He Faked His Death And I Came For Our Daughter’s Ashes Chapter 03

He Faked His Death And I Came For Our Daughter’s Ashes Chapter 03

Four years ago, Celeste lost both her husband and her father in quick succession. She showed up at Brandon’s company with her daughter Kelly, tearfully addressing him as “Mr. Hart.”

Brandon said Professor Weber had been good to him, helping him secure a scholarship that covered three years of college tuition and offering connections when he was starting his business.

“I owe him. I can’t just turn my back on that.”

At first, I thought it was just about helping her find a job in Milton and getting her daughter into a nearby school.

Then Brandon missed our wedding anniversary, claiming an important business dinner.

But no sooner had he walked through the door than Celeste showed up with his tie clip.

When I asked him about it, Brandon frowned, touched his collar, and said, “Don’t overthink it. Celeste was at the dinner too. She noticed my tie clip had come off and was just being nice by bringing it back.”

My chest tightened.

But he had sworn to love only me. And now he was staying out late with clients, drinking until his gastritis flared up again and again.

If I bothered him with every little thing, I’d just be ungrateful.

But little by little, things like this kept happening.

Brandon missed Tessa’s birthday party to help Celeste, who had been yelled at by a client, finish a presentation. He didn’t get home until early morning.

When Celeste’s daughter was sick and wanted raspberries, Brandon left Tessa and me at a family fun center to drive all the way to a suburban farm to buy fresh ones.

One day, Tessa came home crying, her eyes swollen and red.

I asked her what happened.

Kelly had poured chocolate milk all over Tessa’s pants on purpose, and the other kids laughed at her, saying she’d wet herself.

I asked Kelly to apologize to Tessa. Celeste bit her lower lip and said, “Kids play rough sometimes. It’s not like anyone got hurt. Why make such a big deal out of it?”

Kelly shrank back, pretending to be scared of me, but there was a mean glint in her eyes.

Brandon frowned. “Mandy, kids fight and mess around. That’s normal. You’re not really going to hold a grudge against a little girl, are you?”

How strange.

Why was it that when they did something wrong, somehow Tessa and I ended up being the bad guys?

“It’s okay,” Celeste said, turning to Brandon. “I understand why Mandy is upset. When you stay home with kids all day, it’s easy to get worked up over nothing.”

Then she looked at me. “A woman needs her own career. Otherwise, you start overthinking everything and getting emotional.”

She sounded so sincere, like someone who meant well.

Looking back, that was always how she talked.

At first glance, nothing seemed wrong. But the more you thought about it, the more it gnawed at you, little by little.

One scratch at a time, until there were holes in everything.

Brandon and I fought constantly.

I asked him why he always favored Celeste and her daughter.

He accused me of being jealous and dramatic.

“Celeste actually works for a living. She’s raising a kid and holding down a job. That’s not easy. If you’re so bored, go get a job instead of picking fights with her.”

But when he proposed, he told me to stay home, take care of our child, and not worry about anything.

Now he said I had no job and too much free time.

I was hurt and furious. Out of spite, I asked for a divorce and went back to the children’s home with Tessa.

On the day of the accident, he was supposed to take Tessa to an amusement park.

She had been looking forward to it for so long.

The night before, she went through her entire closet, picked out a pink dress, and spun in front of the mirror.

“Do you think Daddy will like it?” she asked.

Later, she snuggled against my neck, her voice muffled. “Is Daddy really coming to get me tomorrow? Last time he said he would, but then he went to Kelly’s birthday party instead.”

My eyes stung.

The next morning, as I sent her off, she held Brandon’s hand and smiled at me.

For a moment, I thought everything might get better.

But the next time I saw her, she was lying in the ICU, her body broken and bloodied from a car accident.

Brandon wasn’t there.

He had put Tessa on a city bus early so he could go to the hospital with Celeste, whose daughter had been scratched by a stray cat.

I was shaking with rage.

When I called him, the words got stuck in my throat.

His first reaction was, “Isn’t that convenient?”

What did that mean?

I froze.

“Are you saying I’m lying about my own daughter?”

Brandon sounded annoyed. “That’s not what I meant… but Kelly gets scratched by a cat, and suddenly Tessa is in the hospital? If you didn’t have such a problem with Celeste, I wouldn’t have to think like this.”

Before I could respond, he rushed out, “Kelly’s scared of needles. Celeste can’t manage her alone.”

Then he hung up.

The money hit my account a few minutes later. But by then, Tessa was already gone. She didn’t make it through the night.

He never made it to the hospital.

After I finished the paperwork to close Tessa’s ID, I felt completely hollow inside.

I got rid of everything connected to him and left the country to heal.

Until today.