chapter 3

Several days after having his blood drawn for testing, Sean returned to the hospital. This time, he wasn't there for a medical examination. He wanted to see for himself how the little boy who had needed his blood donation a few days earlier was doing.

Ever since leaving the hospital, his mind had been occupied with all sorts of possibilities. Especially after learning that Sarah had referred to Rain as her only son. There was something about the boy that Sean couldn't ignore. His instincts told him that the little boy might be related to him by blood.

However, Sean didn't want to jump to conclusions based on mere suspicion.

He had already given a blood sample for a DNA test. Now, all he had to do was wait for the results. After all, Sean needed solid proof before he could bring himself to believe such a possibility.

"Are the test results available now?" Sean asked his personal secretary.

"Yes."

"Then go and get them for me right away. I'll visit the boy's room for a while."

The woman, Jane, nodded before leaving.

When Sean arrived at the hospital room, he found Rain sitting on the bed. The little boy looked much better than he had during their first encounter. His face was no longer as pale as before, and he even seemed to have regained some of his energy.

As soon as Rain noticed someone approaching, he turned his head.

A wide smile immediately spread across his little face. He even looked incredibly excited to see Sean standing in the doorway.

"Daddy!"

The little boy immediately called out to Sean in a loud voice. That simple word made Sean stop in his tracks for a moment.

Daddy? Something stirred inside his chest.

For some reason, hearing that word come from Rain's mouth felt different.

However, Sean quickly composed himself. "Who are you calling Daddy? You've got the wrong person."

The wide smile on Rain's face slowly faded.

He stared at Sean in confusion. His eyes followed the man's movements as he walked toward the bed, as if trying to understand why Sean refused to accept being called that.

"You're not my daddy?" Rain asked.

He was sure he recognized that face.

Rain still clearly remembered a book belonging to his mother. Inside it were several photographs that he often looked at whenever he was spending time alone. One of the pictures he remembered most clearly was of the man now standing right in front of him.

It was the exact same face as the man he had always imagined his father to be.

The little boy had once thought that his mother was deliberately hiding his father's existence from him. But now that he had finally met the man in person, all he received was rejection.

"What are you staring at? Where's your mother?" Sean asked.

"Mommy went to see the doctor."

Sean pulled a chair over and sat down, then examined Rain's small body. There were serious wounds scattered across it, along with an injury to his left leg.

"What exactly happened? You must have been naughty and gone out to play on the street by yourself, right? You didn't listen to your mother? She must have—"

"My mommy can't talk. How was I supposed to hear her?" Rain's innocent reply left Sean speechless.

"I know, but that's not what I meant."

Rain frowned. "You know my mommy, but you don't know me?"

Sean gave him a crooked smile. "I don't have to know everyone. Especially a little brat like you. And stop calling me Daddy! I'm not your father."

Rain looked Sean up and down again. Confusion was written all over his little face.

Why was the man being so mean to him?

Rain didn't think he had done anything wrong. In fact, he had been so happy when Sean came to visit him. Wasn't a father supposed to be happy to see his own child?

"What are you looking at?" Sean asked, trying to ignore the little boy's gaze. He hadn't come here to build a relationship with Rain. At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

"Did Daddy come here just to scold me?"

"Daddy is—" Sean stopped himself midway.

Was this child stubborn, or did he simply say whatever came to mind?

"Daddy, my tummy has been rumbling for a while. I'm hungry, but I don't like the food here. Didn't you bring me anything to eat? I wanted to ask Mommy, but I couldn't."

"Why couldn't you? Is she ignoring you?"

Rain slowly shook his head. "Her ankle got sprained. She fell in the bathroom this morning."

Sean let out a quiet sigh. He looked away from Rain's face, trying to hide the uneasiness beginning to grow inside him.

"She's still so careless..." Sean muttered. "Fine. Since you look so miserable, I'll have someone bring you some food later."

"Really? Daddy, I want fried chicken—"

"You're still sick. Don't ask for strange food. I'll choose something for you."

Rain pouted. Sean then called his personal driver and asked him to find something that children would normally enjoy eating.

A little while later, Jane called to inform Sean that the test results were ready.

"I'll wait outside the boy's room." Sean ended the call and stepped out of the hospital room. He waited for Jane to arrive, feeling slightly uneasy.

As soon as the woman arrived, Sean immediately took the piece of paper from her and unfolded it. He read every word carefully, not missing a single detail. And finally, he realized that the little boy inside that room was his son.

"He's my son..." Sean's hand dropped to his side as he clutched the paper tightly.

All this time, Sean had believed Sarah was a traitor, a woman who always chose to take someone else's side instead of standing by her own husband. He had hated her and sworn that he would never love her again.

But why...?

Sean was still trying to process the truth in front of him when he noticed Sarah approaching. The woman was limping slightly, clearly in pain, yet she continued walking.

Sean could see just how much Sarah loved Rain, even without her having to say a single word.

"How can you still live peacefully after deceiving me for all these years?" Sean asked.

His words brought Sarah to a halt. She moved her hands and asked, "Deceiving you? When did I ever deceive you?"

Sarah's eyes grew teary. Her lips remained tightly pressed together, and her hands didn't move to offer any explanation. No, she didn't want to explain anything at all.

"Why, Sarah? If that accident yesterday had taken his life, would you still have the nerve to face me? Do you know how badly I wanted to have a child after the doctor told me I might never be able to have one?"

Sean grabbed both of Sarah's shoulders, looking deep into her eyes as if trying to figure out just how far she intended to go to leave him behind, abandoning everything they had shared and even hiding their child from him for all these years.

"You know what I'm like, Sarah."

Sarah shoved both of Sean's hands away before delivering a hard slap across his face.

"I was always expected to understand you, but you were the one who kept turning a blind eye to me, Sean. Do you remember when you pushed me out and made me fall onto the asphalt? I had already told you that I was pregnant, but you were the one who said I was just making excuses and cheating on you! You said it over and over again, humiliating me every single time. Sean... you were the one who asked us to become strangers."

Sarah's hands trembled slightly as she moved them, tears streaming down her face. She was remembering the incident she had wanted to forget for the rest of her life.

"If we're nothing but strangers, why do you still care about us?"

Sarah's hands moved once more.

The sign language that only Sean could understand no longer carried the romance it once had. Now, it was nothing more than the wound left behind by a love they had once shared.