask him? You think he's going to admit to everyone that he came here to cheat on me?"
Everyone around burst into laughter.
"Fine, then let's call the police to figure it out."
I gritted my teeth, struggling to pull out my phone.
She slapped it out of my hand, and it fell.
She stomped on it with her high heel, shattering the screen instantly.
"Still trying to call for backup? You're pretty sly.
"I don't have time for this. Admit you're the mistress, kneel down, apologize, and write a promise to leave. Then, we'll be done here."
The crowd whispered among themselves.
"Kneel! Did it, but can't admit it?"
"So what if you're young? You think that makes you somebody?"
"Do you even realize how many families you homewreckers ruin? People like you should go extinct."
Aria got even more fired up by the crowd's words.
"Don't worry, ladies. Today I'll show her the price of climbing into another woman's bed."
When I didn't kneel, she kicked my leg.
I lost my balance, and my head hit Grandma's gravestone.
Blood started streaming from my forehead, staining the stone.
Grandma had been a clean freak when she was alive.
I desperately wiped the gravestone with my sleeve.
A few bridesmaids dragged me to Aria's feet, but she was staring intently at the gravestone like she had found something fascinating.
"Oh, look! The name on the stone is Stewart. So, this little tramp is a fatherless bastard who took her mom's last name.
"Ladies, this tramp didn't just come for excitement. She's visiting her mom! Isn't that rich?
"What kind of parents raise a daughter like this? Guess her mom deserved to die."
After saying that, Aria picked up a large rock and threw it at the gravestone.
"No..."
I screamed at the top of my lungs, but a few people held me down.
The gravestone shattered into pieces but didn't fall completely.
She kicked it hard.
The stone crumbled into dust on the ground.
"Feeling bad now? Should've thought of that earlier. Today I'll show your mom what kind of fate her little tramp daughter has."
She picked up a sharp piece and walked toward me, and I struggled, yelling, "Are you crazy? This is a crime. It's illegal!
"If you do this, you think Grayson will let it slide?"
Aria hiked up her skirt and kicked me in the face.
I fell to the ground, and she ground her high heel into my face.
"Who do you think you are, threatening me?
"Relying on that pretty face, huh? Haha, you're too young. Today, I'll show you what happens when you don't have that face anymore."
I struggled desperately, but a group of people pinned down my arms and legs.
Aria gritted her teeth and slashed my face.
The pain of my skin splitting open made me groan uncontrollably.
She pulled out a compact mirror and stood in front of me, satisfied.
"Mistresses don't deserve a face."
A long, deep gash stretched across my face like a fish's mouth.
Blood poured out, filling my mouth with a metallic taste.
She kicked me again, grinding dirt into the wound, the pain unbearable.
Dirt got into my eyes, and the pain made tears stream uncontrollably.
Through the blur, I caught a glimpse of Grandma's photo in the distance.
She was smiling so kindly.
"Grandma, I'm sorry. I was wrong.
You always hate noise.
It is my fault for disturbing your peace."
I reached out desperately for her picture, but Aria stomped on my hand.
"Still putting on a show? Your grandma? Yeah, right. Family, I say just ruining her face isn't enough—she needs to learn her lesson.
"Let this be a lesson for all unfaithful women.
"Her mom raised a shameless daughter, so she should be dead to repent with her."
"Ladies, get the tools we used for the garden renovation from the car."
In no time, they all stood in front of Aria, each holding a shovel or a pickaxe.
Ignoring the pain on my face, I grabbed her pant leg and begged.
"Please, whatever you want, take it out on me. Don't disturb the dead, I beg you."
"Get lost," she snapped, kicking me aside.
A light rain began to fall.
She grabbed the pickaxe, glancing at the sky. "Hurry up, we can't delay my wedding."
I was pinned down by several people, struggling helplessly, sobbing.
The rain, my tears, and blood all mingled together.
I felt angry, helpless, and full of guilt.
The raised grave was slowly flattened, then dug into.
My heart plummeted into despair.
My grandmother's urn was exposed before my eyes.
Aria reached for it. I lost it, biting the bridesmaid who was holding me down with all my strength.
She let go in pain, and I stumbled forward, crashing into Aria.
Aria lost her balance, stepping on her wedding dress. She fell to the ground.
I quickly shielded my grandmother's urn with my body.
"You wretch! My custom wedding dress!" Aria screamed.
Covered in mud, Aria's eyes burned with fury as she grabbed a shovel and slammed it onto my back.
Then, a crowd of people started kicking and punching me.
I held onto my grandmother's ashes tightly as the beating continued, feeling like my soul was being ripped from my body.
"Don't be afraid, Grandma. Even if I die, I'll protect you."
The wooden urn was now stained with thick, sticky blood.
I thought, I might really die here.
With all the strength I had left, I raised my head and glared at each one of them.
"You... you... and you...
"Don't worry. I'll remember all of you. Even if I become a ghost, I won't let you go."
Maybe it was the sight of my bloodshot eyes and the rage in my face that scared them.
