Chapter 3

Xavier openly wrapped his arms around Claire.

However, Claire’s rage showed no signs of fading.

“Gideon! What kind of attitude is that? Do you even know how long the PR team spent last night cleaning up the mess you caused and denying those rumors?

“I never imagined you could be this sinister and cruel! You’d do anything just to ruin my and Xavier’s careers!

“If I had known that making me keep the child was just your way of trapping me, I would never have softened my heart back then! I should have taken two pills of mifepristone and gotten rid of that wretched child. Then the whole world would have been at peace!”

My heart felt as though a blade had pierced straight through it, only to be twisted around again and again until everything inside was shredded.

The humiliation I had endured through nine years of secret marriage, the pain of losing my child, and the fury I felt as a father watching my daughter be insulted completely erased my remaining rationality.

I stormed out of the bedroom. I swung my arm and slapped Claire across the face.

“Gideon, don’t—”

At that moment, Xavier bravely rushed forward and stood in front of Claire.

He closed his eyes, waiting for my slap.

I could not stop in time.

My thin, fragile fingernails accidentally scratched across his face, leaving a red mark.

“Claire, that hurts.”

Almost the instant Xavier cried out, Claire used all her strength and kicked my legs.

“Gideon! If Xavier’s face has even the slightest mark that shouldn’t be there, I’ll peel your entire face off and feed it to the dogs!”

Claire supported Xavier and quickly walked away.

She never once looked back. She never saw me fall backward into the shattered pieces of the crystal glass and the blood slowly spread across my back.

…

I lay quietly on the floor, waiting for my blood to drain away and my body to die.

Before I completely lost consciousness, I received a call from the funeral home.

The staff told me my daughter had already been cremated. They asked when I would have time to come collect her ashes.

Then they asked whether I wanted to arrange a small funeral for my child.

They had connections and could help organize everything.

Yes! Of course I wanted one!

This was the final major event of my daughter’s life.

I wanted her to leave this world with dignity, with beauty, and with the ceremony she deserved.

I clenched my teeth and forced myself off the floor.

I used the first-aid supplies in the medicine cabinet to patch myself up as best I could.

On my way there, I swallowed my pride and called relatives and friends I had not contacted in years.

Amid endless mockery and insults, I finally managed to gather a considerable amount of money.

After receiving the money, I slapped myself hard seven or eight times.

I was such an idiot.

Why did I not cling to my so-called dignity back then? Why did I obey Claire in everything?

Now that my child was gone, I finally dared to give up everything.

Still, what was the point?

I went to the funeral home and collected Ellie’s ashes.

Then I booked the most luxurious hotel banquet hall in the city, along with an entire truckload of her favorite daisies.

As I stood among the workers carrying flowers back and forth, I held her portrait tightly in my arms.

After hesitating for a long time, I finally sent Ellie’s death certificate and the funeral location to Claire.

I knew very well that a movie queen of her status would almost never check her own messages.

I sent the information only so she would not come looking for trouble and argue about some so-called ‘right to know’ in the future.

…

The wound on my back had not been properly treated.

The prolonged blood loss left my mind sluggish, and that sluggishness caused me to overlook many details.

I was only focused on giving Ellie the grand funeral she deserved.

I forgot that the hotel was the very same place where the incident happened last night.

After the workers finished setting up the funeral venue, I suddenly heard whispers coming from behind me.

“Is that the crazy guy who ran over yesterday and grabbed Claire’s legs?”