Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love novel Chapter 174

She squatted down to check the gravesite and found it was already sealed. Annoyed, she whirled around and glared at the man behind her. “Maxwell, if you’re sick in the head, go get it treated and stop messing around like an idiot!”

Maxwell’s brows furrowed tightly at her outburst. “Rosemary, tone it down,” he said, his voice stern.

She had the audacity to spout such filthy language. “I’m just cursing at you right now, not going full WWE on you—that’s me being restrained,” she fumed, almost ready to explode. “Get someone to dig up the grave; I want to take Grandpa with me.”

“The grave’s been sealed; dig it up again? Do you want to shuffle your grandpa’s remains around like musical chairs? No peace even in death—is that your idea of filial piety?”

Maxwell’s gaze dripped with thick sarcasm. “But that figures. Back in Havenfield, you thought your grandpa’s resting place wasn’t up to snuff, made a fuss about moving him, then turned on a dime to go gallivanting on a trip with another guy. Bet you’re too embarrassed to even mention filial piety now, huh?”

Rosemary ignored his snide remarks. “He can’t be buried here.”

This was the Templeton family plot, where only Templetons were laid to rest. She wasn’t planning on remarrying Maxwell, so how could she bury her grandpa here? “Grandpa wanted his ashes to rest in his hometown.”

“He worked in Greenwood for nearly twenty years, and your mom’s buried there too. If that’s not returning to one’s roots, what is?” His expression was blank as he stared at Rosemary. “Or do you still want to bury him in Havenfield? Are you going to stand guard every day? With your aunt’s temper, aren’t you afraid she’ll dig him up the moment you turn your back?”

“...”

“Or maybe, you want me to move your mom’s grave here too, and that’ll be ‘returning to one’s roots’?”

Moving graves wasn’t like changing clothes. Although she knew Maxwell’s logic was flawed, Rosemary’s stance softened.

She couldn’t just keep moving her grandpa around based on her whims. The last time was because the place was truly dreadful.

Even if she splurged, she couldn’t find a better spot than this.

Archer chimed in at the right moment. “Ms. Chambers, James’ gravesite was chosen here because Greenwood’s best geomancer calculated the date and direction. The first handful of soil was cast by your uncle…”

He paused. “Forgive my bluntness, but in this situation, you can’t change anything. Why make a fuss? If you bump into someone while visiting the grave later, you won’t be the one feeling awkward.”

Maxwell frowned. “Why are you still here?”

Archer replied, “I’m helping you chase your lady, what’s it to you? Would it kill you to say you like her, or will it cost you an arm and a leg?”

Rosemary glanced at Maxwell, not out of hope, just reflex. He met her gaze with a ‘you believe that crap?’ look and promptly looked away.

...

The grave-moving drama hadn’t settled for two days when New Year's Eve rolled around, typically a time for family joy.

Victoria didn’t go home to be with her mother this year but sat alone in her rented apartment, nursing a drink. In front of her was a tablet displaying a photo of Rosemary unbuckling Maxwell’s belt at Sunlight Lake.

In the photo, the soaking wet man was gazing down at Rosemary’s face. Even though Victoria couldn’t see his eyes, she could imagine the deep affection in them.

The TV was playing the Spring Festival Gala, its lively atmosphere making her home feel as quiet as a tomb. She shook her slightly dizzy head, reached for her phone on the couch, and dialed Maxwell’s number.

After a few rings, the call connected, and the man’s chilly voice came through the handset. “What’s up?”

Clutching the doorknob tightly, Victoria took a good half minute before she closed the door and headed back to the living room.

Maxwell was scrolling through his phone on the couch. As Victoria approached, she caught a glimpse of the screen from her higher vantage point.

One look, and the smile she had forced on her face shattered. “Would you rather play Candy Crush than talk to me?”

Maxwell didn’t look up or answer her question. “Go to sleep. I’ll stay here tonight to keep you company.”

“Are you still thinking about Rosemary, even now?” She painfully gripped Maxwell’s collar. She would never have made such a forceful move or uttered such undignified words if she wasn’t drunk. “Maxwell, you’re divorced. She didn’t like you then, and she won’t like you now.”

“...”

“Can we start over? I won’t leave this time.” Victoria kneeled on one knee on the couch, her head spinning, seeing multiple images of the person in front of her.

But no matter which face it was, they all had the same expressionless, indifferent look plastered on.

Victoria stared at those faces, and in the blink of an eye, tears slid out of her eyes like beads off a broken string, drop by drop, falling onto Maxwell’s chest…

“I don’t have a dad anymore. If it hadn’t been for you, clinging to my hand in a coma from your injuries, refusing to let me go, he wouldn’t have worried about me and insisted on driving through the night to pick me up. He wouldn’t have had that accident and died… All I want now is to get back together with you, and you won’t even agree to that?”

Bringing up the incident, Maxwell’s eyes darkened, and his demeanor softened. “Victoria, I’ve told you before, if you want compensation, I can give you money…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Victoria suddenly reached out, cupped his face, and with a do-or-die resolve, kissed him…