Chapter 1

When my husband, Louis Banks, was caught in a traffic accident, I was at an interview out of town. By the time I got to the hospital, he had already been declared dead, and was sent to the crematorium.

Hearing the news, I fainted on the spot. When I woke up again, I was greeted by the court coming to enforce the auction of all our assets. The reason was that Louis' company had gone into financial troubles, leaving us in massive debt, and I was the only legal representative of the company.

Many years later, I found myself begging in the snow with a cracked bowl, and I nearly got run over by a luxury car. To my surprise, the one in the driver's seat was none other than Louis, who was supposed to be dead ages ago!

Dressed in designer brands and holding another woman in his arms, he jeered at my filthy stench and appearance, even kicking my bowl to pieces.

"You're still alive, huh? I was worried that I couldn't trick someone who graduated from a bigshot university, but you were dumb enough to believe it without questioning it for a second!" He laughed, sneering as he continued, "Thanks for working so hard for us, hahaha!"

His words filled me with so much anger that I died on the spot, my eyes glaring at him even in death.

Little did I expect that when I came to, I found myself back on the day of his accident!

Chapter 1

"Luna, I know you're sad, but my colleagues and I already tried our best to save him."

My brother-in-law passed a blood-stained talisman into my hand, with a pained expression on his face. "My brother must have loved you a lot… This was in his breast pocket when the accident happened, but he was wounded too greatly…"

A chill ran down my spine as the fog in my brain cleared.

I had obtained this lucky charm from a mountaintop, going through the rites of kneeling all the way there, and it was exactly because of this talisman that I've never questioned the love between Louis and me.

Back then, I only took one look at the talisman before I passed out crying. By the time I came to, Johnny told me that his brother had been cremated and took me to the crematorium to claim his ashes.

Back then, I hugged the urn, overcome with grief as I cried, and no one could convince me to bury it.

Later on, the court sent enforcers to notify me that I had to move out of my house within two days, and that I wasn't allowed to bring anything with me except my personal belongings since they wanted to do an assessment for the auction.

That's when I found out that Louis' company was already an empty shell. Even after the house was auctioned, and even after I sold all my accessories, bags, and even my dog, there was still a gaping debt left behind!

Without anything left to my name, I asked Louis' mother and brother for help. "The old fortune teller said that Louis died because he was infected with your bad fortune! I've already been gracious enough not to settle the score with you, and you want me to give you money?"

"My brother's already dead, so you're an outsider to us! Anyway, get out of here and stop bothering us. We're having an afternoon nap!"

In stark contrast to how they used to treat me before, they slammed the door right in my face.

Without a place to return to, I only had the choice to find jobs with night shifts for me to head to after working in the day. When the fatigue was too much to handle, I'd rest briefly in public restrooms so that I could skip on renting a place.

Soon enough, however, I finally pushed my body and mind to the limit. Not only did that cost me my job at the television station, but my health also completely deteriorated. In the end, I ended up like a hag, spending my days begging for scraps at the side of the road.

When Louis showed up in front of me, I felt nothing but hatred when I saw how he was practically radiating with youth and confidence.

Back to the present, my searing teardrops dripped on the back of my hand as my entire body trembled, overcome with emotion.

"Luna, accidents will happen," Johnny said as he handed me some tissues. "Louis would be heartbroken if he saw you like this from the heaven."

Hah.

He'd probably be snickering at how pathetic I was!

I didn't accept the tissues he passed to me, quietly looking up and meeting his gaze. "Let me see your brother one last time."

'Since you want to play dead so much, Louis, you'll surely be happy if it happens for real, right?

'Let me help you!'

Chapter 2

"L-Let's not do that, Luna…" Johnny froze visibly at my request. "He was completely disfigured from that accident, so I'm scared it'd scar you."

As he spoke, he tried handing me the tissues again. If I wasn't mistaken, he definitely drugged those tissues with chemicals that'd make me pass out quickly. The first time this happened, I had passed out immediately after using the tissues he handed me to wipe my tears, only waking up to see cremated ashes.

Who knew if those were human ashes or the ashes of some animal?!

"Please, let's not be rash…"

Johnny tried to stop me as I stood up and made a beeline for the morgue, but he was too late.

