The SAT scores were released, and my twin children, Osvaldo Mckay and Shania Mckay had been accepted into Harvard University and Stanford University respectively. They were invited by the schools to give speeches.

For the first time, my husband Edgar Mckay agreed to attend and even volunteered to drive us to the school.

But halfway there, his first love Carina Krause complained to him, and he locked us inside the car to reflect on our actions.

In the scorching summer heat, the twins had heart attacks, and I desperately smashed the car windows to try to save them.

We finally escaped, but my children's lives hung by a thread. The only medicine that could save them was in my husband's hands.

I called him again and again, and I heard his first love say to him softly, "Go take a shower since you've taken off your clothes."

I did not have time to dwell on this and shouted urgently, "Edgar! Osvaldo and Shania had heart attacks! Please, give me the medicine to save them!"

My husband snorted coldly, not at all in a hurry. "Carina was right. You really will go to any lengths for attention."

Without hesitation, he blocked my number.

That day, I did everything I could, but still, I could not save my children.

***

The emergency room light stayed on.

My nerves were stretched taut like a wire. The nurses repeatedly urged me to get my hands bandaged, but I kept shaking my head in refusal.

When I saw a doctor come out of the operating room, I clung to him as though he were my last hope, almost kneeling before him.

The doctor looked anxious and helpless. "Begging me will not help. Without the special heart medication, we cannot proceed with the surgery. We've done everything we can, but all we can do now is buy them one more hour."

"I'll find a way. Please, just save my children."

With a borrowed phone in hand, I called Edgar through my tears.

I was so anxious that my hands were trembling, barely able to press the buttons. After several tries, I finally got it right.

But it didn't make it through.

Sweat dripped down my face, and I had no choice but to call Andy Neal, the assistant of Edgar, begging him to help.

"Mrs. Mckay, I'm sorry, but no one except Mr. Mckay and Ms. Krause has permission to access the medicine."

A weight pressed down on my chest. I did not have time to argue. I humbled myself and begged him desperately.

Moved by my plea, Andy gave me Edgar's location.

My hands were already covered in blood from smashing the car windows, shards of glass embedded in my flesh. Yet, I could not feel the pain and just hurried to where he was.

He was at a luxury hotel.

After confirming my identity, the receptionist gave me a room key with a knowing look.

When I opened the door, I found Edgar and Carina sitting side by side on the bed in their bathrobes.

Edgar looked utterly shocked to see me.

It was Carina who spoke first.

"We were just bathing a hamster. Why do you always have to be so suspicious? You even go as far as stalking Edgar's whereabouts."

I could not waste any time or energy arguing with her.

I just pushed Carina aside and turned to Edgar anxiously.

"Osvaldo and Shania had heart attacks! They're in the emergency room right now. You need to give me the heart medication. There's no time!"

Just thinking about my children lying there, their lives hanging by a thread, I felt my heart broken. I just wished I could give anything to take their place.

But my husband, their father, simply looked at me with disdain.

He pulled Carina into his arms, comforting her.

"You're so obsessed with competing for my attention that you're willing to curse your children. You're such a shameless liar, no wonder the kids have come to this point! I'm telling you, if you don't apologize to Carina right now, you and the children are not welcome in the Mckay family anymore."

Earlier today, on the way to the school, Edgar had received a message from Carina. She said Osvaldo and Shania had texted her, calling her a homewrecker.

Enraged, Edgar smashed my phone and locked us in the car to reflect on our behavior while he took another car to comfort Carina.

Thus, my children suffered because of it.

"Edgar!" My fury made my voice hoarse. "I don't have time to argue with you. Give me the medicine, now!"

I reached out to grab his arm, my blood smearing his clothes.

He immediately pushed me away in disgust.

My head hit the hard marble surface behind me with a dull thud, and tears of pain welled up in my eyes.

"At least put on a better act," he sneered, "You're too old to be faking injuries like this. You're even using your children to act out your drama. Do you not care about ruining their future?"

My children were dying. Without the medication, they would have no future at all.

Swallowing my pride, I pleaded with him, "I am not lying. If you don't believe me, you can call the hospital. Edgar, they are your children. Don't you even care about them?"

That comment hit home. He frowned, hesitating for a moment.

Just then, Carina let out a delicate cry.

"Edgar, look, Cloud isn't moving anymore! It must have been scared by her. Hamsters can die of fright; we have to take Cloud to the hospital immediately."

The tiny hamster, dressed in a ridiculous little outfit with frills, looked utterly comical.

Yet Edgar's face was full of worry.

While comforting Carina, he picked up the hamster cage and prepared to leave.

I blocked the doorway, my voice urgent. "Give me the medicine first. Osvaldo and Shania cannot wait any longer."

Edgar's gaze lingered on me for a few seconds before shifting back to Carina.

