Chapter 1

I stared at the phone after Ethan Pascal hung up on me as his words replayed endlessly in my mind.

I struggled to suppress the emotions welling up inside me. Then, I forced myself to dial the emergency number with whatever strength I had left in me.

Sure enough, the emergency hotline was more reliable than he was.

The doctor told me I had a case of food poisoning.

Fortunately, I was rushed to the hospital in time. If it were only a few minutes later, I wouldn't be lying so comfortably in the hospital bed right now.

While I was receiving an IV drip in bed, my phone suddenly rang.

It took me a moment to come to. I picked it up to see it was Ethan calling.

“Cecil, do you think I should add some scallions to the grilled beef?”

I was taken aback by his question. After a moment, I forced a smile and told him, “Ethan, I'm at the hospital right now.”

He grumbled impatiently, “Alright. Make sure you take some medicine.”

Then, he quickly reverted to the previous subject, “Come on, with or without scallions? Which one tastes better?”

Before I could get a word out, I heard a woman's voice in the background, “Ethan, as long as you’re the one making it for me, I don’t care whether there are scallions or not.”

Then, the call was cut off abruptly.

I stared blankly at the screen. Then, I received two messages from him.

“A new project came up at the company, and I’ll have to work overtime. I’ll be back home tomorrow.

“Get some more medicine at the hospital. I'll transfer you the money if you need it.”

I felt a terrible throb in my heart when I read the messages.

Overtime? And to get some more medicine at the hospital?

The bar couldn’t get any lower, could it?

I lay back in bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.

A little girl in the adjacent bed was staring at me. When she observed how I had fallen silent, she smiled dearly and turned to me with her chin propped on her hands, “Hello. Why are you by yourself?

“When my mommy was in the hospital, Daddy was with her. Where is your husband?”

I looked at her and replied mildly, “Husband? I don't have a husband.”

Upon hearing this, she suddenly shot up with her hand pressed against her hips and her face flushed red, “Liar! I saw it! You have a picture with your husband on your phone case!”