"Honey! Why did you have to die like this?!" I screamed, crying as I reached to remove the bloodstained cloth, revealing Louis' bloody, borderline mutilated face. The wounds on his body were badly mangled, and it truly was a gruesome sight, just as Johnny had warned.

Of course, it was easy enough to deduce what had happened, seeing as he had a childhood friend who specialized in special effects makeup—Lorraine Turner.

That woman was also the one Louis had held in his arms in my past life!

The two of them were the ones who had eloped after clearing out all of the company funds and were the ones behind my untimely death.

"You! Absolute! Scum!" With each word, I slapped Louis' face as hard as I could.

Clear as day, I felt warmth from where our skin had contact, yet he didn't even so much as move a muscle. His brother was a doctor, after all, so injecting him with anaesthesia wasn't anything hard for him to do.

This fact was something that could work in my favor, too.

"Don't be like this, Luna! I know you're sad, but he didn't want to die either, right?" Johnny immediately rushed over and grabbed my hand, since the special effects makeup would probably become displaced if I overdid it.

In any case, did I deserve to die, then?!

Fuelled by my intense hatred, I somehow managed to shake Johnny off, even making him stagger backward.

"You heartless man! Why didn't you drive more carefully?" I sobbed as I continued to slap Louis' face continuously with both my palms. "Why'd you leave me all alone? I hate you, I hate you! Get up and answer me!"

I must have hit him a dozen times already, and my palms were already numb, but he hadn't so much as twitched an eyelid. From the looks of it, Johnny was quite heavy-handed with the anaesthesia.

After carefully confirming that the makeup hadn't gone off, Johnny breathed a sigh of relief. "Luna, I think we should bury him soon."

"No, I don't believe this is an accident." Tears streamed down my cheeks as I muttered, as if I was about to shatter in the next second. "He's got a large-scale company, after all, so it's normal that people would be jealous of him… Come to think of it, he fought with Mr. Jones last month, and Mr. Terrence the month before that, too! Someone must've done this to him on purpose…

"I hear that there's a big difference between an accidental car crash and one done on purpose… That's right, I'll call the police! They'll be able to examine his body!"

As I spoke, I took out my phone and started to call the police.

Johnny's expression changed immediately, and he snatched the phone right out of my hands. "Luna, he really did die in an accident. Can't you please let him rest in peace?"

"How could you say that about me?" I put on a hurt expression and continued to sniffle. "Is it wrong that I want justice to be served to your brother?"

"That's not what I meant, Luna." Johnny waved his hand at me, as if trying to dispel my doubts. "But if you do this, they're going to cut him right open. You love my brother, so you don't want his body to be all cut up like that, right?"

Internally, I scoffed. If I had it my way, it'd be merciful even if he was chopped into minced meat!

On the surface, however, I continued acting hurt. "I just want the truth to be revealed."

Johnny started to become irate. "But…"

"Johnny." I looked at him as I wiped my tears, cutting off whatever it was he was going to say next. "Are you worried that they're going to discover something?"

Chapter 3

As I spoke, the air in the room went down to freezing point.

Johnny's expression changed a few times, before he put on an awkward, forced smile. "What are you saying, haha…"

"Then let me do it," I said, reaching to snatch the phone back.

As soon as I did, however, Johnny took a few steps back and raised his hand as far as he could. "Please stop joking around, Luna. Shouldn't you ask Mom's opinion about this?"

Oh, so he was calling in the cavalry.

My mother-in-law, Lily, was what one could call an all-rounder.

She was someone who could put on a facade of civility one day and curse your entire family while causing a scene the other, and as such was infamous in the residential area we lived in.

I didn't say anything to refute his suggestion, however. "Sure, call her now."

Louis was still alive now, after all. If this fact became apparent after the coroner examined his body, they'd even try to save him instead…

But I couldn't possibly have that happen, could I? What I wanted was for him to die, once and for all!

Soon enough…

"Luna, you witch! What did my poor son do to get a wife like you?"

A middle-aged woman barged into the morgue with a face full of makeup and half-done nails with red polish. From the looks of it, she seemed to know about the whole ruse.

Immediately reaching for me, she grabbed my collar angrily. "Hasn't he treated you well enough? How dare you ask for him to be cut up and defiled like he's some sort of lab rat? I'll kill you!"

