Chapter 21

After the funeral, Lucas didn't go home. His father was awake now and would be okay soon. But starting today, Sophia and their newborn would be buried underground—forever cut off from the sun, moon, and life itself. Just darkness. With two bottles of liquor in hand, he sat beside Sophia's tombstone. "Sophia, you saw it today, right? Dad woke up. He insisted on coming to your funeral. Tell me, if you were the one who made him fall, would he still have come to see you?" Lucas poured out a cup of sake onto the ground, then took a big swig himself. "I mean, if I had just asked him back then, all of this would've made sense. But I didn't dare. I really couldn't. If I really misunderstood you for three whole years, should I be relieved you weren't who I thought you were… or should I be hating myself for everything I did to you?" "Sophia, I swear, I never wanted you dead." He reached out, gently brushing his fingers across her face in the photo on the tombstone, as if he were touching her for