My chest hurt even more, and I did not want to hear what else he had to say.
When I wanted to leave, someone asked Silas, “What if that poor woman doesn’t want to get a divorce after learning about your status?”
Silas chuckled. “Even if she doesn’t want to, it’s useless. I’ve already written my will. After I die, she and her sick son won’t be getting a penny from me.”
I bit myself and tasted blood in my mouth.
I could not bear listening any further and ran.
But my emotions were a mess, and I tripped a few times.
My hands and legs bled, and I sat on the ground while I cried helplessly.
I thought that my love of five years was all for nothing. I sold my house and car for him!
At that time, my parents and friends had disagreed with my decision and thought that he was unworthy of me.
I cut ties with them. Despite the hardships over the years, I never once admitted defeat to them.
I sacrificed everything for Silas, but to him, Nathan and I were just burdens.
I had a cab send me home.
After I got back, Silas called me.
He asked sweetly, “Honey, why aren’t you here yet?”
I covered my mouth with the blanket so that I would not let the sounds of my crying leak out.
When I remained silent, Silas sounded anxious, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did something happen?”
I hung up.
I typed a few words on my phone despite my tears blurring my vision.
[It’s nothing. Nathan is feeling unwell. Why don’t you call a cab home?]
Silas asked, [Do you want to go to the hospital?]
I replied, [Don’t need to. He just had a nightmare.]
Silas felt at ease, and he called me. He laughed, “Honey, I’ve packed up some leftovers for you two. We had crab today!”
When I heard what he said, I just found it incredibly ironic and insulting.
Silas often ate outside, and whenever he did, he would pack up the leftovers for us.
Before this, I was never bothered by what he did.
After all, our financial situation was bad. Meat and fruits were luxuries for us.
Nathan might not have said anything, but I could see envy in his eyes whenever he saw other people eating in restaurants when I brought him to work.
So, every time Silas brought leftovers back, Nathan would be delighted, as if Christmas came early.
To him, it was because he could finally eat meat.
At that thought, I clenched my fists so hard that my nails dug into my palms.
My poor son. His father was rich, but he lived a life that was harder than a normal child.
I started crying again.
To my surprise, Nathan woke up. When he saw my tears, he wiped them for me. “Mom, why are you crying? Did I make you mad?”
I shook my head, but I could not stop crying.
In the end, I hugged Nathan tightly, and all the sadness I felt exploded from within me.
I could no longer hold myself back.
I helped Nathan put on his clothes and held his hand. “Come, Nathan. I’ll bring you to visit your grandmother.”
When my mother opened the door, she saw both me and Nathan, and she was stunned for a few seconds.
I thought that she would chase us out, but my mother squatted down and patted Nathan’s head.
“You must be Nathan. I’m your grandmother.”
Nathan timidly greeted her, “Hello, Grandma.”
My mother let us in.
She did not ask why I came back nor did she chase us out. Instead, she asked us to go to bed.
I opened my bedroom door, and my eyes stung.
My room was clean. It was clear that someone cleaned it regularly.
The next day, my parents brought Nathan for a checkup at a hospital.
The doctor soon had Nathan hospitalized and got him scheduled for surgery.
During that time, Silas sent me a message and said that he had gone to work. He also said that he did not wake us up because we were deep asleep.
Lies.
Both Nathan and I were no longer in the house.
It was only at that moment that I realized how often Silas lied to me.
Was he ever truthful to me?
At night, Nathan said he wanted his elephant soft toy, so I returned home to get it for him.
Right after I stepped into our house, I smelled food.
It came from the table. When Silas heard the door opening, he ran over. “You’re finally back, Honey. I got my bonus today, so we can eat better food.”
He looked behind me. “Where’s our son?”
I said, “Nathan is in the hospital.”
Nathan looked nervous. “He’s hospitalized? Where? Why didn’t you tell me?”
That nervous expression almost made me believe that he cared about Nathan.
But what he said last night had already carved a deep mark in my heart. It was like a burn that would never heal.
I asked him, “Silas, do you love Nathan?”
Nathan patted my head. “You’re being really strange today, Honey. Nathan’s my son. How could I not love him? What’s wrong with you?”
I stared at his face and found his words disgusting.
He did not love Nathan.
I then remembered something. When I left the ward, Nathan had said, “I miss Dad. When is he coming?”
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
Silas panicked and wiped away my tears. “What’s wrong? Honey, what happened? Tell me the truth. Did something happen to Nathan?”
I shook my head. “Nathan’s fine.”
Silas sighed in relief.
He held my hand and hugged me. “Are you worried about money? Don’t worry. I’m about to get a lot of money. By then, Nathan can have his surgery.”
I broke free from his embrace and stared at him for a long while. “Mr. Lewis, when do you intend to spare us?”
Silas was stunned, and his smile vanished, but he feigned ignorance. “What’re you saying, Honey? What do you mean, ‘spare us’?”
I wiped away my tears and took out my phone before playing the recording from last night.
Then, I asked, “Mr. Lewis, you bought a 40-million-dollar mansion without batting an eyelid, but you spent such a long time to get 50 thousand dollars for my son’s surgery?”