Chapter 1

Alex, my spouse, repeatedly ignored calls from our child, letting them go unanswered.

"Father, Mother is hemorrhaging severely. Can you return promptly?"

A series of messages were dispatched, finally eliciting a response.

"Notify me when your mother has truly expired, and I'll come to retrieve her remains."

Alex likely never anticipated my demise. His callous words became reality. I vanished, just as he'd foretold, but ultimately, he was left behind, imploring me not to depart, beseeching me not to abandon him.

——

I collapsed onto my bed, clutching my chest wound. The expanding crimson stains on my white garment terrified my son, Kevin.

He pressed his hand firmly against my heart, his voice cracking as he tried to soothe me.

"Mom, let me heal you, so you won't suffer..."

With my clean left hand, I stroked my son's tear-stained face, wanting to console him but unable to speak through quivering lips.

"Mommy, I'll start a video call for Dad, he'll surely return to rescue you."

Kevin took the phone from me but realized he didn't know how to operate it.

"Mom, help me unlock the phone, I'll initiate a video call for Dad."

Kevin's cries came in broken, ragged bursts, his words barely comprehensible. Gritting my teeth against the sharp pain, I unlocked the phone.

Seeing the familiar icon appear, Kevin's sobbing gradually subsided. He paused, taking shallow breaths, then repeatedly attempted to video call Alex, desperate for any response amidst the turmoil.

Once, twice, thrice, Kevin's calls were rejected. His reddened eyes brimmed with tears as he grasped my pale, weak hand, shaking his head. At just five years old, he was at a loss for what to do.

Bitterness spread through my heart. I longed to caress Kevin's short hair, but lacked the strength.

"Mommy, Daddy won't answer the video. I'll send him a voice message," the little one whimpered, his words trembling.

After a struggle, he finally managed to say, "Daddy, Mommy's bleeding badly. Can you come back soon?"

A string of messages was sent before Alex finally replied, "Why are you listening to your mother? Conspiring to lie to me, are you?"

Kevin froze upon hearing the irritated voice, his body rigid. Picking up the phone again, he stumblingly sent another message.

"I'm not lying, Dad. Mom really is bleeding a lot. Please save her, okay?"

Kevin's pleading echoed in my ears, each word intensifying my chest pain. Tears streamed down my face, but Alex's words cut deepest.

"Isabel, haven't you caused enough drama? Now you've involved Kevin too. Haven't you humiliated us enough already?"

Alex's dubious words were like poison in my wounds, making every moment an agonizing struggle.

When did our relationship become so strained?

Witnessing my agony, Kevin couldn't contain his tears. With reddened eyes, he wailed.

"Dad, I beg you, save Mom, please? Please save mom..."

Kevin cried for a long time, but I noticed the red exclamation mark next to his sent message.

I watched Kevin hugging his phone and nestling beside me as he sobbed uncontrollably, desperately wishing I could embrace and comfort him.

But I couldn't make a sound, and my trembling hands could no longer move. Kevin cried inconsolably, with no one to console him.

My hands kept trying to rise, only to fall back, until all strength left my body. The bright ceiling light slowly dimmed, fading to darkness.

In that moment, I realized—my Kevin would grow up motherless.

The assailant who had burst in had plunged the knife into my heart, forever freezing my age at twenty-eight.