Chapter 4

My right hand, pressing the cotton ball, was aching, so I unconsciously shook it a little.

The blood at the needle site, which hadn't clotted, suddenly gushed out. I quickly called for the nurse.

The nurse, who happened to be at the doorway, hurried back to help me replace the cotton ball.

“Press harder! You bled so much, you need to press longer!”

Her voice was a little stern.

I weakly nodded.

“Okay!”

Seeing my poor condition, the nurse softened her tone.

“You still have two more bags of IV fluids later, and you don’t seem to have much energy. Maybe hire a caregiver? Not noticing blood returning in the IV can be very dangerous.”

“Then please help me find a good caregiver,” I said.

In the past, because I wanted a bigger house and a nicer car, I scrimped and saved, not even buying myself a bubble tea.

And now, those two were flying to the beach, staying in a five-star hotel, and enjoying a seafood feast.

My frugality was an absolute joke.

I needed to be good to myself.

The next IV bag was scheduled for half an hour later. I endured the pain all over my body and went to the NICU to see Lily.

When I arrived, the ward nurse said Lily had just gotten over her fever and was asleep.

Because I had a high fever, the doctor wouldn’t let me get close to Lily. I could only watch from a distance.

I saw other babies being looked after by entire families, while Lily lay alone in her small crib.

Her little face was flushed, and she was breathing with tiny, labored gasps through her small open mouth.

She must have sweated from the fever earlier; her short, soft hair was matted to her scalp.

My heart ached with a mix of sorrow and pain.

I could endure any hardship for myself, but I couldn't bear to see my daughter suffer.

Reluctantly, I still called Derek.

He didn’t answer.

I called several times, and he hung up each time.

I sent a message, telling him Lily was hospitalized and needed someone to stay with her.

He sent a voice message much later, his voice full of anger.

“Chloe Miller, can you stop being so dramatic? The moment I leave, you have to invent a lie about our daughter being hospitalized?”

“I’m just accompanying Mom to clear her head. Can’t you just be calm for a few days?”

I looked at his message, and my heart felt like it had swallowed a block of ice.

It slowly melted, chilling my entire body bit by bit, to the bone.

How foolish was I to still treat him like a human being?

All those tangled thoughts suddenly became crystal clear.

If Derek truly loved me, he wouldn’t have insisted Brenda come stay with us in the first place.

Every time there was a conflict with Brenda, he wouldn’t have simply told me to endure it.

He disregarded my feelings for only one reason: he didn’t love me at all.

I earned enough money to live a perfectly comfortable life on my own, so why was I staying in a strange city, enduring hardship and being disrespected?

Why should I expect others to suddenly show me kindness?

There was no reason, absolutely no reason at all!

It took me barely a second to make my decision: leave this city, leave that rotten excuse for a human being!