If I Knew I Loved You

I decided to bring Dad's urn with me to the Reed family's dinner.

It had been seven days since he passed away. I decided to scatter his ashes into the sea once the dinner was over. After his death, Dad's soul could freely explore the world and go wherever he liked.

But I never expected Julie to show up as well. She and Caleb sat next to each other at the table. Neither of them even bothered to look up at me.

I set the urn on the table, causing Caleb's expression to twist with displeasure. But it was Julie who spoke first. "Natasha, why'd you bring that urn? Are you trying to make everyone here uncomfortable?

"Mrs. Reed has always been good to you. But look at what you've done. You purposely brought the urn to make all of us uneasy."

Caleb scowled too. "Natasha, throw that thing away. I'll pretend I never saw it."

I smirked mockingly. "Sorry. Can't do that."

Caleb raised his voice. "What's wrong with you lately? If you continue being so arrogant, I'll really divorce you!"

Caleb thought marriage would be my Achilles' heel, but I no longer cared about that. I stared at him calmly before decisively pushing the urn to the center of the table.

"You're being so disrespectful to Mrs. Reed!"

"That's enough. Caleb and Julie, it's rare for us to have dinner together. Let's not make things awkward for everyone." Belinda spoke up for me. "Natasha can bring whatever she likes. I don't mind. You two should mind your own business."

Julie looked embarrassed and decided to keep quiet.

As for Caleb, he frowned slightly. Something felt off, but no matter how much he racked his brain, he still had no idea what the problem was.

Throughout the meal, Julie kept trying to strike up a conversation with Belinda, who simply ignored her. Although Julie had spent 300 thousand dollars on a famous painting, Belinda casually threw it to the floor.

The protection bracelet I had personally made for Belinda was on her wrist. She looked extremely pleased with my gift.

"Natasha, I can tell how much effort you put into making my gift. Unlike others, who tried to win me over with dirty money."

Belinda was obviously looking down on Julie, whose smile froze.

"In the future, you must be more careful since you'll be on your own." Belinda patted my hand. The calluses on her hand reminded me of Dad.

I bent my head to hide the tears in my eyes.

Caleb spoke up. "Mom, why do you make it sound like I'm dead? I'm Natasha's husband. Of course, I'll take good care of her."

Belinda glared at him icily. Her tone sounded grim as she retorted, "How do you take care of Natasha? By sleeping with your mistress?"

For the first time, Belinda did not hold herself back and exposed Caleb and Julie's affair without mercy. The truth was laid bare for everyone to see, and their disgusting affair was finally brought up.

Julie instantly turned pale. Tears began welling up in her eyes. "Mrs. Reed, Caleb and I are in love. If Natasha hadn't interfered…"

Julie looked aggrieved as she buried her face into Caleb's chest. Seeing her reaction, he could no longer sit idly by.

"Mom, I didn't want to hurt your feelings, so I forced myself to stay married to Natasha for the past five years. But I really can't stand seeing others looking down on my beloved.

"Julie isn't a mistress. I'll divorce Natasha so I can marry Julie. I want to make her my wife!" Caleb sounded determined.

Upon hearing what he said, Julie immediately stopped sobbing. She smirked, looking slightly insane.

After Caleb finished speaking, his gaze landed on me. "Mom, eventually, you'll understand that Julie, who spent so much time choosing your present, is a far better daughter-in-law than Natasha ever could be! Don't forget that Natasha purposely brought an urn to our family dinner just to make us uncomfortable."

Caleb's gaze was filled with disgust. He picked up the urn so he could get rid of it. I instinctively wanted to stop him, but he pushed me aside.

He lost his grip on the urn, and it fell to the ground.

I hit my breaking point instantly. My heart jolted as I shrieked in despair. "No!"

My legs immediately gave way beneath me. I slumped to the floor and crawled toward the fallen urn and its contents.

Tears rolled down my cheeks onto Dad's ashes. "Dad, I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I shouldn't have brought you here!"

Next to me, Caleb tensed up. He kept looking back and forth between me and Belinda.

"Natasha, what are you up to now? Julie got a call from the hospital a few days ago, saying that David's condition has improved. You must've bought these ashes online just to disgust me, right?"

Caleb spoke at lightning speed so he could cover up his uneasiness. Out of habit, he came up with an excuse so he could avoid taking the blame for dropping the urn.

I wiped my tears away and got up to grab him by his collar. Before I could land a punch, Belinda slapped him first.

Caleb's face jerked to the side. The corners of his mouth became swollen, and there was a trickle of blood.

"Why do I have a son like you?" Belinda's eyes were filled with disappointment. "Seven days ago, everyone learned of your affair with Julie. On the very same night, Natasha's father passed away in a fit of anger!"