Neither the Mother Nor the Daughter After Mother’s Passing

“Mom—”

Those two, mother and daughter, had actually killed my only blood-related mother, all because Elara’s new fling was upset!

She was already on borrowed time, yet she had to endure such a brutal blow.

I stumbled, hoisting my blood-soaked mother onto my back, and rushed to the hospital without a moment’s delay.

Only an intern doctor looked at me with a pained expression. “I’m so sorry, but a very important person’s husband got hurt – just a cut on his finger, really – and she called all the specialists over…”

I gently placed my mother on a hospital bed, then, without a second’s hesitation, I bolted towards that important person’s private room.

Thud—

I dropped to my knees, utterly stripped of all dignity, my voice so hoarse it was unrecognizable. “Please, I beg you, save my mother.”

I looked up, only to see Elara and Daisy standing guard on either side of Julian. They looked like the perfect, happy family.

It turned out the “important person” the intern doctor mentioned was Elara.

Julian leaned against Elara’s shoulder, feigning timidity. “Ryder, wasn’t stealing my mother’s keepsake enough? Now you’re even lying that your mother died? Are you intentionally trying to snatch Elara away from me?”

As his words fell, Elara’s face instantly changed, her eyes blazing with fury. “Try lying to me about your mother again, and see if I don’t cancel that surgery for good!”

My heart twisted with agony, I choked out my pleas, tears streaming down my face. “I’m not lying, I swear! My mother is in room 303 right now…”

“Stop causing trouble!” Daisy’s cold voice cut me off.

Her eyes darted around, calculating. “You’ve upset Uncle Julian so much he can’t even sleep peacefully. How about this: you lick his shoes for a minute as an apology to him, and I’ll help you beg Mom to save Grandma.”

I stared, utterly incredulous. The cold indifference in Daisy’s eyes was almost identical to Elara’s.

I couldn’t understand when these two had become so heartless.

It was Elara who had proposed to me a hundred times before I finally believed she wasn’t just playing games. After we married, she remained devoted, showering all her tenderness on me alone.

We had a beautiful daughter, Daisy, who adored me from a young age, always saying I was the best dad in the world.

But then Julian appeared, and everything changed.

I looked at Elara, my face ashen. She, who’d never lifted a finger in her life, was now spoon-feeding chicken soup to Julian. She didn’t even spare me a glance.

I remembered my mother’s pale face. I bit down hard on my lower lip, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth. For Mom, I would endure.

I no longer hesitated, half-prostrated on the ground, I humiliatingly stuck out my tongue. Again and again, I licked Julian’s leather shoes sparkling clean.

Julian lifted his head in disgust. “Don’t think for a second that this means I’ll forgive you for the pain you caused me. That was the only thing my mother left me!”

Chapter 2

A flicker of smug satisfaction quickly crossed his eyes. He had a mother; didn’t mine deserve to live?

The agonizing minute finally ended. Like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline, I clutched Elara’s sleeve. “Now, can we save my mother?”

She yanked her hand away with a look of utter revulsion. “I’m not the one who promised you.”

I turned my pleading gaze to Daisy. She looked down at me from above, letting out a sneer. “As long as Uncle Julian doesn’t forgive you, neither will we!”

My mind went utterly blank, a deafening buzz filling my ears. I finally understood: these two were just trying to get even for Julian. They were making me beg forgiveness from the very person who had orchestrated my mother’s death.

But I had no other choice.

Like a broken automaton, I slammed my forehead to the ground, again and again. With each dull thud, I felt a warm stream run down my forehead.

“Julian, I’m so sorry. Please, I beg you, save my mother…”

Julian’s face twisted with a feigned reluctance. He magnanimously helped me up. But the words he whispered in my ear were pure poison.

“Why would I save your mother? I want you to see with your own eyes how your wife and daughter abandon you and choose me. I deliberately swapped that dummy for your mother!”