Chapter 2

Until my sister's condition suddenly worsened and she was rushed to the emergency room.

If I had known what would happen next, I would have taken my daughter to the hospital with me, rather than leaving her with Harlow, who happened to be home.

Harlow promised to take care of my feverish daughter, but less than half an hour after I left, she took a call from Zoran and went out.

My three-year-old daughter was left alone at home.

Outside the emergency room.

Just as my sister was brought out after a failed surgery, my daughter, who had accidentally fallen from the balcony, was urgently wheeled in.

Harlow has been dating new boyfriends constantly over the past two years.

She refuses to divorce me, yet brazenly brings men back to our home.

Just on the other side of the wall, they indulge in their passion without restraint.

My heart aches unbearably, but I keep making excuses for her.

I was the one who deceived her first, so her disgust, loathing, and hatred towards me are all justified.

I can accept whatever torment she wants to inflict on me.

But what she shouldn't have done was to involve our innocent daughter.

In one day, I lost the two most important people in my life.

I turn off the TV on the wall and slowly close my eyes in the silence.

If there's anyone to blame, it's my own greed back then.

Harlow, let's end this. Let's set each other free.

At an unknown point, I drifted off into a heavy slumber.

In my dreams, the figures of my sister and daughter appeared alternately. I stumbled and chased after them, but just as I was about to catch them, I was jolted awake by the sound of a door being forcefully pushed open.

The sound of high heels clicking against the floor grew closer.

Before I could fully shake off my dream, Harlow was standing at my bedside, looking down at me.

"Didn't you say our daughter wanted to see me? I'm here now, where is she?"

Looking at her expression of disgust mixed with disdain, a thousand words rushed to my lips, but in the end, only three remained.

"Never mind."

"What do you mean 'never mind'?" Harlow's brows furrowed deeply. "I knew you were lying on the phone. To get me to come back, you're even using our daughter now."

"And if you said our daughter was in trouble, why are you the one lying in the hospital bed?"

"What, did you think that by pretending to be sick here, I would forgive you for deceiving me?"

"Do you have any idea how much money I'm losing because of the time you've wasted?"

Before I could respond, another person walked into the hospital room.

"He doesn't know how expensive groceries are until he runs a household, so of course he doesn't understand how hard you work every day to earn money, Harlow."

Zoran walked up to Harlow, standing a full head taller than her, yet he clung to her arm like a delicate bird seeking shelter.

The burly man spoke in a tender voice, "But I'm different from Fitch. I only want to cherish and protect you, darling."

"You're always so thoughtful," Harlow smirked, then turned to me with a look of disgust. "What's with that look on your face? If it weren't for Luke suggesting I come back to check on you, do you think I'd want to see you at all?"

"Fitch, even looking at you for a second makes me sick to my stomach."

In the past, hearing such words would have stung, but now I felt nothing, not even a flicker of emotion.

"You can leave now."

As I tried to show them out, Harlow scoffed and plopped down on the couch instead.

"You went through all that trouble to get me here, and now you're telling me to leave? Did you realize I saw through your little game and now you're playing hard to get?"

"Since you're so eager to see me, I'll do you the favor of staying."