I Skipped My Wife’s Funeral

My wife Bruna, whom I'd loved for ten years, died in a car accident. I completely ignored the barrage of phone calls.

Instead, I went to a bar with my childhood friend Gina to drink and party. I didn't even attend Bruna's funeral.

The day after the burial, I came home with Gina in my arms.

As soon as I walked through the door, I saw my furious mother-in-law, Carol.

"You bastard! How dare you show your face! Get out! You're not welcome here!"

I remained unmoved and calmly lit a cigarette.

"I think you've got it wrong. If anyone should leave, it's you."

"The houseI paid for it in full. I paid for the renovation too. It has nothing to do with Bruna."

I flicked the ash from my cigarette and pulled Gina down to sit beside me.

"Bullshit! How does it have nothing to do with her? You've been married to Bruna for so many yearsthis house is marital property! Bruna's name is on the deed!"

"The law says that whoever paid for the house before marriage owns it. What you're saying is outdated."

I stubbed out my cigarette, about to call building management to throw them out.

Actually, Bruna had paid for half the house, but she never told Carol.

Given the current situation, I didn't want to mention it.

Carol's anger didn't subside. She slapped my phone out of my hand.

"So that's how it is! Bruna's body is barely cold, and you've already brought your mistress home. Now you want to kick us out? No way!"

"I won't give up this house no matter what. Consider it compensation for us!"

Carol ranted, trying to push me out the door.

During the struggle, Carol fell to the ground.

She simply sat there and started making a scene.

"Donald, you bastard! Your wife is dead, and now you're bullying her family!"

"Bruna, are you watching from heaven? This is the man you loved for ten yearsa complete scumbag!"

My father-in-law Anderson spoke up then.

His tone was relatively calm.

"Donald, Carol and I have nowhere to stay in the city. Can you bear to see two old people homeless on the streets? You have a high salaryyou can buy another house later."

"Do I look like an idiot?" I asked back.

Before they could respond, I continued,

"Besides, over all these years, I've given you plenty of money. That's enough for you to rent a place."

"Who would rent to old people? You're deliberately making things difficult for us! Cough, cough..."

As Anderson spoke, he began coughing uncontrollably, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.

When Carol saw this, she immediately stood up from the floor.

She pointed at my nose and cursed,

"You bastard! You won't be satisfied until you make us cough up blood, will you!"

"If you're going to die, die outside. Don't dirty my floor."

I took out a handkerchief and methodically wiped my hands, not missing even the spaces between my fingers.

"Donald, how can you talk like that?"

Bruna's brother Maurice rushed over and grabbed my collar.

I tilted my head, avoiding his punch.

"You're asking for it!"

Maurice was furious, ready to throw another punch.

But this time I didn't give him the chance. I used his own force against him, pulling and tugging.

Maurice's clenched fist slammed directly into the heavy iron door, making him howl in pain.

"This is my home. Please leave immediately, or I'm calling the police."

I held up the phone Gina handed me and waved it. The number on the screen was clearly visible.

A flash of panic crossed all three of their faces at once.

I naturally didn't miss this moment, and my tone grew colder.

"Are you leaving on your own, or should I have the police escort you out?"

"No, no, don't call the police! Donald, do we really need to take it this far?"

"Dad, let him call the police! We haven't broken any laws. What are we afraid of? Some people here act all righteous, who knows what guilty secrets they're hiding!"

"Maurice, how can you talk like that? No matter what, Donald is still your brother-in-law."

Anderson tugged at Maurice's sleeve with displeasure.

"If you're going to leave, leave soon. It's getting dark, and I don't keep guests."

I made a gesture inviting them to leave.

"See that? You treat them like family, but they don't necessarily treat you the same way."

Carol glared at me.

"Exactly! He's the one who wronged Bruna first. She's barely buried, and he's already found another woman!"

"Donald must have been cheating on Bruna while she was still alive! Bruna can't rest in peace!"

