"I've already explained that Laura’s pregnancy with my child was an accident. You’re just jealous of her, stirring up trouble for no reason." Patrick’s voice grew cold. "Now, Laura’s child is gone because of you, and you feel no guilt. Today, you even took your daughter to take over the amusement park that belongs to Laura."
"I didn’t have anything to do with Laura. How her child was lost is none of my concern." I replied icily, "I’m tired of saying this. Believe it or not."
"You can argue all you want," Patrick sneered. "You’ve been using the child to compete for my favor, challenging my limits. You’re not fit to be Audrey’s mother. I’ll give Audrey to Laura to raise—let her be her mother instead."
Without another word, I turned and started heading upstairs.
Patrick grabbed my arm, his eyes filled with a mixture of coldness and mockery.
"If you don’t want to give Audrey to her, I’ll compensate Laura with a child of her own, but don’t disturb her again."
"Do whatever you want," I answered flatly.
A flicker of doubt crossed his face before he sneered.
"If you’re really so reasonable, then come over here and tear off the Smurfs for us, hand over the wet wipes, and wash Laura’s underwear by hand. She has delicate skin, so it’s your responsibility."
The foul-smelling cloth and Smurfs hit me in the face. A sharp edge from the tin foil scraped my cheek, drawing blood. The disgust was overwhelming, but I refused to engage any longer.
I tossed the underwear aside, tore off the Smurfs, and threw them at him.
"Can you let me go now?"
Patrick studied me, seemingly confused. Laura, still draped over him, squirmed and hummed at the sight.
I ignored the two of them as they made their sounds behind me and walked upstairs.
In the quiet of my room, I began folding my daughter’s clothes, taking out the album I had made for her. As I flipped through the pages, tears welled up, blurring my vision. Her bright, innocent smile in the photos made it feel like she was still with me.
Just yesterday, she had been beside me, cheerfully saying, "Mom, don’t be sad. Dad’s too busy with work to spend time with us."
"Dad’s work is too hard. Audrey doesn’t want Dad to spend my birthday with me. I just wish he could rest for a day."
I sobbed as I held onto the clothes that still smelled of her. My daughter had been so understanding, so considerate of her father, and yet that man had sent her to her death on her birthday.
I gathered my things, contacted a lawyer, and made plans to leave.
As I descended the stairs, I found Patrick and Laura in the kitchen, disheveled and unbothered. The flush on Laura’s face hadn’t even faded.
"Miss Lucia, Patrick is just trying to make up for the harm you’ve caused. Please don’t blame him, and don’t teach the children to do such bad things. What if they grow up to be like you?"
She went on, her tone dripping with insincerity. "I heard today is Audrey’s birthday. I’m so sorry. But today is also the 5,200th anniversary of my first meeting with Patrick. He promised to celebrate every anniversary with me, so he left you and Audrey."
Her apology was a thin veil for her boasting. She added, "I made a mango-flavored cake to apologize. I hope you’ll accept it."
I had no interest in her false sympathy. All I wanted was to bury my daughter in peace.
Patrick, seeing me leave without a word, assumed I was upset about Laura. He grabbed a handful of my hair and shoved me against the kitchen counter.
"Lucia, have you lost all your manners? Laura is kind-hearted and doesn’t hold anything against you or your daughter. Why are you acting so high and mighty now?"
"Where is Audrey? Where did you hide her? Let her come back, finish her cake, and then kneel and apologize to Laura."
"Audrey is already dead. If you want to offer cake, let Laura die." I gritted my teeth, enduring the overwhelming pain.
"How could you be so cruel? You're cursing your own daughter out of jealousy!" Patrick's voice was filled with rage. "At the beginning, you took advantage of my serious illness and coma to send Laura away, and you stole all the company shares. You did everything wrong."
"I tolerated all of it because you stayed with me for ten years and raised our children. But it's never enough for you. You bully Laura over and over again, and now you’re cursing my daughter."
He grabbed my hands and shoved a greasy piece of cake into my mouth.
The overwhelming scent of mango made me gag. My throat tightened, and I couldn’t breathe properly. I struggled violently.
"Let me go, Patrick, don’t you remember I’m allergic to mangoes?" I gasped.
Patrick froze for a moment, then hardened his heart. "You've done so many terrible things to Laura, and now you're pretending that an allergy is something serious. It won't kill you. You’ll finish the cake and then kneel to Laura to apologize."
My eyelids began to swell, and my breathing became more labored. I shut my eyes, feeling myself slipping away. As my hands went limp, Patrick stopped, panic flashing in his eyes.
"Where's the allergy medicine Madam left at home? Find it for her now!" he barked.
After I took the medicine, I slowly regained my breath and opened my swollen, red eyes. Patrick let out a relieved sigh but his voice was stiff as he spoke.
