Chapter 1

"Daddy, I want to see Mommy," my son, Simon Lloyd, murmurs after he regains consciousness on the hospital bed.

I freeze for a moment and instinctively look toward the hospital room door. No one is there.

Yesterday, after Simon came out of the operating room, my wife, Selena Aston, held his hand and said, "Don't worry. I'll be right outside waiting for you. I'm not going anywhere."

Why is she nowhere in sight?

I begin to panic and pull out my phone to call her, but there's no answer.

Just then, I see a new photo posted on Instagram. Her male colleague, Joe Carter, is the one who posted it.

The caption reads, "I'd like to thank a certain someone for filling the role of a mother in my daughter's life."

In the photo, Selena is wearing matching outfits with Joe's daughter, Katy Carter. She holds Katy in her arms while smiling brightly the whole time.

They look like a happy family of three. That is, if Selena weren't my wife at all.

Chapter 1

"Is Mommy busy?" My son, Simon Lloyd, asks.

I quickly locked my phone and held back my tears. "She's busy. Be good, Simon. Let's not bother her."

I hadn't slept a wink all night, and my voice was dry and hoarse.

"Daddy, it hurts."

"Let me make the pain go away."

Simon had undergone heart valve repair surgery. He was only five years old.

I bent down and gently blew on the spot where it hurt. Still, I couldn't help but tear up.

Simon had always been sensitive. He realized I was on the verge of a breakdown, so he did his best to change the subject.

He wanted to make me feel better. He was only five years old, yet he endured his own pain to comfort me.

Seeing how thoughtful he was broke my heart.

My resentment toward Selena Aston grew, and I sent her a message. "Where are you? Simon's awake. He keeps saying he's in pain and wants to see you."

There was no response from her.

I checked the post Selena's male colleague made on Instagram. The photo was taken at the city sports stadium. I heard that many elementary schools were holding their winter sports days today.

Selena was smiling so brightly. She seemed even happier than she had been on the day Simon was born.

Her male colleague stood next to her, wearing a tracksuit of the same color. He held two bottles of water in his hand, and he had a warm, refined smile.

They looked like a happy family of three, laughing and talking cheerfully. The sight was unbearable.

An hour later, Selena finally replied to my message. "I'm busy."

I stared at the screen, my fingers trembling. "Busy being someone else's mom?"

It showed "Typing…" for ages before Selena finally sent me a long voice message. It was a little noisy, with people cheering in the background.

"Eric Lloyd, can you stop being so sarcastic? Joe's daughter doesn't have a mother to participate in the parent-child event with her at her winter sports day.

"It's not easy for Joe to raise his daughter on his own, and they only have each other. I can't just stand by and ignore them, right?"

Joe Carter was Selena's colleague of five years and had just gotten divorced. He and his daughter were all each other had. It was pretty heartbreaking.

But what about me?

Simon had just narrowly escaped death. He even had to spend 24 hours under observation in the ICU before he was transferred out.

I replied, "Simon just had surgery."

"Simon has you, right? You're a stay-at-home father. Taking care of our child is your responsibility.

"Katy's competition is about to start. Let's talk later."

I sent another message, only to realize I had been blocked.

A wave of disbelief washed over me, and a bitter taste filled my throat.

I looked at Simon, who was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep. Still, he was being so brave and did not utter a cry.

"Daddy, Mommy's not busy, right?"

"Of course, she's busy." I forced a smile. "She went… to buy you the best toy ever."

"You're lying." Simon closed his eyes, and tears slipped from the corners of his eyes into his pillow.

"Mom's with Katy. I heard everything."

I froze.

Of course. How could Simon not know? Children saw the truth more clearly than anyone.

Chapter 2

I remembered that last month, Selena came home with a box of cherries.

Simon wanted to eat them. Just as he reached for them, Selena slapped his hand away. "These are for Katy."

She frowned as she put the cherries into an exquisite gift box.

"Katy's never had such good fruit before. Let her try some. You can have cherries every day at home. Why are you fighting with her over it?"