At the same time, Johnny took the chance to cover his brother up with cloth again.

I didn't say a single word to refute Lily's words, only looking down as I cried. "Mom, you know how careful Louis usually is. Besides, how could someone who races cars as well as him mistake the accelerator for a brake? I'm sure someone must have done this to him!"

Lily didn't seem to be able to argue against my reasoning, so she paused for a bit, the gears turning in her head, before releasing my collar. Then, she rubbed her eyes, finally managing to squeeze out a few drops of tears.

"I understand that you can't accept reality, Luna, but nothing is going to bring Louis back! We have to look forward, right?"

Disheartened, I reached to wipe her tears. "But…"

"Be a good girl and go home, okay?" Lily softened her tone, as if she was talking to a child, and patted my hand. "Just leave the funeral to me and…"

Before she could finish talking, she fainted.

Catching her deftly, I shouted, "Mom!"

That's when Johnny realized I was holding the tissues he tried passing me earlier, and his expression turned steely as he gritted his teeth. "How do you have that?"

"I-It fell out of your pocket just now," I muttered, shrinking into myself as if I was intimidated by his change of demeanor. "I-Is there something wrong with using these…?"

That's right, me trying to snatch the phone earlier was just a ruse. This pack of tissues was what I was actually after.

Realizing that he had overreacted on accident, he squeezed out another smile. "Of course there isn't! I think Mom passed out because she was too sad, too, so why don't you take her home with you? I'll deal with the rest."

With a nod, I conceded. "Alright."

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and started pushing the bed away, I stopped him, "Johnny, wait."

"What is it, Luna?" He could barely suppress the anger in his voice, but he still made a valiant effort to sound unbothered.

Walking over to him, I wiped his face with the drugged tissues. "You've got blood on your face."

In an instant, his eyes widened. "You!"

In response, I just smirked at him as I emulated the tone Lily had used with me earlier. "Be a good boy and close your eyes, alright?"

As he slumped to the ground, he shot me one last hateful look.

But what about it?

Bending down, I reclaimed my phone and called the crematorium. "Hello? My husband needs to be cremated as soon as possible."

Chapter 4

Louis was still unresponsive by the time he was carried into the car, and I couldn't help but scoff.

Back in the day, he did not have a single nickel to his name, unable to afford even a single bouquet of roses, while I was already the top name of the television station.

In an effort to help his career, I had used all the connections I could, and almost got violated a few times in the process.

In the end, he had succeeded.

The first time the company turned a profit, he had hugged me excitedly. "Luna, I must be the luckiest man in the world to have you! From now on, I'll earn lots and lots of money, and give it all to you!"

Naïve as I was, I had believed every single word.

And what had come of that?

He had given all the money he earned over to Lorraine, buying luxury brands and diamond rings for her, and even joined her as they jeered at my appearance that had deteriorated after what he'd done.

"You're so disgusting, Luna. You look like an old rag! If it rained, you'd probably be able to catch a whole bunch of it with the wrinkles on your face!"

"Louis, doesn't she look like a shar-pei dog? You know, the ones that have all those wrinkles?"

"Hey, now that you mention it, yeah! Haha!"

Every word was like a knife stabbing into my heart.

Enduring the pain, I croaked, my voice as hoarse as sandpaper, "W-why did you treat me like this…?"

"It's simple, really." Lorraine gave me a withering look. "Why would he keep someone who has outlived her usefulness?"

Hearing this, Louis raised his eyebrows. "You idiot, hasn't it gone through your thick skull yet? I married you back then because I wanted to use your connections! What, did you think I was a masochist who loved being bossed around like an arrogant woman like you?"

I couldn't believe my own ears. The words froze my heart into ice colder than the snow underneath me.

Lorraine even made a show of wrapping her arms around his neck daintily. "Men hate women who are basically men too, you know? It was a given that he'd like me, since I'm prettier, gentler, and lovelier than you!"

"That's right."

With that, Louis reached and cupped her face, leaning in to kiss her deeply, right in front of my face.

These A-holes!

Even the memory itself was enough to almost make me slap his face once more, but that was when I noticed a slight, almost imperceptible twitch on his face.

Was he about to wake up?

In a rush, I asked, "Sir, how long until we get there?"

