I felt sick seeing them like this, so I walked over to him and tried to leave.

On the narrow stairs, Linda suddenly stopped me.

"Rachel, my dog, Willie, died during delivery yesterday. Both she and her puppies died. I thought Gary might save them, but I didn't expect them all to..."

"Rachel, don't be angry with Gary. It's all my fault. I should be more considerate."

She looked sincere, but it only showed that she never really respected me as Gary's wife.

Her eyelashes were still wet from weeping. I could tell she was actually smug about it.

"That dog will die sooner or later with you as its master."

There was a famous pet hospital downstairs of Linda's apartment. If the dog had been sent for treatment in time, how could it have died of delivery?

I was just being honest, but Gary's face darkened.

"Where's your manner, Rachel? I can't believe you are so vicious! Linda lost her beloved dog and was so sad that she almost became sick. Not only did you not sympathize with her, but you also deliberately stabbed her in the heart. You should apologize to Linda now!"

Gary had the nerve to force me to apologize to Linda just for a dog whose cause of death was unknown. How shameless he was!

I suppressed my anger and tried to avoid him.

Gary was stunned for a moment when he saw that I didn't cry, make a fuss, or apologize. Then he seemed to think of something and grabbed my clothes.

He almost made me fall.

"You're getting bolder these days. I just didn't spend time with Mia yesterday. What's the big deal? I've already taken the time to say happy birthday to her. What else do you want from me? You always make a big deal out of such things. Do you still want me to be your husband?"

"I see. It was a great blessing for Mia to hear her father say happy birthday to her!" I thought.

"I won't make trouble anymore, and I don't want you anymore!"

I rubbed my sprained ankle and answered him calmly.

Gary then realized that his action just now caused me to sprain my ankle. He squatted in front of me and said, as gently as he could,

"I don't want you to always act like a shrew in front of Linda. She was already sad about losing Willie. You know how much she loved that dog. She said that the puppies in Willie's belly were still alive, so I let Mia wait for you there. Mia understood my anxiety, and I promised her that if I rescued the puppies, I would let her have one. She also urged me to rescue the puppies quickly. Even Mia didn't blame me, so why can't you be more tolerant? I will go back early tonight to celebrate Mia's birthday. What do you say?"

It had been so many days. If Gary had ever returned home, he would have found that Mia was gone.

But all he cared about was Linda, and my daughter was nothing compared to a dog in his heart.

"That's okay. She won't be able to have any birthdays again."

After saying this, I stood up and left.

Even though my ankle was aching, I still pretended nothing was wrong.

I didn't want to show my weakness in front of someone who didn't love me. That would only give Gary more chance to hurt me.

Seeing that I wasn't listening, Gary lost his patience again.

"Can you please just listen to me? That's an unlucky thing to say. I will take time every year to accompany you and Mia on her birthday. As long as she wants me, I will do my best to satisfy her. Is that enough?"

Maybe it was my indifferent attitude that made Gary realize that something was wrong. I loved Mia so much. In the past, I would have been thrilled when he made promises to me and Mia, even though I knew they were all empty promises.

But Mia was gone, and I could no longer tell myself that his willingness to make such a promise showed that he cared for us.

My daughter's death shattered my illusion, and I could no longer deceive myself.

"Please take a look at the divorce agreement. I'll only take what's mine. If there's no problem, just sign and go through the process!"

I sent him the screenshot of the scheduled divorce date and then strode away.

It was so painful that I felt like walking on the edge of a knife.

My suffering was almost over.

Looking at my back, Gary frowned. He pressed his twitching eyelids and called Wade, his secretary.

"Wade, help me buy a pure white Pomeranian, send it to my daughter, and tell her that it's a puppy I saved. Also, tell her to wait for me at home."

As soon as I reached the gate of the cemetery, I received a call from the cemetery manager.

"Ms. Chase, your daughter's grave has been dug up!"

I was enraged by those words. After confirming it again, I started to feel dizzy.

I almost ran to Mia's grave.

The master said Mia was destined to lack water element in her life. So, he suggested we call her Mia.

It was also the master who helped me to choose that spot in the cemetery for Mia.

Mia loved puppies, so I personally carved Mia's name and made her tombstone in the shape of a puppy.

"Gary, the master was right! Even the tombstone is carved in the shape of a puppy. It seems that this is the resting place chosen by God for my dog!"

When I arrived there in a panic, Linda had already put the dog's urn into Mia's grave, and Mia was nowhere to be found.

Gary was helping to re-bury the urn with a shovel in his hand.

I rushed over and snatched the shovel from Gary's hand.

"Stop it! Do you know what you are doing?"

I glared at him with bloodshot eyes and roared,

"Do you know whose grave this is? How dare you dig it?"

My extremely ferocious look scared Linda so much that she shrank behind Gary.

She grabbed Gary's hand and explained to me with tears in her eyes,

"What can I do to get you off my back, Rachel? I just want to find a place to bury my poor dog and her three puppies. Why are you making things difficult for us for an unknown dog? This tombstone clearly shows it belongs to a newly dead dog. I've already paid a fortune to the family as compensation, and the family has also agreed to let us dispose of the urn at will. Why are you here to stop us now?"

Linda's words made Gary feel uncomfortable for a moment, but he didn't refute her.

I finally understood that in Gary's heart, our daughter Mia was no better than a dog, even if she died!

If Gary looked at the tombstone, he would see Mia's name on it.

Having no hope for him, I got on the ground and started digging the soil that Gary had just buried.

He actually buried my Mia so carelessly!

When I was about to put Mia into the grave that was supposed to be Mia's, Gary could no longer hold his temper. He pushed me to the ground.

