Willow had suffered a miscarriage, but she hurried back to Grace’s funeral without getting any rest. When she got there, she still wore her mourning clothes and kneeled next to thetter’s casket as she burned some of the letters she had handwritten to Grace.

    A breeze swept through, lifting the burned remains of the letters and scattering them to the wind in the dark.

    Willow lowered her gaze as tears dropped one after another. “Grandma, I hope you know how much I miss you. Be happy wherever you are now. I will write you a letter on every big day.”

    The funeral banner pped in the wind, its loud snaps reminding her of the sound the axe made when Grace used to chop wood. “Willow, dinner will be served in another two hours. The spaghetti is going to taste absolutely divine this year.”

    Willow’s heart ached so much that she couldn’t breathe. She could no longer hear Grace’s voice. Raising her head, she looked at the dark sky and screamed thetter’s name at the top of her lungs.

    Be that as it may, it wasn’t going to bring Grace back. Her appearance and smile were sealed in a ck–and–white picture for eternity. She would also continue to live on in Willow’s memories.

    Timothy and Heather did everything they could for Grace’s funeral. Laura also came all the way to the southern suburbs to attend it.

    The Chapmans turned away everyone from the Ziegler family, including Liam, Mnie, and even Julian. They were prohibited from taking onest look at Grace. The two families might have been coborative partners, but they had a fallout in the end.

    Eventually, it was time for them to bury Grace’s body. The sky was dark, and the earth held its breath.

    The Chapman family’s rtives and friends made their way here to pay their respects to Grace. She had always been cheerful, and she came from the south too. So, Timothy made a point to buy a batch of potenti and nted them around Grace’s grave.

    The bed of potentis looked tender, gentle, and beautiful. As they swayed gently with the wind, they soothed the living’s grieving hearts.

    Willow plucked a pink flower off and ced it in front of Grace’s tombstone. She forced a faint grin and said, “Grandma, look after yourself, wherever you are now.”

    A ck car was parked outside the cemetery. Julian wasn’t allowed to go inside. So, he watched from afar as Willow wore ck attire and wept in front of the tombstone. She was much skinnier, and the ck coat hung off her small frame.

    He stared at her belly, and his eyes gradually darkened. He also burned a handwritten letter for Grace at the side of the road. The wind was strong and lifted up the ashes, obscuring his eyes.

    Julian was dressed elegantly, but he kept kneeling at the side of the road. When he burned the letter, he kept clutching onto something. His fingers slowly opened, revealing the half–burned shoes that Grace had made for Landon.

    Holding the shoes tightly, he leaned forward and hunched in difort. No words could describe the regret and resentment in

    his heart.

    If he hadn’t taken Alicia to the hospital that day, Grace and Landon would still be alive. For that matter, Willow wouldn’t have grown this skinny either.

    However, regret wouldn’t change anything. Warm tears streamed down Julian’s cheeks. He was having severe stomach spasms, but he didn’t feel any pain. Behind his neatly trimmed hair, some strands of gray hair were barely visible.

    Julian’s hair turned gray in no time, and he wasn’t even 30 years old yet.

    After the funeral, the police came out with a conclusion for the case rather quickly. The arsonist was a young man in his 20s who didn’t have a proper job. However, he killed himself out of pure guilt by jumping into a river.

    Willow couldn’t ept this oue, and the Chapman family shared her sentiment. The thing was, the culprit was dead, which made the investigation much harder.

    Fortunately, Alicia was still prohibited from going overseas. Charlie and Nancy used various methods to get her out of the country, but they couldn’t seed. They looked to Julian for help, but he refused to see them.

    A few more days, and it would have been the New Year.

    Mnie actually fell ill because she lost her grandson. Her body was searing hot, but she was still calling out to his name gently, “Landon! Oh, Landon. My poor boy.”

    Liam was disheartened when he heard her mutterings. He did something out of character andforted her. “You’ve been dreaming.”

    After she woke up from her dream, her back was covered in sweat. She said with a frightened expression, “Liam, I dreamed that Landon was still with us. He was alive and well in Willow’s belly. It’s just that he couldn’t get any nutrition because she wouldn’t eat anything.

    “Landon is so skinny and petite that he looked downright pitiful. Liam, we should drop by Willow’s ce and persuade her. He will have a chance to grow up properly if she’s willing to feed herself.”

    Liam felt like someone had stabbed his heart. “It was just a dream. Landon is gone.”

    He missed his grandson too, but destiny had just yed them for a fool.

    Mnie leaned on Liam’s chest and wailed at the top of her lungs.

    At that moment, Julian arrived home and coincidentally heard her crying. His face immediately turned pale, and he remained outside for a long time. Eventually, he decided he would leave.

    It was New Year’s Eve today. The faint but cheerful cracking of fireworks could be heard in the distance. Judging by the joyful sounds, everyone was gearing up for the arrival of a brand new year.

    Be that as it may, the Ziegler family had just lost Landon, and Mnie had fallen ill as well. They were simply not in the mood to celebrate it.

    Julian walked in the inpatient building’s hallways and made his way to the outpatient building’s exit. To his surprise, however, he bumped into Willow.

    She was still in ck attire, and Heather was with her. She was so skinny that her chin was sharp and defined.

    Julian slowly walked over and stopped next to Willow. He gulped twice before he said gently, “It’s very cold out. Why didn’t you wear thicker clothes? You have just gone through a miscarriage. You have to stay warm.”

    Willow lowered her gaze, trembling slightly. “I don’t need your concern.”

    Then, she left, walking ever so slowly as if she had just recovered from a major condition and had her energy drained away.

    Heather stood by Willow’s side and remained quiet the whole time. They treated Julian as if he were a stranger, exhibiting no signs of emotion around him.

    It faithfully reflected what Willow had said that day. Without Landon, they no longer had any connections to each other.

    After she had walked away, Julian waited for a long time before he whirled around. Looking at her retreating figure, he suddenly called out her name.

    However, Willow didn’t turn around. Instead, she walked slowly until she disappeared from his sight and his world.

    The sun outside was dazzling, and there was a stinging feeling in Julian’s eyes. It must have been the sun’s blinding rays, he thought to himself.

    ??