Chapter 48
“Alex was the heir of the Orville Family when he was alive, so he would remain the ghost of the Orville Family after death. No matter how deep you hid him, I would dig six feet under into the ground to find him!”
After venting his anger, Charles continued his deed with Annette and left without looking back.
I stood there, looking at my son’s broken spirit floating beside me. My tears quickly blurred my vision without me even noticing. Before this, I had never thought that my ability to embalm corpses would one day be used on my own child. But now, it had truly happened.
The five–year agreement was the last chance I had given myself, a final bet on Charles‘ heart and on a future between us.
At the beginning, when he first came to me asking for help with the Orville Family curse, his eyes were full of hope and admiration.}
“A royal embalmer must be very powerful, right?” he had said.”
I had never seen eyes so bright, so my heart could not help but be shaken by them. However, I knew that my family’s inheritance could not be interrupted. I had to save people to build a good afterlife. So, I could only make a five–year agreement with him.
On the day I married into the Orville Family, their fortunes, which had been declining for a long time, suddenly began to rise again. The company grew quickly when I got married to him. Not to mention, my mother–in–law became much healthier.}
At that time, Charles gave me all the credit. In order to make me happy, even during his busiest times, Charles was willing to put down all his work and take me abroad for a honeymoon. Back then, he never said that royal embalmers were unlucky.
Instead, Charles only said that I was different from ordinary people. That I was someone special, someone worthy of being his beloved wife. It made me happy.
When I became pregnant, Charles hired three nannies to take care of me at home. For nine whole months, he did not work overtime even once. Every free moment he had, he spent it with me.
He told me that the child of a royal embalmer had to be powerful from the moment he was born. He said he would raise Alex to be his successor and give him the best of everything in the world. But later, when Annette appeared, everything began to change.}
Charles became colder and colder. Every time we were together, there was always a look of disgust and disdain in his eyes that he could not hide. My son was influenced by him and grew quieter and shyer.}}
I could not bear it anymore, so I finally found the courage to ask him about it once. But he just looked at me coldly and spoke with a tone full of contempt.}
“Joanne, the Orville Family is one of the most elite families in London. Marrying you, a royal embalmer, already made me lose face. You have no right to cause trouble.”
“Don’t think I don’t know. That so–called suppression curse was just an excuse for you to marry into the Orville Family. Your lies are so poor that they make me sick!”
When a man loved a woman, the woman would be treated like a treasure. When he stopped loving her, she would be treated like an old shoe. It was an old saying that turned out to be true. After all, I finally realized what it meant to be treated like an old shoe.}
I thought that if I could just make it through the five–year agreement, I could take my son and return to my old home and wake up from this dream. But now, I could not even protect my child. This dream, after all, had to end. Because I wanted to take Alex’s body away. Since the funeral we had planned had no burial, we intended to just hold a memorial service for Alex that was being held in the garden. The relatives of the Orville Family filled the mourning hall. One by one, they came forward to kneel, make a prayer and pick a rose to be put next to Alex’s photo.
But there was no sign of Charles.
My mother–in–law became so angry that her face turned red. She kept calling Charles again and again, cursing him loudly.
ER
“That stupid, ungrateful son! Today, I will make him kneel in front of Alex’s portrait and confess his guilt!“}
I knew Mrs. Orville truly loved Alex. She did not say a single word to blame me. Rather, she just kept calling and calling, but Charles never
answered.
There was only a cold, busy tone on the line.}
After running out of patience, my mother–in–law started contacting Charles‘ assistant. She turned on the speakerphone as the assistant’s helpless voice echoed throughout the mourning hall.
“Mrs. Orville, today is Miss Grey’s prenatal check–up appointment. So, Mr. Orville-”
Before he could finish speaking, Charles‘ angry voice came through.
“Does the young Mrs. Orville have to wait in line when she is pregnant? Don’t blame me for withdrawing my investment and shutting down the hospital if you dare to make Annette wait! Throw out all the other patients! I don’t want to see anyone else!“}
“Today, there can only be one pregnant woman in the obstetrics and gynecology department. It has to be Annette.“}
