"You have time to visit your mother, but you don't have time to be with your son? Do you know Timmy's still in the hospital, Brenda?" I snarled while pointing at her.

She snorted. "It's just an allergic reaction, isn't it? It's not like he hasn't been given medical attention. All children fall sick. Why is he more fragile than others? He's a boy, too. Josie doesn't fall sick at all. He only has himself to blame for being weak!"

She was Timmy's mother, yet she could say such callous words about him. She didn't care about him or pity him at all.

"Is that all you can say now that our son is in a coma?" I couldn't even bring myself to say that he would never stand before me again when he'd been so active just the day before.

Brenda snorted again. "Don't think you can fool me. I won't believe your lies. Josie already told me that she just wanted to give Timmy a pretty flower. Who would've known that an allergy that hasn't acted up in years would suddenly relapse at that moment? It's not like she did it on purpose!"

I suddenly realized that Cameron was probably the one who'd orchestrated this whole thing.

I didn't waste my breath arguing with them and sneaked the documents I needed out of the house while Brenda and Linda were distracted. I hurried back to the hospital with them.

My heart settled back in my chest as I looked at Timmy, who was still unconscious. A nurse came to adjust his IV, and she told me about the things I needed to pay attention to.

She said there was a chance of coma patients regaining consciousness, but it would take their family's care and support for that to happen. She asked about Timmy's mother.

I hardened my heart and told her his mother was dead. Rather than tell everyone that Timmy had a mother who didn't care about him at all, I would prefer it if they all thought she was dead.

It would be Timmy's birthday in a few days. In the past, I would take him to the amusement park before we headed home to have cake and blow out the candles after making birthday wishes. Each time, Timmy would ask why Brenda wasn't with us yet.

I would check my phone repeatedly. There would be no information on the flights she claimed to be on, yet she would tell me that she'd just landed.

I knew about all the lies, and they hurt like hell. However, I had no choice but to hide the pain and comfort Timmy.

I was brought back to reality at the thought of this year being Timmy's fifth birthday. Even if Brenda and I were going to divorce, I knew Timmy would still want her to be with him.

Ultimately, I decided to seek her out again, hoping that she would grant Timmy's wish this once.

As I stepped out of the elevator, I heard party poppers and saw the ribbons from streamers strewn across the floor. The door was open, and things seemed lively inside. There were many people—they seemed to be celebrating something.

Had they already started celebrating Timmy's birthday? I inched closer to the apartment, feeling doubtful.

Linda stood by the door, so she was the first to see me. Her expression darkened, and she snarled, "What are you doing here?"

Brenda turned to look at me. "Who said you could be here? You're not welcome!" she said with a snort.

It turned out they were celebrating Josie. She wore a pretty pink dress, and a gold medal hung from her neck. There was a huge poster on the wall that wrote, "Congratulations to Josie for being first in her year!"

There were also flowers everywhere in the apartment. I recognized them—they were the ones that had caused Timmy's allergic reaction.

The sight of all of these things cut deep.

Just then, my phone rang with a call from the doctor. He anxiously told me that Timmy's condition had worsened and that family was needed to sign some documents.

I turned around and glared at Brenda, saying, "Timmy's condition has become worse, and I'm going to the hospital now. I'll ask you one more time—are you coming with me or not?"

Before she could say anything, Cameron approached her and said, "Brenda, maybe you should go see what's happening, since Harry made the situation sound so dire. What if he's telling the truth?"

"That's impossible, Dad! Timmy is known for being a liar at kindergarten, and nobody likes him! His dad must be just like him!" Josie pouted and ran to Brenda in her pink shoes, clinging to her arm. "I don't want you to go anywhere, Brenda. I want you to be with me! Timmy is a liar, so we can't believe him!"

Their words were like ice, making my blood run cold.

I held myself back as I looked at Brenda again. All she did was lift Josie into her arms and kiss her cheek affectionately. Then, she said, "You see how things are. I can't go anywhere. You've always been the one to raise Timmy. He likes you more, so I'll just stay here. I need to be with Josie."

After that, everyone else pushed and shoved as they chased me out. They acted like I was nothing.

I slumped against the door and slowly slid to the floor, burying my face in my hands.

I secretly swore to make them pay for everything they'd done.

Fortunately, I returned to the hospital just in time, and Timmy's condition stabilized. I couldn't move past Brenda's words, though.

I wanted to get revenge on her. Since she didn't want to see Timmy, she wouldn't be able to do so for the rest of her life! I would make her live in regret forever!

Firstly, I had Timmy transferred to a hospital in the suburbs. Then, I asked Brenda out under the guise of needing her to sign a sale & purchase agreement for another new place.

I asked her to meet me at a funeral parlor.

Brenda came in, covering her nose and looking disdainful. "Why did you choose to meet at such a horrible place?"

I feigned devastation as I pulled out a document. I said, "I think you'll find the place much better with this."

When she saw that it was a property deed, her face immediately lit up. She started digging through her bag for a pen. There were too many documents to sign, so she scrawled out her signature without even looking at some of them. Then, she handed the stack back to me and asked when the place would be ready.

I scoffed and said, "Since you're here, you should attend this funeral."

Brenda's expression darkened, sounding pissed as she snapped, "Are you crazy? Do you have to give me this much trouble just because I didn't go to the hospital to see Timmy? The more you act like this, the more I hate him! This just makes me reluctant to see him!"

I chuckled darkly. "That's fine. You won't be able to see him ever again, anyway."

"What does that mean? Why won't I see him anymore?"

I pointed at the large screen behind her and said, "One of the documents you just signed is an agreement to cremate Timmy's body. Look, the screen is showing his name."

She stared at the screen, which read, "Timmy Moore, five years old. Deluxe cremation furnace."

Her eyes widened in shock before she turned back to me and grabbed the stack of documents I held. She flipped through them for a long time before finding the cremation agreement.

Then, she screamed hysterically, "How can this be? It's impossible! It was just an allergic reaction! I don't believe this! I want to see him!"

Her franticity was laughable. I pointed at the furnace and shouted, "Go ahead, then! Go look at him in there! All you'll see are ashes! Or maybe you'd like to go straight to the underworld to see him now? Maybe you'll catch a glimpse of his soul!"

That seemed to make her snap to her senses. She ran to the room where the cremation furnace was. Coincidentally, she saw a fresh pile of ashes being placed into Timmy's urn.

Brenda broke down in that moment. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the floor. She shrieked, "This can't be true! That's not my son! That's not my Timmy! It can't be him!"