Her First Love’s Ashes Were in My House

My younger brother, Ryan Miller, failed his SAT and turned into a total slacker.

My Mom kept worrying about him, reminding me over and over to look after him.

Before I could even refuse, Ryan was sent to work at my wife Claire Thompson’s dental clinic—demanding an outrageous $8,000 salary right off the bat!

When I said it was unreasonable, Mom dragged our relatives to the clinic, caused a scene, cursed me out in front of everyone, and even beat me until my face was bruised.

I wanted to cry but had no tears left. I didn’t want to be the kind of brother who sacrifices everything for his sibling, so I painfully brought up divorce.

But Claire just smiled—not only did she not get angry, she even raised Ryan’s salary to $10,000 and treated him to good food every day.

Her only request was for Ryan to become her model so she could give him a perfect set of dental implants.

After the implants were done, Ryan seemed like a completely different person...

...

Perfect teeth?

No one is perfect, nothing in this world is flawless—how could there possibly be “perfect teeth”?

I felt puzzled. Claire had never mentioned this plan to me before.

Ryan was already too excited to wait—he ran up to Claire with a fawning grin.

“Sisinlaw, are you serious? You’re really going to give me ten grand a month? And I don’t even have to do anything except model for you? No hidden conditions?”

“Yes, when have I ever lied to you?”

Claire smiled, speaking gently as if coaxing a child.

She adjusted her silverrimmed glasses, explained patiently, and every move radiated the charm of a confident, elegant woman—it made me fall for her all over again.

If not for my unreasonable mom and brother, I would never have brought up divorce in the first place.

Claire seemed to understand what I was thinking. She took the initiative to handle the problem for me.

She gave me the greatest comfort and asked me never to mention divorce again. She said even thinking about it broke her heart—she had never wanted to leave me.

After that, our relationship grew even deeper, and I loved her more than ever.

I gazed at her affectionately as she patiently explained everything to Ryan.

“You’re tall and handsome with good presence. I’ve been wanting a model to promote my work. Rather than hire someone else and let them make money, why not let you do it? Keep it in the family.”

“Heh, heh...”

Ryan blushed, grinning from ear to ear, clearly pleased.

Seeing how well this was working, Claire kept going.

“But we’ll need to refine your image a bit. It’s not that you’re not goodlooking, but you need to match the public’s taste. People like a fresh, youthful look now. So your hair has to be dyed darker, tattoos need to be removed if possible—or covered up—and your wardrobe has to be clean and simple.”

Ryan frowned.

Before he could complain, Claire anticipated what he was thinking.

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay for all the makeover expenses, and I’ll hire a Korean stylist to help you pick outfits. You just have to cooperate. It won’t take much of your time—two or three hours a day at most. I’ll even hire a social media promoter to build up your online presence and turn you into an influencer.”

With just a few sentences, she had Ryan completely tamed—even I was impressed.

After failing his SAT, Ryan had become a total delinquent—smoking, drinking, bleaching his hair, secretly getting tattoos. Last time he even asked me for money to get a full back tattoo, and only gave up after Mom scolded him.

I never imagined Claire could talk him into behaving with just a few words.

Quietly, I asked Claire with some concern,

“Won’t this cost you a lot? Marrying you was already the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me—I don’t want my family to be a burden on you...”

“Don’t say that. You—and everything that comes with you—are mine to care for. How is that a burden? Don’t ever say that again.”

Claire massaged my shoulders gently, patted my back, and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Ryan listens more and more. With me here, he won’t go bad—he’ll only get better.”

I nodded, deeply grateful—but suddenly I heard a faint laugh coming from Claire’s chest.

I tried to look up, but felt a sudden, sharp sting on my scalp!

“Claire, did you hear that? It sounded like someone was laughing just now.”

“What?”

Claire glanced around, looking genuinely puzzled.

“No, where would laughter come from? Honey, are you imagining things?”

I looked and listened carefully again but found nothing unusual.

