Chapter 275 We Are Husband and Wife, Never Need to Say Thank You

Chapter 275 We Are Husband and Wife, Never Need to Say Thank You

Half an hour later, they arrived at Hayden's hometown.

The village was a relic of the past, tucked away in the shadows of a remote and rugged mountain range.

The roads were winding and extremely narrow.

The towering pine trees arched over the path from both sides, their heavy branches interlocking like a pair of giant, living umbrellas.
This road had been repaired with Hayden's money.

When Victoria was very young, she had come here once with Hayden to visit her grandparents' graves.

The snow on the mountain was falling heavily, very heavily.

The pine trees were covered in white, blindingly bright yet bleak.


Delicate flakes of snow settled against the pale hollows of Victoria’s face and clung to the dark fabric of her shoulders.

Victoria held the urn in her arms, heavy and solid.

She couldn't imagine that a living person, a living person weighing over a hundred pounds, was now inside a square box.

At some point, Aria was holding Hayden's portrait and walking alongside Victoria.

Though the calendar heralded the arrival of early spring, the air held no promise of warmth; instead, a jagged wind sliced through the atmosphere, cutting with a piercing chill that settled deep within the bone.

Martin followed far behind in the crowd, watching Victoria's lonely figure, feeling something indescribable in his heart.

He wanted to go forward, but he couldn't.

Reduced to a silent observer, he was left with no other way to watch over his wife. If this wasn't the definition of a pitiful existence, nothing was.

"Your dad loved snow the most. Over twenty years ago on this day, when we got our marriage certificate, it snowed too."

The road was very steep.

Her declining health had clearly taken its toll; exhaustion weighed heavily on her after only a short distance, yet she forced herself to keep moving through sheer, stubborn will.

To send Dad to his resting place.

Aria held the portrait, as if remembering something from long ago: "The day you were born, it snowed too. It was the biggest snowfall in decades. That year was a snow disaster year—crops in many places across the country froze to death. Many farmers had no harvest at all."

"So I'm a jinx." Victoria smiled bitterly.

Her arrival was heralded by ruin; from the moment she drew her first breath, the vitality of the earth withered, leaving nothing but dead crops and barren harvests.

When she grew up, she brought death to her father.

She caused the Gonzalez family to collapse overnight.

If she wasn't a jinx, what was she?

Aria’s voice softened, though it remained firm. "Your father and I have always seen you as a blessing, never a curse. Victoria, you need to find your strength and pull yourself together."

Pull yourself together.

What Aria didn't know was that she was dying soon too.

Hearing these words, Victoria's heart felt so heavy she could barely breathe.

They reached a wasteland.

Amidst the desolate wasteland stood two solitary mounds of earth, marking the final resting places of her grandfather and grandmother.

Victoria remembered they had passed away before she was born. She had never even seen what they looked like.

Brian was directing the bodyguards to dig a square pit with iron shovels.

Once the earth had been hollowed out, Victoria moved to the edge of the pit. Looking down, she realized the urn cradled in her arms had already been blanketed by a thin, silent layer of white snow.
Victoria raised her slender, pale fingers and expressionlessly brushed the snow off the urn.

"Dad, we're home now. Grandpa and Grandma are here. You can all be together again." Victoria's voice was very low and soft, only she could hear it.

She blinked her dry eyes.

She paused, the silence stretching between them like a bridge. "It won’t be long until I join you. Then, we’ll be a family once more."


Victoria suddenly remembered when she was little and did something wrong, Aria would try to hit her, and she would always hide behind Hayden. Hayden would comfort one, then comfort the other.

She still remembered Hayden telling her: "Victoria, you're my pride. Even though you're a girl, I still love you very, very much."

Victoria also recalled the friction of the past; when the time had come for her to marry Martin, Aria had stood firmly against the union.

She argued with Aria, went on a hunger strike, and ran away from home.

After just one missed meal, Hayden felt so bad for her. She asked Hayden to help convince Aria.

Hayden hadn't just given his word; he had followed through, even going so far as to integrate Martin into the inner workings of the Gonzalez Group.

He said: "Victoria, I'm helping Martin like this because Mom and Dad will leave this world someday, leave your side. There needs to be someone to take care of you, protect you. No matter how strong you are, you're still a girl. I hope Martin is really as you say, that he'll treat you well for life. I hope you haven't misjudged him."

How sad—she had misjudged him.

The predator she had raised with her own hands had finally bared its teeth, betraying her by striking down her father and claiming his life.

Victoria's heart ached so much she could barely breathe.

But the tears refused to come. It was as if the well of her grief had finally run dry, leaving her hollow and parched in the biting cold.

"Dad, I can't bear to let you go."

Victoria murmured.

Brian stepped forward at this moment, reminding her in a low voice: "Mrs. Collins, the time has come. We should let Mr. Gonzalez rest in peace soon. If we miss the auspicious hour, it won't be good."

Aria stepped forward, her gaze locking onto Victoria’s with a heavy, pleading intensity. "He's right," she urged softly. "It’s time, Victoria. You have to let your father go."

Victoria held the urn with both hands and walked to the pit.

She sank to her knees in the drift, the biting cold seeping through the fabric of her trousers and needles of ice piercing deep into her joints.
Victoria bent down, as if holding a priceless treasure, carefully placing the urn into the pit.

Taking the portrait from Aria’s outstretched hand, she carefully lowered it into the space alongside the rest, tucking it away as if nesting a final memory.

Brian gave the bodyguards a look.

The bodyguards used their shovels to fill the earth back in.

The pit was filled, rising high to form a small mound.

Victoria lowered herself into the freezing slush once more, her forehead meeting the ground in three heavy, deliberate kowtows before Hayden’s grave.

Her forehead touched the snow, which melted into cold water.

The drivers, servants, and the rest of the gathered attendants moved forward in a solemn line, each offering a floral tribute as they paid their final respects.

Many people mourned Hayden, but most were servants from the house.

Kaida arrived as well, her heart sinking at the sight of Victoria, who seemed to be wasting away before her eyes. "Ms. Gonzalez," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion, "I’ve come to pay my respects to your father."

"Thank you." Victoria bowed to her in gratitude.

She bowed to each person who offered flowers.

Victoria kept bowing, kept saying thank you.

She didn't even notice who the mourners were.

Martin also came forward to pay his respects.

Victoria kept her head down, bowing: "Thank you."

Martin’s frame locked with sudden tension at her words. A heavy silence hung between them before he spoke, his voice dropping to a low, corrective murmur: "We are husband and wife, Victoria. There is no need for such formality between us."

At these words, Victoria suddenly looked up to see Martin in black clothes standing in front of her, face to face.

His expression was very cold.

Victoria narrowed her eyes, looking at him: "What exactly do you want?"

"My father-in-law has passed away. It is only right that I pay my respects," Martin said, his thin lips pressing into a hard, narrow line.

He was very unhappy with her words.

Why was it that when strangers or distant acquaintances came to offer their condolences, she could find the strength to thank them and offer a respectful bow?

But when he came, she was so guarded, had such a bad attitude.

Seeing Martin, Aria became emotional again, crying through gritted teeth: "Who asked you to come pay respects? What right do you have to pay respects? If it weren't for you, would your father-in-law be lying in that mound? "Get out! Your intentions were never pure. None of us want to see your face, least of all Hayden!"

Aria got more and more worked up, grabbing Martin's collar and pushing him away.