My husband, Matthew Lorenzo, dies unexpectedly. Soon after, my in-laws come to me with an outrageous suggestion.

"Why not let Matthew’s twin brother take you in and look after you? After all, your child needs a father."

My sister-in-law, Felicia Dare, furiously calls me a shameless woman.

I turn to look at Matthew's brother, Michael Lorenzo. It's like staring at Matthew's face all over again. The grief hits me hard.

Just as I'm about to talk my in-laws out of this ridiculous idea, I overhear a conversation behind the door between them and "Michael".

"Michael was the one who died. Why did you lie and let everyone think it was you?"

Matthew sighs. "The one I love is Felicia. Faking my death was the only way I could be with her openly. And as for this nonsense about taking Luna in and looking after her—drop it.

"As for Luna, I gave her a child and a respectable marriage. I don't owe her anything."

I turn around and see my daughter standing there with her eyes red. She asks, "Mommy, does Daddy not want us anymore?"

I kneel down, gather her into my arms, and hold back the ache in my chest. "Sweetheart, your uncle just wants to protect the person he loves. We shouldn't disturb him; it's time we start our new life."

"Can we leave only after Daddy spends my birthday with me? It'll be the last time," My daughter, Lyanna Lorenzo, asked with tears in her eyes.

"It'll be my fifth birthday next week," she continued. "Daddy promised that he would celebrate my birthday with me."

I patted her little head as I listened to her pitiful request. "Okay. We'll leave after he celebrates your fifth birthday with you."

After putting Lyanna to bed, I opened the drawer and retrieved Matthew's death certificate. I had been married to him for six years. I never would have imagined that our relationship would come to an end like this. Not because of divorce, but because I had been turned into a "widow".

It was obvious that Lyanna was still clinging to one last thread of hope. She was desperate for what little fatherly love Matthew was willing to offer her.

I, on the other hand, had lost all hope in him after discovering his lies. Since he was in love with Felicia Dare and was willing to force me to suffer through the pain of losing my husband, I had no reason to continue making his life difficult.

I was going to take Lyanna with me and disappear from their lives after her fifth birthday.

The next day, Lyanna brought the card she had carefully prepared to give to Matthew. My heart broke when I saw the hope that glimmered in her eyes.

In the six years that we were married, Matthew had never once celebrated Lyanna's birthday. Before his "death", he promised that he would celebrate her fifth birthday with her. I hoped that he had enough guilt in his heart to fulfill his promise to her.

However, in the next second, Lyanna's anguished cries resounded from the living room. I rushed into the living room, only to see that the card that she had meticulously prepared had been ripped to shreds and scattered all across the living room floor.

My nephew, Elias Lorenzo, was stomping on the torn-up pieces of paper. He was wearing an arrogant and bossy expression. "Stupid Lyanna! Your father is already six feet under the ground! An unlucky star like you doesn't deserve to have a father!"

He grabbed something and threw it at Lyanna. I dashed forward to shield her from the projectile, but it never reached me. Instead, it fell to the side and rolled away. It was the wedding ring that had mysteriously disappeared from "Matthew's" ring finger during the funeral.

Despite the animosity that Elias was directing at Lyanna, Matthew only stood by the sidelines and watched, letting Elias do as he pleased.

Despair flickered in Lyanna's eyes, but she still summoned what little courage she had left and asked, "Daddy, I've been earning a lot of gold stars in school. I even won an award for my art. I've been doing so well so… Can you please celebrate my birthday with me?"

Matthew caressed Lyanna's tiny face. His actions were filled with affection, but he still pried her hand off him, one finger at a time. "Be good, Lyanna. Your mother can celebrate your birthday with you."

I suppressed the anger boiling in my heart as I picked up the ring from the floor. I kept my tone as calm as possible when I said, "Michael, Matthew made a promise to Lyanna before he died. He promised to celebrate her birthday with her.

"Can you pretend to be her father and celebrate her fifth birthday with her? You can think of it as carrying out Matthew's final wish, or perhaps you can do it for poor Lyanna's sake."

Felicia entered the living room with a disgruntled expression. "Luna, I feel heartbroken that you lost your husband, and that Lyanna lost her father, but you shouldn't try to steal my man right in front of me and Elias."

Matthew's brows knitted together tightly. He looked as if he wanted to reject my request, but after meeting my calm gaze, he guiltily averted his gaze.

When his eyes fell on the wedding ring, his entire body quivered.

He pursed his lips before saying, "Darling, Luna is just thinking about Lyanna. Her birthday is coming up, and as her uncle and aunt, we should do our part to ensure that she has a perfect birthday celebration."

Matthew looked at me. "Luna, I will celebrate Lyanna's fifth birthday with her to fulfill Matthew's final wish."

I scoffed upon hearing his words. It seemed that Matthew had no trouble taking on Michael's identity. He referred to Felicia as "darling" without even batting an eye.

I tossed the wedding ring into the trash bin. "Good. I hope you're not lying to me."

A smile appeared on Lyanna's face after receiving Matthew's answer. She excitedly began to discuss what she wanted to do on her birthday and what food she wanted to eat.

My heart clenched painfully as I watched her. Matthew was her father, but she had to resort to begging so pitifully just to have him celebrate her birthday with her.

Matthew had not only abandoned me, but he had also abandoned his own child.

