I had just stepped out of the pig farm when Maia called. She was sniffling into the phone, crying that she missed me and begging me to come back to her.

"Mom, I feel awful. Can you come and see me? I'm sorry. I know you're already exhausted, and I shouldn't cling to you like this, but I really miss you. I don't wanna be away from you.

"I'm in so much pain. Am I going to die? I haven't even had the chance to look after you yet. I don't wanna die. I just wanna stay with you forever and make you happy."

Hearing her sound so considerate and grown-up, I drew in a deep breath, but my chest felt as if it were full of needles.

I had raised Maia for more than ten years. She had been a collodion baby, born with skin so thin and fragile that every movement risked tearing it open, making it rot and ooze.

I had looked after her as if she were made of glass. When she was a baby and couldn't drink from a bottle, I fed her with a straw, drop by drop. When she grew older and cried all night in pain, I stayed up to fan her and reapply medicine again and again.

Watching me struggle, Maia would touch my face with her tiny hands. She would tell me she felt sorry for me and promise she'd take care of me one day so I'd never have to work so hard again.

I had poured everything I had into loving her. So how did I end up raising someone who betrayed me?

But at least now, starting today, I wouldn't have to put up with her tantrums or keep sacrificing myself for her.

When I reached the hospital, another woman was already at Maia's bedside. I recognized her instantly. She was Bruno's mistress and Maia's real mother, Claire Hines.

The moment I stepped in, Maia, who had been laughing and chatting with Claire, pushed her aside and let a few tears roll down her cheeks.

"Mom, you're finally here. Dad says you don't care about me anymore, that you're not looking after me. He even brought Claire to take care of me. He said if you don't try harder to cure me, he'll divorce you and let her be my mom instead!

"I don't want anyone else as my mom. And I know you'll find a way to cure me, because you're the person who loves me most in the world!"

Before, I would've been moved by Maia's words and thankful for Claire's so-called help; I would've let all three of them make a fool out of me.

But this time, I just smiled coldly.

"The system's all set up now, so you don't need me anymore. She can be your mom, if that's what you want."

Maia's eyes went wide at what I said.

"Really? You actually bound yourself to the system? All those disgusting sores and green pus will pass to you?"

Then, realizing how eager she sounded, she coughed lightly and tried to look weak.

"You haven't worked a day in years. You've been living off Dad, and he's been the one making sure you have everything. If you'd been out earning money, maybe he wouldn't have pushed himself so hard that he had a stroke.

"Mom, I don't mean anything bad. I'm truly grateful you've taken care of me all these years. I just feel bad for Dad. He's had it rough."

She felt bad for Bruno?

I almost laughed out loud in rage.

When I married Bruno, I was already successful. I had paid for our house and car in full before the wedding. For more than ten years, I lived off my own savings and never asked him for a cent.

And Bruno? He took my healthy newborn and dumped her, then forced me to quit my job to raise the sickly child he'd had with his mistress. After all that, he sat back as if he'd done enough. He hadn't looked after Maia a single day in all those years.

I had been far too generous, letting them live off me, and they still had the nerve to call me a freeloader.

I looked at Maia coldly. "I have just bound myself to the system, and you're already feeling sorry for your dad, who's never lifted a finger? Aren't you afraid you'll come begging me for help when your sickness doesn't go away?"

Maia and Claire exchanged a glance and both burst out laughing.

Maia, usually so gentle and obedient, now looked like a completely different person. Her face twisted with mockery as she said, "Beg you? What a joke. Since you're bound to the system, my illness will slowly move to you. I won't be begging you—it'll be you crawling to me!

"Dad doesn't even love you. Being with you all these years was more than you deserved. Why don't you just let Dad be with Claire?"

Claire, who had kept quiet this whole time, finally sneered, "If you don't divorce Bruno, he stays your legal guardian. When you've absorbed all of Maia's illness and you're bedridden, he won't lift a finger. He'll just watch you die in pain.

"If you don't wanna die, sign the divorce papers and walk away with nothing. All the money goes to Maia. Think of it as paying her back."

I had no idea what exactly I was supposed to owe Maia for.

And there was no way I was about to hand over everything I had worked for and walk away empty-handed.

But once the system was in place, Maia acted as if she'd already won. Even though her body was still covered in festering sores, she checked herself out of the hospital, strutting around as if she'd been miraculously cured.

Meanwhile, Claire and Bruno weren't even pretending anymore. She moved straight into his hospital room, and the two of them acted as if they were married—cuddling, laughing, and playing house in the ward as if it were some kind of honeymoon suite.

They were so busy living in their little bubble that they completely forgot about Maia. On her very first day out, she went riding her bike, crashed, and tore up her skin even worse.

If this had been before, I would've freaked out, rushing to bandage her up and scolding her for doing something so reckless.

But now? Hah. If she wanted to ruin herself, I wasn't going to lift a finger to stop her.

Sure enough, Maia ended up back in the hospital, covered in wounds again. To my surprise, Bruno and Claire showed up at my door, asking for money.

"Maia's your kid, too," Bruno said. "She's back in the hospital, and the treatment costs a fortune. You need to figure out a way to pay for it."

I just stared at him. "I already bound myself to that system for her. I've done more than enough. And now you're asking me to pay her bills, too? She got herself hurt—why should I clean up her mess?"

Bruno rolled his eyes. "You're her mother. Isn't it a mother's job to sacrifice for her child? What kind of mom keeps score like this? If you're gonna be so selfish, then we're done. Let's get a divorce."

For a split second, the word "divorce" almost made me smile. Then he added, "Maia's staying with me. Don't even think about fighting for custody. And you're not getting a dime. If you try, you'll never see her again."

He actually thought that would scare me. He really didn't know me anymore.

I looked him straight in the eye. "You've got some nerve. You're living in the house I bought before we got married, driving the car I paid for—and I'm the one freeloading? You won't get a single cent. We don't even have joint assets."

Bruno froze, his face twisting with anger.

"You're trying to take back the house and the car? I won't agree to that! Maia's finally getting better—she needs a quiet place to recover. How could you throw her out to suffer?"

Oh, so now he wanted to play the sympathy card?

I almost laughed. "You really think Maia's going to live just because she's connected to that system? Why should a heartless girl like her deserve to stay alive?"

The words were barely out of my mouth before I felt a sharp slap right across my face.

Maia had shown up without me even realizing. Her once-sweet expression was gone, replaced by a look of pure hatred.

"Heartless? I've called you 'Mom' for over ten years, even though it made me sick to my stomach. I'm the nicest person alive, don't you think?"

As she spoke, she snatched the fruit knife from the table and pressed it against my neck.

"Here's the thing—I'm still a minor. Even if I kill you, they can't sentence me to death. So be smart and hand over the house and the car. If you die, I'll get them anyway."

The blade was sharp, and I could feel a thin trickle of blood sliding down my neck. My heart was racing, but not from fear of dying.

It was because Maia's wounds were gone. Her skin was flawless, smooth, and completely healed.

A cold chill ran through me. I looked down at my arm and froze. My skin was breaking out in sores, rotting right before my eyes.

But I hadn't bound myself to the system. Maia should've been dying. What went wrong?

Why was she healthy now? Why was my body falling apart instead? Had the system malfunctioned?

Was I really destined to be nothing more than Maia's sacrifice no matter what I did?