Chapter 8
Jaxon stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
Thinking that Jaxon hadn’t heard properly, the staff member on the phone kindly repeated the question.
“You’re Olivia’s husband, Jaxon, Mr. Rivers, right?”
“Is Olivia dead?
“That’s impossible! How could she just die like that?”
As he said this, he was about to drive to the crematory to confirm it.
11:40 PM W
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But just as Jaxon got in the car, Ruby’s weak voice suddenly came from behind him.
She hurried over, ran in front of Jaxon, and threw her arms out to stop the car. Her face turned red from running so fast.
“Jaxon! Don’t let Olivia fool you!
“This is all part of her plan. The crematory staff are all actors she hired!”
Jaxon’s hand on the steering wheel froze, his eyes narrowing.
“What do you mean by that?”
Before Jaxon could react, Ruby pulled out her phone and shoved photos of me getting close to different men in front of him.
“Jaxon, Olivia is faking her death to get away from you so she can live freely with other men.
“I’ve seen her with other men several times, but I didn’t want to ruin your marriage, so I never said anything.”
Jaxon stared at the photos on the screen, veins bulging on his forehead.
Ruby kept fueling the fire.
“Jaxon, I know this is harsh, but it’s the truth.
“If the child is really yours, why would Olivia fake her death?”
Jaxon’s expression began to waver as Ruby’s words started to sink in.
The more he looked at the photos, the angrier he became.
“Olivia actually betrayed me?”
Just then, the crematory, who had been waiting for a response, hesitantly interrupted.
“Mr. Rivers, could you come by to pick up Ms. Stone’s belongings?”
Already furious over my supposed betrayal, Jaxon angrily yelled at the staff.
“What, haven’t you all finished acting yet? You’re really dedicated!
“I don’t have time for your games. Just throw the belongings and ashes away!”
With that, Jaxon hung up the phone without a second thought.
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
My parents were both gone, and I had no one else in this city. The only person who could bury me was Jaxon. But even after my death, he still planned to scatter my ashes, leaving my soul to wander.
Over here, Jaxon, still fuming, couldn’t calm down.
Seeing this, Ruby quickly moved to pat his back and soothe him.
“Jaxon, don’t let someone who doesn’t deserve it get you this upset.
“Olivia didn’t appreciate you, but I do. I love you.
“If you want, we can be a family of three. The child and I will love you properly…”
Jaxon stayed silent, his lips pressed tight, gently pushing Ruby away.
“Ruby, I think I need to talk to Olivia about this.”
M
田
Seeing that Jaxon wasn’t giving up on me, Ruby bit her lip in frustration, though she put on a calm, understanding expression.
“Jaxon, I know you still care about Olivia. But you can be with me for now. Maybe when she sees that, she’ll come out.
“When she does, I’ll step aside and let you two be together. You won’t reject that, will you?”
Jaxon nodded, agreeing to her suggestion.
In the following days, Jaxon, who rarely updated his Instagram, started posting nonstop with Ruby, showing off their love. There were selfies, hand–holding photos, and even pictures of them hugging.
He even posted about Ruby peeling him an apple as if it were a big achievement.
I knew he was doing this to provoke me, to force me to show myself.
If this had happened before, I would’ve been furious and demanded an explanation from him.
But now, I was unusually quiet, not making a sound.
Jaxon didn’t know that while he was busy showing off his affection to Ruby, my ashes had already been thrown into the trash by the staff, decaying and stinking away in a dark, damp corner.
A week passed just like that, and the more Jaxon thought about it, the more something felt off. He started to feel like things were spiraling out of control.
He contacted a private investigator to secretly investigate my whereabouts.
One day, while Jaxon and Ruby were taking a photo booth picture together, his phone suddenly vibrated.
He checked it to find a message from the private investigator.
[Mr. Rivers, there’s some progress on the matter you asked about.]
Right after that, a video came through.
When Jaxon saw that there was news about me, he eagerly clicked on the video.
But as soon as he saw the footage, his expression froze, his face turning pale, standing there in shock.
