Chapter 3

The next day, I couldn't make it to the civil affairs office because my mother was admitted to the hospital. But Emma and Jack, they wouldn't miss any opportunity to humiliate me.

They showed up in the quiet hospital room, Emma clinging to Jack's arm.

"Oh, look at you. Big talker, huh? I thought you'd actually grow a spine."

"Emma, what are you doing here?"

My mother, unaware of Emma's affair with Jack, looked at me anxiously, seeking an explanation. I gently patted her hand, then got up, intending to lead them outside the room.

The doctor had warned me that my mother had a heart condition; she couldn't handle any more stress.

Sensing my intention, Emma slapped my hand away.

"Do you really think your son is such a catch? Who would want him?"

"Do yourself a favor and convince him to get a divorce. He's like a piece of trash stuck to my shoe, and it's time to scrape him off."

Her disdain for my mother had always been palpable, but I had grossly overestimated her decency. Now, she was openly taunting her.

My mother clutched her chest, her breathing growing shallow. Panicking, I pressed the call button by her bed, summoning a doctor. She gripped my hand tightly, but the pain was all in my heart.

"Keep pretending, go ahead. It's been years, and your tricks haven't changed. I want to see how long you can keep this up."

Emma continued to hurl insults at my mother, completely indifferent. Jack, meanwhile, wrapped an arm around Emma, chiming in.

"Auntie, come on, this isn't funny anymore. The hospital has cameras, and they're capturing everything crystal clear. You're too old to be pulling these scams."

I focused on calming my mother, while rage built inside me. I turned and roared at them.

"Get out! Both of you, get out!"

"Tom, watch your tone. Who do you think you're yelling at?"

Emma let out a scoff, still wearing that smug expression.

And as if to up the ante, she pulled Jack closer by the neck and kissed him, flashing me a taunting look mid-kiss.

"You, you two..."

My mother pointed at them, but before she could finish her sentence, she fainted.

"Doctor! Doctor!"

I shoved them aside and rushed out, frantically calling for help.

Emma followed behind, still spewing insults.

"Tom, are you and your mom trying to pull a stunt together? Trying to fake a health scare to keep me from leaving? How desperate."

In a blind fury, I slapped her hard across the face. The disbelief in her eyes matched the shock in mine as I watched the doctors wheel my mother into the ICU.

As the light above the operating room flicked on, my body collapsed to the ground like a broken doll.

Emma snapped out of her stupor and pounced on me, hitting and pulling at me, forgetting all pretense of dignity in front of Jack.

"You bastard, Tom! How dare you hit me! I nearly died giving birth to your daughter, and now you think you can hit me?"

I sat there, staring blankly, not saying a word.

Then, by some twisted coincidence, my own doctor happened to pass by.

"I've been calling you to come to the hospital for days. What, you finally decided to show up now? We can only delay things for so long."

When I remained silent, the doctor turned to Emma.

"Are you his wife? If the patient refuses treatment, it's up to the family to intervene."

At this, Emma wiped away her crocodile tears, a twisted smile spreading across her face.

"What did I tell you? Karma's a b***h. You're getting exactly what you deserve."

"He's in the late stages of stomach cancer. How can you say that?"

The doctor looked at her in disbelief, before casting me a pitying glance and scolding her.

"He deserves it!" she shouted, suddenly realizing what she had just heard. Grabbing my collar, she sneered again.

"Tom, you've really gone this far, huh? You even dragged your mother into your little drama. Are you really so desperate to keep me that you'd fake a terminal illness?"

Even now, she thought I was lying. All these years, this was how she saw me—a deceitful, manipulative man who would stop at nothing.

Jack, still spectating, took the opportunity to twist the knife further.

"Emma, don't blame him. It's my fault for needing so much of your attention. No wonder he's upset. It's only natural he'd do something to get you to notice him."

"Can't you see how much weight he's lost?"

The doctor, clearly fed up with their delusions, stepped in, trying to help me up. I refused. I had to wait here until my mother came out.

"I'm dying, Emma. I'll be gone soon. Does that make you happy?"

I looked her in the eye, each word deliberate.

"Dying? That's too easy for you. Marrying you was the worst mistake of my life. You'll spend the rest of yours paying me back."

My mother eventually pulled through, miraculously surviving the operation.

But I wasn't so lucky. My time was almost up.

When she finally woke up, she hadn't even had the chance to say much to me before I was violently sick, unable to even hold her hand. There was no hiding it anymore.

The truth finally dawned on her. She lay there in her bed, staring blankly at me, her eyes hollow.

What could be more painful than watching your own child die before you, burying the hopes of a mother?

"I've lived my whole life doing good deeds. Why, why would God do this to me?"

Her tears fell uncontrollably, soaking her pillow.

Then, I got a call from my daughter's school. No one had gone to pick her up.

In my current condition, I couldn't even eat, let alone leave the hospital. So I asked a friend to help.

"Tom, don't worry. Lily's been such a good girl. She didn't cry or make a fuss, but she keeps saying she misses you. What's so important that you couldn't pick her up?"

I didn't know how to answer, so I mumbled something and hung up.

Soon after, the pain grew unbearable, and I passed out.

When I woke up, my mother was sitting by my side, hooked up to an IV, silently weeping.

The doctors told her I didn't have much time left, and I knew I couldn't hide it anymore.

Lily was still so young.

I had no choice but to find Emma.

"I'll agree to the divorce, right now. But you have to give me half of the house's value."

She seemed to be enjoying life, carefree as always.

"Oh, I thought it was a beggar at the door."

"Sure, I'll give you the money—on one condition. Crawl under Jack's legs, and it's yours."

Jack crossed his arms, watching me with anticipation.

How ridiculous. The house I had worked my entire life to buy was now in her hands, and I had to endure this humiliation just to get half.

But I was a dying man. What dignity did I have left?

I closed my eyes, thinking of Lily, her sweet smile as she waved at me with her little backpack on.

Then, I crawled.

The air froze for a few seconds.

Emma spat at me.

"I can't believe I married such a pathetic coward. What an embarrassment."

In the end, I got the divorce certificate.

I had spent my youth living in a dream, and now I had finally woken up.

Jack had a son. To celebrate Emma getting her divorce, the three of them hugged tightly. It was a picture-perfect moment of happiness, like a real family.

A scene I had only ever seen in Lily's drawings.