In a heavy rainstorm, my husband asked our five-year-old daughter to buy anti-inflammatory medicine for his old lover’s dog. As she navigated through the relentless rain, a car appeared suddenly from the mist. The driver couldn't avoid hitting her. The impact launched her small body through the air, landing her several feet away from where she was struck. By the time I arrived at the hospital, she was barely breathing.

“Mommy… I broke the medicine. I’m not a good girl. Will Daddy…”

Before she could finish her words, our daughter took her last breath. Even in her last seconds, she tightly clenched the fragments of the medicine bottle in her hand. I held my daughter's body and cried uncontrollably.

At the same time, my husband’s ex-girlfriend posted on her social media.

[My Bailey hurt his leg. You’ve braved the rain to buy him medication. You are a definition of joy.]

The photo attached showed both of them touching Bailey's injured left leg tied with a bow. They looked so sweet. 

My blood boiled, I took a screenshot and confronted my husband. [Is this why you sent our daughter out in a rainstorm To get a medicine for this dog？]

He didn't call until a day after our daughter died. Before I could say anything, he yelled at me from the other side of the line, “I asked Ivy to buy medicine, but she came looking for you instead. If Bailey ends up with a disabled leg, I'll come back and break hers.”

——

Myron hung up immediately after speaking. He didn't even ask about our daughter's condition. I was too upset to call him back. When I felt better and dial his number, I found that he had already blocked me. Since that was the case, there was no need to inform him of our daughter's death.

I handled our daughter's administration like a corpse. The hospital staff empathized with my daughter's situation, expediting the procedures for us. The cemetery was fully booked, so I had to make reservations for a burial plot. After everything was done, I brought my dauther home in a small box.

Myron was not home yet. Our home felt empty without our daughter. I pushed open her room and sat on her small bed like a machine. I could hear her tender voice rang in my head, calling for me. I could feel my tears were running down my face. I didn’t know how long I cried, but it wasn't until I couldn't shed another tear that I slowly got up. Without our daughter, I didn't want to be this house. 

Just as I finished printing the divorce agreement, Myron returned. His face filled with anger. He stormed in and the first thing he said was, “Bring that little brat out here. I'm going to give her a good beating for injuring Ruby’s dog and leaving him disabled. She's only five years old, how could she capable of doing such a cruelty”

I put a smirk on my face. So he knew Ivy was only five, but could he forget that when he sent her out in a heavy rainstorm to buy medicine for Ruby's dog The smirk on my lips seemed to provoke him, because Myron suddenly grabbed his tie, ripped off his coat and threw it onto the sofa.

“How dare you smile This is all your fault. You spoiled her too much. She becomes a rebel because you spoil her too much.” He straightened up and looked around.

“Where is she Tell her to come out and call Ruby to apologize. Bailey's left leg is injured and he's almost crippled. Good thing Ruby didn't make a big deal out of it. She even pleaded for her. If only you had taught her well, she wouldn’t be such a troublemaker!”

“Now listen, I'm going to teach her a lesson and if you try to protect her, I'm gonna make you pay.”

Our daughter was dead and Myron and I had nothing more to say, so I threw the divorce papers at him and said, “Sign it and go to your Ruby! My daughter is fine, she doesn't need anyone to discipline her.” 

I thought Myron would be delighted to sign it, but he explode instead. He went to grab the divorce papers, tearing them to shreds without even looking.

“Divorce Here you go, being all paranoid again. How many times do I have to tell you Ruby and I are just neighbors. She’s just a friend. No wonder Ivy doesn't like Ruby. She doesn't seem to like Bailey either. Turns out she gets influenced by you.”

“She promised to get the medicine, but she never returned. Looks like she wants Bailey to end up disabled. If I don’t dicipline her, she’ll do far more terrifying thing. She might even turn into a psychopath.”

Every word of his attack on my daughter pierced into my flesh. It hurt so much that it got me suffocated. I clutched my chest, gasping for air. I might collapse by the pain at any moment.

My body swayed momentarily, but I steadied myself and countered, “What are you talking about As a father, using such malicious words to describe a five-year-old child, isn't that too much” 

“You sent a five-year-old child out in a heavy rainstorm to buy medicine, without even considering if it was safe and then blamed her for not returning. Do you know that our daughter…”

“No, I don't. And I don't want to know,” Myron cut off. His face was full of impatience as he glared at me. 

“What's the big deal It’s just the rain and the pharmacy is just across the street. What could possibly happen She's already five. She needs learn how to be independent. Making a fuss over trivial matters. I think she's just too spoiled that she can't endure hardship!”

At this point, he rubbed his temples on both sides, appearing visibly angered.

“I don't want to talk to you anymore. Call her out. Tell her to call Ruby and apologize so that she doesn't have to wallow in self-blame and have a bad night's sleep” 

Looking at Myron's face, I felt so distant from him. He was not worried about his daughter going away in the heavy rain, but worried that Ruby wouldn’t have a good sleep. Apparently, our daughter's life was less valuable than one night of good sleep for Ruby. How ironic!

In that moment I made my decision. He wouldn't need to attend our daughter's funeral. He didn't care when she was alive, so he wouldn't care if she died.

