Chapter 4

After sending Lily to the county boarding school, I brought out all of Dean’s clothes, pants, and the mahogany furniture he’d custom-made.

“Half-new, plus a sturdy vintage bicycle! Come take a look!”

People were drawn in, but before they could ask too many questions, Leo shouted at them. As the new factory manager, he was trying to make a show of support for Melody, inviting everyone to the most expensive restaurant in the county.

“What are you doing here? These are Dean’s things! How dare you drag them out into the street to sell?!”

Leo frowned, rummaging through my makeshift stall. He stopped cold when he saw a Hero fountain pen.

“You’re selling this pen? Don’t you remember it was a gift Dean gave you on his first day assigned to the countryside?”

I stared at the crowd pressing around my stall. For some reason, the bum at the back of the line looked suspiciously like Dean, who was supposedly dead. Was he following Melody to the factory, even in his fake death, just to protect her from potential trouble?

I scoffed internally. What a devoted husband.

“To put food on the table, I even sent Lily away. What’s so precious about a dead man’s belongings that I can’t sell them?”

Many county leaders were nearby. If I blurted out that Dean was having an affair with Melody, she could easily accuse me of slander. I had more important things to do. Lying about selling my daughter would also make them less likely to target Lily.

“Dean just died, and you’re already rushing to sell your daughter and his things? Even a brothel madam wouldn’t be as heartless as you!”

The bum at the back of the line scoffed, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, making everyone around him start to murmur.

“Who acts like this as a wife? Factory Manager Dean just died, and she’s already rushing to divide the property. Does she think she won’t live to see tomorrow?”

“The new factory manager said she’s just jealous of her husband and his sister-in-law, that’s why she’s doing this to be spiteful. Such a rotten heart, no wonder she could only give birth to a worthless dead weight.”

Leo cleared his throat, waiting for the crowd to quiet down. “You can sell them, but you have to give half the money to Melody.”

“She came all the way from the city. Dean is gone, so she’s rightfully entitled to half of the things in his house.”

“Exactly,” the bum at the back of the line said. “Anyway, you can’t have any more children, so why don’t you just give all the money to Melody? Let her raise her son properly. Maybe he can even become a top scholar for the family name.”

I sneered, picking up a teapot and smashing it on the ground. The crowd gasped. I then picked up the fountain pen and threw that down too.

“Don’t you all think I’m disloyal for selling my dead husband’s belongings? Fine then! I’ll just smash it all and burn it for Dean, so he’ll remember how good I was to him down there!”

The boisterous crowd instantly fell silent. Melody, having enjoyed the show, came out smiling to smooth things over.

“Sister-in-law still hasn’t gotten her job assigned, and Big Brother Dean is gone. She finally had a daughter, but even Lily has been sent away.”

“She’s tormented herself into looking like an eighty-year-old just to put food on the table. How could I possibly ask her for money?”

She placed her almost-empty jar of vanishing cream in my hand, her fair, soft fingers pulling out a brand new, crisp hundred-dollar bill.

“I’m sorry, sister-in-law, I don’t have anything smaller.”

“Please, help me clean the pen and figure out how much change you owe me.”

I heard the bum behind me let out a mocking chuckle. Without a word, I handed her the pen and the bill. Melody, not getting the reaction she wanted, looked disappointed and walked away with Leo. The bum, who had been dogging their every step earlier, stayed behind. He picked up the suit jacket with red embroidery and examined it closely.

“You recognized me, didn’t you? How did you know I wasn’t dead?”

He pulled down his scarf and, without waiting for my answer, continued, “While the things haven’t been sold yet, take Melody and Kyle home and treat them well. When I’m done with my business and come back, I might even be magnanimous enough to pay you a nanny fee.”

“But if you keep being this stingy, haggling over every penny, then your husband will truly be dead. No matter what happens to you and Lily, I won’t come back to look at either of you again!”

I snatched a needle from my sewing kit on the table and jabbed it into his palm. Grabbing his arm, I burst out laughing.

“You’d better be dead, Dean! Otherwise, I’ll make Melody pay back every single cent of the money you gave her for five years!”