His expression darkened, his voice rising.
“Stop slandering me! What evidence? Your sister died in a car accident. I’m a doctor, not a god!”
I took a slow, steady breath, bent down, and carefully gathered the ashes from the floor.
When I opened the box and saw that less than half the ashes remained, my hands shook with fury.
“The dead deserve respect,” I said through gritted teeth. “You’re a doctor, yet you can’t even show the slightest dignity to the dead?”
Lucian didn’t even flinch. His tone was impatient, almost bored.
“I don’t know how many cremations go through that place every day. The ashes all get mixed together. What does it matter? Just keep enough for the burial — that’s enough.”
I laughed, low and bitter. “That’s what a human being should say?”
“Teacher, Master’s Wife, please don’t fight.”
Ivy’s soft sob cut through the room. She sniffled pitifully.
“This was my fault. I was the one who collected the ashes. If I’d known, I would’ve taken more. Then even if some spilled, there would still be enough left.”
“How could you possibly be at fault?”
Lucian immediately soothed her, his hand stroking her head with a gentleness I’d never received from him.