"Even though Bruna is gone, we're still here to seek justice for her! Donald, if you have any shame at all, get out right now!"

Maurice aggressively punched the sandalwood chair, instantly creating a large hole in it.

"Maurice, you break things, you pay for them! Since you're Bruna's brother, I'll give you a discount on this $880,000 sandalwood chairjust pay me $300,000!"

As I spoke, I calmly poured myself a cup of tea.

"You're clearly extorting me! Donald, I'm telling you, we're keeping this house!"

"You cheated during your marriageyou're the guilty party. You should leave with nothing!"

"Impossible."

I leisurely sipped my tea, completely ignoring Carol's words.

Carol was so angry she opened her mouth several times but couldn't get a word out.

Then Anderson spoke up. Once again, he played the good guy.

"Donald, if this gets out, it won't be good for your reputation either. We can keep quiet about your infidelity, but this house..."

"It would be best if it's transferred to Maurice's name. Otherwise, we'll go to your company and make sure you're pointed at and talked about for the rest of your life, never able to hold your head up again."

"Think it over carefully."

"No need to think. If you want to make a scene, go ahead and do it everywhere. I don't care."

With my completely stubborn attitude, Maurice suddenly slapped a piece of paper on the table with a loud "smack."

"Donald, see for yourself! It clearly says 'I voluntarily gift my residential property to Maurice'! This is Bruna's will, and it has legal force!"

I didn't go over. I signaled Gina with my eyes.

Gina brought it over, and I glanced at it.

"This handwriting is indeed Bruna's, but who knows if it's real?"

"You scoundrel! You know perfectly well that the dead can't speak!"

"Yes, the dead can't speak."

My gaze sharpened as I repeated Maurice's words.

"Donald, what are you babbling about?! You say it's fake, so it's fake? Then I say Bruna paid for this house in full!"

Maurice felt uncomfortable under my stare and flew into a rage.

I ignored him and poured myself another cup of tea.

"After all this talk, you won't give up the house, right? Fine, but you won't get a penny of Bruna's massive accidental death insurance payout! You cheated during your marriageI'll sue you!"

"Go ahead and sue me if you dare. I'll be right here waiting."

I set the teacup down heavily on the coffee table.

Anderson trembled, his body unstable.

He shakily supported himself on the table and suddenly coughed up blood.

"Dad!"

Maurice rushed forward to support him in a panic.

"If anything happens to my dad, I'll fight you to the death!"

"Then go ahead and fight me."

I toyed with the lighter, flicking it open with a "click," then closing it with another "click."

Through the flame, I secretly observed the three of them.

They seemed frightened by my appearance and all fell silent.

Carol was the first to speak, though this time her attitude was more moderate than before.

"Donald, we won't take the house, but you must give us every penny of that compensation."

"Once you give it to us, we'll leave immediately and never bother you again."

After listening, the corner of my mouth curved up.

As expected, demanding the house earlier was just their test.

The massive compensation was their real goal.

I gave Gina a look.

She threw some shade at Carol, "I've seen shameless people, but I've never seen anyone this shameless."

"You have no right to speak here! Get lost!"

"This is Donald's house. If anyone should leave, it's you."

"It must be you, you homewrecker, who seduced Donald! Otherwise, why would someone usually so honest suddenly change like this today? I'll slap that face of yours raw!"

"Stop."

I grabbed Carol's hand and flung it away.

"Are you okay?"

I held Gina's hand, asking her gently. Gina shook her head.

"I'm fine. This will be over soon."

I held her tightly.

Seeing this, Carol burst into tears.

"The world has gone to hell! Poor Brunashe cared for you so tenderly when she was alive and never did anything wrong to you. But barely two days after her death, you're embracing your mistress and flirting everywhere!

Bruna, even if you came back to life and saw this scene, you'd be so angry you'd die again!"

After hearing these words, I didn't let go. Instead, I held Gina even tighter.

Carol wasn't wrong. Bruna and I had known each other since school.