Simon froze. The back of his hand had turned red, and his eyes were filled with tears.

That night, Selena didn't even have dinner at home, so that she could drop off this box of cherries to Katy Carter. And on the same night, Simon came down with a low-grade fever and kept complaining of tightness in his chest.

When Selena got home, all she said was, "He's so sensitive. He'll be fine after a night's sleep. Boys aren't that fragile."

Even when Simon was diagnosed with a heart condition and needed her signature for the surgery, she blew up at me over the phone. She said I was always pestering her about his little health problems.

"Ugh…" A muffled groan suddenly pulled me back from my memories. I looked down, and my heart nearly stopped.

Simon suddenly started convulsing all over, and the monitor emitted a shrill alarm.

"Simon! Simon, what's wrong?" I rushed over, wanting to hold him in my arms, but I dared not touch him with all those tubes connected to him.

The freshly stitched incision on his chest heaved violently with every convulsion. It was as if it were about to burst open at any moment.

"Doctor! Doctor!" I ran out of the room like a madman.

A doctor quickly rushed in and kept me away from Simon. I stood in the corridor, feeling a chill run through my entire body.

I then called Selena. She rejected the first call and the second one. She finally answered on the third.

"Eric, are you done yet? This is a critical moment for us…"

"Simon might not make it." My voice was trembling.

Selena paused on the other end of the line. "What do you mean by that? Didn't the doctor say the surgery was a success?"

"He's developed complications. The doctor is trying to save him."

"Oh."

Oh? Was that it?

My heart ached unbearably. "Selena, can't you come back to the hospital?"

"I can't leave now.

"I can't leave now. Katy just won first place in the sprint, and she's really happy now. I already promised to take her to get pizza."

"Selena!" I roared. "Simon's your biological son! They're trying to save his life!"

"That's enough. I get it. The doctor's already there. Even if I went back, I wouldn't be able to help. You're the one who's spoiled him all this time. He's so sensitive over the slightest pain."

Sensitive? It was an open-heart surgery, and Selena thought Simon was being too sensitive.

Just then, a man's voice came over the phone, soft yet hesitant, carrying a hint of apology.

"Selena, Katy wants a Coke. I sprained my wrist yesterday, so I can't get the bottle open. Could you help me twist off this cap?"

Selena's voice instantly softened. "Of course. Let me do it. You hurt your hand, so you shouldn't strain yourself."

She then said to me, "I have to go."

The busy signal felt like a blow to my heart.

I slid down onto the floor, leaning against the cold wall.

Just then, the emergency room light went out. The doctor stepped out and removed his mask.

"The kid's out of danger now. It was acute postoperative arrhythmia. Thankfully, we found out in time."

I pushed against the floor, trying to stand, but my legs were too weak to hold me up.

The doctor came to help me up. "Where's the boy's mother? How come it's just you dealing with something like this?"

I opened my mouth, and my voice came out terribly hoarse. "She's… busy."

The doctor sighed, his eyes filled with sympathy.

When I got back to the hospital room, Simon was already asleep. His face was deathly pale, and his lips were completely drained of color.

Even in his sleep, he was still muttering, "Mommy… Hug me…"

I held Simon's cold hand, and my tears finally spilled over.

Chapter 3

On the third day, Selena finally came to the hospital, and she didn't come alone.

Joe held Katy's hand as they followed Selena, a basket of fruit in the other hand.

Katy was holding the latest game console, which Selena bought for her last week. Simon had been eyeing it for ages, but Selena said it was too expensive and that kids shouldn't get caught up in games.

"How is Simon doing?" Selena walked in, seemingly concerned. But when I looked up, I met her eyes—calm and without a trace of emotion.

I was lost in thought for a moment and accidentally cut my fingertip with the blade. A bead of blood immediately formed and dripped onto the apple I had only halfway peeled.

The cut hurt, but my heart hurt even more.

"Eric, I'm talking to you." Selena frowned in displeasure.

"As you said, the doctor was there. Simon's fine." I remarked coldly.