Not being able to keep my emotions in check, I hastily retreated to my room. Noticing how upset I was, Lyanna followed me and took my hand.

"Don't be sad, Mommy. I'll always be here," she said. "I know that Daddy doesn't want to be my daddy anymore. I also know that he doesn't want to celebrate my birthday with me. But I… I just want to have a daddy one last time. We might never see him again after this…"

I gazed at Lyanna, who showed a heartbreaking maturity despite her young age. I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, Lyanna. Mommy isn't sad. I'm just—"

"I'm just heartbroken on your behalf," I thought.

I was heartbroken that she still longed for Matthew's fatherly love, even though he would rather fake his death to abandon his wife and child. She was so pitiful.

I knew there was no way I could tell Lyanna the truth, that he didn't love her or me. I couldn't tell her that she would be less upset if she abandoned her expectations of him. I could only pray that Matthew would take into account the relationship we once shared and leave Lyanna with a wonderful memory of him.

Once Lyanna's birthday was over, we would never bother him again.

On the night of Lyanna's birthday, she put on her favorite princess dress. We had made a hazelnut cake from scratch, and Lyanna was filled with barely-contained excitement as she waited for Matthew to return home.

Lyanna and I were the only ones in the house. Even Mitch Lorenzo and Kelsey Green, Lyanna's grandparents, were not around. I called Matthew a dozen times, but he did not answer. Eventually, Matthew switched off his phone.

It was almost midnight. Lyanna's joy had dimmed significantly. I bit my bottom lip and quietly asked, "Perhaps everyone is busy today. Why don't we eat the cake together tomorrow?"

However, Lyanna was stubborn. "But… Daddy said he would celebrate my birthday with me."

"Okay then. Let's wait a little while more," I said even as my heart clenched in pain.

A beep resounded at the door just as I finished speaking, signalling that someone had unlocked it using the fingerprint scanner. A large group of people stepped through the doorway, carrying bags of different shapes and sizes.

Lyanna shot to her feet and dashed to the door. Matthew was carrying Elias in his arms. His smile reached his eyes when he said, "Lyanna, this is the birthday present that we've prepared for you."

Surprise colored Lyanna's tone when she exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew that you didn't forget my birthday, Daddy! This is my first time receiving a present from you. I'm so happy!"

The worry in my heart dissipated slightly. Although things hadn't gone as planned, at the end of the day, Lyanna was still happy. This way, she wouldn't be so upset when I took her away with me.

However, the elated smile on Lyanna's face turned stiff when she unwrapped the present. It was an action figure of Amazingman with a card attached to it. It looked like a complimentary gift that was part of a kids' meal from Kidztopia.

I couldn't control myself anymore. "Is Lorenzo Corporation losing that much money? You can't even afford a proper gift for Lyanna, so you have to give her a free gift as a present?"

Matthew seemed to realize that his actions were inappropriate and rushed to explain. "Elias wanted to eat a Kidztopia Meal today, and the Amazingman figure came with it. I figured that the kids these days all love him, which is why I decided to give it to Lyanna as a present.

"If she doesn't like it, I'll buy her something else tomorrow."

"What five-year-old girl would like Amazingman?" I thought to myself heatedly. Even worse, the figure was a free gift, making it all too obvious that Matthew hadn't spent any time or effort picking out a present for Lyanna. He had completely disappointed her.

I was about to say something when Lyanna beat me to the punch.

"It's okay. Thank you for giving me this birthday present, Daddy."

She offered Matthew the hazelnut cake we had made from scratch. "Mommy and I made this cake ourselves. Have a taste, Daddy!"

I lit the candles on the cake again. However, Elias suddenly broke free from Matthew's grip and lunged toward the cake, wanting to grab a bite of it.

Matthew's expression twisted. Reflexively, he swept the cake off the table before angrily grabbing Elias by the scruff of his collar. "Don't put things in your mouth without knowing what it is!" he scolded.

The cake that we had meticulously prepared splattered to the floor in a heap, stunning both Lyanna and me in place.

Matthew turned pale. He frowned as he said, "I'm sorry. Elias has a nut allergy, so I was worried that he would accidentally eat the cake. My hand moved before I fully registered what I was doing. I'll buy an even bigger mango cake for you tomorrow, alright?"

Tears spilled down Lyanna's cheeks. She bit down on her bottom lip, refusing to let out her sobs. She quietly picked up the cake topper that read, "Happy 5th Birthday!" that she had placed on the cake herself.

I curled my hand into a tight fist. My disappointment was immeasurable when I glared at Matthew. "Matthew, don't you know that Lyanna has a mango allergy?"

"Of course, I don't. Luna, I'm Michael. How would I know that?" Matthew blurted out as he averted his gaze.

Of course, I knew that he was lying. He was Lyanna's father. In the past, when her allergy was triggered after she ingested some mango, he was the one who had sent her to the hospital in a panic. How could he possibly have forgotten that she was allergic to mangoes?

Mitch and Kelsey attempted to mediate the tense situation. "Luna, this is Michael, not your husband, Matthew. We made a mistake when we asked him to take care of you. Please don't take our words to heart."

Felicia also shot me a displeased look. "They're right, Luna. Matthew might have passed away, but that doesn't give you the right to try to steal Michael away from me."