Chapter 4

Nana passed away in the early hours of the third day.

Before she went, she had a brief moment of absolute clarity.

Only Scott and I were in the room.

She weakly reached out, taking my hand and pulling Scott’s hand over to rest on top of mine.

"Scott... Elly is a good girl, but she keeps everything inside."

"Please don't make her carry things alone anymore."

Scott's eyes filled with tears. "I won't, Nana. I promise."

Nana then looked at me, her voice barely a whisper.

"Elly, don't be afraid... Even when I’m gone, you have to live a good life."

The tears I had been holding back finally poured down my cheeks.

She passed away peacefully.

Scott reached out to hug me, but I instinctively pulled away.

His arms hung in the air for a second before slowly dropping to his sides.

The funeral was arranged in a rush.

My parents flew in from out of town. Their first question wasn't whether Nana suffered at the end. Instead, they dragged me into a corner of the chapel.

My mom whispered urgently, "When is the Franklin family wire transferring the wedding fund? Your father's business is in a really tight spot right now."

I stared at her. "Nana just died."

Her expression soured.

"I know you're grieving, Elly, but the living still have bills to pay."

"Once you marry into the Franklins, our family will finally be secure."

Catherine, scrolling on her phone nearby, let out a chuckle.

"Mom, stop pushing her. Elly is too busy throwing a tantrum at Scott right now."

My dad frowned.

"The wedding date is set. All our relatives know. Don't embarrass us at a time like this."

An overwhelming wave of exhaustion washed over me.

They weren't worried about my happiness. They were worried about losing face if I called off the wedding.

And, of course, they were terrified of losing their cash cow.

At the church, Scott played the part of the perfect, grieving future grandson-in-law, looking even more solemn than my dad.

The relatives praised him, whispering about how lucky I was and how Nana had chosen well.

On the last day of the funeral services, Aurora showed up again.

Scott was stunned when he saw her. "Why are you here?"

Aurora said softly, "I wanted to pay my respects to her. Please don't be mad at me for showing up uninvited, Scott."

The surrounding relatives immediately began to whisper and stare.

Catherine leaned in close, mocking me. "Wow, Elly. Even his first love showed up. You sure have a lot of influence as the fiancée."

Aurora walked up to me, her eyes filled with a perfectly practiced look of sympathy.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Elly."

She glanced at Scott. "Scott must be exhausted from these past few days. Try not to make things too hard on him."

I looked at her and suddenly found myself smiling.

"Aurora, do you even know whose funeral this is?"

She blinked, taken aback.

I said, "My grandmother is the one lying in that casket. Not Scott."

Her face went pale. Scott instinctively stepped in front of her.

"Elly, Aurora is just trying to be nice."

I turned my eyes to him.

"So, her telling me not to make things hard on you is her being 'nice'?"

Scott choked on his words.

Aurora’s eyes pooled with tears, looking as though she was the one being bullied.

"I really didn't mean it that way..."

I didn't bother responding.

Arguing with them here would only turn Nana’s final send-off into a trashy soap opera.

On the drive back to Chicago, Scott insisted on driving me.

The silence in the car was suffocating.

Finally, he spoke. "We can postpone the wedding. We'll do it whenever you feel ready."

I stared out the window. "I never said I wanted to do it at all."

The car abruptly screeched to a halt by the curb. Scott’s face was incredibly dark.

"Elly, don't say things you don't mean just because you're angry."

"Nana just passed away. I don't want to fight with you."

"I am completely sober and rational, Scott. Let's call off the wedding."

He stared at me as if I had lost my mind.

"Just because of a group chat?"

"It’s not just that."

I looked at him and unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Scott, I didn't just decide to leave you out of the blue."

"I’ve just finally accepted the fact that you never truly wanted me in the first place."

I pushed the car door open and stepped out.

He jumped out of the car and grabbed my arm.

"Elly! Where do you think you're going?"

I peeled his fingers off my arm, one by one.

"Anywhere is better than sitting next to you."

That night, Scott called me over a dozen times.

I didn't answer a single one.

Finally, one last text lit up my screen.

【Marriage isn't a game, Elly. We will talk when you've calmed down.】

I stared at it for a long moment before replying with my final text:

【There is nothing left to talk about.】

Then, I put his number on Do Not Disturb.