Chapter 3

Jordan and Ansel stayed out for the rest of the night. When Sabrina came out of the room the next day, she saw the empty living room. Just then, her phone vibrated. She checked it to see a message from Jordan. "I left early for a meeting at the office, babe. I also dropped Ansel off at kindergarten. Breakfast is on the table—remember to eat it." She didn't expose his horrible act. Instead, she replied with an "OK" before leaving the house. She didn't have the time to put up with their circus act—she had things to do. Sabrina took a cab to a crematorium. She wanted to make a reservation. The employee asked her who the deceased was as they recorded the information in the system. She said indifferently, "It's me." The employee faltered and gave her a pitying look. It was sad that such a young woman was making preparations for her death. The employee wondered if she had a terminal illness. Sabrina ignored this and continued, "Could you send someone to No. 9, Lightwater Villas on the 22nd of October to pick up my body for cremation?" "What should we do with the ashes? Should we inform your family, or…" Sabrina shook her head. "No, that's not necessary. I want you to scatter my ashes after the cremation—I'll pay extra for that." Her soul would be extracted from the mission world when it was time to leave, and her physical body would die. Despite that, she wanted to disappear from this world so thoroughly that Jordan and Ansel wouldn't even have anything to remember her by. She left the crematorium after paying. Then, she saw three people sitting nearby. Jordan had his arms around Holly as he coaxed her gently while Ansel was considerately drying Holly's tears. It was such a heartwarming sight that it was almost as if they were a family. Things would've been perfect if she hadn't interrupted them. She asked, "What are you guys doing?" Jordan and Ansel panicked when they saw her. The former hurriedly released Holly, and the latter shot to his feet. The two stood with their backs straight, immediately distancing themselves from Holly. Sabrina approached them and looked at Jordan. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" She turned to Ansel. "And aren't you supposed to be in kindergarten?" Jordan stepped forward, the slightest hint of anxiety in his tone as he said, "Don't get the wrong idea about this, Rina. I ran into Ms. Rivers while on my way to drop Ansel at kindergarten. I saw her crying her heart out, so I asked her what happened. "She told me that her loved one had just passed away and she didn't know what to do. That's why I brought her here. I was only comforting her earlier." Ansel tugged on Sabrina's shirt, saying pitifully, "It's true, Mom. Dad only brought Holly here because he pitied her. Don't be mad at us, okay?" Holly dried her tears at this and looked at Sabrina in trepidation. She bit her lip and said, "It's all my fault, Mrs. Faust. I didn't mean to keep Mr. Faust and Mr. Ansel from their work and studies. I was in a lot of pain because of my loved one's death, and they were comforting me. Please, don't be mad at them." There wasn't anything wrong with her explanation, but the lie was exposed when an employee approached her with an urn of ashes. "Your dog's ashes are here, Ms. Rivers." Sabrina glanced at the urn and asked, "So, this is the loved one you guys mentioned?" Holly took the urn and clenched her fists around it. Her earlier sorrowful expression now became an awkward one. She was about to say something when Jordan said, "The dog was with Ms. Rivers for over a decade, Rina. I'm sure it was just like family to her." Sabrina glanced at him without saying anything else. After that, the four got into the car and headed to a restaurant for lunch. Halfway to their destination, Jordan suddenly remembered something and turned to Sabrina. "Why were you at the crematorium, Rina?" She mocked herself in her heart. It was funny that it had taken him so long to think about asking this. She looked at Holly, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, and said, "My friend's dog died, too. She was so overwhelmed by her sadness that I had to be there on her behalf."