After firming my resolve, I coldly stated, “My daughter will not apologize to Ruby.”

Myron's face darkened, evident with a mix of frustration and anger.

“Keep spoiling her. Wait until you've raised a demon, then we'll see what you'll do!”

After uttering those words, he slammed the door in anger and stormed out of the house. Whenever we argued, he would storm out like a kite with a broken string. Each time, I would yield for the sake of love, swallowing my pride and seeking for reconciliation. He thought it would be the same this time. Little did he know, there wouldn't be Norma who yielded and waited for him anymore. 

I drafted another set of divorce papers and signed it. I took my daughter's ashes, holding it tight and left without looking back. 

My marriage to Myron was because of my brother. My brother and Myron were college classmates. After graduation they partnered to start a small company. Their business thrived and within a few years, the company went public.

Happiness turned into sorrow. While on a business trip to discuss a new venture, they were involved in an accident. Isaac shielded Myron with his body, resulting in him receiving a severe impact and passing away before the medic arrived, while Myron survived with some injuries.

Our parents passed when I was still in the junior school. Isaac and I had to rely on each other as we grew up. Isaac knew I had a crush on Myron, he entrusted me to him before he died, hoping Myron would marry me. Grateful for my brother's sacrifice, Myron agreed on the spot and only then my brother close his eyes. 

All the Hayes knew that Myron owed his life to my brother, so no one opposed our marriage. They said Isaac had traded his life to secure a wealthy, privileged future for me. None of them knew that Myron proposed to me ten times before I finally agreed. The first nine times he proposed I would always grabbed his collar, crying and begging him to bring Isaac back to me. He was my only family in the world. The tenth time, Myron told me that it was my brother's dying wish for me to marry him. He said if I refused, I would betray Isaac's heartfelt efforts, so reluctantly, I agreed.

After marriage, Myron treated me well. He provided for me in every aspect, giving me the full appearance of a respected lady of the Hayes in public. However, I could never enter his heart. We maintained a respectful distance, but there was no true companionship. The day our daughter was born, I sensed a relieved ease in him. In a daze, I heard him muttered, “I owe you a family member. I return you one, today. Now we don’t owe each other nothing.”

I thought I misheard. Myron may not have loved me, but he always treated me with respect. Later I realized my mistake. He never respected or valued me. It was Isaac's life that he valued. Naively, I believed our daughter's birth would open his heart to me. Yet, after her birth, he found an excuse to move into the guest room and never set foot in our bedroom again.

On our daughter's one-month celebration, I overheard him on the phone with Ruby, slightly drunk, “There won't be any more children. I've paid off what I owed her. I won't touch her again.”

At that moment, I finally understood that what I had vaguely heard before was not my imagination. It was his remarks of liberation, he was celebrating his freedom. That moment, I wanted a divorce. But when I saw my daughter's innocent face, I compromised.  I wanted to give her a complete family. 

I even humbly hoped that if I tried hard enough, I might change Myron's mind. But I was wrong. This marriage was a mistake from the beginning. Born from death and ended with death. 

I returned to the house where I lived with my brother. This house multiplied the sorrow I felt. Although this place reminded me of my other losses, at least the shadow of Ivy wouldn’t haunt me here. I maintained this house because of its sentimental value, hiring a housekeeper to look after it. 

I went to my old room and lay on the bed, clutching Ivy's urn tightly. I cried my eyes out, not eating or drinking. Night after night passed, yet I felt as though time stood still. 

Half awake, half asleep, I felt that Myron burst in and he grabbed me by collar. His face full of rage, shaking while demanded, “Where's that little demon”

Ruby, trailing behind him, affected a semblance of persuasion, “Myron, slow down. You’ll scare Ivy.” 

Her feigned concern only intensified the anger on Myron's face, his gaze piercing like a poisoned knife. “Hurry up and get that little brute out of here. Hide her again and I'll slash you too.”

I was so furious that my body trembled. I retorted, “You’re her father. If she’s a demon, what does that make you And who the hell do you think you are to threaten me” 

Myron raised his hand and planted a slap on my face. The sudden intense pain on my cheek caused me to collapse onto the bed. I covered my face, staring wide-eyed in disbelief at the fierce and malicious man before me.

Myron stared at his palm in shock for two seconds. A hint of guilt flashed across his face as he forcefully continued in anger, “How could you You are so jealous of Ruby that you told that kid to kill Bailey and then you hide her, shielding her from the consequences. If I don't discipline her, she's going to turn into a vicious monster.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Ivy was bitten by a dog when she was three and she had been scared of them ever since. She was gone since two days ago and now Myron was accusing her of killing Ruby's dog. Was there anything more absurd and laughable that this

It was ridiculous how Myron, this so-called father, believed Ruby's instigation without hesitation, nailing his own daughter to the shameful rack of cruelty. He didn't deserve to be a father.

I burst into laughter, half-mad, half-delirious and pointing at the urn containing my daughter's ashes on the bed.

“There! That is your daughter. If you want to discipline her for the sake of that lying whore, go ahead and do it.”