A black Cayenne drove at medium speed through the tall pine trees on the way to the cemetery.
In the backseat of the car, Nova sat with her tablet in hand, scrolling through its screen. Her expression was devoid of emotion, enveloped in an aura of indifference.
The man seated at the driver's seat, Reese Fletcher, made a turn through the narrow roads before looking at Nova through the rearview mirror. He was the man who spoke to Nova on the phone.
"Boss, you're really leaving?" He couldn't help but ask again. Although he knew that was the way Nova worked - decisive and firm.
"Otherwise?" She glanced at him, her eyelids resting indifferently. "Three years is already up."
Reese went quiet at this and only gently nodded. He gave a soft laugh of admiration. "You've never changed, boss. Still sharp and decisive."
Nova's brows creased when she heard this, and she looked out the window. She begged to differ.
Leaving felt strange to her, and she didn't know why. Had Lucien really grown on her?
The car soon stopped some distance away from the cemetery. Nova sat in the car and looked at the crowd in the distance.
It was the rainy season; therefore, even though it was mid-afternoon, the sky was gloomy and dark. Rain fell in torrents, soaking the ground in water.
The cemetery was crowded; however, even so, it was all quiet, and the atmosphere was filled with gloom. Several people stood around the grave as the corpse bearers approached with the casket.
She got out of the car and immediately pulled open the black umbrella she brought along. Then, she turned to Reese. "Stay here."
"Okay." He nodded quickly.
Nova then approached the crowd. It was too crowded, and she couldn't even see the people she knew clearly. But apparently, Lucien had banned the media from attending, so it was less crowded than expected.
She walked to a spot where she could see the burial directly but also not visible enough for people to notice her. She stood at a far end, away from others, wearing a black maxi gown coupled with black flat shoes and holding a black umbrella.
Nova's lips were pressed together as she watched the bearers lift the casket and approach the grave. There was no expression on her face, which was pale due to the cold.
However, several memories flashed through her mind at that moment. It was just like yesterday when the Old Madam had welcomed her into the Delacroix family with wide arms. She had called her their family's charm and even given her an ancestral artifact.
Nova lifted her hand and looked at the lavender-colored jade bangle on her wrist, without much expression, but the aura around her became colder.
She shut her eyes for a couple of seconds, and when she opened them again, she was obviously calmer. Her gaze flicked in the direction of the grave again. The casket had already been placed in the grave. In fact, the burial was almost done. People approached the grave one by one to pour sand into it.
Nova looked at the man in the front of the crowd. That was her husband, Lucien.
He was putting on a simple black shirt and a pair of black pants. His sleeves were rolled up, and his collar was tilted to the side. Even his shirt, which, to Nova's surprise, was wrinkled. It was the first time Nova had seen him so disheveled.
He stood there motionlessly and only kept staring down at the grave silently.
Nova knew how much Lucien loved and respected his grandmother. Others might not know, but Nova, whom he had married simply to please his grandmother in her last years, knew better.
So, he was sure to be the most devastated about her death.
Nova glanced at the mound again before muttering in a low voice, "Goodbye, granny. Rest in peace."
Then, she turned to leave immediately as she didn't want anyone to notice that she was present.
But as she scuttled off, she didn't notice that the man who was initially standing quietly across the grave turned to look in her direction for a moment.
***
Nova had just stepped out of the vicinity of the burial, holding her umbrella in hand when she heard a female voice call out,
"Eh? If it isn't Nova. Since you dared to come to this place, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
She halted in her steps and turned around, fully knowing who it was. Sure enough, it was her niece-in-law, Evelyn.
Nova's gaze settled on the younger woman who was just a few months younger than her, and she regarded her calmly without speaking.
"What? Cat got your tongue?" Evelyn taunted, seeing that Nova was silent.
Nova clicked her tongue at this. She was not in the mood for such petty taunting, so she clicked her tongue. "I come and go as I please. What concern is it of yours?"
Evelyn chuckled, her contempt thinly veiled, "It must be guilty conscience. Otherwise, why didn't you come to the front of the burial?" Her face was full of contempt and mock as she paused as though she suddenly realized something. "Or, my third uncle has realized you're nothing but a gold digger and dumped you? Now that grandma is out of the picture, you have no one to back you anymore."
"Back me up? In front of a little girl like you?"
The other girl was clearly rattled by her gaze and harrumphed, "Who knows if you had something to do with Old Madam's death? You must be trying to inherit from the Delacroix family, but I tell you, you won't..."
A sneer escaped Nova's lips. "The Delacroix family..." She really wanted to laugh as she looked at Evelyn, who was so full of herself and clearly thought she was on top of the world for being a part of the family.
"It's only someone calculating like you who would have such thoughts," Nova sneered. "Talk about projection. Makes me really doubt your innocence."
Evelyn's face drained of color at Nova's words, replaced by a forced laugh. "Don't fucking accuse me for something I didn't do. It's only a low class like you that would do something like that. I'll definitely tell my third uncle about you."
"Feel free," Nova replied dismissively.
She couldn't even be bothered to deal with her anymore and directly walked toward the car, ignoring Evelyn's yells. Reese was already outside the car waiting for her, and once she appeared, he opened the door for her to enter.
Then, the car drove out of the cemetery.
However, behind her, Evelyn was clearly still incensed. Her gaze became sharper, and a dark glint shone in her eyes as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed a number.
Once the call connected, she immediately muttered, "Hello. I can't wait anymore. Let's go with the plan."