Chapter 7

Blaine seldom asked about Dawn with concern like that.

In the past, Dawn would have been moved, but she simply put away her phone and responded flatly this time, "It's nothing. Just something the woman at the stall asked me to buy."

Blaine was in confusion, but he didn't dwell on it.

The next day, he asked Dawn out for dinner unexpectedly and even thoughtfully prepared a dress for her.

Dawn had intended to refuse him. She had arranged the burial for Maya that evening. She didn't want to delay.

However, Blaine pleaded with her persistently from behind her. He was reminiscent of the quiet young man who used to follow her around during their school days.

Dawn was absent-minded for a moment and then felt irritation.

Blaine was unusually patient and pulled her to change into the dress and ushered her into the car. "It's been a while since we've gone out for dinner. We will just have dinner together, and it won't take long. Afterwards, I'll drive you wherever you want to go."

Dawn caressed Maya's urn and eventually nodded in agreement. She just saw Blaine as a free driver who offered her a free dinner. It didn't matter that she went there with him.

She hadn't expected that Erin had dinner with them as well, and that they had it in a fancy restaurant, and the cuisine Dawn had never tried.

Dawn held Maya's urn and felt slightly uneasy in the fancy restaurant.

She couldn't understand the menu in a foreign language and was baffled by Erin and Blaine's discussion about the dishes.

Erin, however, was composed and graceful. She naturally called over a waiter fluently in the foreign language. She seemed to notice Dawn's unease and deliberately made things difficult for her. "What would you like to eat? You can order first."

Dawn stared at the incomprehensible menu, and her palms sweated. She gripped the edge of the urn tightly, and her knuckles were pale.

Silence drowned her like a suffocating tide.

Watching her discomfort, Blaine frowned slightly and lost patience. "You've been clutching that shabby box since we got out. I told you not to act pitiful. Maya's not really dead. You keep carrying around the fake ashes for a show. Aren't you tired of it? Give it to me, and I'll get rid of it. I know what you like to eat and will order for you."

He reached out to grab the urn, but Dawn refused to let it go and clutched it tightly. "You begged me to come to dinner with you. It's indeed Maya's urn. I actually can't read the menu. If you want to humiliate me, I'll leave right now."

Blaine was momentarily stunned and felt both angry and amused. "Erin said we would take you here and let you see something different. That's why I asked you to come. Don't go too far. Maya is fine in the hospital. Erin just showed me the surveillance footage. Stop causing trouble."

Others nearby noticed the noise at their table and whispered with disdain.

"What's happening? Is someone bringing ashes to dinner?"

"It must be fake. Maybe she's just trying to make a scene. She can't hide her impoverished look, even in a good dress. What a buzzkill!"

Dawn's face was ashen as she wobbled to her feet and hugged the urn to leave.

Blaine, however, grabbed her arm and refused to let go of her. "Where are you going? I said I'd drive you after dinner."

Dawn coldly pulled her arm away and said word by word firmly, "Not necessary."

Her response made Blaine lose face completely. He berated her angrily, "You really think that box matters more than spending time with me?" "Maya is perfectly alive, yet you insist on this charade. Isn't it disgusting?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and slammed the wooden box onto the floor. The ashes were scattered everywhere.

Dawn's lower back hit the table corner, and she almost fainted from the shock.

When she saw what had happened, she was heartbroken.

Maya's last remaining connection to the world was scattered on the floor by Blaine like that.

She ignored the shards of glass and got down on her knees on the floor. Although her fingers were pierced and bleeding, she still desperately tried to gather the ashes back into the urn.

She cried out in agony at Blaine, "I told you that these were Maya's ashes. Why won't you trust me?"