Jacob Green looked coldly at the hysterical woman, "Have you said enough? If you're done, get out. I need to get back to work."
Stellan Quinn grabbed the coffee cup from the table and smashed it to the ground, then slammed the door as she left.
The secretary rushed in, shocked, "Mr. Green... what happened?"
"Nothing, just clean up the cup on the floor."
"Okay."
——
Stellan left Green Group Headquarters and finally lost control of her emotions, breaking down in tears.
She got into her car, leaning on the steering wheel feeling wronged.
After she cried enough, she picked up her phone to call her mother.
After spilling everything she had to say, "Your wishes are doomed to fail. I would rather die than go back to Jacob Green, let alone marry him!"
Autumn Fletcher felt stifled with anger, but she could no longer blame her daughter. After all, things had come to this point and saying anything more would be meaningless.
"Where are you? Come back quickly."
"No, I'm going to see Grace."
With that, she hung up the phone.
When she arrived at Grace Hughes's place, Stellan cried again, cursing Jacob Green as she did.
Grace hadn't expected Jacob Green to stop liking Stellan; her feelings were mixed.
If Stellan stopped interacting with Jacob, what chance would she have to get close to him?
"You didn't like him anyway. Isn't it fine to just keep things as they were?"
"I'd rather die! I will never see him again!" She took out her phone and angrily deleted Jacob Green's phone number and contact information.
"Didn't you tell me that John Green was coming back while on your way to Green Corporation?"
"Yeah, I thought that foreign woman was his girlfriend. Turns out she was just a friend."
"So are you going to set your sights on him again?"
Stellan took a tissue to wipe her eyes, "No, my memories of John are stuck years ago. I talked with him briefly this morning and felt nothing. This must be the gap between fantasy and reality. I'm happy to move on."
"..."
——
"Lucy, a pile-up accident happened this morning in Clearpath District, and it was pretty severe. The police have already cracked the case. The family of the unrecognizably disfigured deceased called to request postmortem restoration. The body will be sent tonight, and you're to handle it independently. You'll be working late."
Lucy Eaton nodded in agreement, "Alright, Director."
"The deceased was the perpetrator in the pile-up. The person he hit managed to steer clear, escaping with minor injuries, while he lost control, flew off a bridge, and died on impact. What a pity; they say he was very young."
From the director's description, she gathered an idea of the deceased's condition but was still shocked to witness it first-hand.
The deceased had a gaping hole in his abdomen, revealing his intestines, his head was crushed flat, and his left leg was severed at the knee.
From head to toe, he was covered in blood.
The wails of the grieving family rang in her ears as she, wearing a blue sterile suit, mask, and cap, covered the body, just about to transport it when a heart-wrenching shout stopped her.
"Wait!"
Lucy saw Charles Sharp and a young girl approaching together; the girl was his girlfriend, Ivy Fern. It was her shout.
The male deceased was Ivy Fern's younger brother.
Ivy had a heart condition, and her parents didn't want her to come, but she insisted.
"Ivy, don't look now. Let the funeral director fix him up first," Ivy's mother urged, fearing it would distress her.
"Mom, I must see what my poor brother looks like after the crash." She reached out and uncovered the sheet covering the deceased, and upon seeing her brother's condition, Ivy clasped her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
"I told you time and again to drive carefully, to slow down. Why didn't you listen? Why didn't you listen to your sister? You reckless boy, now you've left; what should mom and dad do."
Ivy's mother covered the body again, tears in her eyes, turning to Lucy Eaton, "Please, take care of him."
"It's my duty." Lucy looked across at Charles Sharp, who was looking at her; it was apparent he recognized her as well.
The two did not exchange greetings.
Lucy wheeled the gurney with the deceased into a private room. It was where she would restore his appearance.
The room lights were on. She positioned the cart and then switched on an overhead lamp, getting busy with her gloved hands.
Repositioning the intestines in the abdominal cavity, suturing, cleaning bloodstains…
Disinfecting the corpse, embalming, changing clothes, head restoration, makeup…
Applying makeup on the body with greasepaint, she worked meticulously for three hours. It was now eleven at night.
She completed the final procedure.
She removed her gloves and rubbed her aching neck.
"Finished?" Charles Sharp, standing at the door for some time, asked.
She glanced up, nodding, "It's done. Let the family come in and see."
Charles Sharp acknowledged and went out.
When the Ivy family saw the deceased again, amid their grief, they continually thanked Lucy Eaton.
Because the corpse, previously too horrific to view, had been restored to look as he did in life, peacefully asleep with closed eyes.
Allowing the mourning family their final moments, she waited by the door, and Charles Sharp joined her outside.
"You've done an impressive job."
"You flatter me." She removed her mask, "I was just doing my job."
"Why did you choose this profession?"
"During my freshman year, living in poverty, I needed to work. Being a waitress, a part-time worker, or a tutor could earn me living expenses but no skills. So, back then, I followed a senior funeral director for free as an assistant, learned for a long time, and worked here whenever I wasn't in school. If I hadn't chosen this career, I guess I'd still be only capable of serving tea, cleaning floors, and dusting tables."
"I was actually planning to find you today. I didn't expect to meet here. Are you free tomorrow?"
"Is lunchtime okay?"
"Yes, I'll wait for you at the office tomorrow noon."
"Okay."
...
By 11:40, Lucy Eaton finally returned to her dormitory.
She had just arrived when Jacob Green showed up.
With a gloomy face, his displeasure was evident.
"Who upset you?" she asked, seeing this.
"You."
"What did I do?" She didn't know how she had offended him.
"I never expected you to know Charles Sharp. What's your relationship with him?"
Lucy laughed, "Today was our second meeting; what kind of relationship could we have? The man has a girlfriend, and the deceased tonight was his girlfriend's younger brother."
"Then why did he ask you to see him?"
It turned out their conversation had been overheard by him.