Chapter 2

After contemplating my strategy, I applied decent makeup, changed into a black velvet long dress, and called a ride to Claire's mother's funeral.

I knew Lucas too well. He cared a lot about his image and had repeatedly asked me to cooperate with him in public to maintain his good guy facade.

So even if we broke up, he would push all the blame onto me to justify being with Claire. How could I let them have their way?

I should have known when we first argued about Claire that Lucas was no longer the person who had pulled me out of the mire.

At the funeral, Lucas was surprised to see me but still happily came to greet me. Before his hand could touch me, a petite figure like a broken-winged butterfly darted from behind me and threw herself into Lucas's arms.

Lucas's face froze for a moment but quickly returned to normal, comforting the girl in his arms stroke by stroke. Muffled sobs could be heard, and I didn't miss the flash of tenderness in his eyes.

I watched the two calmly. This scene was within my expectations. After all, one of Claire's favorite hobbies was using her pitiful face to seduce other people's boyfriends and then cruelly humiliate the abandoned girls.

Claire raised her head after crying enough, seemingly just noticing my presence. She shrank back like a frightened rabbit and timidly spoke.

"When did you arrive, sis? I'm sorry, I was too emotional just now and couldn't control myself."

As she finished speaking, her eyes reddened again. To an uninformed observer, it would seem like I had done something to her.

"Couldn't control yourself so you had to cry in my boyfriend's arms?"

Perhaps not expecting me to speak so bluntly, Claire choked for a moment and stepped out of Lucas's embrace.

"I overstepped. I'm sorry."

As she spoke, large teardrops fell one after another. I could almost hear the murmurs of the people around us, as it looked like I was bullying her.

"Summer, you've gone too far," Lucas frowned, his large hand reaching out to pull the crying woman back into his arms, softly comforting her.

This was exactly the effect I wanted. I stopped paying attention to the two and casually found a seat where I could still see their interactions. They made quite a handsome couple.

"Monster, take my punch!"

A pain shot through my waist. I turned to see a snotty-nosed kid hitting me with an action figure.

"Scared now, big monster? Pew pew pew!"

The boy, seeing that I didn't react, became more enthusiastic and even started kicking my shin. Not far away, a woman who seemed to be the boy's mother saw that I wasn't reacting and rolled her eyes before continuing to chat with the person beside her.

"Little one, this isn't right, you know." I patiently tried to reason with him, but the boy not only didn't stop but even tried to spit at me.

Seeing his mischievous nature, I suddenly had an idea.

"Hey kiddo, can you shoot lasers like the action figure?"

The child was drawn in by the topic and sniffled, imitating the action figure's laser-shooting pose.

"No, no, when the action figure shoots lasers, there's light. Look, just like that," I pointed to a group of people preparing to light firecrackers not far away. They were a group of Asian Americans who had the custom of lighting firecrackers to ward off evil spirits in their country. As soon as I finished speaking, the firecrackers started crackling, with sparks of light reflecting in the child's eyes.

"See? That's much more fun."

Seeing his excited look, I pretended nothing had happened and quietly moved away from him. After all, a child's mind is unpredictable, and no matter what, I didn't want to be implicated.

Sure enough, after the firecrackers finished, it wasn't long before there was a loud bang. The urn at the center of the memorial hall crashed heavily to the ground, gray-white dust scattering everywhere.

The entire place fell silent. Even Claire couldn't have imagined this scene, standing there dumbfounded. Only the child's giggles could be heard.

Perfect.

I slowly walked up to Claire and leaned close to her ear, whispering softly.

"Your mom just went boom~"