Chapter 3

Olivia immediately became irritated and said impatiently into the phone, "Why are you calling me? Call her father!"

The kindergarten teacher hesitated before replying, "We can't get in touch with Ava's father..."

Olivia frowned deeply and opened our chat, sending me a message.

[Liam, what's wrong with you?

[It's one thing to throw a tantrum at me, but now you're not even taking care of your own daughter? Do you want your daughter to grow up to be a loser just like you?]

My daughter...

I closed my aching eyes.

Even now, I still can't forget the last time I saw Ava.

Her small body lay in a pool of blood, her wide eyes still open as though she were looking at the blue sky and white clouds above her.

That shy, quiet little girl who only liked following me around had taken her last breath.

The medical staff told me that Ava was still conscious for a little over ten minutes after the accident.

In the final moments of her life, she had been calling for her mommy.

And what was Olivia doing then?

She was with Tucker, pacing anxiously outside his operating room.

Even when the police called her, she hung up on them.

When I returned home that day and saw her crying her eyes out, I thought she had finally learned about Ava's death and begun to care about her own child.

However, it turned out that Olivia was crying because she wanted me to donate a kidney to save Tucker.

Now Ava was gone, and so was I.

No one would reply to Olivia's messages or tell her why Ava hadn't gone to kindergarten.

She would be alone.

Perhaps because I had never ignored Olivia in the past, she became even more agitated when she didn't receive an immediate reply from me.

So she couldn't help calling my doctor.

"Is Liam with you?

"Tell him to stop making trouble. If he keeps this up, I'm really going to get angry.

"When that happens, even if my dad tries to stop me, I'll divorce him!"

My doctor explained the situation to her again and again.

But Olivia's expression only grew colder.

Finally, she shouted, "Enough! I don't want to hear this ridiculous lie anymore!"

"If he wants to die that badly, he can hang himself alongside his daughter!"

When I first met Olivia, she had been a quiet and melancholy woman.

She would sit in the Danes' garden reading, looking as though she had stepped out of a painting.

Back then, when I fell for her at first sight, I never imagined she would become like this—her face twisted with anger and her venomous words.

She threw her phone onto the couch, her chest rising and falling violently, clearly furious.

Taking advantage of the moment, Tucker wrapped an arm around her and whispered into her ear, "You don't like Ava, do you?"

Ava was the sweetest child I had ever known.

She was gentle and thoughtful, and she never blamed her mother for not spending time with her.

She always said, "Mommy already worked very hard to bring me into this world. I love her very much."

However, when faced with Tucker's question, Olivia nodded without hesitation.

Because Ava was my child, and Olivia hated me.

But what had Ava ever done wrong?

Other than having been born from Olivia's womb.

Tucker continued, "Then why don't we have a child of our own..."

Olivia stared at him in shock.

Smiling softly, he said, "Don't you want one? Don't you want a child you truly love?"

Even though my heart had long since gone numb, hearing those words still made me clench my fists.

Tucker wanted nothing more than a child who could inherit the Danes' fortune.

The only thing in his heart was their wealth!

My gaze settled on Olivia's face.

And to my disbelief, she was actually moved by his words!

She was kissing the person responsible for her own child's death.

I wanted to rush over, pull them apart, and grab Olivia by the shoulders to tell her that Tucker had killed Ava and me.

However, ghosts could do nothing.

All I could do was let my hands fall helplessly to my sides.

Just as the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly heated, the doorbell suddenly rang.