The pain had come from Claire’s amulet pendant—it had accidentally snagged a strand of my hair and yanked it out.

“So that’s it—it just pulled my hair and made my scalp hurt. I must’ve misheard.”

“There, it doesn’t hurt now. Let me rub it for you.”

Claire chuckled softly, running her fingers through my hair. With her, I felt like a carefree child.

I was just a regular office worker—how did I get so lucky to marry a woman like her, who loved me so much? I couldn’t help but grow more dependent on her.

The next day, she kept her promise and took Ryan out.

When they came back that afternoon, Ryan looked like a completely new person—his whole aura was shining. The bright, sunny look nearly blinded me.

“Oh my god, this is incredible! You look completely different, Ryan—I’ve never seen you so handsome!”

Ryan scratched his head shyly, grinning so hard his mouth was crooked—clearly very pleased.

“Gotta give sisinlaw credit—she’s got a great eye! She picked all my outfits and styling. Even the Korean stylist said it was perfect for me. She even bought me several new outfits—they’re in the car.”

“Yes, this suits you perfectly.”

Claire nodded in satisfaction, casually taking my hand and leaning close to my ear, asking for praise.

“Honey, didn’t I do a great job? Ryan’s finally listening and getting on the right track.”

“Yes, you’re amazing. I admire you so much.”

“So, how are you going to reward me?”

Her teasing words made me blush—I pulled her into my arms.

Claire laughed softly, told the other staff at the clinic she was leaving early to rest, and we headed home.

Before we left, she transferred more money to Ryan and told him to enroll in driving school and get his driver’s license—she’d buy him a car afterward.

Ryan was over the moon, swearing loyalty to Claire, saying he’d follow her orders for life.

Claire just waved it off and reminded him,

“Don’t forget what I said—starting tomorrow, we’ll begin your perfect dental implants. Don’t be late.”

“Don’t worry, sisinlaw! I won’t be late. I’ll head out now—won’t interrupt your couple time!”

Ryan grinned mischievously, winking at us knowingly.

Claire and I left work early and went home. On the way, we were still discussing what to have for dinner.

But the moment we stepped inside, it was like Claire transformed—she took off her glasses as if removing a seal and turned into a ravenous tigress.

I was both happy and exhausted, starving as I tangled with Claire until midnight, using up every ounce of strength. My back and waist ached so badly I could barely move.

But hunger eventually forced me awake—I got up to look for food, only to find Claire was nowhere to be seen.

The bed was cold, the living room and bathroom were empty.

I thought she’d gone out to grab a latenight snack and was about to call her—when I heard a noise coming from the study.

Barefoot, I walked over and found the door halfopen.

Inside, Claire sat on the desk wearing a sheer nightgown, holding a glass jar, talking to herself as if sleepwalking.

“My relationship with him is purely physical—nothing more complicated. Don’t overthink it or be sad, okay? You know I’d do anything for you, even this.”

“Oh, and good news—you’ll be back soon. Don’t be mad, just give me a little more time, wait for me, okay? I’ve missed you day and night—no one knows how hard this has been.”

“At least you can still stay with me. If we could stay like this forever, you with me, me with you—wouldn’t that be perfect?”

As she spoke, Claire gazed at the jar with deep affection, and the amulet pendant on her chest glowed faintly red.

Whatever was in that jar was wrapped in black cloth, as if it were her most precious treasure. She slowly bent down and kissed the jar, reluctant to pull away.

That same passionate kiss had just been on me hours ago—and I had been foolishly pleased, thinking I was the only one she loved.

But now she could look at a glass jar with such tenderness?

What on earth was inside that jar?

I was about to step in and ask when a sudden clap of thunder outside interrupted me.

Claire startled, quickly hid the jar inside a secret compartment behind the bookshelf, and reset everything, pressing a hidden switch to conceal it again.

To my shock, the hidden switch was right behind our wedding portrait—specifically at the spot where my stomach was in the photo.

