Just as I was about to leave the hospital with Cyrus, a sharp-eyed nurse caught sight of me.

"Where are you going, miss? Your child's forehead is bleeding! We need to take care of it quickly!"

Since he was willing to lead the way to a doctor, I wouldn't need to seek my son's treatment elsewhere.

The doctor whom the nurse led us to used alcohol to disinfect Cyrus' wound. Cyrus' face was pale from the pain, but he still pushed through the pain and did not shed a single tear.

"Daddy said that he likes brave children, so I can't cry!" he declared. "If he comes over later and sees me crying, he'll be unhappy."

My son was using Niall's words to motivate himself, but in the next hospital room over, the father, whom he assumed did not like fussy children, was doing his best to pacify a little girl.

The doctor looked speechlessly at me.

"What exactly happened?" he asked. "If such a large wound isn't stitched up quickly, it'll leave a scar."

"We got into an accident. Please take a look at my son! He'll be fine, right?" I asked anxiously.

"Where's the child's father?" asked the doctor instead of answering. "Why isn't he here instead of making his wife run around like this?

"Your son will have to be hospitalized for the night. How are you going to handle things alone?"

As he spoke, the doctor's hands worked continuously to stitch up and disinfect Cyrus' forehead.

"It's alright, Mommy," Cyrus reassured me. "I'm really strong, and it doesn't hurt at all!"

The tears that I had been holding back started flowing down my cheeks. "It's alright. I can handle this alone," I responded.

At that, the same doctor glanced up at me. "You'll have to keep watch over him for the entire night! As long as he doesn't break out into a fever, he'll be fine by tomorrow."

Cyrus took the medicine that the doctor prescribed and promptly fell asleep.

"Daddy, why don't you like me?"

I looked at Cyrus, who was calling out for Niall in his sleep and felt my heart clench violently.

Niall was not even worthy of being your father!

He had promised Cyrus that he would send him to kindergarten today and let Cyrus' classmates know that he also had a father.

Thanks to that, Cyrus had been too excited to sleep last night.

However, when morning came around, Niall had left the house without looking back the moment he received a call from Chelsea.

"It's raining outside, so it's inconvenient for Chelsea to send her child to school," he had explained. "I'll leave you to figure out arrangements for our son."

He had personally made a promise to his son, but he had forgotten about it in the blink of an eye.

No matter how much I pleaded and how disappointed Cyrus was, Niall had left without a backward glance.

I did not own a car, and umbrellas were practically useless in such heavy rain, so Cyrus and I ended up having to brave the rain.

Just as I got him to the kindergarten, Niall happened to speed by in his car, splashing muddy water all over the two of us.

It was Lulu Blanc who got out of his car.

I could still recall how lonely my son looked back then.

"Didn't you say that Daddy had something else to deal with, Mommy?" he asked. "Why is he sending another girl to school?"

I rushed forward to interrogate Niall, but he shoved me unceremoniously to the ground.

"If Lulu catches a cold from being out in the rain, nothing you do will be enough to compensate for it!" he snapped frostily.

Cyrus ran over to stand in front of me, yelling, "Bad Daddy! You're not allowed to push Mommy!"

However, Niall did not care whether his son caught a cold or came down with a fever. He instead concentrated on embracing Lulu, ensuring not a single raindrop touched her.

He did not even spare a glance for Cyrus, who was thoroughly soaked.

Cyrus developed a fever by noon. It took a whole afternoon of tender care before he finally got better.

However, during the night, my son kept thinking about celebrating Niall's birthday with him. He insisted on looking for his father, which led to tonight's events.

As I looked into my son's pale face, I silently apologized, "I'm sorry. It's all my fault for not taking good care of you."

The next morning, the same doctor from yesterday—Dr. Cooper—came to check in on Cyrus.

"Where's the child's father?" he asked again. "Did he not come at all? That's so irresponsible!"

I pursed my lips, unsure of what to say.

"Young people nowadays are just so irresponsible. You'd be better off marrying a pig than a husband like this! Take my advice—you should remain sharp when looking for a husband.

"Dr. Luther from our hospital, for example, is a great man! I heard that his wife and daughter were almost hit by a car in front of the hospital yesterday. He almost turned the entire hospital on its head in his worry!

"That's how huge the gap between a good and bad man is!"

The bitterness in my heart grew the more I listened to the doctor's words. "That's right. I'd be better off marrying a pig than a man like this!"

In the past few days, I finally learned that the hospital staff had a tacit agreement that Niall and Chelsea were already together.

So, this was what Niall had meant when he said he was afraid I would drag down his career. He was not afraid for his career. He was just afraid that if news of our marriage were to spread, it would affect his ability to play a loving couple with Chelsea while at the hospital.

It was not that he disliked children. He just did not like me and my son.

"As his mother, you're at fault too!" the doctor accused. "How could you let your child get soaked in the freezing rain?"

Cyrus replied before I could, saying defensively, "Mommy didn't cause me to get soaked! Daddy clearly promised me that he would send me to kindergarten, but he ended up sending someone else…"

He trailed off, then asked me, "Does Daddy not like me, mommy?"

I tried to put on a strong front, but I crumbled when I caught sight of the news being broadcast on television.

"It was reported that a young girl suffered minor abrasions while at an amusement park last night. The girl's father immediately conducted a full set of medical examinations for her and spent a full hour thoroughly ruling out all possible hidden dangers.

"In the end, it was confirmed that it was just a scratch. Throughout the entire process, he displayed incomparable care and patience for his daughter. His actions were filled with fatherly love, and netizens have crowned him as the most responsible father!"

When the doctor heard the news report, he said in delight, "That's Dr. Luther, the man I was telling you about. Look, that's the kind of man a woman should be marrying! Responsible, loyal to his family, and loyal to love!