"What's with your attitude?"

"Eric, are you still upset?" Joe walked over with a smile and placed the basket of fruit on the bedside table.

"Selena had no choice. Katy's competition the other day was way too important. It could affect her future school admission. Since Simon's surgery was successful, it really wasn't that urgent anymore."

I set the blade down and looked up at him. "Joe, can you be any more shameless?"

Joe's expression froze, and he turned to Selena, saying, "Selena, I was just being nice and decided to see how Simon was doing."

Selena's expression immediately darkened. "Eric, if you're angry, take it out on me. Don't go after Joe.

"He's Simon's godfather. He came to see Simon because he cares about him."

"Godfather?" I let out a chuckle. "Did I ever agree to that?"

"If I say yes, that's all that matters!" Selena raised her voice. "Wouldn't it be nice to have another person caring for Simon? Don't be so petty. You're a grown man."

"I don't need that."

I pointed at the door. "Get lost."

"You…"

"Daddy, it's really loud…" Simon woke up. Startled, he looked at us timidly.

Selena's expressions softened a little. She walked over and reached out to stroke his head. "Simon, I'm here to see you. I even brought your godfather and Katy here."

Simon looked away and shrank back from her touch. Her hand froze in midair.

"Simon?"

"You're a bad mommy." Simon's voice was soft, but every word was crystal clear.

"I don't need another godfather. Nathan's already my godfather. I don't like this guy." Simon pointed at Joe.

Children spoke without filters, and their words could hurt the most.

Joe pretended to be hurt. "Simon, did your father teach you to say all that? I really adore you…"

"Eric, what have you been teaching our son all this while?"

Selena flew into a rage and pointed at me. "You've raised him to be so rude!"

"The kid is just telling the truth." I rose to my feet and stood in front of Simon.

"He knows who treats him well and who doesn't. Unlike some people, who are blind to the truth."

The atmosphere grew tense.

Selena was so angry that her chest heaved. She tugged at Joe and turned to leave. "Let's go! I tried to be nice, and this is what I get in return!"

But Joe didn't move an inch. He spoke hesitantly, his voice soft. "Selena, don't be like that. Eric's just worn out from taking care of the kid, so he's in a bad mood.

"Katy, go play with Simon for a while. Show him your toy."

Katy was already eight years old, but she had grown somewhat spoiled and willful. She walked over to the bed and tossed the game console onto Simon.

It happened to land near his incision.

"Ah!" Simon yelped in pain.

I hurried over and pulled back the blanket. It was a good thing the game console didn't hit the incision, but it had struck his collarbone.

"Why did you do that?" I shoved Katy away. She lost her balance, staggered backward, and fell to the floor, landing on her bottom.

"Ah!" Katy screamed at the top of her lungs. "Daddy! He hit me! This evil man hit me!"

Joe yelped in alarm and rushed over to hold Katy in his arms. "Katy, are you hurt? Selena, look at Eric! How could he hit a child?"

Selena hurried over and shoved me aside. "Eric, are you nuts? Katy's just a kid. Why did you push her?"

"She threw her toy at Simon!" I pointed at Simon. "He just had his surgery!"

"It's just a toy. Could it really kill him? Kids don't know their strength, and that's normal! Must you push her like that?"

I looked up in disbelief, only to see nothing but disgust in Selena's eyes.

Chapter 4

Selena didn't even look at Simon, all her attention going to comforting Katy. "Katy, don't cry. I'll buy you an ice cream later."

I turned to look at Simon, who didn't even cry. He simply stared at Selena in silence, his eyes filled with a lifelessness no kid his age should have.

I suddenly spotted a red mark on Simon's arm. "Simon, what happened to your arm?"

Simon shrank back. "It was… Katy. She pinched me earlier."

My head buzzed.

Simon had delicate skin and was prone to bruising. Even the slightest pressure would leave his skin red and swollen.

"Katy pinched you?"

"She said… I'm going to die young. She said I took her mother from her."