"Twenty minutes, at the very least." The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror whilst holding a cigarette in his mouth. "You know, you're the first customer I've seen who's been in such a rush. Usually, they'd want it to go as slow as it could possibly go."

"I have my reasons… This man got a mistress once he became rich, see?" I lowered my head, and faked wiping tears from my eyes. "The moment he passed away, the mistress tried to steal his body away from me multiple times so that she could force me to split her half the inheritance… Sir, have you ever heard of something this ridiculous?"

"How shameless!" The driver immediately spit the cigarette out of the window before stepping hard on the gas. "Don't worry lass, I'll get you there in ten minutes!"

After expressing my gratitude, I noticed Louis' finger twitch, and this time I was certain that he'd already regained consciousness. From the looks of it, he had heard everything I had told the driver earlier, but he couldn't move just yet.

"Louis…" I lowered my head right down to his ear, and smiled. "I know you faked your death, and that you're planning to elope with Lorraine using the money you took from the company… You even wanted me to shoulder your debt, didn't you?

"It's a shame, then, that none of this will become reality… Other than your death, of course."

Chapter 5

What did it feel like to be cremated?

I felt like no one would have more of a right to answer that question than Louis… Unless they wanted to be cremated alive too, maybe.

"Hello ma'am. Here are the different plans we've got." The staff handed me a pamphlet as she introduced the contents by memory. "We have the regular plan, the advanced plan, the luxury plan, and the rocket plan. I do need to let you know that the regular plan uses traditional methods and equipment, meaning that our staff would have to flip the corpse with a hook throughout the entire process, so it might not be the best for the body."

That was honestly the one I wanted to pick. Nothing would suit him more than being burned alive while being rotated by a hook!

On the off chance that he woke up immediately because of the pain, however, the consequences would be annoying to handle, to say the least, so I gave up.

In the end, I tapped at the pamphlet. "Let's go with the rocket plan."

I didn't really care about the newest technologies they employed or their funeral package, but I liked that they'd turn the ashes into fireworks. It'd be quite the fitting sight for a celebration, wouldn't it?

"Gosh, you've got quite the eye, ma'am!" The staff smiled brightly and proceeded to let me sign the contract. "For the sake of letting you take a picture with the fireworks, we suggest you carry out the process of cremation at night."

However, I didn't have that much time, so I lowered my head sadly. "Morning will do… I'll take these fireworks and keep them at home. I'm planning on setting these fireworks off once my child is eighteen years old, as a final gift their father gave for becoming an adult.

"That way, my child will know how much their father loved them…"

"Goodness, sweetheart, I'm so sorry…" Seeing me reach down to caress my abdomen, the staff even changed the way she addressed me out of pity.

I turned my face to look outside the window and sighed, trying my best to stop myself from smiling. "It's alright. Just help me get things arranged as soon as possible."

That was because, under the white cloth, Louis' finger twitched a few more times.

The greatest benefit of picking the rocket package, in actuality, was that I didn't need to wait in line.

As Louis was pushed into the cremator, I started to sob again. "My dear, you've always worked so hard for money, so please don't worry about it anymore in the afterlife!"

The staff all commented on how a good wife I was, and even gave me the opportunity to press the button to activate the cremation myself.

"Goodbye, honey."

Have a fun time burning in there, you deserve it!

However, I hadn't managed to press it before Lily's voice rang out from behind me. "Stop right there, you psycho!"

She stumbled into the room, visibly panicked from the current situation, while Johnny came in after her, panting as he tried to catch his breath.

"Luna, how could you bring him here to be cremated without permission?!"

Hah, he was trying to pin the blame on me.

Judging from the looks the staff members were giving me, it was starting to work.

"Well, you two passed out because you were too sad, so I couldn't do anything but come here by myself. Besides, weren't you the ones who were insistent on having him cremated soon?" There was no hesitation or anxiety in my words, and my tears flowed down my cheeks naturally. "Besides, I did question your brother's death, but you didn't allow me to make a police report…"

At this point, the staff members were probably already having a blast at this scene.

Hearing this, Johnny changed his expression drastically. "Hey, don't say that! Mom and I just thought that we didn't need to trouble the police any further, since they've passed the verdict!"

When I heard this, my expression became even more saddened. "Then why can't I cremate him?

"No way… Can he still be saved?"