Chapter 3

Zoey's POV

Ian loathed it when other people brought up what happened five years ago. Looking at him, I suddenly remembered the days many years ago when I would still lean against the windowsill, waiting for him to come home.

Back then, I was still young, and Mom would always make excuses for him. She told me that his company was going through a difficult time and that things would get better once he made it through this rough patch.

Then, one day, Ian came home with a grim expression. He sat at the dining table in silence for what felt like an eternity before telling Mom that the company's cash flow had been cut off, that he owed debts outside, and that he was afraid he would drag us down. Consequently, he wanted to get a divorce.

The color drained from Mom's face that day. However, she didn't blame him. In fact, she merely said, "It must be hard… carrying all of that by yourself."

Ian merely nodded.

From then on, Mom withdrew every last cent she had saved since their wedding. She gave him everything she had, including her credit cards and savings book.

Mom even took on numerous jobs, sewing clothes for people during the day and helping out in the kitchen of a small restaurant at night, hoping to help him get through that difficult time together.

Back then, the highlight of my day was coming home from school and waiting by the window. I waited for Ian to open the door, for him to come and pick us up.

Mom always told me to wait a little longer. She said he would come home once he was done with work.

I believed her for a very long time—until the day Ian returned and told us that our house had to be put up as collateral for his debts and that we needed to move out first.

Mom still believed him then. She took me to live in the cheapest rental apartment in the old town area, continuing to work herself to the bone to earn money and continuing to wait for him.

Yet, not long after, the news of Ian's remarriage was plastered everywhere—on television, on cell phones, and on the large screens in shopping malls.

The ceremony was grand, illuminated by brilliant lights and packed with guests. Elena stood by his side in a white wedding gown, while Eugene stood right between them, looking like a child who had been accepted by the entire world.

The host proclaimed that this was the most complete and perfect picture of a family of three.

Mom's hands trembled as she held her phone. She stared at it for a long while before she finally came back to her senses and took me with her to hail a cab to the wedding venue.

Unfortunately, we couldn't even set foot inside. The security guards blocked us, and the people around us were all gawking at us.

Mom pleaded repeatedly, explaining that she merely wanted to see Ian once and ask him for an explanation. Yet, no one was willing to let us through.

Eventually, Ian spotted us in the crowd. I expected him to come over. However, the very next second, Elena clutched her stomach and leaned into his arms, saying she couldn't be triggered.

Ian immediately instructed the security guards to drag us out. "Don't let them make a scene here." Those were the last words he said.

It was raining cats and dogs when Mom and I were shoved out the hotel entrance. Mom was soaked to the bone, but she still refused to leave, her eyes completely locked onto the bright lights inside.

Later on, I chased after Ian and refused to let go, clutching the corner of his coat and asking him why he had abandoned us. Losing his patience, he violently shoved me away.

I tumbled down the steps. My ear slammed against the handrail, and it hurt so much that I couldn't hear a thing anymore.

Mom took me to several hospitals, and the doctors made it clear that if we treated it early, there was still hope. However, we didn't have the luxury to do that.

Snapping back to the present, I looked up, staring right into Ian's eyes. "Since when did the man who's so great at protecting his perfect little family become too fragile to handle the truth?"

Ian's expression hardened, and an awkward look flashed across his face. However, when he spoke up, he still chose to shift the blame on Mom.

"Your mother's the one who couldn't let go back then. She refused to accept reality and insisted on blowing everything out of proportion. Had she come to terms with reality, we could have all lived in peace."

Holding his gaze, I felt anger flare up in my chest. "We could've all lived in peace? Do you have any idea how I lost my hearing?"

Ian was caught off guard. This was the second time he had noticed the hearing aid tucked behind my ear. When we ran into each other yesterday, he was too busy looking down at my shabby clothes to notice anything else.

I raised my hand and tucked my hair behind my ear, giving him a clearer view. "The day you kicked me out, I tumbled down the stairs and hurt my ear. Of course you wouldn't remember; you were too busy getting married and coddling Elena to care whether I was hurt."

Ian's lips quivered, as if he wanted to argue.

I didn't give him the chance as I continued, "It's not like Mom and I haven't tried to reach you all these years. We called you, sent you messages, begged you, and waited for you. However, every single time, our call was declined, or Elena would answer, telling us how busy you were and that we should be more understanding.

"Mom's health eventually deteriorated, and she was diagnosed with a condition that required long-term treatment. But you didn't even bother taking a good look at her medical records before you decided that she was pretending to be sick again.

"In the end, you threw me a debit card, told me there was money inside, and asked me to never show my face in front of you again."

At this point, my hands had gone numb from clenching them so tightly.

I had genuinely believed him that day. I thought, no matter how cruel someone could be, they would never joke about someone's life.

I took that card and ran all the way back to the hospital. I didn't even notice that one of my shoes fell off. My mind was completely filled with the thought that Mom could be saved.

However, when I reached the payment window, the staff swiped the card three times before looking up at me and saying, "There's no money in it."

At that moment, standing in the crowded hospital lobby, I was dumbstruck. I didn't even know who I should blame. Should I blame the bank, myself, or Ian, who had turned his back on us and never looked back?

My voice dropped to a freezing register as I looked at Ian. "Tell me, is this what you call 'living in peace'? Was there ever a moment when you truly wanted Mom and me to survive?"

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

As Ian looked at me, the expression on his face finally changed. Yet, after a prolonged silence, the first thing he said was still, "There's no way I gave you an empty card."

I almost laughed out loud because at this point, his knee-jerk reaction was still to absolve himself of all blame.

"So you think Mom and I teamed up to deceive you?"

"There has to be another reason for what happened," he insisted.

"Right, another reason." I looked him in the eye. "But no matter what that reason was, the only person who ended up dead was Mom."

Ian's expression changed in an instant. "What did you just say?"

I looked him dead in the eye and spat out, "Mom's dead. She died three months ago in the hospital, and the last things she was worried about before she died were still my tuition and my college entrance exam."