Tears started streaming down Carina's face. "Cloud was raised by us from the start. She's like our child. How can you just stand there and watch her die?"

"Adrianna, you incited Osvaldo and Shania to call me a homewrecker and insult me. And now, you're lying to kill my precious pet. What have I ever done to you for you to hate me so much?"

With tears falling from Carina's eyes, any wavering resolve Edgar had vanished, and he fully sided with her.

Seeing that they were about to leave...

I knew I could not waste any more time. In front of the crowded hallway, I slapped my face hard.

"I am sorry! It's all my fault. I will take all the blame! Please, just save my children. Give me the medicine!"

Tears mixed with the blood from my lips, bitter and nauseating.

"You're still lying! Osvaldo and Shania had recovered. How could they possibly have had heart attacks from sitting in the sun for a bit? You're just trying to make a scene and embarrass me in front of so many people."

Onlookers in the hallway were all looking at us curiously.

I endured the humiliation and discarded my dignity, but all I got in return was Edgar's look of disgust.

"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson. From now on, stay away from the children and reflect on your behavior at home. I don't want you leading them astray."

Edgar comforted Carina as they left without hesitation.

I pounded on the car window with my bloodied hands, but Edgar, feeling irritated, pressed the gas pedal, causing me to fall to the ground.

Thinking of my children, barely clinging to life, I struggled to get up and desperately chased after the car.

Just as I was about to run out of breath, my phone rang.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Mckay. We did everything we could."

At that moment, I wished a car would hit me and end it all, so I could be with my children.

But then I remembered their lifeless bodies lying cold and alone in the morgue, waiting for someone to claim them.

They had never known the warmth of a family while they were alive. How could I abandon them in death?

When I reached the hospital, I nearly fainted at the sight of their two lifeless bodies despite having steeled myself along the way.

When I gave birth to them, I endured a day and night of agonizing labor. And after they were born, the twins had been frail because of their congenital heart disease.

Others always said that this pair of twins was my karmic debt, but I had always believed they were my precious treasures.

I hated myself for not giving them healthy bodies, so I devoted all my energy to developing a special heart medication while carefully tending to their every need.

I cherished them like priceless gems for eighteen years.

They grew into exceptional individuals, and through their hard work, they were both admitted into Harvard University and Stanford University. They had become legends in the eyes of their teachers and classmates.

Today, they should have been standing under the spotlight, basking in the applause and stepping into their bright future.

But instead, they died alone, in pain and regret.

I didn't know how I managed to get through it all.

Perhaps extreme pain led to numbness, because somehow, I went through the motions and took care of all their funeral arrangements in a daze.

My two beautiful children were reduced to two small, light boxes of ashes.

I spent every day crying in pain, while Edgar did not even call until a week later.

"Bring Osvaldo and Shania back to my parents. My mother is hosting a grand banquet to celebrate their acceptance into university. The guests will be influential people. Don't embarrass me with your petty jealousy."

I bit my lip and agreed through gritted teeth. "I won't disappoint you this time."

Looking back now, I realized that my relationship with Edgar had always been doomed.

I was a top student exempted from tuition fees because of my academic excellence, while he was the wealthy heir whose family had donated a building to the school.

Our worlds could not have been more different, and we had no reason to cross paths.

Until one day, Edgar approached me and offered to pay me to tutor him.

I thought he was joking, but after that, he changed. He started paying attention in class and studying hard.

When I asked him why had changed dramatically, he said, "I don't want to disappoint you."

The summer breeze tousled his hair and, in doing so, stirred my heart.

And so, Edgar and I gradually grew closer.

We studied together, did homework together, and made plans for the future together.

The Mckay family looked down on me because of my humble background, and they never liked our frail children either.

Around that time, Edgar's company ran into trouble.

To prove my love to him, I handed over the patent for the special heart medication that my team and I had developed.

That groundbreaking patent made him a giant in the industry, unstoppable in his success.

With that, I retired from the spotlight and settled into the role of a devoted wife and mother.

I named our son Osvaldo and our daughter Shania, hoping they would live their lives in peace and happiness.

I was willing to give up my career, endure the Mckay family's contempt, and even turn a blind eye to Edgar's growing distance.

As long as my children could grow up safely and happily, I was willing to sacrifice everything.

But later, I found out that Edgar had been studying hard back then not for me, but to prove himself to his childhood sweetheart, Carina. He married me out of spite.

Even after our marriage, they remained close.

Not only that, the special medication I had poured my heart into developing became something for him and Carina to share.

They basked in the glory of that success, and it ended up costing my children their lives.

In one night, my entire life collapsed.

I had nothing left to hope for, nothing to care about, and nothing holding me back.

Now, I would make sure those responsible for the deaths of Osvaldo and Shania paid the price!