Chapter 3

On Bella's birthday, I took half a day off work.

She had picked out her cake herself, with a white sugar bunny lying on top of the frosting. She had also invited a few of her closest friends over for a party.

Starting at 4:00 pm, she ran back and forth to the front door. "Is that Daddy coming home?"

Alfred had promised her he would come back early that day to place the birthday crown on her head and stay by her side while she made a wish.

By 5:30 pm, her friends had gradually arrived, but she still kept looking toward the door.

Moments later, Alfred sent me a voice message. "Something went wrong on Edna's end, honey. Daryl saw another family of three and had a sudden emotional breakdown. Now, he's locked himself in the mall's nursing room and refuses to open the door, no matter what we say."

Holding my phone, I looked over at the living room, where Bella was picking up her birthday crown, only to set it back down.

He continued, "Go ahead and help Bella cut the cake first. Don't keep the other kids waiting."

After a brief pause, he added, "She can always celebrate her birthday next year, but it'll be much harder to fix Daryl's trauma if he's scared. Bella has always been sensible, so help me explain to her."

Bella ran over and looked up at me. "Was that Daddy?"

I turned off the screen. "It was just a spam call."

The smile on her face slowly stiffened. "Is he still coming home?"

Fixing the bow on the back of her dress, I asked, "Shall we cut the cake together, just you and me?"

She quietly picked up the birthday crown and placed it on her head. The tiny candle flame flickered, casting a watery reflection in her eyes.

After some guests left, she carefully asked, "Mommy, do I need to cry really hard for Daddy to come home?"

Reaching out, I pulled her into my arms and could feel my heart bleeding for her. "This isn't your fault, Bella."

She buried herself in my chest, crying silently.

A child learning to hold back her tears on her birthday was too cruel.

By the time we finished seeing everyone off, it was nearly 9:00 pm. I packed away the remaining cake into a box, wiped the frosting off the table, and cleaned up the balloons and confetti scattered across the floor.

I had been running a low fever since that morning, and at this point, my back was slick with cold sweat.

Bella sat on the couch, holding the teddy bear someone had given her. She was still wearing her birthday crown.

"Are you sleepy?" I asked.

She nodded. "When Daddy comes home, will he still put the birthday crown on me?"

But Alfred never came home.

Bella suddenly spiked a fever in the middle of the night. I called Alfred over and over, but the line just kept ringing before the call was sent straight to voicemail.

The pediatric ER at midnight was a chaotic chorus of children's crying.

Burning up and miserable, Bella gripped my collar tightly and murmured, "It hurts so much, Mommy."

The exhaustion from my own fever and the sudden crash of low blood sugar hit me all at once, but I couldn't afford to collapse. Bella only had me.

At 3:00 am, my phone finally rang.

"Daryl wouldn't stop crying, and my phone was on silent. What's going on?"

Before I could say a word, Edna shrieked in the background, "Daryl is asking for you again, Alfred! He won't let me touch him!"

He panicked so much that he didn't give me a chance to speak. "Just take care of Bella for now. I can't walk away from—"

"Do you even remember that today is Bella's birthday?"

The anger in my voice made him pause before hanging up. "I know. I'll make it up to her later."

During the latter half of the night, Bella woke up once while her IV drip was still running. She opened her eyes and saw that only I was there.

"Mommy… Is Daddy happier being someone else's daddy?"

I held her burning little hand, but before I could answer, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again. Her question stayed with me and echoed through the walls of the ER.

I carried her home after sunrise. The doorbell rang moments after we walked through the door.

Edna stood outside, holding Daryl by the hand. She held up a basket of fruit and apologized.

"I'm so sorry about last night, Olivia! Alfred stayed up so late helping us out. I hope we didn't cause you too much trouble."

Daryl was holding a huge box of building blocks. It was the limited-edition space station kit, which was the first item on Bella's birthday wishlist.

She had spent hours writing that list. After she was done, she taped it to the fridge and even circled the item in red, saying, "Daddy's really good at buying toys. He'll definitely understand."

Daryl deliberately lifted the box higher. "Mr. Manning bought it for me!"

Bella leaned against me, and all the color drained from her face.