Chapter 2
Hanging up the phone, I prepared Arthur’s body for viewing.
Before he went into surgery, Arthur had asked me, full of hope, “Dad, will I see Mom when I wake up?”
I answered firmly, “Yes, Arthur. You’ll be all better after you sleep.”
But I let Arthur down. Until his dying breath, Vivian never came back to see him.
Perhaps she had a gut feeling, because Vivian kept sending me messages, asking about Arthur’s condition.
I just watched her messages, neither replying nor blocking her.
The next day, I arrived at the hospital early to handle Arthur’s funeral arrangements. To my surprise, I ran into Vivian.
Julian Thorne rushed into the hospital, carrying Noah. Vivian was running beside him, shouting at the nurses, “Hurry! Save him!”
People quickly moved out of her way.
I couldn’t dodge in time and found myself blocking her path.
She skidded to a halt: “Liam, Noah suddenly fainted. I need to get him checked first.”
I nodded, stepping back two paces to clear her way.
Vivian looked at me, bewildered. She couldn’t understand why I had become so understanding.
Before, when she favored Noah, I would always try to stop her, I would complain. Now, I was silent, proactively moving aside for her.
“Liam, don’t be mad. I’m going to donate my liver to Arthur right now.”
Saying this, she let go of Noah’s hand and reached for mine.
Julian caught up from behind, grabbing Vivian’s hand. “Vivian, please don’t go.”
“Liam, I know you hate Noah for taking Vivian’s affection, but Noah is just a child. Please, let him go.”
Under Julian’s emotional plea, Vivian chose to stay with him, leaving without a backward glance.
A young nurse nearby comforted Julian: “Don’t worry, brother-in-law. Dr. Hayes is known for being fiercely devoted to her husband. If you ask, there’s nothing she can’t do.”
“Unlike those shameless homewreckers who don’t know their place.”
The people around us, like sharks smelling blood, began to whisper and gossip furiously.
“So, he’s the other man? A grown man being a homewrecker, not even bothering to hide it in front of the actual spouse. How thick-skinned!”
“Exactly! When his son was admitted earlier, he even claimed to be Dr. Hayes’ husband and wanted us to arrange a retired professor for his son’s surgery.”
“What a shameless homewrecker. It’s karma that his illegitimate child died.”
Vivian had always insisted on keeping her work and personal life separate, so she never brought Arthur or me to any hospital events. She didn’t want her colleagues to know about us.
After Julian returned, she claimed he was new to the area, so she took him to hospital events, openly introducing him to her colleagues.
When her colleagues chuckled and said her “brother-in-law” was handsome, Vivian just smiled and implicitly agreed.
All her colleagues at the hospital believed Julian and Noah were her husband and son. On the contrary, Arthur and I were considered the shameless other man and illegitimate child.
In the hallway, Vivian stopped me.
She took a step forward, trying to kiss me, but I turned my head, avoiding her.
“Vivian Hayes, this is your workplace.”
Vivian’s hand froze in mid-air. She pouted, trying to be cute. “Liam, stop being mad, okay?”
“I’ll go donate my liver to Arthur in a bit.”
I lowered my head, hiding my emotions: “It’s not needed anymore.”
Because Arthur was gone. And a mother who broke her promise had no right to see him again.
If Arthur knew his longed-for mother had been traveling the world with someone else’s son, how heartbroken would he be?
Vivian sensed my sadness.
She pulled two boxes from her bag: “These are gifts for you and Arthur.”
The box for Arthur contained a Transformers action figure.
I stared at the toy, lost in thought for a moment.
Last year, for Arthur’s birthday, Vivian was on a business trip abroad. Arthur wanted a genuine Transformers figure, and Vivian video-called him to let him pick one.
But when she returned, that genuine Transformers toy was already clutched in Noah’s arms.
Arthur cried, wanting the toy, but Vivian coldly criticized him for being petty and fighting with his “brother” over toys.
Now she had bought the Transformers toy Arthur had always wanted, but it was too late. Arthur was gone.
Seeing my lack of reaction, Vivian grew anxious. She grabbed my hand, just about to say something, when Julian walked in.
“Vivian, the doctor said Noah has leukemia and needs a kidney transplant.”
Vivian’s eyes were filled with urgency.
“Don’t worry, I’ll go get tested for a match right away. I won’t let anything happen to Noah.”
She dropped my hand and followed Julian away.
I called out to her: “Vivian Hayes, aren’t you going to see Arthur?”