She hung up on me again.

I did not expect that, just because of Hugh’s words, Meg had misunderstood that it was my father who got into the car accident. She thought that I was calling her to get my hands on her money.

I was anxious and frustrated. I stood there with a thick wad of receipts in my hand as I looked at the nurse standing before the operating room.

However, when I called Meg again, I realized she had blocked me.

I was extremely anxious. I exhausted all contact methods, but none of them worked.

She said she was busy, but why did she still have the time to block me?

It was her own father who was lying in the operating room!

How could she believe in Hugh’s baseless words?

I suppressed my emotions so I would not embarrass myself in the crowded hospital.

It was not the right time to be mad at Meg.

Nothing was more important than Luther’s life. I called a few friends and managed to borrow a hundred thousand dollars. Then, I quickly went downstairs to make the payment.

My back was drenched in sweat when I rushed back to the emergency room again.

I clenched my fist as I stared intently at the red light on top of the operating room doors. I kept praying that Luther would be fine.

Luther had always been very kind to me. He knew that I had a lot of siblings, and I was the awkward middle child. Hence, he had treated me like his own son.

Even though he had been divorced for years and single-handedly raised Meg, he was not the type of father who was overbearing.

On the contrary, he respected Meg and my personal space. He lived alone in a different house, and he would only visit us on the weekends. He would even bring us our favorite food.

This time, he had come over because Meg had mentioned that she missed his chili. He had remembered.

He had just made the chili and delivered it to our place. On the way back, he got into a car accident.

Our houses were actually very close to each other; he only had to cross a small junction.

I heard that the Good Samaritan who sent Luther to the hospital was a drunk driver. The drunk driver was speeding, and Luther landed a few feet away. Blood was pooling around him.

When I recalled what the nurse had told me, I had a bad feeling.

The doctor walked out of the operating room and shook his head at me. He sighed and said, “It was too late to save him. We tried our best. He’s still awake, but maybe…

“You should go and talk to him.”

Something snapped in my mind.

My legs went limp as I fell onto the floor. I started crying uncontrollably.

However, I had no time to waste. I struggled to my feet and went into the ward.

Luther was hooked up to several tubes.

A few hours ago, he was still smiling and telling me that he would bring me his tiramisu the next time.

Instead, he was lying in a hospital bed with an ashen face.

He forced a smile when he saw me.

“Easton, you’re here. Where’s Meg?”

I did not know how to answer him, and I hated that Meg did not believe me.

I could only force a smile. “Luther, Meg’s at work, and she can’t step away.”

I did not know if Luther believed my words. His smile faded a little.

He gestured for me to come closer.

I scooted closer and saw tears in Luther’s eyes.

“Easton, I know that Meg has done you wrong. I know about it. Recently, no matter what time I arrived at your place, Meg would not be home. How busy could she be?”

He was speaking without any difficulties, and his face was a little more flushed.

My heart sank. I knew it was terminal lucidity, and I felt even sadder.

Luther could tell that I was upset. He patted my face with his cold hand and wiped my tears away.

“After I die, no one will help you to teach Meg a lesson. Easton, you’re a good kid. You deserve to be happier. Don’t force yourself into spaces you don’t fit. Divorce her. It’s my fault. I didn’t expect her to be like her mother…”

A tear slid down Luther’s cheek, and his hand faltered and dropped to the bed.

I bit my lower lip, but I still could not control my sobs.

“Luther!”

The monitor indicated that he was flatlining.

I would no longer be able to try his tiramisu.

When I went to his place to pack some of his belongings, I saw a handwritten letter lying on his desk.

It was addressed to me.

I opened the letter. It was then that I realized that Meg’s mother had cheated on him too.

Luther had a hard life. He only started to be happier when Meg found success in life.

He hated disloyal people.

However, he did not expect that his daughter, the person he loved the most and took care of all her life, was corrupted as well.

I managed Luther’s funeral with his relatives.

Maybe I had cried too much because I could no longer cry at the funeral.

During the funeral, some relatives asked me about Meg’s whereabouts.

I no longer bothered to lie on her behalf.

I told everyone that Meg was busy helping her first love.

Meg’s aunt, Lydia Smith, was extremely furious. She gave Meg a call.

“Meg, something happened to your dad. Where are you?”

Meg stayed silent for a really long time before she asked, “Aunt Lydia, is Easton next to you?”

Lydia glanced at me and answered yes.

“Can you please pass the phone to him?”

Lydia hesitated for a while before passing the phone to me.

I frowned and wanted to hear what she had to say.

I had just said hello when she started yelling at me.

“Easton, how shameless are you? How dare you buy off my aunt and get her to act for you?

“Your dad died. What of it? My dad treated you so well, and you’re cursing him to be the one dead instead? Why did you turn into a vicious person? You can’t even compare to Hugh at all! If my dad doesn’t object, I will definitely divorce you!

“Stop calling me. Hugh is facing a serious problem. I have no time for your pitiful acting!”

After she yelled at me, she hung up.

Meg did not know that Lydia had put her on speaker.

Every single one of her relatives and friends had heard her words.

Lydia almost fainted from anger. She kept cursing Meg for being an ungrateful daughter.

To them, Meg had always been the golden child.

She was beautiful, smart, and had a good job.

However, she was acting this way when her father died.

She was basically heartless!

I heard their curses and remained silent. I just quietly stared at Luther’s photo.

He was smiling gently in that photo.

I remembered that I took that photo of him when Meg and I had just gotten married.

I remembered that after I took this photo, Luther held both Meg and my hands and told us that we had to treat each other well for the rest of our lives.

He emphasized that Meg had to treat me well. He said that if Meg treated me poorly, I would need to tell him.

He would teach Meg a lesson for me.

That time, Meg retorted, “Dad, how can you say that! Why would I treat him poorly?”

Luther muttered, “You can say that now, but you can’t guarantee the future.”

None of us had expected that to come true.

I was in a daze when someone suddenly asked, “Why didn’t the drunk driver show up?”