Every exam, we tied for first place in the entire school.

After college graduation, I confessed my feelings to her.

She shyly told me that I had always been her secret crush.

I thought, perhaps this was fate. We got together.

In the ten years since our marriage, our relationship had grown stronger day by day, never a single quarrel.

You could say she had been part of my entire life.

But I couldn't agree with Carol's last sentence.

How could I bear to make Bruna angry? Bruna and I would only be happier in the future.

Seeing me still holding Gina, Carol's emotions became complicated.

Her eyes darted around, as if thinking of something.

Suddenly, her voice became extremely shrill.

"I know nowyou two conspired together to kill Bruna! Donald, give me back Bruna's life!"

Carol's fat body crashed toward me.

Because I was protecting Gina, my back took the full force of the impact.

Maurice seized this opportunity and stabbed me in the back with a fruit knife.

Blood instantly soaked through my white shirt.

Not wanting to worry Gina, I gritted my teeth and endured the intense pain.

But Carol's screeching voice buzzed in my ears like a fly.

"Bruna, I should have stopped you from marrying him back then! Otherwise, you wouldn't have died so horribly, not even leaving a complete body behind."

"And Donald is such a terrible person. After your accident, he didn't even show his face. Now he's cuddling with another woman! Where in the world is there such a heartless man?"

"Poor Bruna, you're deadhow am I supposed to live?"

As Carol spoke, her voice suddenly rose. I was about to see what was happening.

I didn't notice Anderson's movement in time. By the time I reacted, it was too late.

Anderson patted my back, his voice ghostly.

"Donald, Bruna was my only daughter. I was counting on her to take care of us in our old age, but who could have expected a car accident? We're not asking you to support us in our retirement. Just hand over the compensation, and we'll leave immediately."

I gasped in pain.

Anderson did it on purpose, patting exactly where it hurt most.

But the more he acted this way, the more it proved he had a guilty conscience.

"What if I refuse to hand it over? Are you going to kill me? Let me tell you, even if I die here today, you'll never get that money in your lifetime!"

"Fine! Maurice, come here!" Anderson's face twisted viciously.

"Coming!"

"You killed Bruna! I'm going to avenge herI'll beat you to death!"

Maurice pulled out a whip and lashed it viciously at me.

"Don't be afraid."

I comforted Gina in my arms, holding her even tighter.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The whip cut through the air with a cold, fierce wind, striking my back again and again.

I could feel my shirt tearing, mixing with blood and sticking to my skin.

Painburning, searing pain that drilled into my bones.

Even so, I clenched my teeth, not letting myself make a single weak sound.

"Donald, I didn't expect you to be so protective of this homewrecker!"

Maurice stabbed at me with his words, and the whip came down even harder and more forcefully than before.

"Maurice, whip him! Beat him to death! Bruna was definitely killed by him. There are so many cases like this online, aren't there? Husbands deliberately kill their wives to get massive compensation!"

"I knowit's called spousal murder for insurance fraud! With Bruna dead, the beneficiary is her spouse!"

"Donald, are you even human? You bastard, give me back Bruna's life!"

"Bruna was kind to everyone her whole life, never did anything evil. Heaven is blindhow could she meet such a bastard?!"

Anderson and Carol's curses and slander continuously poured into my ears.

Maurice's whipping never stopped either.

I deeply felt wound after wound appearing on my back.

I silently endured all of this.

I don't know how much time passed before Anderson's sinister voice rang out.

"Alright, stop. We still need to leave him breathing."

"Donald, after all this, you still won't hand over the compensation?"

I nodded.

Just as Maurice's whip was about to fall again, I struggled to get out a sentence:

"Bruna, you should finally see these three people's true faces now, right?"

As soon as my words fell, Gina rose from my embrace.

She reached out and slowly peeled off the human skin mask.

Carol, Anderson, and Maurice all widened their eyes.

The three of them were so frightened they couldn't even speak properly.

"Are you... are you human or ghost?"