Before long, I saw Lilian walk over with a cup of tea. She was full of smiles.
“Summer, I was wrong about you. You must be exhausted. Have some tea.”
I knew this was their trick. They must have added a sleeping pill into the tea to make me fall asleep before they could continue with their scheme.
I waved and looked meek. “That’s unnecessary, Lilian. You should go to bed. Take good care of yourself, so I don’t have to worry about you too. I’ll keep watch here. Lucius was the love of my life. I can’t let anyone take my place.”
Lilian’s face sank. She blurted out, “No, I can’t watch you starve like this.”
I knew that she was referring to Lucius. If not, I might have assumed that she was a good mother-in-law.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Lilian. I’ll grab a bite if I’m hungry.”
Lilian gritted her teeth and nearly yelled at me again. “Have some tea if you don’t want to eat. It’s the dead of winter. You’ve got to eat something.”
It seemed like she wanted to force me to drink the tea. Hence, I accepted the cup and pretended to drink it.
Lilian walked away in satisfaction when she saw that.
I pretended to doze off beside the coffin that day. I heard footsteps after a while.
“My son didn’t get to eat all day because of this madwoman. I’m so angry!” Lilian pointed at me and said.
After that, Rebecca said nervously, “Mrs. Holmes, hurry and let Lucius eat something. He must be starving.”
I heard her pat Lucius’ face. “It’s me, Lucius. Are you awake?”
Lucius spoke up instantly. “Yes, I am. The anesthetic could only last for half a day. I saw Summer beside me when I opened my eyes. I was scared out of my wits. How come she’s doing fine? She loves me so much. She should have cried herself to death when she saw me dead. Or she should have at least fainted and gotten hospitalized.”
Lilian snorted. “Do you see? She doesn’t love you at all. If not, she wouldn’t be this indifferent when she saw you dead.”
