Chapter 1
I pleaded for hours, my face smeared with blood from kowtowing, but I couldn’t get any specialists to save my daughter. Back in the ward, I looked at Chloe, her body a raw mess on the bed, and wept uncontrollably. “Chloe, I’m so sorry. Daddy is useless…” Daddy can’t save you. Chloe’s eyes slowly turned to me, her lips trembling. I leaned closer to hear her voice. “Daddy…don’t be sad…I…it doesn’t hurt…” “Mom…where is she…I want to talk to her…” “If I don’t say it…now…it might be too late…” Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Chloe the truth. How cruel would it be for her to know that her own mother, for another man, had bombed her? She was the daughter Stella had longed for, cherished for so many years. We were once such a happy family of three. I didn’t know why things had turned out this way. I pulled out my phone to call Stella again, but it was still off. I called her assistant instead. He finally answered. I heard a voice on the other end: “Ms. Jiang, it’s Mr. David. He says Miss Chloe has something she wants to tell you.” Stella sounded annoyed, “It’s just another one of his excuses. From now on, hang up whenever he calls.” I wanted to scream that it wasn’t an excuse, that Chloe was really dying. But before I could say a word, the call was disconnected. When I turned and met Chloe’s sorrowful gaze, my heart felt like it was being ripped apart by a giant hand. “Mom…doesn’t want to talk?…Is it because…I didn’t do well on my last test…” “Daddy, please…tell Mom I’m sorry…” “Daddy, will Mom…be sad for me…after I die?” Hearing Chloe’s words, my heart ached so much I could barely breathe. Chloe had always craved her mother’s approval, studying exceptionally hard. But Stella’s heart had long since drifted away from her. I clutched Chloe’s hand, shaking my head violently. “No, darling, Mom…Mom is just busy. She doesn’t know.” “Chloe, don’t fall asleep. Look at Daddy…Just hold on a little longer. You’ll see Mom soon…” I kept calling, but the calls were hung up again and again. Broken and desperate, I could only hold Chloe’s hand, begging her to wait. But I watched as Chloe slowly closed her eyes, her hand slipping from my grasp. In an instant, the world spun around me. My vision went black, and I collapsed, losing consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, I stared at the white ceiling, momentarily disoriented. I felt like I’d had a terrible nightmare. Then I heard a nurse’s voice nearby: “Ms. Jiang pulled all our hospital’s specialists to standby, just for her beloved’s check-up. So enviable.” “But that father and daughter yesterday, they were so pitiful. I heard the girl who died had just finished high school. Oh, I guess some people are just born with different fates.” They didn’t know that the girl who died yesterday was Ms. Jiang’s own daughter. Tears slid from the corners of my eyes. I didn’t want to open them. I hated so much. Stella, you killed our daughter. I pulled out the IV needle from my hand and got out of bed. As I stepped out, I unexpectedly saw Stella, carefully supporting Noah, treating him like a rare treasure. “Stella, I told you I’m fine. You just had to make me get checked.” Stella’s voice was gentle, devoid of the cold ruthlessness she showed me. “No, it’s not enough. I’ll only be at ease after your check-up.” I watched the scene, my eyes burning. When we first got together, Stella was just as meticulous with me. If I even scraped my skin, she wouldn’t rest until the family doctor had checked me over. After Chloe was born, if she had a fever, Stella would worry and care for her all night. If Chloe coughed a few times, Stella would personally炖 (stew) her some rock sugar pear soup. She said Chloe was the crystallization of our love. I once believed we would live happily ever after. But a few years later, other men started appearing in her life. She started coming home late, and spent less time with Chloe. And now, to find out Noah’s whereabouts, she kidnapped and bombed our daughter. To give Noah a full body check, she left Chloe with no medical care, just waiting to die. Poor Chloe, even in her last moments, she was still thinking of her mother… More tears fell. The pain in my chest had begun to turn numb.