Chapter 4
Winston and Asher froze when they heard Selene’s cries. The mockery and indifference in their gazes faded away, replaced by shock and fear as they stared wide–eyed at me, who was lying in the pool of blood.
Winston’s lips trembled, as if wanting to speak. But as if all the strength had been drained from him, he couldn’t even force out a single word.
He finally spoke after a long time, “Are you now shameless enough to resort to this pity act to get sympathy and money, Seraphina?”
Selene shook with anger as she heard him. “How could you say that about her, Winston? She almost sacrificed herself just for the both of you!”
“What else should we say about her, then? She was the one who left me and Daddy all for money back then. She’s also the one shamelessly asking for money as soon as she met up with us!
“Do you think we’d believe in your pretentious act and forgive you now? We won’t!”
Asher, my own flesh and blood, whom I carried and gave birth to, was the one who replied.
I struggled to open my eyes and looked at the similar faces before me. My heart ached.
I had been silently watching over Winston and Asher over the past five years. I knew how much my leaving had hurt them.
After the kidney transplant surgery, Asher rested against Winston’s chest. He asked, “Daddy, now that we’re okay, will Mommy come back?”
Pain and anguish flashed across Winston’s face. He struggled to suppress his tears and ruffled Asher’s hair. “Ash, from now on, Daddy will be here with you, okay?”
Later, Winston built everything up from scratch, rising to become the richest man in the country.
As time passed, Asher stopped asking about my whereabouts. He accepted a life with only Winston. On the day they moved out of the rented apartment, he burned every photo of the three of
- us.
Now that my health was deteriorating, the truth I’ve kept hidden for five years would be buried with me. Perhaps this would be the best for everyone.
“It looks like you’ve all figured it out,” I said, forcing myself to stand using Selene as support. “I thought I could squeeze out a little more money, but I didn’t expect to get caught so soon.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Sera?” Selene looked at me in disbelief.
I cast her a pleading look before turning to glance around at everyone else. “I’ve drunk the wine, so I don’t owe you anything now. Can I leave now?”
Before Winston could say anything, Mrs. Jones walked over and said coldly, “Leave at once! There’s no place for someone like
It was already dark by the time we stepped out of the Jones‘ villa.
you here!”
Selene gripped my hand tightly, her eyes filled with worry. “Why didn’t you tell them the truth, Sera? Do you really want them to hate you forever?”
She knew how tormenting and difficult all these years had been for me. Even just talking about it would make me tear up.
I weakly smiled at her. “Wouldn’t it be better to hate me than for them to live in anguish?”
I could no longer hold on after that. A wave of dizziness hit, and I fainted in Selene’s frantic cries.
I was lying on the hospital bed when I woke up, my consciousness slowly returning.
Dr. Walker walked in, looking somber as he stood by the bed. He was holding my medical record in his hand.
“your condition… isn’t looking good.” He paused, as if carefully choosing his words. “Dialysis can no longer solve the problem. Your time might be running out if we can’t find a suitable kidney donor soon.”
I wasn’t at all surprised at the revelation–I had long since accepted it. I desired nothing else now that I finally saw for myself how happy and healthy Winston and Asher were.
I nodded at Dr. Walker. “I understand. Thank you for all your hard work over the years, Dr. Walker.”
He was the one who performed the kidney transplant for Winston and Asher back then. He was also the only person, aside from me and Selene, who knew I was the one who donated my kidneys to the both of them.
I leaned against the hospital bed, looking at the warm sunlight outside the window. Perhaps living my last days just like that wasn’t a bad choice, after all.
However, it seemed like fate wasn’t done with me just yet.
My sudden appearance in the live stream that day plunged me into a storm of online harassment. The people online brought up my past and tore into it mercilessly.
“What a heartless woman!”
“She’s such an irresponsible mother!”
“How could she still be alive now? So shameless!”
The flood of public judgment came crashing down on me. Unable to stand it, Selene opened up countless alternative accounts just to defend me.
However, the truth didn’t matter to anyone, and no one was willing to listen. To them, only my death would be enough to absolve my sins.
Selene threw herself onto my bedside and hugged me tightly. Her tears damped my shoulders as she cried, “This isn’t fair! They have no idea what you’ve been through! You clearly-”
I gently patted her back and comforted her softly, “Don’t cry. Why should you care when I don’t even care anymore?”
However, Selene continued to sob.
I happened to run into Winston and Asher in the hospital corridor a few days later.
Winston’s gaze was filled with anger and mockery when he saw me. He coldly asked, “Why are you here again? Are you still trying to bother us?”
Lignored his insults as my gaze landed on Asher’s right hand–wrapped in a bandage, with faint traces of blood seeping through.
“What happened to your hand, Ash?” I couldn’t help but ask worriedly.
Asher hung his head low and said nothing.
Winston chuckled coldly before stepping in front of him. “Stop your pretentious act! When have you cared for him in the past years? Where were you when he needed his mother and when we were lying on the hospital bed?”
His words cut deep into me. I parted my lips, yet I couldn’t refute him.
Tears rolled down my cheeks uncontrollably.
Asher looked at me indifferently, as if I was a mere stranger. “I’ve told you. My mommy died five years ago!”
Although I had wanted them to hate me, I still felt like dying when I was faced with it.
Chapter 4
At that moment, Selene rushed over from the end of the corridor. She was holding several yellowing pieces of paper.
She said, “That’s enough, the both of you! You refused to believe Sera had donated her kidneys to you, didn’t you? You can have a good look at this, then!”
Selene threw the papers at Winston and Asher. They fluttered gently to the ground, and an organ donation consent form fell on the top of the pile, catching their eyes.
“Back then, Sera had donated her kidneys to the both of you–all just for your sake!” her voice echoed in the corridor, snapping both Winston and Asher awake.
Stunned, Winston bent down to pick up the papers. Despite them yellowing, the hospital’s seal and the date were still clear.
His fingers trembled slightly as he asked in a hoarse voice, “Is… Is this true?”
Selene chuckled coldly, yet tears continued to fall uncontrollably. “She has been struggling on her own all these years, yet you’re here blaming her! Do you even deserve her?”
Fury filled her as she raised her voice, to the point of screaming. “You even humiliated her in front of everyone else. Are you even human?”
Winston’s face paled instantly. His lips trembled, yet nothing came out from his lips.
Asher grabbed my arm tightly. His gaze was filled with fear and anxiousness. “Is this true, Mommy? Did you… donate your kidneys to us?”
I opened my mouth to answer him, yet a sharp pain gripped my chest suddenly. Everything went black, and I collapsed without any strength left in me.
I could hear Winston’s and the others‘ frantic shouts, but I was already losing consciousness, eventually succumbing to darkness.