"You may not like me telling you this, but if things don't work out between you and your husband, I suggest you file for divorce. What use is trash like that?"

My heart was filled with bitterness. Who would know that the "most responsible father" and the "most irresponsible father", according to the doctor, were both actually the same person?

Cyrus watched Niall hugging Lulu tightly on screen.

He realized that she only had a minor scratch. On the other hand, he had gritted his teeth through the pain of receiving stitches.

He did not understand why there was such a difference between them.

Cyrus, who had not shed a tear despite all the pain he had gone through last night, looked at me with red eyes, asking, "Mommy, Lulu's actually Daddy's child, not me, right?"

I could only hug him tightly and reply, "No, that's not it. You're his child! It's all my fault…"

"Daddy doesn't like me, but he likes Lulu. It's alright, Mommy, so don't cry. I don't like Daddy anymore, either. I don't want him anymore, either!

"He's never kept any of his promises to me, and he treats you badly, too. Let's not be with Daddy anymore, okay?"

My son was evidently incredibly sad, but he was still trying his best to comfort me.

As I listened to his words, I felt as if my heart was being stabbed with a knife, and I burst into tears.

Cyrus was hospitalized for a week. Almost every day of that week, I would hear from doctors and nurses in the hospital about how loving and reminiscent of a model couple Niall and Chelsea were.

I would also hear about how obedient and sensible their daughter was.

Day by day, my determination to file for a divorce increased.

"Why have you come to my workplace again, Shayla?" Niall questioned harshly. "Are you thinking about causing trouble? Well, I suggest you save it!"

I was carrying the chicken soup I had made for my son in hand. His attending doctor mentioned that drinking more soup could aid in the recovery of his wound.

Niall looked at the thermos flask I was holding in disgust. "Even a dog wouldn't drink anything you make!"

"No, that's not it—"

Before I could properly explain that this was a nutritious meal I had made for Cyrus, he ruthlessly knocked over the soup I had spent an hour meticulously preparing to the floor.

Hot soup splashed upward. The back of my hand quickly became red and swollen.

"Putting on a pity act?" asked Niall, glancing disdainfully at me. "Save your little tricks!"

"Niall Luther! This is a nutritious meal for our son! It's been so long since he got into a car accident, but you've shown zero interest in his well-being. Now you've even deliberately spilled the soup that I made for him!

"You asked me what I wanted, didn't you? Well, that's my line!"

His expression froze before he asked calmly, "Haven't you had enough of your whole car accident act? Now you're moving on to delivering soup?"

"How could I not know that my son's in the hospital?" I cried out.

"Stop making excuses, Shayla. Just get out!" he shouted.

Just then, Chelsea approached us from the end of the corridor. "How could you speak like that, Niall? Ms. Jennings is doing this out of concern for you, even if she's going about it the wrong way."

Niall gently embraced her even as he stated coldly, "She's asking for it."

Cyrus heard the commotion outside his hospital room. Poking his head out of a gap in the door, he happened to hear those words.

He immediately rushed over and placed his small frame in front of me in an attempt to shield me.

When he caught sight of the swelling on the back of my hand, he gently blew on it for me. He then turned to look at Niall, yelling, "From today onward, you're no longer my daddy! I don't want you anymore!"

Niall turned around in shock, his eyes landing straight on Cyrus. When he saw the hideous wound on Cyrus' forehead, he panicked.

"How can he actually be injured? Did you get someone to put on special effects makeup for him, Shayla? Say something!"

As I gazed at the man in front of me, I felt like he was more than a stranger. The facts were right in front of him, yet he claimed that I was lying to him.

"Let's get a divorce, Niall Luther!" I shouted.

Chelsea saw that Niall was shaken by Cyrus' injury, so she immediately started sowing discord again.

"If not for the fact that you used many different tricks to get Niall's attention before, why would he subconsciously assume that you're lying, Ms. Jennings?

"It's easy to call for divorce but difficult to actually go through with it. If Niall really were to agree to it, it might give him a bad name.

"Furthermore, even if we were to hold someone accountable for this incident, I'm afraid most of the responsibility lies with you, Ms. Jennings."

Niall's eyes immediately lit up at her words. "Chelsea's right. If not for the fact that you've deceived me on multiple occasions, why would I subconsciously distrust you? Our son suffered such a serious injury, but all you did was call me!

"How irresponsible can you be, as a mother, to allow our son to get into a car accident in the middle of the night?"

My jaw almost slammed to the floor when I heard his shameless words.

So, according to them, I was actually the perpetrator?

How ridiculous.

"Niall Luther!" I yelled. "If it wasn't for our son rushing to celebrate your birthday with you, would we have left the house in the middle of the night?

"But what did I see when we got here? Lulu White only suffered a minor scratch, and the wound had already closed up, but you still treated her with utmost gentleness and even helped her disinfect it!

"Look at the condition our son is in right now! Don't you feel guilty?"

I turned to address Chelsea. "Others might not know about it, but are you telling me that you're unaware of Niall and I being married to each other, Chelsea Blanc? Do you think addressing me as Ms. Jennings is going to change that fact?

"Look at you, so eager to become a mistress! How cheap can you get?"

Niall attempted to say something, but when he looked into Cyrus' teary eyes, he decided against it.

"We'll treat this incident as my fault," he said eventually. "I'll upgrade our son to a premium ward and provide him due compensation! However, as his mother, you're not completely blameless! You don't have the right to point fingers at me!

"Don't blame Chelsea for it, either! This matter has nothing to do with her!"

I no longer wished to continue exchanging words with him.

Responsibility? As a mother, when my child was injured, all I could feel was pain and distress. How could I have been in the mood to think about anything else?

"Enough, Niall!" I shouted. "Let's file for divorce!"