11
She shouldn’t have said that last part. It was like rubbing salt in an open wound. Howard, already drowning in guilt and remorse, couldn’t help but redirect his anger.
“Why didn’t you tell us you were going on a trip? You knew your brothers were waiting for you at the airport! Even a simple text would have been enough!”
Sienna, of course, had no explanation. She had done it on purpose. She loved the feeling of being important, of having people drop everything to search for her.
“Your brothers are married men,” she stammered, trying to find an excuse. “I was afraid their wives wouldn’t like me. That’s why I went to the mountains by myself. I didn’t want to be a bother.”
5/11
12.46
Chapter 2
12:46
The butler suddenly spoke up. “Miss Crest, if you truly didn’t want to be a bother, why did you call the young masters and tell them you were coming home? Why did you give them your exact flight information? You did that because you wanted them to meet you. And now you blame their wives for not welcoming you? The young mistresses died trying to find the mistress. And you have the audacity to slander them behind their backs? Are you even human?”
The crowd of reporters and influencers murmured in agreement.
“She’s the one who caused all this, and she won’t even admit it.”
“I heard she’s the daughter of Mr. Hawthorne’s old flame. That’s why Mrs. Hawthorne wanted a divorce in the
first place. That’s why she was driving alone by the sea.”
“And she has the nerve to talk about the daughters–in–law! What kind of women keep searching for their mother–in–law on a speedboat after the official rescue team has given up, and end up dying for it?”
“The butler’s right. This Sienna girl is bad news.”
“She’s probably cursed. She comes back to town and kills all the women in the family.”
At that very moment, my daughters–in–law and I were lounging on the deck of a luxury cruise ship, watching the live stream. The leading questions from the reporters had all been paid for by Olivia.
I gave her a thumbs–up. “Brilliant work with the press. Howard is a superstitious man. He consults a Feng Shui master before buying a piece of land. He won’t touch anything with bad energy, let alone a walking bad- luck charm like her. Ugh, I have to stop calling him my Howard. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Even if he looked utterly devastated on camera, he still didn’t deserve it. When I needed him most, where was he? This belated guilt was cheaper than dirt. What good was it to me now?
“Hmph,” Maya said. “I’m ‘dead,‘ and my dear husband hasn’t shed a single tear for me. He doesn’t deserve me either. So, Mom, Olivia, where are we going to enjoy our wicked new lives?”
“I didn’t see Adrian looking too broken up about me, either,” Olivia added. “Who needs him? I just saw that this ship has a spa. Shall we order three deluxe packages and have some handsome young men give us
massages?”
I frowned slightly. “A foot massage? Isn’t that… unsanitary?”
Half an hour later, I realized I had been far too pretentious.
Ten young, handsome male therapists were attending to us, rubbing our shoulders, kneading our feet, and feeding us grapes.
The feeling was… divine.
I finally understood why the men in my family loved their “spas” so much.
Suddenly, a loud crash. The three of them, their eyes red and wild, stormed onto the deck.
6/11
12:46
Chapter 2
12:46
I jolted awake. The young men had been so good, I’d dozed off.
I looked out at the vast ocean and told my daughters–in–law, “I want to start over. I want to pursue the drea ms I gave up for my family, for my children. I’m fifty. My life is only half over. The second half, I’m living for myself.” .
“I support you, Mom,” Olivia said.
“Me too,” Maya added. “What’s your dream?”