They stopped.
But Aria kicked me in the back, sneering.
"Even if a ghost showed up today, it wouldn't stop my wedding or keep me from doing what's right.
"Trying to scare us with ghosts? Why hasn't your mom come back to help you?
"Is she ashamed of you, or just too useless? Want me to ask her for you?"
Her eyes blazing, she stepped forward to grab the urn from me.
I backed up a few steps, then seized a pickaxe and started swinging it wildly at them.
I didn't have much strength left, but I swore the first person who got close would know what happens to those who stand out.
Even Aria hesitated.
But she wasn't ready to back down.
She turned to a red-haired woman behind her.
"Layla, forget the $30,000 you owe me. Today, I want her to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
"Lily, didn't your husband need an investment for his project? I'll talk to Grayson about it later.
"Mila, your kid wants to get into that top school, right? I'll take care of it."
...
She rallied the group one by one, and just like that, they were all fired up again.
I swung the pickaxe, but they seemed to feel no pain.
In the end, during the struggle, Aria snatched the urn from me.
She raised it, ready to smash it to the ground.
I begged her desperately.
"No, please... I'm begging you..."
I dropped to my knees in front of her.
"I'm kneeling. I'll do anything you want.
"Whatever you want, I'll give it to you. Please, give it back. I'm begging you."
Aria looked smug.
"Oh? Not so tough now, huh? Where's that fight you had earlier?
"But it's too late now."
She kicked me to the ground, but her phone rang.
It was my dad.
"Aria, you could've at least told me you took my phone.
"Do you even know I've got important news to share?
"Stay where you are. I'm coming to meet you right now."
As soon as the call ended, everyone around her started panicking.
"Aria, let's get out of here! If Mr. Perry finds out what we did to his daughter, he won't let us off easy."
Aria stood frozen, not moving an inch.
"She's just a bastard. A homewrecker. If I let her go, do you think she'll leave me alone? She'll ruin my wedding for sure.
"This wedding is my dream. There's no way I'll let her ruin it."
She stared at me, thinking.
"Didn't you just say you'd give me whatever I wanted?
"Well... I want you to disappear."
Hearing Aria's plan, the group of women hesitated.
Aria scoffed.
"Not going to act? Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Grayson is my husband. If this mistress causes a scene, the worst that'll happen is a postponed wedding. He'll scold me a bit, but it'll blow over.
"As for you all... well, that's a different story.
"If I successfully marry Grayson today, I'll make sure none of you are left out. I'll take care of all of you."
Under her threats and bribes, the bridesmaids started digging, shovelful by shovelful.
My mouth was stuffed tightly, and I couldn't cry out for help no matter how hard I tried.
Before long, they threw me into a pit more than a meter deep.
My mouth was sealed shut.
I could barely breathe, staring at her with all the anger I had.
"Don't look at me like that. Blame yourself for getting involved with someone you shouldn't have."
She brushed the dirt off her clothes and said, "I wasn't planning on doing this, but you just had to provoke me over that urn.
"Since today is such a happy day for me, I'll grant your wish.
"You want this urn? Fine, I'll give it to you."
She laughed as she opened the urn.
Then she scattered Grandma's ashes all over me.
I curled my body up, trying to shield Grandma's ashes with my body.
But the ashes mixed with the rain and slid down beside me.
She ignored my muffled cries of pain.
Shovel after shovel of dirt was thrown on my face.
"I worked hard to climb up to Grayson. No one's taking him from me.
"I'm willing to do anything for him.
"Even if it means... killing.
"In your next life, be a good person. Don't try to be the other woman again."
The dirt slowly piled on top of me.
My vision grew darker and darker until there was no light left at all.
I was starting to suffocate.
Moments later, the sound of screeching brakes came from nearby.
Aria gave instructions.
"We're all in this together now.
"You all know what can and can't be said, right?
"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll take the blame."
I could hear my dad's voice getting closer.
"You're about to get married. Why are you here?
"What's with the headstone? Did you break it?"
Aria stammered, "Why would we break it? It was like this when we got here."
My dad's tone grew anxious. "Where's my phone?"
Aria quickly caught on.
"Oh, don't we have the same phone? I got a message telling me to come here but then realized I had mistakenly grabbed your phone.
"But no one was here. It must've been your competitor trying to mess with you."
Everyone chimed in, agreeing.
"So awful! Who makes you come to a cemetery on your wedding day? That's insane!"
"Yeah, Mr. Perry, let's go. Aria's shivering from the cold."
My dad stayed silent for a moment. After failing to reach me, he asked Aria, "Are you sure you didn't see anyone when you came here?"
Aria feigned ignorance.
"No, I didn't. You can ask the girls if you don't believe me."
The bridesmaids behind her all denied it immediately.
"There's no one else here but us, Mr. Perry. Don't scare us like that."
"Whoever brought you here to the cemetery is really awful."
"Grayson, there are so many guests waiting at the wedding. Time's almost up. Let's not keep them waiting."
