The cemetery was silent.
Mia’s fingers clutched Alexander’s hand tightly. Her eyes never left the stone, her face pale, as if she were trapped in a nightmare she could not wake from.
The silence of the graveyard shattered with a furious screech.
“How dare you hold a funeral for my son?!” Athena came storming toward them, Ezra flanking her, both of them eyes ablaze.
Before Mia could react, Athena pushed Mia roughly, sending her stumbling sideways. Instinctively, Alexander stepped forward, positioning himself between Mia and Athena, shielding her from the onslaught.
But Athena’s rage was unrelenting. Clad in her flawless outfit and gleaming jewelry, she seemed untouched by grief, her eyes burning daggers.
“Who told you to hold his funeral?!” she screamed. “I told you I’d keep his body until the legal cases are finalized and my company shares are secured! How dare you go behind my back?”
Ezra’s eyes bore into Mia, full of hatred. “What did you do to him? How did you convince him to giveall of our propertyto you and leave us with nothing but ten percent shares of our own damn business? You stole everything! And now you’repretending to be his virtuous wife after running away with another man?”
His glare snapped toward Alexander. “And you! How can you let this happen? Take care of your wife! Make her accountable for everything she’s done!”
Athena’s eyes blazed as she snapped back at Mia. “You are already divorced! Don’t think about taking anything from us!”
Mia stared at the woman in disbelief.
Her shamelessness staggering. She hadn’t even allowed her own son a proper farewell. Instead, she had wanted his body to rot, waiting for months until every court case, every claim, every penny of the inheritance had been settled.
Mia felt a chill run through her. To see someone like Athena—so calculating, so devoid of empathy—was almost impossible to comprehend. A mother who treated her sons as tools for wealth, not as human beings.
Athena hadn’t shed a tear after she heard that James died. Not once. She had only rushed in, stunned for a moment, and then immediately asked William where the legal will was, making sure she could secure everything before anyone else touched it.
Alexander’s eyes flickered toward Allen, standing silently on the other side of the graveyard, hands folded neatly in black. With a subtle lift of two fingers, Alexander commanded, “Take care of them. Make sure they get everything they deserve… and more.”
Ezra and Athena exchanged triumphant glances, convinced their schemes had succeeded. They believed they had successfully blackmailed Mia and Alexander. But they had no idea that everything they held—their power, their wealth, their control—was about to be stripped from them, down to the very last possession.
Mia, still at the gravesite, remained frozen, staring at James’s tombstone. The words of Athena and Ezra, the coldness of their hearts, made her grief pierce deeper. How could someone behave so cruelly after losing a child, a son she had birthed? Her chest heaved as tears streamed down her face.
She sank to her knees, fingers brushing over the fresh soil. Her voice was soft, trembling with love and sorrow.
“I hope you go to heaven,” she whispered softly. “I hope you’re born again into a good life, with health, with fortune, and with people who care for you… and who you can care for. In this lifetime, we couldn’t be together, but I never wanted you to die.”
Tears blurred her vision as she continued, her voice breaking. “I hope that when you’re born again, you get to experience real love. The kind of love that fills your heart completely, the love that surrounds you with happiness… I pray that you feel it, truly, and that it overwhelms you with joy.”
Her tears spilled freely as she pressed her hands gently into the soil, whispering, “I pray that… you fall in love again.”
Alexander knelt beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His hand rubbed hers gently, offering silent comfort.
Chapter 22 Say The Vows First!
Mia lifted her face to the sky as rain poured down relentlessly, striking the earth and melting into the sand. The scent of wet soil and fresh greenery filled the air, and the entire place echoed with the steady, soothing rhythm of rainfall. She leaned back into Alexander’s arms, and he tightened his hold around her, anchoring her against him.
The large leather chair they sat on was wide enough to hold them both comfortably, its soft cushions sinking beneath their weight. Their legs stretched forward, resting on a matching stool. The chair was positioned just right—close enough to the open doorway that they remained sheltered inside, yet open enough to let the rain, mist, and mountain air drift in freely.
Two days ago, Alexander had brought her here without explanation. After noticing how disturbed she had been, he had driven her uphill, farther and farther away from the city, until there was nothing around them but endless green. She had been startled when the car finally stopped—shocked to find a single house standing alone at the top of the hill.
The house was built of wood and cement, large yet warm, open at its center with rooms arranged all around it. Mist curled lazily around the structure, wrapping it in softness. Mountains rosein every direction, blanketed in greenery that shimmered under the rain. A raised walkway surrounded the house, allowing them to move freely without stepping into the wet ground, and it was there—that they sat together now, watching the rainy mountains.
The chair was placed near the wide open doorway, sheltered from the downpour—inside the house, yet completely open to the view outside. Rain fell from above, just beyond the roofline, blurring the mountains into a dreamlike haze.
Mia had never seen anything so beautiful.
Cradled in Alexander’s arms, watching the mist-covered mountains as rain washed over everything, she felt something inside her finally settle. She took a deep breath, smiled softly, and leaned closer into him.
