Susan couldnât accept it, so she called Sophia as soon as she returned to her room.
Sophia sighed when she answered the call. âSusan, youâre aware of how persistent Evan can be. Just go along with him for now. Heâll come to let it go after a while. Take good care of the four kids, and donât tell them about Nicoleâs passing yet.â
âOkay, Iâll take good care of them. However, I really donât feel good about leaving a corpse in the house. Iâm afraid that it might be a bad omen for the household. Please advise him when you have the time to do so,â Susan replied.
âDonât worry, I will,â reassured Sophia.
âSophia, itâs getting late. You should get some rest now,â Susan urged before ending the call.
After hanging up, Susan let out a deep sigh. The thought of Evan bringing back the urn of ashes made her hair stand on end, as though a gust of cold wind had just blown toward her.
Where did Evan place the urn? Could he have put it in the bedroom?
Back in his bedroom, Evan gently stroked the urn of ashes that he had placed on the bed as he whispered, âNicole, weâre home now. Itâs time to rest. If you donât feel comfortable staying here, Iâll bring you to Imperial Garden tomorrow.â
Evan felt that it was the most appropriate to leave Nicoleâs ashes in Imperial Garden since the place belonged to her.
âYou must miss the kids a lot. Youâll get to see them since weâre back here today. They miss you very much too. Iâll take a shower first, then we can go to sleep together,â he added.
Thereafter, he headed to the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Susan tiptoed over to Evanâs room and gently knocked on the door twice, but she didnât hear any movement inside the room. Hence, she carefully pushed the door open as she took a curious peek inside.
When she saw the urn of ashes on the bed, her face instantly turned pale.
Evan actually kept Nicoleâs ashes in his bedroom?
Is he hugging the urn to sleep?
âMs. Susan, what are you looking at?â a young voice suddenly asked.
Juanâs question caught Susan by surprise.
âAre you looking for Daddy? Heâs not in now. You should go back and rest,â Juan uttered.
Right after that, she quickly shut Evanâs bedroom door as she walked away.
Juan felt that something was amiss when he caught sight of Susanâs pale face.
Why is this woman sneakily peeking into Daddyâs bedroom?
Curious to know what she was looking at, he opened the bedroom door and strode inside.
The room was generally empty, but the urn on the bed caught his attention.
Thus, he immediately walked over to take a closer look at it.
What is this? Juan was baffled as he inspected the strange-looking vessel.
At that moment, Evan walked out of the bathroom and was startled to see Juan in front of his bed.
His heart ached when he saw how his son had touched the urn.
âWhy are you not asleep yet?â he questioned in a deep voice.
Juan turned his head and looked at Evan who was currently drying his hair before he asked, inquisitively, âDaddy, what is this?â
Unaware of how to answer his son, Evan remained silent as he engaged himself in deep thought for a long time.
Sophiaâs words about protecting the kids reverberated in his ears repeatedly.
At long last, he walked toward the bed and reached out to pat Juanâs head. âAre you thinking about Mommy?â he asked.
Juan nodded his head fervently as the glimmer in his eyes reflected just how much he yearned for his mother.
âStay here a little longer then,â murmured Evan.
Juan was puzzled by his fatherâs words.
After pondering over it for a while, he asked, âDaddy, you miss Mommy too, right? I believe that Great-grandpa wasnât actually killed by Mommy! Seeing as such, will you rescue her, please?â
Evan turned his gaze toward the urn of ashes on his bed as his heart throbbed painfully.
He then took a deep breath and agreed, âOkay.â
Upon hearing this, Juan grew excited.
âDaddy, youâve agreed to rescue Mommy? Really?â He sought to reaffirm Evanâs confirmation.
Evan began to mull over his words. If I could go back in time, I would definitely rescue Nicole.
If only I had such an opportunity, I would have brought Nicole back without hesitation.
Butââ
As he started to tear up, he quickly turned to Juan and muttered, âItâs getting late. Go back to sleep now.â