I immediately turned to glare at Katy, who was still crying crocodile tears. "Joe, is this how you raise your daughter?"

Joe's eyes flickered. "Children always talk nonsense… Katy, did Simon hear that wrong?"

With Selena there, Katy made a face at me. "He's going to die young, isn't he? Daddy told me Ms. Aston is going to be my mommy someday. All of you will have to get out of her life!"

Selena's expression shifted. "Katy, don't spout nonsense."

Joe immediately covered Katy's mouth, looking panicked. "Selena, we have to go. Eric doesn't seem to be in the right state of mind."

With that, Joe took Katy's hand and hurried out.

Selena looked at me, her gaze conflicted. "I'll go check on them. I don't want anything bad to happen to them."

With that, she ran after them.

The hospital room fell completely silent.

Simon suddenly reached out and tugged at the hem of my shirt. "Daddy, don't cry."

He started wiping my tears away with his little hand.

Selena didn't come home all night, and I felt completely numb inside. It wasn't until the next morning that she suddenly burst into the hospital room.

"Eric, come with me!" She grabbed my wrist and started yanking me out of the room.

"What for? Let me go!"

"Joe got into a car accident! He's lost a lot of blood. You have type B blood. You need to donate blood to him now!

I froze for a moment. Then I almost laughed at how absurd it was.

"He got into a car accident. How is that any of my business?"

"If you hadn't upset him so much and made him leave, would he have wandered into the middle of the road in a daze?" Selena's eyes had turned red.

"I'm not going." I shook her hand away. "I still need to take care of Simon."

"Simon's fine! He's just lying down. But Joe's going to die!"

Selena didn't care at all. She immediately summoned two caregivers and had them haul me up.

"Let me go!" I struggled with all my might, but she seemed to have lost her mind. She ordered the caregivers to yank me away to have my blood drawn.

"Doctor! Take his blood! He has type B blood!"

I looked at Selena. She had once promised to protect me for the rest of my life, but now she was forcing me to donate my blood to another man.

The needle went into my vein. As they started to draw my blood, I started to feel dizzy, and my vision gradually went black.

"Is that enough?" I asked weakly.

"Take more! We need some as backup!" Selena stared at the blood bag, her eyes burning with expression. She hadn't even noticed how pale I had become beside her.

As soon as the needle was removed, I immediately passed out.

By the time I came to, I was lying in a hospital bed. Selena was sitting by my bedside. Seeing that I was awake, she immediately sighed in relief.

"Honey, you're awake. Here. Have this. It'll help you regain your strength."

I looked away. "Get lost."

"Are you still angry with me? Joe's fine now, all thanks to your blood. The doctor said his life might have been in danger if the blood had arrived any later," Selena continued as if nothing had happened.

"I know I was out of line yesterday, but I was so worried that I wasn't thinking straight. Joe's my colleague and Simon's godfather. If something happened to him, I could never live with myself."

"Where's Simon?" I didn't want to hear her talking anymore.

"Simon's fine. I hired the best caregiver for him to watch him around the clock."

"I want to see him." I struggled to sit up, but a wave of dizziness hit me hard, and the room started spinning.

Selena held me down. "You're really weak now, so don't move. The doctor wants you to stay in bed. Don't worry about Simon."

"I want some chicken soup."

"I'll buy some for you. Wait here. I'll get it from your favorite restaurant." Selena hurried out, as if trying to make up for what she had done earlier.

But I still couldn't stop worrying about Simon. I ripped the IV out of my hand and made my way to his hospital room, one step at a time.

The cardiology department was upstairs, and the elevator was out of service, so I had to climb two flights of stairs. With every step I took, I felt my vision go black for a moment.

Finally, I arrived outside Simon's private room. I only managed to secure it by asking my best friend Nathan Burke for a favor. His wife, Julie Lowe, arranged it for us.

Simon was prone to allergies and had a weak immune system, so he had to stay in a private room. I pushed open the door. "Simon, I'm here…"

I froze on the spot, thunderstruck.

Simon was gone.