"Rachel, you are such an unreasonable lunatic! If you make trouble again, I will really divorce you!"

I laughed. I would love a divorce.

I slapped him hard on the face.

"Gary, no one is capable of hurting his own children, but you are an exception!"

Seeing that I was about to dig out the dog's urn, Linda was so anxious that she covered her chest and cried.

"Gary, I...I don't think I can hold on any longer. Please help my dog!"

Gary covered his face, which I slapped, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and kicked me in the lower abdomen fiercely.

"You crazy woman! You hurt Linda over a stray dog. If anything happens to Linda, I'll make you pay with your life!"

My abdomen was cramped with pain, and cold sweat ran down my cheeks.

"Okay. I'll let her pay with her own life today!"

I could imagine that I was like a monster at that moment.

Perhaps my resolute tone frightened Gary. He cleared his throat and offered me a way out.

"As long as you help Linda to settle her dog's grave and apologize to her, I will forgive you for what you did today!"

His condescending look seemed ridiculous to me.

He asked me to dig my daughter's grave and apologize to the murderer who indirectly killed my daughter!

At that moment, hopelessness and sorrow took over me.

I spit on the dog's urn and said in a rebellious tone,

"Bah!"

"Oh my gosh, Gary. Is this really the well-educated and virtuous wife you spoke of? Even street shrews are better than her. How did you fall for such a disgusting and vicious person? Didn't she want a divorce? Just give her that and offer her some money to get rid of her. Or, she may sabotage your company's listing!"

Going public was Gary's obsession. Linda surely knew Gary well. Her remarks made Gary make up his mind immediately.

"Rachel, your behavior today is no different from that of a lunatic. For the old times' sake, I will ask the lawyer to give you more property, but I'll have Mia's custody. I want you to stay away from Mia in the future. I don't want her to know that her mother is a lunatic!"

I suddenly laughed.

What a stupid fool Gary was!

The divorce agreement clearly stated that we only had to settle marriage property, no child custody included.

"Gary, have you ever thought about why Mia isn't here with me?"

Gary was stunned by my words.

Mia had always been inseparable from me since childhood.

He just frowned and said impatiently,

"It's a good thing that you didn't bring Mia with you. If she saw you like this, she would have psychological trauma for the rest of her life! You could have a good life, but you had to end that for such a small matter. I'm Mia's father, and I'll always be that. We have a close relationship, so why would she care so much about a birthday? You don't understand how much I've given up for her. I work so hard to make money so that I can spend more time with her in the future. But you, on the other hand, just moan at home every day and instill worthless ideas into her!"

Gary looked at me, looking sorry. When he was still trying to manipulate my mind, I yelled at him,

"Just drop the act! Your hypocrisy makes me sick! If you cared about Mia, you wouldn't leave the four-year-old girl at the beach. That's the beach, you know?"

"What's wrong with the beach? There was no shark or tsunami. Why are you making such a fuss? It's such a waste of time talking to you!"

Gary was utterly disappointed in me. He kicked Mia's urn hard.

As a result, the urn broke into pieces, and the ashes stuck to his shoes. In disgust, Gary kicked the urn away.

"No!"

I rushed over, but I failed to protect Mia. The ashes spread in the air and were carried away by the wind.

Gary's foot also landed on my lower abdomen.

I couldn't help but vomit blood.

Something warm flowed out from my lower body.

I lay on the ground helplessly, as if dead.

I raised my hand and grabbed at the air for a long time, but I couldn't grab Mia.

At that moment, my tears finally burst out.

I should have always stayed with my Mia. I shouldn't have left for the bathroom, and I shouldn't have left her grave.

I was overwhelmed by regret while my husband was still burying the dog.

Gary's sinister face told me that he wanted to kill me.

Linda folded her arms and looked down at me.

"Rachel, you've gone so far for a stray dog's ashes. That's impressive. I finally see why you are here. You came to pick a fight with me today!"

Her foot stepped on my lower abdomen, exerting force, and blood gushed out from under my body.

Mia passed away, and the baby in my belly, who was more than a month old, also left me. It seemed that I had no soft spot left.

I picked up a stone on the ground and smashed it hard at Linda!

I hit her nose, and her face was soon covered with blood.

Gary was clearly furious this time. Without saying a word, he hit me on the head with the shovel in his hand.

The sharp pain came to me.

This was the first time he hit me, and it was fatal.

"Rachel, if you are not in your right mind, go get treatment. Why are you being so dramatic here instead of staying home to look after Mia? That blood bag under you must have cost you a lot of money, right?"

So, he saw the blood-soaked in the mud beneath me, but he thought I was pretending.

He didn't know that he had killed another child of ours with his own hands!

"You like to act in the cemetery, then go ahead! I'll sign the divorce paper today and have someone send it over! As for Mia, don't even think about seeing her again! She's unlucky to have a mother like you!"

After that, Gary took out his cell phone.

"Wade, don't buy the puppy yet. Go to my house and pick up my daughter. I'll come back and buy one with her. From now on, don't let Rachel approach my daughter unless I agree! She can't even look at Mia from a distance!"

Wade hesitated and remained silent on the other end of the phone, which annoyed Gary even more.

"You think I don't know that you told Rachel about my whereabouts, huh? If you don't want to be fired, just do as I say!"

Wade made up his mind and burst out,

"Mr. Durant, your daughter drowned in the sea on her fourth birthday."

"I just found out that the cemetery where Ms. Linda Finn wanted to bury her dog is where your daughter Mia's ashes are buried!"

"Besides, your wife is already one month pregnant!"