Chapter 482
It was very quiet at the funeral parlor, only the sound of the billowing wind could be heard. Rose''s
nephews and nieces were all held back by udius at the hospital, leaving only Sophia and several
others at the funeral parlor in the early morning. That was the third time Sophia came face-to-face with
death.
As Rose''s body was sent into the chamber for cremation, her family members waited outside.
Madeline was the only one sobbing softly in the long and empty hallway.
Sophia turned sideways and took a nce at udius. Thetter stood still, his gaze fixed ahead,
seemingly in a daze. No one knew what was on his mind.
It was a bit chilly, so Sophia decided to hold his hand again.
Just then, udius lowered his head and looked at her, asking, "Are you feeling cold?"
Sophia shook her head and said, "Nope."
Then, silence ensued again after a brief conversation between them.
Time ticked by slowly. Forty minutester, all that was left of Rose was her cremains.
udius then took Rose''s ashes with him and drove back to her mansion.
When Rose was still alive, she expressed her desire to have a simple funeral. The only thing that she
wanted was to be buried with her husband, Jeff.
At that time, almost all of Rose''s housekeepers at her mansion had been dismissed. The only one left
was Agatha, thedy who traveled with her from Chanaea.
When Agatha saw udius carrying an urn home, she rose to her feet and stared at it nkly. After a
while, she finally came to her senses and uttered, "Mr. udius, please ce Mdm. Rose here."
Even though Rose had requested for everything to be kept simple, there was a need to light at least a
candle when the ashes of the newly deceased was brought home before the burial ceremony. That was
a customary practice in Chanaea.
Thankfully, Agatha had prepared everything, and Rose had had her obituary photo taken two months
ago. The ck and white photo showed Rose curling her lips into a smile, disying no hint of sadness
on her face.
udius ced Rose''s urn in front of her photo. Meanwhile, Agatha lit a candle and passed it to him.
"Mr. udius, please offer your prayers to Mdm. Rose."
Lusterg was still pitch dark at five in the morning. After getting changed, Sophia realized that udius
was not on the second floor.
She pressed her lips, strode down the stairs immediately, and found him standing perfectly still in front
of the altar.
Initially, Sophia wanted to approach him, but she came to a stop at the veryst step. In the end, she
did not go over to him.
udius might not be close to Rose, but she was his biological mother after all. In fact, Rose did not
really abandon him.
Unfortunately, fate worked in mysterious ways. Sometimes, an idental mistake would hurt one more
than having the person totally abandoned by his parent. At that moment, udius found himself in a
dilemma.
If only he had regained his memory, he would keep vigil for Rose.
Soon, the sky above the mansion gradually became brighter past seven in the morning.
It was then that Sophia woke up with a start, only to realize that she was sleeping on her bed.
Last night, she saw udius keeping vigil alone for Rose and decided not to disturb him. Instead, she
sat by the stairwell and apanied him quietly.
She had no idea when she fell asleep. She was even more startled to find herself waking up on her
bed.
Sophia gave her temple a quick massage and then found her phone, only to realize it was already past
eight in the morning.
They were supposed to depart for the cemetery at nine and conduct a ceremony there to have Rose
buried alongside Jeff.
Hence, Sophia quickly washed up and got herself ready. By the time she walked out of the room,
Agatha had already prepared breakfast.
It was not easy for her to have the chance to eat an authentic Chanaean-style breakfast in Moranta.
Yet, not only did Agatha make her oatmeal and beef pie, but there was milk too.
"Good morning, Ms. Yarrow."
"Good morning, Agatha."
udius strode down the stairs just after thedies had exchanged their morning greetings.
He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. The stubble on his chin grew even more obvious,
whereas his eyes were bloodshot. One would know that he stayed up all night without even having to
ask.
udius stared at Sophia for a while. "Eat first," he said while walking toward the room.
Fifteen minutester, he came out clean-shaven. He had also changed into a new suit and looked
much better even though his eyes were still bloodshot.
As Rose said before, it was inevitable for all human beings to go through the cycle of life. Though she
did not live long, she felt contented spending sixty-two years on earth. Thus, thest thing she ever
wanted was for her family to cry as they bade her farewell forever.
Rose was a social butterfly who had many good friends. However, she had indicated her wish to be
buried alongside Jeff in a simple way, and there was no need for a grand funeral.
Therefore, her funeral included the basics and nothing more. Madeline only notified Rose''s best
friends. Everyone present watched the pastor ce the ashes of Rose and Jeff together. Subsequently,
they closed their eyes and said their final goodbyes. Lastly, the tomb was sealed and the funeral was
over.
The entire process took less than thirty minutes. Soon, only udius and Sophia were left standing in
front of the tombstone that was full of people earlier.
Rose had been a big fan of roses her entire life. Another request she made was to have a bouquet of
red roses ced at her tomb.
Right above the scarlet red flowers were the pictures of Rose and Jeff; one was beaming with delight,
whereas the other looked gentle and elegant. The fiery red bouquet seemed to represent their intense
love for each other, whichsted forever.
Although Rose''s funeral was done, udius still had another tough battle to fight.
Now that Rose was gone, Bruce and Joy were like unstoppable racehorses charging out of its gate. No
one was able to control them. However, protecting UI was the only wish Rose had in her lifetime.
At that thought, Sophia recollected herself and held udius'' hands. "Let''s go home."
The man lowered his gaze and looked at her as soon as he heard her. "Let''s go."
Before leaving, Sophia turned around and stared at Rose''s picture on the tombstone.
She could not help but recall Rose''sst words to her at the airport. Sophia, I like you very much as my
daughter-inw. If I''m still alive the next time you visit Moranta, I''ll bring you skiing.
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Now that she was in Moranta, Rose was no longer around to bring her skiing.
Although they had only met each other several times, Sophia felt rather dejected whenever she
recalled Rose''s words.
Sophia then withdrew her gaze and collected her thoughts before making her way out of the cemetery
with udius.
One should always keep moving forward.
It began drizzling after the both of them got into their car.
"Let''s go back to the mansion," requested udius before leaning against the car seat and keeping
silent again.
The driver hummed in acknowledgment as he started the car engine.
Forty-five minutester, the car pulled into the mansion.
udius did not get out of the car but opened his eyes and turned to Sophia. "I need to make a trip to
UI. You go ahead and get some rest. I''ll see you at dinner."
Sophia nced at him and replied, "Prioritize your business but take care of your health too."
With that, she hugged him gently. "Go and do what you need to do."
Then she got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, where she stood and watched him leave.
When the vehicle had gone a distance, she finally made her way into the mansion.