Each time she pressed on my “stomach,” the switch triggered—it left me feeling uneasy.

I didn’t dare linger. I hurried back to the bedroom and pretended to sleep.

A few minutes later, Claire returned, climbed into bed as usual, and curled into my arms, kissing my neck with soft moans.

“I love you, I love you, honey, I love you...”

I murmured “I love you too” as if halfasleep, but my mind stayed wide awake until she finally fell asleep.

Only then did I relax enough to drift off.

When I woke the next morning, Claire was gone.

She had left me a text saying she had gone to the clinic early to prepare for Ryan’s dental implants and hadn’t woken me so I could rest.

I had wanted to stay in bed a bit longer—but the memory of last night came flooding back, and I could no longer sit still.

While Claire was gone, I snuck into her study, found the hidden switch, and opened the compartment.

But it was so small—I searched everywhere but couldn’t find the jar I’d seen the night before. I even turned over the entire study and still found nothing.

Had I imagined the whole thing?

But I had really found the switch and opened the compartment!

Or maybe I misread that glass jar?

What on earth was going on?

I couldn’t make sense of it. After pulling myself together, I headed to the dental clinic to take a look.

To my shock, by the time I arrived, Ryan had already had eight teeth extracted and eight “perfect” implants placed.

With blood still at the corners of his mouth, he grinned at me and said it didn’t hurt at all.

I don’t know much about dentistry, but even I knew pulling eight teeth at once was painful and risky. I rushed to ask Claire about it.

“Claire, isn’t this way too fast? Eight teeth all at once? And you placed eight implants immediately afterward? Won’t his gums swell so much he can’t eat? Couldn’t that cause an oral infection—or worse, something intracranial…?”

“It won’t. Don’t worry,” Claire said with a calming smile, offering me her personal guarantee.

“This is a new implant system I’ve developed—fast, safe, convenient, and rocksolid. I’m using premium materials, and the crowns are precisioncrafted porcelain. As long as he takes his antibiotics on schedule, he’ll be fine. Within a month, we can complete a full set of perfect teeth.”

“That’s awfully fast. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course. Don’t you trust me? I trained abroad and specialize in this. I know what I’m doing—it’ll work.”

Her confidence left me with nothing else to say—and besides, Ryan didn’t seem uncomfortable.

On the contrary, he was suddenly polite—maybe it was the implants, but even his voice sounded softer, more courteous, more mature.

“Don’t worry, bro. Claire’s technique is great. I didn’t feel a thing. I’m fine.”

“That’s the anesthetic talking. I’m worried when it wears off you won’t be able to eat.”

“It’s fine—call it a cut. I’m about to be an influencer. Gotta manage my physique.”

Hearing that, I stopped hovering. The next day they continued, and in just three days they’d worked through his entire mouth.

Maybe it was the extractions, but in those three days Ryan seemed to transform—sweetertongued, almost like a different person entirely.

Over the next month he stopped messing around and threw himself into everything with total focus. He not only unlocked his potential, he suddenly “discovered” other talents—after just a few art classes he could compose and paint oil pieces on his own.

Ryan was thrilled, convinced his natural gifts were finally shining through. I, however, found it strange—how had I never seen such dazzling talent before?

His whole style changed. He spent more and more time with Claire. She not only bought him a car, she gave him a studio, and on his birthday she hosted a banquet—calling in every connection she had and introducing him to everyone.

I attended too, but standing in the crowd, I barely recognized the polished, radiant man as my oncehopeless little brother.

Only when Ryan walked over and greeted me did it click.

“Bro, you look great tonight. Thanks for all these years. Soon you won’t have to worry about me at all. Once I finish promoting Claire’s ‘perfect teeth,’ I’m heading to Paris, France for further study.”

“What? That far? You never mentioned this. So sudden—will Mom be okay with it?”

Ryan’s expression looked pained, but his voice stayed unnaturally cheerful. As soon as he heard his own words, he clapped a hand over his mouth—then bit down hard on his own lip!