Our Anniversary, You Chose Her – I Chose Divorce

The chilly air, the pale and silent body, the stifled sobs—all blended into a sorrowful melody.

The old woman was sobbing uncontrollably, her vision blurred by tears.

Chloe Reed stood to the side, her gaze vacant as she watched the scene. Her face seemed to have been bleached as white as the sheet, her emotions constricted by an invisible hand.

The sound of slow footsteps approached, and someone came to stand beside her.

Charles Reed’s eyes were red. He looked at her expressionless face, his voice trembling uncontrollably. ”Chloe, your mother and I... we really know we were wrong...”

Chloe Reed’s long lashes fluttered. She pressed her lips together, offering no response.

Charles Reed was deeply saddened. ”Could you... could you say something to your mother? She was always talking about you, she missed you so much...”

Chloe Reed slowly turned her head. Her limpid eyes, devoid of any ripple, met his. She opened her mouth and a terribly grating sound came out, coarse and sharp, as if her vocal cords had been torn.

Charles Reed’s eyes widened in shock. ”You... what happened to your voice?”

Chloe Reed closed her mouth, then took out her phone and typed, ”Sunny Reed poisoned me. My voice is ruined, and Walker Grant is blind.”

She just stated the facts, not a single word more.

Charles Reed’s body swayed violently, and his back hunched even more, as if he might collapse at any moment.

It was their fault.

They had been so terribly wrong!

They chose to make it up to Sunny Reed, doting on her while ignoring their own daughter’s feelings. They tolerated Sunny Reed hurting their daughter, time and time again.

Everything from the past resurfaced. Charles Reed was filled with endless regret, but it was too late now.

The mistake had been made. Autumn Linton had died without hearing her own daughter’s voice, and they were the cause of it all.

What right did he have to beg for Chloe Reed’s forgiveness?

How could he have the nerve to ask her to speak to Autumn Linton?

Charles Reed covered his face in agony, his self-blame as thick and inescapable as undiluted ink.

After a long moment, Chloe Reed stepped forward to hold the old woman’s arm. She shook her head, silently telling her not to cry anymore.

’If she keeps this up,’ she thought, ’her body won’t be able to take it.’

The old woman was crying so hard she could barely stand. Supported by Chloe Reed, she walked out of the morgue.

Sitting on a chair outside, the old woman wiped away her tears and tried to compose herself.

Chloe Reed typed on her phone, ”Grandma, you need to take care of yourself.”

The old woman’s gaze was vacant as she stared ahead. She sighed and said, ”I don’t blame her at all, really. I only resent myself for not noticing the signs sooner. If I had realized earlier that she was being led astray by that woman, maybe things wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Chloe Reed listened quietly. ’In her grandmother’s eyes, that was her daughter, after all. What could she have done wrong? The biggest problem between them had been a lack of communication; they each had their own perspectives, which was why her grandmother couldn’t bring herself to hate.’

But she couldn’t empathize.

She thought about everything she had been through growing up.

She couldn’t find an excuse to convince herself not to resent, not to hate.

She lowered her head slightly, listening to the old woman ramble on about the past, about what Autumn Linton was like as a child.

After a long while, Charles Reed came out and said, ”Mom, I’m arranging for Autumn’s burial tomorrow. Will you be there?”

The old woman nodded. ”I’ll be there. I have to see her off.”

Charles Reed then looked at Chloe Reed, his lips trembling, but he couldn’t get a single word out.

Just then, Chloe Reed suddenly stood up and walked back into the morgue.