Chapter 3

Mia's POV

Hugh stared at Nicholas' face, which bore some resemblance to his own, and remained silent.

Beatrice spoke up instead, saying, "You've got to be kidding me, Mia. How could that child belong to Hugh? I remember clearly that he was the kid you had with some other man!"

Beatrice's so-called other man was just a handyman whose name I never even learned. Hugh was the first person I called when the handyman tried to assault me.

I heard the sounds of Beatrice and Hugh being intimate when the call went through, which got the handyman even more worked up.

I had already lost most of the will to fight. I used what little strength I had left to call for help. "Save me, Hugh!"

Hugh's voice came through the phone, completely cold and detached, "What are you trying to pull this time, Mia?"

In the end, a neighbor sensed something was off and called the police promptly, which prevented the handyman from getting what he wanted.

I simply looked at them without saying anything, as it no longer mattered who the father of my child was.

Hugh acted fast and got the paternity test results the very next day. He showed up at the diner where I worked, holding the results in hand. "How dare you lie to me, Mia!"

I was in the middle of serving a customer some soup when Hugh yelled at me. I got so startled that my hand jerked, causing the scalding soup to spill across half my arm.

He ignored the burning pain in my arm, grabbed me roughly, and demanded an explanation. "I had already decided to come back to you, Mia! Why did you have to lie to me? Do you just want me to raise another man's child?"

Beatrice strolled over and said smugly, "I told you so, Hugh—Mia's words can't be trusted. She even lied about her liver cancer to gain sympathy! I mean, even her attending doctor came clean about it!"

I instantly understood what was happening after seeing her triumphant look—Beatrice had fabricated all of it.

I pushed Hugh away and snarled, "I didn't lie about anything! I really do have liver cancer, and Nicholas is really your son. Who are you going to believe, Hugh—me or her?"

Hugh looked at me coldly, completely dodging my question. He merely gritted out, "I want a divorce."

I held back tears and nodded. "Alright."

In the end, I was the one who lost this years-long battle.

…

I was distracted the whole time while I was doing my delivery rounds that afternoon. I had a nagging sense of dread, leaving me quite unsettled.

It wasn't until I rode past the busiest part of downtown that I saw a crowd gathered around a bloodstained car.

I suddenly received a call from Mr. Smith.

"A woman showed up saying she was a friend of yours and wanted to take Nicholas out to play, Mia. I was against it, but she was very insistent. She even showed me a photo of the two of you. I reluctantly agreed, so I'm calling to tell you what happened, Mia."

I stopped hearing whatever he said after that, as a deafening ringing filled my head. I threw down my electric bike, pushed through the crowd, and forced my way in.

In the middle of it all, Nicholas was lying on the ground, blood still pooling beneath him.

"Nicholas!" I collapsed to my knees, my whole body going weak. I wanted to hold him in my arms, but I didn't dare to pick him up.

In the meantime, a thoughtful bystander called for an ambulance.

I was still trembling all over when I arrived at the hospital. I was told by the doctor that the surgery would be very expensive and that I needed to come up with the money right away.

I checked my bank account and saw that I only had 400 dollars to my name. I hurriedly called Hugh and pleaded, "Nicholas got run over! I'm begging you, Hugh! Please lend me the money for the surgery! Please save Nicholas! I'll pay you back every cent, even if I have to work day and night, Hugh!"

Hugh hesitated for a couple of seconds before asking, "How much—"

Beatrice interjected before he could even finish his sentence, "Who's to say she isn't just pulling another fast one on you, Hugh? She probably just wants to scam a bunch of money out of you and run off to live the good life!"

Upon noticing Hugh's hesitation, Beatrice grabbed the phone out of his hand. "If you want us to buy your story, you'll grovel on your hands and knees in the busiest part of downtown, banging your forehead against the pavement every few steps to prove your sincerity!"

I didn't hesitate at all. I rode my electric bike, running through multiple red lights, to return to the street where Nicholas got run over. I fell heavily onto my knees and struck my forehead against the pavement.

It wasn't long before the crowd whipped out their phones to film me.

I disregarded the strange looks from everyone around me. I got down on my knees and banged my forehead against the pavement every couple of steps, not stopping even when my knees got completely torn up and my forehead started bleeding.

I left a gruesome trail of blood behind me the whole way. I only got back on my feet after I had crawled the entire stretch.

I then called Hugh. "You must have seen the videos online, Hugh. I did what you wanted, so please save Nicholas."

Hugh merely said, "Give me your bank account number."

I received the transfer notification by the time I arrived at the hospital. I opened the notification as the doctor impatiently pressed me for payment, only to see the following words, "Transfer Received: 1 dollar."

In that instant, my hand shook uncontrollably around the phone. I pressed a hand to my chest and called Hugh again, but Beatrice was the one who answered it.

"I didn't get to enjoy myself enough at the last class reunion, so I decided to give you another surprise. How is it? Do you like it, Mia?"

I went weak all over, and the phone slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor.

"I'm begging you—please save Nicholas!" I held tightly onto the doctor's coat, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'll find a way to get the money!"

Yet, despite all that, the doctor remained unmoved. He finally spoke up, but what he said chilled me to the bone.

"Ms. Lane explicitly instructed us not to start the surgery until you've paid the full amount, Ms. White."

I collapsed to the floor, a searing pain slowly traveling up my throat. I suddenly heaved and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

It was then that another doctor walked out of the ICU and said coldly, "I'm sorry, Ms. White, but the optimal window for treatment has passed. Your son—"

I didn't catch the rest of what he said. I only recalled that at the very moment Nicholas was declared dead, my phone buzzed with another notification.

"Transfer Received: 700,000 dollars."

Hugh also sent me a message. "Beatrice was just playing around, so don't take it personally. I would've given you the money, Mia, whether the accident was real or not."

I didn't respond to his message, as the small spark of hope I had left finally went out. I got up in a daze and walked out of the hospital. I could hear my heart racing—so fast it felt like it was going to explode out of my body—while the constant ringing in my ears overpowered the noise around me.

I still had blood seeping from my mouth, and through my cloudy vision, I saw people cowering away from me as if I were some kind of monster.

I ended up walking into a small convenience store and buying a knife. I then tucked it into my bag and took a cab to Hugh's place.

Just before I blacked out completely, I saw a knife covered in blood and Beatrice's horrified expression.