2
"Mom, don't cry. An'an will wipe it for you, and it won't hurt anymore."
"Dad was wrong to hit you, but An'an will always stay by your side and protect you."
After the domestic violence episode, my 10-year-old son immediately came down from the second floor, leaned by my side, and used tissues to wipe the blood off my face.
At that moment, all the pain in my body seemed to vanish completely.
For the past seven years, if it weren't for An'an's understanding, I honestly don't know how I would have persevered.
But when I returned to the bedroom, I overheard my son secretly calling Lu Chen.
"Dad, you can relax and stay with Aunt Weiwei. I've already calmed Mom down for you."
"You need to tell Aunt Weiwei that An'an loves her just like Dad does. Seven years ago, if Mom had been willing to donate a kidney to Aunt Weiwei, she wouldn't have died. Mom is the murderer who killed Aunt Weiwei!"
The contents of the phone call left me utterly stunned.
It felt as though a sharp spike had been viciously driven into my heart.
I never imagined that the son I carried and gave birth to over ten months would say such a thing.
My heart ached almost to the point of suffocation.
For the past seven years, I endured Lu Ze's repeated domestic violence only for my son.
But now, all my perseverance collapsed instantly.
It turns out there is no one in this family worth longing for.