"Okay, you and Laura are even now. Just swear that you won’t embarrass her or the baby she’s carrying, and I’ll promise to spend one or two days a week with you and Audrey."
When I didn’t respond, he grew impatient. "What are you angry about? If you hadn’t interfered, Laura would have gone abroad, and suffered, and I’d have married you for the company’s sake. Laura and I would have had a child by now, living a happy life."
"You and Audrey’s happiness now is stolen from Laura. What’s there to be upset about?"
I couldn’t take it anymore and cut him off. "Don’t mention my daughter again! I’m sending you back to Laura, and I’ve already sent you the divorce papers."
He sneered. "Fine. I’ll hire the best lawyer and fight for Audrey’s custody. You, a housewife, have no chance against me. If you don’t want to lose Audrey, kneel and apologize now."
I couldn’t keep it in any longer. I pulled out Audrey’s death certificate and threw it in his face. "Patrick! Look at this! Audrey is dead! You killed her!"
His eyes locked on the certificate, the words "death certificate" in bold black letters and "Audrey" written underneath. He staggered backward, as if he’d been hit.
"How could it be..."
Laura suddenly wailed. "How could this happen? Audrey’s nanny just sent me a message saying Audrey couldn’t find you and was crying nonstop."
"The assistant said you went to the hospital this morning. Did you go there to forge this certificate?"
I felt a hard slap across my cheek, and before I could react, I tumbled down the stairs, humiliation flooding me.
Patrick’s furious shout echoed from above. "Lucia, you cursed your own child just to compete with Laura for my favor, and bribed the hospital to get a fake death certificate!"
"You don’t deserve to be a mother," he roared. "Not even a tiger would eat its own cubs. You’re worse than an animal!"
I struggled to push myself up. "Patrick, you are such a fool."
I reached for the album on the ground, but Patrick crushed my hand under his foot.
"Get lost! You vile woman! You dare use a child to threaten me! Don't even think about stepping foot inside the Gu family! You won't take a single thing from me or my children."
He destroyed Audrey and my luggage, throwing it into the trash in the yard. The photo album we had carefully made, filled with memories of Audrey and me, was torn apart and tossed out.
Tears blurred my vision as I crouched down, trying to gather the scattered pieces of memories my daughter had left behind. But it was hopeless.
Suddenly, Laura opened the window, and a gust of wind blew through, scattering the photos like leaves.
"Ah, I just thought the smell of Miss Lucia's...vomit was so bad that I needed to open the window to air things out," Laura said innocently.
Patrick snorted dismissively. "Don't worry about her. She doesn’t care about her daughter’s life or death. This is all just a show for me."
A bitter, hollow smile twisted my lips as I whispered, "Patrick, remember what you did to me and my daughter today. One day, you'll pay for this."
With heavy steps, I staggered back to the funeral home, where the staff handed me a pink kitten urn with sympathy in their eyes.
"Madam, I heard your daughter’s birthday wish was to visit this pink kitten-themed park. I’ve prepared a small box, hoping that... Your daughter can have this wish fulfilled, even in the afterlife."
Tears welled up as I clutched the urn, my heart breaking. A stranger’s kindness made me cry, while her own father remained blind to her wishes.
"Thank you... for Audrey," I managed to say before bowing deeply.
After finalizing the funeral arrangements, I met with a lawyer and gave him the video from the amusement park that day along with a divorce agreement.
"He doesn’t deserve to be Audrey's father," I said bitterly. "He should be exposed, humiliated, and made to face the consequences of his actions."
Swallowing my grief, I contacted a designer friend and asked her to create a pink kitten dress for me.
"Audrey drew me a simple skirt before she died. She wanted to see me wear it. I want to fulfill her dream," I said in a trembling voice.
Just as I was preparing for my daughter’s funeral, Patrick showed up at my apartment. When he saw me, his anger exploded, and he kicked me in the chest.
"I’ve been too patient with you, letting you hurt Laura time and time again."
"You know I’m planning to celebrate Laura's birthday and have a custom dress made for her. To get back at me, you told every designer to refuse Laura's order. Are you trying to make her lose face?"
I knew immediately that it was my designer friend who had rallied the entire designer community to refuse Laura’s request as a way to pay back my pain. Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth as I wiped it away.
"So what? You killed my daughter, and yet you can celebrate like nothing happened?" I hissed.
Patrick pulled at his bow tie in frustration. "Enough already! You’ve cursed your own daughter, and now you’re accusing me of killing her?"
I glared at him, barely holding back my fury. "How did I kill my daughter? Even if I hate you, I would never hurt my own flesh and blood! On the contrary, I have done everything I could for Audrey."
"You wanted to take over the amusement park I booked for Laura, and I gave it up for you. Didn’t she insist on me taking her there? I even personally took her. What more do you want from me?"
He sneered cruelly. "Don’t even think about suing me. Do you think your lies can turn into truth? Can you exaggerate any further?"
