Chapter 2
I turned to him and said evenly, “Nothing, just that my ID card is about to expire, so…”
“Didn’t you just get your ID card two years ago? How could it expire so soon?”
I froze for a moment, not expecting him to remember going with me to get it two years ago. That was also the day he met Anya.
Henry walked over and snatched my phone. After unlocking it, he saw no recent calls in my history and his frown eased.
Then he accused me. “Can’t you just give me some peace? Do you think I actually care about you? You’re trying to threaten me like this? I’m telling you, your tricks only make me sick. You’re not even one-tenth of Anya.”
Before I could respond, he turned and left. From the doorway, Anya’s playful voice floated in. “Henry, why are you coming out empty-handed? My underwear is still in your bedroom.”
“There’s something dirty in there. I’ll take you to buy new ones.” His voice faded away. I sat on the floor, drained and dejected.
I quickly pulled out my phone and opened another system interface. A message from Zion, sent a minute earlier, appeared.
[Kate, welcome back. I look forward to you creating another legend.]
I replied with a simple “OK” and turned off my phone.
Two days later, early in the morning, I went to a specialty goods shop. I showed the staff the severed finger and stated my request.
At the same time, I applied online to cancel my identity information.
While waiting, I received a taunting message from Anya.
It was a photo of Henry in the hospital, wearing a stethoscope and looking serious.
Anya wrote: [Henry said he couldn’t help himself because he wanted to hear the newborn’s heartbeat. I wonder if he treated you like this when you were pregnant?]
I gripped my phone tightly. Anger burned inside me, but I forced myself to stay calm. I had only seven days left before I left them.
I still remember Henry’s expression when I was pregnant.
He wasn’t happy or excited about the child’s arrival.
His first words were, “Finally, you’re pregnant! I don’t have to eat those things anymore.”
Although Henry had been in pain at that time, he never refused me.
I told him I had a hidden illness and convinced him to join me in recuperating. I also said that once I became pregnant, I would no longer force him into anything.
But what Henry didn’t know was that the one with the illness wasn’t me, it was him.
Henry had been a gangster, often smoking and drinking. He also had asthenospermia, which made conceiving difficult and no one wanted to marry him. That was when Sophie came to me, offering me the favor of saving my life in exchange for staying with Henry and giving the Taylor Family a child.
For the first three years, I cared for Henry and nursed him back to health. In the fourth year, finally became pregnant, but the baby almost miscarried. Sophie was terrified, knowing the doctor had already said Henry could never be a father.
I looked at the man in the photo, a sarcastic smile tugging at my lips.
Henry, you weren’t fit to be a husband, let alone a father.
3:04 pm
