I hung up the phone and tidied my dead son's hair.

Before entering the operating theater, Andy asked me hopefully, "Daddy, will I see Mommy when I wake up?"

I answered definitively, "You will. Just sleep well, Andy."

I had let him down. Vivian was not even there when he passed.

Perhaps sensing something, Vivian kept texting me to ask about Andy's situation. I read her messages without replying to them, but I did not block her either.

Early morning the following day, I was at the hospital dealing with Andy's after-death paperwork when I bumped into Vivian.

Jason rushed into the hospital with Luke in his arms, while Vivian was running next to him, yelling at the nurses, "Help him!"

Passersby immediately moved aside to let them through. I could not move in time, so she was suddenly in front of me.

She stopped in front of me and said, "Charlie, Luke suddenly passed out. I'm taking him in to get him checked."

I nodded and moved aside. She looked at me with a little confusion, not understanding why I was suddenly being so generous.

In the past, whenever she favored Luke, I would often stop her and complain about it, yet I moved aside without saying anything.

Vivian let go of Luke's hand and walked over to me. "Charlie, don't get mad. I'll arrange for Andy's liver transplant right away."

Jason called out to her and tugged her hand. "Vivian, please don't go. Charlie, I know you hate Luke for taking away Vivian's love, but he's just a child. Please don't take it out on him."

In the end, Vivian chose to be with Jason. She turned and left without looking back.

One of the nurses said to Jason, "Sir, don't worry. Dr. Grant is known for loving her husband. As long as you say the word, there's nothing Dr. Grant can't do. You're her husband, unlike some shameless lover who doesn't know their place."

The other nurses seemed to pick up on the gossip and started to comment on the situation.

"So, he's the lover. How shameless of him to not avoid her husband."

"Yes, when his son was admitted, he kept saying that he was Dr. Grant's husband. He wanted the dean to operate on his son."

"What a shameless man. His motherless son deserved to die."

Back then, Vivian said that she would like to keep her private life private, so she had never once taken Andy and I to any of the events in the hospital. She would not even let her colleagues know of our existence.

When Jason returned to the country, she brought Jason to attend all of her hospital's events on the guise that Jason knew no one in the country. She introduced Jason to all of her colleagues.

When her colleagues mistook Jason for her husband, she did not even correct them. She merely smiled.

That was why all of her colleagues in the hospital thought that Jason and Luke were her husband and son, while Andy and I were just some love affair that she had.

Vivian stopped me in the corridors and went in to kiss me, but I swerved.

"Vivian, this is a place of work."

Vivian's arms hung awkwardly in mid-air. She said with a slight pout, "Charlie, please don't be mad. I'll give my liver to Andy soon."

I lowered my head to hide my face. "There's no need anymore."

Andy was dead. His mother, who stood him up, had no right to see him. How sad would Andy be if he found out that his mother, whom he kept hoping to come and see him, was spending her time with someone else's son!

Vivian noticed that I was upset. She took out two boxes from her bag. "This is for you and Andy."

Inside the box for Andy was an action figure. I looked at it in a daze.

Last year on Andy's birthday, Vivian was out on a business trip. Andy had asked for a real action figure for his birthday, so Vivian videocalled Andy to get him to pick one.

When she returned, the action figure that Andy chose ended up in Luke’s arms.

Andy cried, but Vivian merely chided him for being petty and told him to share with Luke.

She finally got Andy the action figure, but it was too late. Andy was no longer alive.

Seeing my non-reaction, Vivian panicked a little. She went up to tug me on my arm.

Just when she was about to say something, Jason appeared and said, "Vivian, the doctors said that Luke has developed kidney failure. He needs a kidney transplant."

Vivian replied anxiously, "Don't worry. I'll do a compatibility test right away. I won't let anything happen to Luke."

She left with Jason, but I called out to her, "Vivian, are you not going to visit Andy?"

Vivian stuttered, "I-I…"

Jason replied on her behalf, "Charlie, please don't come at me now. Luke is still waiting for Vivian to save his life."

Vivian sighed in relief. "Charlie, don't be mad. I'm a doctor. It's my job to care for the sick. Wait for me. I'll be back soon."

Then, Vivian left with Jason.

Looking at them leaving, I said under my breath, "Vivian, there is no need to do that."

I heard the nurses talking. Vivian's kidney was compatible to Luke's. She had signed an agreement to donate her kidney to Luke after a week's of rest.

Even after knowing the outcome, my heart still ached.

After an entire busy day at the hospital, I wanted to find an empty room to rest. I opened the door to see Vivian and Jason kissing passionately.

When they saw me, Vivian immediately broke apart and said, "Charlie, Luke is sick. I was just consoling Jason."

I could not help but reply sarcastically, "So you kiss him as consolation?"

Vivian was about to explain herself, but Jason pulled her back and said to me with reddened eyes, "Charlie, don't blame Vivian. I was the one who kissed her."

I asked, "You really don't have any standards at all, do you?"

I left, but Vivian followed me.

"Charlie, let me explain. Jason's like a brother to me."

Jason said from behind her, "Vivian, the doctor said that Luke's situation is really serious. He needs a transplant right away."

After a moment of conflict, she said to me, "I have to give Luke my kidney."

Then, she turned and left without looking back.

How ironic.

Her son needed her liver, yet she kept finding excuses to delay the transplant. When the son of her first love needed a kidney, she immediately agreed to donate her kidney right away.

Who she loved was as clear as day.

If I had noticed earlier, I would not have put my hopes on Vivian. Perhaps Andy would not have died.

At that moment, I had completely given up on Vivian.

I returned home and packed my belongings as well as Andy's. Since I have chosen to end this, I was going to do it cleanly!

After packing up, I printed and signed the divorce papers.

By then, a new day was beginning.

In the first morning light, I left the home that Vivian and I had lived in for ten years.

When I was in the taxi, I looked at the barrage of messages Vivian sent to me.

[I'll be donating my kidney to Luke tomorrow at 9. Come here earlier to take care of me.]

[Don't worry. Once I recover, we'll do the liver transplant for Andy.]

[Once Andy is cured, we'll travel the world. We'll go to Swisserland to see the northern lights, and we'll ski in the mountains. We'll see the world.]

I locked my phone and smiled self-deprecatingly.

Vivian Grant and I no longer had a future together.

At eight in the morning, I carried Andy's dead body from the hospital to the crematorium when I bumped into Vivian.

"Charlie, what is this?"

I looked at her icily and replied, "Vivian, Andy is dead. He'll be cremated at noon. Will you be willing to come with me and send him on his last journey?"

Vivian took two steps back. "Impossible. How could this happen?"

Jason held Vivian and scoffed, "Charlie, why are you saying that he's dead? He's clearly doing well."

I could no longer take Jason's provocation, so I slapped him on his face.

He licked the blood of the corner of his mouth and looked at me provokingly. "Now that your lies have been exposed, you're turning violent?"

"Enough!" Vivian barked.

Her surroundings immediately quieted down.

She took a step closer to me and glared at me. "Charlie, even if I didn't give in to your request to give Andy a liver transplant, why did you have to lie to me?"

She went over to the gurney carrying Andy's dead body and uncovered the sheets. Andy's lifeless body appeared right in front of us.