Chapter 3
What I didn’t expect was that Olivia and her daughter were waiting for us at home.
“Jack, you’re finally back…”
As soon as she saw Jack, Olivia clung to him like a bee to a flower:
“Lily has a fever again… When can we schedule the surgery?”
Her voice was soft, but I still heard it.
I carried Lucas back to the room, and he kept asking when Daddy would come to tuck him in.
But even late into the night, Jack didn’t appear.
“Mommy, the day after tomorrow is my birthday,” Lucas said expectantly, “Is it true that Daddy will throw me a birthday party? I heard from my classmates that birthday parties are so much fun…”
I couldn’t refuse a five-year-old child’s longing for fatherly love.
Before this, Lucas had never asked about his father, but because of my promise last time, he now had expectations.
I hugged Lucas tightly, my heart aching.
“It’s true, Lucas’s birthday party will definitely be the best birthday party in the world.”
I cried while comforting him to sleep.
As soon as we get through the birthday, I’ll take Lucas away from here forever.
I swore silently in my heart, not knowing that the next day I would experience an even bigger shock.
“Horsie ride! Horsie ride!”
I was woken up by a child’s laughter, and as soon as I opened the door, I saw Lily riding on Lucas’s back.
She was waving a toy whip in her hand, urging Lucas to crawl faster.
“Hurry up! If you don’t go faster, I’ll tell my daddy to beat you!”
“That’s my daddy!” Lucas heard this and angrily straightened up to retort.
“Jack is my daddy! Not your daddy! My mommy said you were born just to cure me!”
“He’s not your daddy!”
Lily cried as she swung the whip, leaving a bloody mark on Lucas’s face.
“What are you doing!” I rushed forward and snatched the whip from her hand.
Lily’s cries grew louder, and I heard a door opening behind me. Olivia saw the whip in my hand and immediately ran over to pick up her daughter.
“Emma… how could you hit a child?”
Jack followed closely behind, grabbing me and Lucas, his eyes bloodshot:
“Emma, who told you to bully her?! Don’t you know this child is in poor health? If something happens to her, will you take responsibility?”
“Apologize right now!”
Jack forced me to apologize to Lily.
“Mommy, if I apologize, will Daddy stop disliking me?” Lucas bit his lip, tears welling up in his eyes, and quietly apologized.
Lily looked smug, which broke my heart.
“Daddy, will you still throw me a birthday party?” Lucas asked cautiously.
Jack was still angry and had forgotten all about the promised birthday party.
He shook off Lucas’s hand impatiently and said, “What birthday party for a little brat? You’re just as troublesome as your mother.”
Lucas’s crying stopped abruptly, and the light in his eyes completely disappeared.
That day, Lucas didn’t cling to Jack anymore.
He just sat quietly beside me, watching Jack play with Olivia and her daughter.
In the evening, Lucas hugged my neck and suddenly said, “Mommy, he’s not my daddy, is he?”
“He’s different from the daddies of other kids in kindergarten. He never smiles at me or hugs me.”
“Mommy, is my daddy in that hometown you talked about?”
“Let’s go back to our hometown!”
Lucas said all this without crying, but it made me burst into tears.
I held him tightly, comforting and soothing him.
It was I who gave him hope, and then made him face the cruel reality.
In the darkness, my phone lit up.
[Legal documents are done. Meet at the airport tomorrow at 2 PM.]
My anxious heart finally settled. I could finally take the child away without any worries.
At this moment, I heard the sound of keys outside the door. I alertly got up and met Jack’s eyes.
He made a gesture to keep quiet: “Emma, I was wrong about today. How about this, I’ll throw Lucas a birthday party tomorrow, okay?”
“Don’t be angry anymore.”
This was the first time Jack had been so patient in coaxing me.
I knew he was just trying to keep us here.
To avoid raising his suspicions, I nodded in agreement.