Chapter 1

I trapped myself at that grave for six years.

I thought that as long as I didn't leave, my son's name would stay engraved alongside mine forever.

But with just one signature, Shaun made Veronica my son's "mother."

Even when I fell down the steps, the woman he reached out to support was someone else.

I picked up the blood-stained handwritten letter and finally understood. It wasn't that he didn't understand. He simply didn't care.

So I stopped fighting.

I took my son's memorial album, photos of the old gravestone, and the wedding ring that held the memory of our family of three.

This time, I would be the one to leave first.

Lena POV

I had stayed by my son's grave for so many years, only for Shaun to personally give my place as mother on the headstone to Veronica.

When the cemetery called, I was packing things for the memorial service.

The staff member said the old cemetery section's registration and annual maintenance fees would be discontinued soon, and my child's ashes were being relocated to the Shaw family plot.

Gripping my phone, I asked, "Who signed off on this?"

There was the sound of rustling papers on the other end, then a quiet voice. "Mr. Shaun Shaw."

I didn't call Shaun. I put the keepsakes in a bag and went straight to the cemetery.

At the management office, the staff member pushed documents across to me.

The relocation application bore Shaun's signature.

The joint burial plot registration had been changed too.

The adjacent burial plots I'd reserved for myself and my child for years had been cancelled.

The new registration listed Shaun, Veronica, and my child. A family of three.

When I reached the headstone draft, my fingers paused.

Below my child's name, the father's line read Shaun Shaw.

The mother's line read Veronica Mann.

I didn't throw the documents or make a scene. I simply looked up and said, "I need copies of all of this."

The staff member saw how pale my face had gone and said softly, "Ms. Hayes, would you like to sit down for a moment?"

I said, "No need."

I walked out of the management office with the copies and sat on a bench for a few minutes.

Years ago, when we lost the baby, Shaun came with me to choose the cemetery. He personally confirmed the inscription and said the plot next to it was reserved for me.

Whichever one of us died first would go keep our child company.

Later, his visits became less and less frequent.

Every year it was me who cleaned the headstone, me who came to remember him, me who left handwritten letters and memorial albums.

I guarded that line naming both parents on the old stone like it was the last thing the Shaw family hadn't taken from me and my child.

Now with one signature, Shaun had made Veronica the mother.

He'd even taken away the plot where I would have joined my child after death.

"Lena Hayes."

Veronica emerged from the other side of the management office, also holding a headstone draft.

She didn't hide. Instead, she walked closer and held the draft up to my face. "You saw it too, didn't you? The Shaw family has already accepted me. When the child is moved to the Shaw family plot, they can't very well have an outsider like you presiding over memorial services anymore."

I looked up at her. "What right do you have to touch my son's grave?"

Veronica smiled slightly, her fingertip tapping the mother's line.

"Because Shaun agreed." Her voice was airy. "He's going to formalize things with me eventually. The past, people and matters alike, need to be sorted out in advance."

I took out my phone and called Shaun.

He answered quickly.

Shaun's voice sounded the same as always. "Why the sudden call? Not feeling well?"

I looked at the draft in Veronica's hands and asked, "Where are you?"

"At the office."

"Did you sign the relocation application?"

Several seconds of silence.

When Shaun spoke again, his tone had dropped. "Lena, we'll talk about this at home. The Shaw family has arrangements to make. Don't cause a scene at the cemetery."

I looked up.

Shaun was walking out of the management office entrance, holding stamped documents.

The phone was still pressed to my ear.

He saw me too. His expression stiffened for a moment, then he hung up and strode over.

"Get in the car first."

He reached for the copies in my hand.

I stepped back.

Shaun's brow furrowed. "This is a cemetery. Don't let the staff see us fighting."

I stared at him. "Why did you list Veronica as my son's mother?"

Shaun didn't answer.

He only said, "Moving him back to the Shaw family plot was going to happen eventually. Veronica will be joining the Shaw family in the future. The cemetery needs her to handle things."

"That child was born from my body."

Shaun seemed irritated by that statement. His voice grew heavy. "No one's denying you gave birth to him. The headstone inscription is just an external arrangement. Stop torturing yourself over a child who's already gone."

Veronica stood nearby, saying softly, "Shaun, don't upset Lena. She just needs time to accept this."

The management office staff were still waiting by the entrance for him to confirm the service time.

I put the copies in my bag and asked nothing more.

I went to the old grave and photographed the original inscription, then set down my keepsakes.

On the headstone, my name and Shaun's were still engraved side by side beneath our child's name.

That was the last time.

As I got in the car to leave, the door had just closed when I saw in the rearview mirror Shaun turning back to Veronica's side.