Chapter 3

An entire day had passed, but still, Hollie refused to write a single word. When Will found out, he flew into a rage and cut off all her food. Just when Hollie began to believe she would starve to death in that room, the door to the study finally opened. A bodyguard had opened it, and despite his sympathy-filled voice, his next words landed on her like a heavy blow. "Mrs. Henderson, Mr. Henderson has instructed me to escort you to Mr and Mrs. Olsen Senior's funeral." … On the way to the funeral, Hollie was informed of the reason behind her grandparents' deaths. The two old folks were almost 100 years old, so after being suspended in midair for a prolonged period, they had suffered from insufficient blood flow to their brain. They had been in the emergency room for two days, but passed away shortly thereafter. Upon finding out what had happened, Hollie felt like a giant hand was squeezing her heart, suffocating her. She curled up helplessly in the backseat, wrapped her arms around herself, and cried out in pain. "I'm sorry, Grandma and Grandpa. I regret it now. I regret marrying Will…" When Hollie arrived at the funeral dressed in black, the crowd's whispers and murmurs reached her ears. "Did you hear what had happened? Mr. Olsen Senior's death had something to do with the college student that Will is pursuing. Mrs. Henderson sure is useless. She can't even get a grip on her husband." "Oh my God! Is that true? How can that homewrecker be so shameless? Honestly, those rich men tend to fall in and out of love so quickly. They're spoiling you one day and taking your family's lives the next." "She had it coming. She should have expected such a day to come when she decided to marry rich!" A sharp pain seized Hollie's heart. She was planning to ignore the murmurs when Will's harsh voice sounded from behind her. "If anyone dares to slander Tiffany again, I'll cut off their tongues!" When she looked over, she immediately noticed Tiffany standing next to him, wearing a red dress. She was tugging tightly at Will's sleeve, looking pitiful as she depended on him. The second Hollie saw them, she smiled mockingly. Despite being one of the main targets of the crowd's gossip, Will had turned a blind eye to her and was focused on speaking up on Tiffany's behalf. Hollie looked at Will coldly and said, "This is my grandparents' funeral. Outsiders are not welcome here." She had purposely added emphasis on the word "outsider." However, Will merely shielded Tiffany behind him and frowned. "Hollie, Tiffany came here out of sincerity. I know you're in a bad mood, but that doesn't give you the right to take out your anger on her." "Sincerity? You mean like showing up to a funeral in a bright red dress?" Hollie laughed incredulously. Will immediately defended Tiffany and retorted, "Hollie, you're being too much. How can you insult someone's sincerity to such an extent? "Tiffany's naive. She wore red because she wanted to bless your grandparents' passing. She didn't wear it for the reasons you think she did." Upon hearing Will's explanation, Hollie smiled self-deprecatingly as disappointment flooded her eyes. She knew nothing she said would carry any weight with Tiffany there and decided to shut up. After looking around the place and noticing that her parents weren't there, Hollie frowned and asked again, "Will, where are my parents?" A flicker of disbelief flashed across Will's expression. "Your parents are still at the sanatorium." Hollie's eyes widened in disbelief. "Will, can't you see what's happening? We're at my grandparents' funeral. What right do you have to stop my parents from attending? They're family too." Will immediately frowned. "Hollie, don't be stubborn. Once the heart transplant is complete, I'll let you meet your parents." Hollie stood frozen in place. She had expected him to use her parents as leverage against her, but she never expected him to be so deranged that he'd stop them from attending her grandparents' funeral. However, she still tried her best to suppress her emotions as she said, "Will, I never thought of escaping that surgery. Let my parents out so that they can attend the funeral." She looked at him with hope, but that hope was crushed instantly. "I can't do that, Hollie. I won't feel at ease if I do." With that, Will answered a call and quickly left, leaving Hollie rooted in place. At that moment, Hollie wanted nothing more than to break down and cry her heart out. However, her rationality didn't let her do so. She was at her grandparents' funeral, and there were a lot of people waiting to see her make a fool out of herself. She couldn't cry. After composing her emotions, she looked at the open coffin and listened as the priest gave the final rites. Then, just like everyone else, she closed her eyes in silent prayer. However, Tiffany's startled yell rang out. When Hollie opened her eyes, she saw Tiffany accidentally kick a candle over, lighting the coffin on fire. Hollie's eyes widened as she rushed forward and tried to extinguish the fire with her bare hands. Unfortunately, the flame was too big. By the time the fire was extinguished, her hands were already burned, and her grandparents' faces were scorched beyond recognition. The priest immediately pointed at Tiffany and said sternly, "You've disrespected the deceased and harmed their body. Please kneel and bow your head to the deceased, or I won't be able to proceed." Tiffany pursed her lips upon hearing the priest's words. "What's the big deal? They're about to be cremated anyway." Hollie's eyes blazed with fury as she looked at Tiffany and choked out, "Ms. Meyer, please bow your head and apologize to my grandparents." The guests around them also began to urge Tiffany. "You should just hurry up and apologize. Why are you just standing there? Can you handle the consequences if you don't apologize in time?" Tiffany's eyes turned red, and she started to glance around for Will. But he was nowhere to be seen. In the end, under the crowd's urging, she had no choice but to kneel and bow her head reluctantly. The second Will returned, Tiffany immediately ran toward him and cried, "Mr. Henderson, you're the one who asked me to come to this funeral. I don't understand why everyone is bullying me. "Is it because I'm wearing red? Is that why they made me kneel and apologize to the two corpses?" Will felt his heart break as he looked at Tiffany. The veins on his neck bulged out as he shouted furiously, "Who made Tiffany kneel? Who did it?"