The gloomy, gray sky and the sleet added to Bella’s feelings of distress. An hour passed before Nigel’s car pulled up at the West Suburb Cemetery.
The door opened, and Matt stepped out with an umbrella, helping the frail Nigel out of the car.
Slowly, he walked toward the cemetery, even opting not to use his wheelchair.
“Ms. Bella, the West Suburb Cemetery isn’t a high-end resting place; it’s where ordinary people are buried,” Steven said as he watched Nigel’s retreating figure, feeling confused. “Given his status, would Old Master Nigel really have friends who are just common folks? And whoever it is must be someone extraordinary for him to brave this kind of weather just to pay his respects.”
Bella’s gaze darkened as she looked out the window. After hesitating for a few moments, she opened the door and quietly followed behind.
She trailed them without being noticed until Nigel and Matt finally stopped in front of a tomb.
They bowed deeply and placed a bouquet of white daisies on the ground.
From where she was standing, Bella could not make out the name or photograph on the tomb.
Generally, people would come to pay their respects in the early morning or before noon, but Grandpa Nigel had chosen the afternoon. It was a bit unusual.
“Old Master Nigel, it’s freezing out here, and you have a history of respiratory problems. You shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of cold... Let’s head back,” Matt urged, full of worry, as he draped his coat over the elderly man.
Nigel coughed and dismissed the concern with a wave of his hand.
“I’m fine,” Nigel rasped, his voice hoarse, laden with the weight of guilt. “She was such a good child. It was the Salvador family who wronged her. I don’t even know if I’ll live to see another year, so let me stay with her a little longer.”
Bella’s chest tightened at his words as she hid behind a tree, her heart aching faintly.
Before she could gather her thoughts, a middle-aged woman with a weathered face and graying hair approached Nigel. Her eyes were red with grief and anger as she glared at him.
The old woman yelled, “It’s you again?! How dare you… How dare you come here to see my daughter?!”
Matt quickly stepped forward to shield Nigel, but the old man gently waved him away.
Bella, watching from her hiding spot, felt her heart pounding faster.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Divorced Heiress’s Revenge (Anna and Justin)