Chapter 2
Before bed, I heard Stephen coaxing the sulky little girl.
“Daddy, I don’t want that woman coming with us.”
“Sweetie, go to sleep. She’s your mother after all.”
Emily angrily shook off Stephen’s hand. “I hate her! She’s a bad woman! Aunt Dorothy should be my mom!”
I felt like falling into an ice cellar, my whole body trembling uncontrollably.
The next day was the parent–child sports day at kindergarten.
I excitedly prepared my sportswear early, overlooking Emily’s resentful gaze.
Only when she rushed into Dorothy’s arms after we arrived did I glance helplessly at Stephen.
He glanced at my cloudy blind eye, pursed his lips and spoke flatly.
“Since you always pretend to be unwell, naturally you can’t participate.”
Dorothy approached holding Emily’s hand.
Seeing my distress, she forced out tears. “Michelle, do you not want me here?”
“I’ll leave now so you can spend time with her.”
Emily clung tightly to Dorothy’s hand, beautiful eyes blazing with anger.
“You can’t run or jump. All my classmates laugh at my sickly blind mom,”
“I asked Aunt Dorothy to come with me! Having you as my mom just embarrasses me!”
Watching them compete in three–legged races and Pictionary games.
When they won first place, Stephen gestured at me. “Take our group photo.”
Unaware parents remarked: “What perfect teamwork! Such a handsome couple with a beautiful daughter.”
I forced a smile, watching Stephen gently embrace Dorothy and Emily.
As the camera clicked, something vital tore from my being.
The father–daughter pair before me felt utterly alien.
That evening, I didn’t prepare Herbal Medicinal Broth for Stephen and Emily as usual.
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Chapter 2
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After their organ transplants, I’d sought out a Traditional Herbalist in Solvang, studying Herbal Medicinal Broth for three months.
Stephen wandered into the kitchen looking unaccustomed to the stillness.
Hesitantly asking: “No broth tonight?”
I nodded silently.
Emily looked relieved. “Good! It never tasted nice anyway. Aunt Dorothy’s cooking smells better.”
“Should’ve stopped making those weird things ages ago. Disgusting stuff.”
I lowered my head, pretending not to hear.
I’d never make it again.
This house held no one left worth caring for.
Next morning, Dorothy arrived carrying an exquisite vase to apologize.
Eyes red, she reached for my hand. “Michelle, I know you mind my closeness with Emily.”
“But that half–year you vanished without word? I cared for Brother Victor and Emily.”
“They’re like family. I only ask you don’t stop me seeing them.”
Her teary–eyed vulnerability seemed heartbreaking.
Yet her gaze toward me brimmed with malice.
With a sharp crash, she deliberately dropped the vase, shards scattering everywhere.
Stephen rushed to cradle her, face etched with pain.
“Michelle, you jealous shrew!”
“I didn’t blame you for fooling around with another man while Dorothy and I were in surgery. You only came home after losing an eye. And now you dare bully Dorothy?”
His kick landed behind my knee, sending me crashing onto shattered porcelain. Blood seeped through my skirt as shards tore through flesh. Stephen seemed blind to my ashen face, his voice icy: “Kneel here till nightfall. You de- serve this lesson.”
His right eye held my cornea, yet never glanced at my remaining left.
Hours blurred. My knees went numb, but every porcelain splinter piercing skin burned sharp. Memories flickered- Dorothy’s third birthday, me placing a crystal crown on her head while Stephen gazed at me with love. Back then, her tiny voice would chime “Mommy.” His constant vow: “I’ll protect my beloved wife and daughter forever.”
Thwack!
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Chapter 2
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Stinging pain snapped me back. Dorothy stood fuming before me, having slammed her drawing board against my face. “Bad woman! Bully Aunt Dorothy again, and I’ll make Daddy throw you out!” Her small hands shoved me.
My blood–soaked dress clung to skin, each slight movement ripping wounds open. The medical monitor on my wrist. vibrated–my artificial heart’s fourth alarm. The surgeon warned: five alarms without replacement meant death.
But seeing disgust twist my daughter’s innocent face…
I realized no one cared if this heart stopped beating.
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