My daughter's passing away was so sudden. I informed all the relatives, but I didn't want to make a fuss. We held a quiet funeral for her.
Everyone knew she had been killed—except for Matt.
When I placed the divorce papers in front of him, he sneered at me.
"Kate, are you sure you want to divorce me?"
He looked at me with calm indifference, raising his eyebrows slightly, his expression full of contempt.
"You may not be a traditional housewife, but you barely make any money with all your running around every month. Without me, who do you think would want you?"
"I'm keeping you around for your own good, so don't be ungrateful."
I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth.
"Matt, who was the one who told me you'd take care of me when I was pregnant? Who was the one who said it didn't matter if I didn't focus on my career, because you were there for me?"
"If it weren't for you, how would I be treated like a burden now?"
I struggled to calm myself down.
There was nothing left in this marriage worth holding on to.
"Matt, if you hate me that much, then let's get divorced."
"Fine, let's get divorced! You think I enjoy looking at your aging face every day?" He suddenly paused, then added, "But after the divorce, Jennifer stays with me."
I looked up at him sharply.
Even now, he still didn't believe me.
"How many times do I have to say it? Jennifer is dead!"
Matt let out a mocking laugh, pointing at me.
"Kate, let me tell you this—whether Jennifer's dead or not, I'll take her ashes from you if I have to!"
At that moment, I realized Matt was truly insane.
"You're absolutely deranged!"
There was no way I would ever let him take Jennifer's ashes. Never!
"Either you leave on your own, or forget about the divorce, because Jennifer is not going with you!"
He grabbed the divorce papers I had placed on the table and tore them up without hesitation.
Then, he pulled out his phone and called his assistant.
"Get me a new divorce agreement as soon as possible. All the assets, including my daughter, will belong to me."
After he hung up, he looked at me again.
"You want a divorce? Fine. Sign an agreement giving up everything, and I'll agree to the divorce."
He thought I'd be scared.
I waited calmly in the office, waiting for the assistant to finish drafting the agreement.
It wasn't long before the assistant brought it in. Matt took the papers, dismissed the assistant, and held the agreement up in front of me.
"Sign it," he said, a smug, mocking smile on his face.
He was certain I wouldn't sign. After all, he thought I relied on him and couldn't bear to lose my daughter.
But after everything—after losing my baby because of him—how could I ever face him like before?
Without hesitation, I grabbed the agreement and signed my name at the bottom, not even bothering to read it.
When I looked up, I saw the disbelief in Matt's eyes.
"Matt, you've wronged Jennifer your whole life!"
With that, I stormed out.
Suddenly, he grabbed my arm.
"Kate, do you have another man on the side?!"
Just as I was about to snap, the office door swung open.
Emily gasped, covering her mouth.
"Am I interrupting? Should Jimmy and I head back?"
For once, Matt ignored Emily, still holding onto my arm.
"I am asking you a question! do you have another man on the side?!"
I pulled my arm away from him and shoved the news article about our daughter's death in front of him.
"Matt, look—our daughter is dead! She died on her eighteenth birthday, trying to celebrate it with you!"
The news didn't include her real name, just an alias.
There were no clear photos of her either, just a blurry figure.
Matt frowned, squinting at the screen, as if trying to see through the blur and make out the person in the image.
But it only lasted a second.
His expression quickly shifted to one of uncontrollable rage.
"Kate, don't try to fool me with this fake news! Even if Jennifer really is dead, I won't go back to that house, and I definitely won't be with you. If you have time to bribe the media, you should be taking care of Jennifer—maybe then, you'd actually be worth something."