11
She shouldn’t have said that last part. It was like
rubbing 1
Chapter 2
08:54
She shouldn’t have said that last part. It was like
rubbing salt in an open wound. Howard, already dro-
wning in guilt and remorse, couldn’t help but redirect
his anger.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were going on a trip? You
knew your brothers were waiting for you at the airpo-
rt! Even a simple text would have been enough!”
Sienna, of course, had no explanation. She had done it on purpose. She loved the feeling of being import- ant, of having people drop everything to search for
her.
“Your brothers are married men,” she stammered,
trying to find an excuse. “I was afraid their wives wo-
uldn’t like me. That’s why I went to the mountains by
myself. I didn’t want to be a bother.”
The butler suddenly spoke up. “Miss Crest, if you truly
didn’t want to be a bother, why did you call the
young masters and tell them you were coming home? Why did you give them your exact flight information?
You did that because you wanted them to meet you.
And now you blame their wives for not welcoming you? The young mistresses died trying to find the mistress. And you have the audacity to slander them
behind their backs? Are you even human?”
The crowd of reporters and influencers murmured in
agreement.
“She’s the one who caused all this, and she won’t
even admit it.”
“I heard she’s the daughter of Mr. Hawthorne’s old
flame. That’s why Mrs. Hawthorne wanted a divorce
in the first place. That’s why she was driving alone by
the sea.”
Chapter 2
08:54
“And she has the nerve to talk about the daughters-
in–law! What kind of women keep searching for their
mother–in–law on a speedboat after the official resc-
ue team has given up, and end up dying for it?”
“The butler’s right. This Sienna girl is bad news.”
“She’s probably cursed. She comes back to town and
kills all the women in the family.”
At that very moment, my daughters–in–law and I were
lounging on the deck of a luxury cruise ship, watchi-
ng the live stream. The leading questions from the
reporters had all been paid for by Olivia.
I gave her a thumbs–up. “Brilliant work with the press.
Howard is a superstitious man. He consults a Feng Shui master before buying a piece of land. He won’t touch anything with bad energy, let alone a walking bad–luck charm like her. Ugh, I have to stop calling
him my Howard. He doesn’t deserve it.”
1
Even if he looked utterly devastated on camera, he still didn’t deserve it. When I needed him most, whe- re was he? This belated guilt was cheaper than dirt. What good was it to me now?
“Hmph,” Maya said. “I’m ‘dead,‘ and my dear husband hasn’t shed a single tear for me. He doesn’t deserve
me either. So, Mom, Olivia, where are we going to
enjoy our wicked new lives?”
“I didn’t see Adrian looking too broken up about me,
either,” Olivia added. “Who needs him? I just saw that
this ship has a spa. Shall we order three deluxe pac-
kages and have some handsome young men give us
massages?”
I frowned slightly. “A foot massage? Isn’t that… unsan-
Chapter 2
itary?”
08:54
Half an hour later, I realized I had been far too prete-
ntious.
Ten young, handsome male therapists were attending to us, rubbing our shoulders, kneading our feet, and
feeding us grapes.
The feeling was… divine.
I finally understood why the men in my family loved
their “spas” so much.
Suddenly, a loud crash. The three of them, their eyes
red and wild, stormed onto the deck.
I jolted awake. The young men had been so good, I’d
dozed off.
I looked out at the vast ocean and told my daughters
-in–law, “I want to start over. I want to pursue the dreams I gave up for my family, for my children. I’m fifty. My life is only half over. The second half, I’m
living for myself.”
“I support you, Mom,” Olivia said.
“Me too,” Maya added. “What’s your dream?”
