Chapter 5

At 3:00 am, Thea arrived at the hospital carrying a thermos.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and her hair was tousled by the night wind. As soon as she entered the room, she felt Mia's forehead and checked the IV line.

Her movements were practiced, just like the mother she'd been—the one who would stay awake all night because her daughter had a slight cough.

After Mia fell asleep, Thea poured out some chicken soup, blew on a spoonful to cool it, and held it out to me.

"You have stomach problems, and you haven't eaten much last night.

"I know I was wrong tonight, but I never thought something like this would happen. I thought I could take care of both of them."

She moved closer, her voice softening.

"You and Mia are my family.

"Clark is just an old friend, and Ian is a child who doesn't have anyone to look after him.

"I know you're upset, but you love me, don't you? You can try to be a little more understanding, right?"

It wasn't that she didn't realize how much she was hurting us. She just believed our love was strong enough to endure anything, that she could keep taking from it, again and again, without ever running out.

Suddenly, her phone rang. Clark's name popped up on the screen.

Thea glanced at me, but answered anyway.

Clark's anxious voice came from the phone. "Thea, Ian is running a bit of a fever. I've already brought him to the hospital, but he keeps crying and asking for you."

Thea immediately stood up, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door.

I gripped her arm.

"How many times is this now?"

She struggled to pull free.

"Mia has doctors looking after her, and she has you. Ian only has Clark."

As I looked at her, the last little voice inside me finally went silent.

"Get the bracelet back. It's the only thing my parents left behind for Mia. You need to bring it back tonight."

Thea was silent for a moment before looking away.

"Let's talk about that later. Ian has a high fever. I'll bring it back tomorrow, I promise."

She shook my hand off and hurriedly left.

I stood by the hospital door for a long time and laughed.

It seemed even the only thing my parents had left for Mia had to wait until Ian's fever came down.

Half an hour later, my sister arrived to stay with Mia.

I made my way to the pediatric ward.

I wasn't going there to pick a fight with Thea.

I just wanted to retrieve the bracelet and return to Mia what was rightfully hers.

Through the half-open door, I saw Thea sitting beside Ian's bed, pressing a fever patch onto his forehead.

His cheeks were flushed with fever, and the silver bracelet was still around his wrist.

He mumbled incoherently, "Mommy, don't go."

Thea immediately leaned forward and took his hand.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Clark stood nearby, his voice tired but gentle.

"Thea, is this okay? Isn't Mia…"

"It's fine." She answered without hesitation. "It's just an allergic reaction. Jack was overreacting. She's out of danger now."

Clark sighed in relief and draped Thea's coat over her shoulders.

For a moment, they looked just like a family of three.

Meanwhile, my daughter was lying in another room in the same hospital, too afraid to even ask for her mother.

I stood outside, staring at the bracelet on Ian's wrist, and suddenly lost the urge to take it.

It wasn't that I didn't care about it.

I'd finally come to realize that once Thea had given something away, getting it back wouldn't undo the hurt she'd caused Mia.

By the time I returned to Mia's room, dawn was approaching.

She was still sleeping fitfully, with tears clinging to her eyelashes.

I woke her up gently.

"Sweetheart, I will take you somewhere where your mom won't be. Would you like that?"

She opened her eyes and stared at me for a long time.

In the end, she took my hand.

"Okay."

Later, my sister told me that Thea didn't remember to check on Mia until the following morning.

The nurse told her that Mia had already been discharged.

Thea rushed home in a panic. When she threw open the door, the only sound in the house was the hum of the refrigerator.

Mia's pink slippers were missing from the entryway.

My shirts and our daughter's dresses were also gone from the wardrobes.

All that remained on the desk was a divorce agreement and a wedding ring.

Thea stood there for a long time before finally turning to the last page of the agreement.

I had already signed my name.