Chapter 2

I lay on the hospital bed, waiting from dusk until dawn, only to receive a single message from Jocelyn.

"Stop calling me so much. The ringing is annoying."

I stared at the message on my phone and bit down hard on my lip until it bled.

Jocelyn Seacross, from now on, we would have nothing to do with each other. I wished her happiness.

…

The memory ended there abruptly.

Jocelyn gave me a light shove, reminding me flatly, "Remember to show up for the divorce tomorrow. And don't pretend you're not feeling well again."

I froze for a moment, then remembered what she was referring to. Three days after the accident, Jocelyn had called me from outside the courthouse. It was the only call she made to me after Theodore died.

At the time, I had just finished a night of IV drips and was in terrible condition. When I answered, I accidentally hit the wrong button and put it on speaker. Jocelyn's impatient voice instantly rang out through the entire hospital room.

"Eleazar Jenkins, do you think this is funny? We agreed to get divorced at 9:00 am, and it's already noon now! What excuse are you going to make this time?"

Faced with strange looks from the nurse, I barely held back the tremble in my voice and replied softly, "I'm in the hospital."

The breathing on the other end hitched for a second before quickly returning to normal.

Jocelyn scoffed contemptuously. "Enough with the excuses! I'll give you one last chance. See you at the courthouse on Wednesday."

Then, the line went dead. The nurse said nothing and simply walked out quietly.

The moment the door closed, every shred of my dignity crumbled. That was when I realized what hurt the most wasn't the pain inflicted by the person one loved, but the sympathy of bystanders who witnessed it.

I closed my eyes and pulled myself out of the mire of memories. "Okay."

Jocelyn raised an eyebrow and continued, "After the divorce, just focus on taking care of Teddy at home. Don't contact me unless it's something important."

"Okay."

Perhaps because I agreed too readily, Jocelyn paused for a moment. She let go of Levi's arm, and her gaze fell on my pale face.

"How's Teddy? Has he been behaving lately?" she asked.

The moment the words left her mouth, my eyes instantly prickled with tears. It took every ounce of strength I had to hold back the sob in my throat. "He's been good. Really good."

He was so good that even when he left me, he didn't let me suffer for too long.

Afraid I would no longer be able to hold myself together, I said nothing more and turned to leave.

As we passed each other, I noticed the lipstick mark on Levi's collar. It was the exact shade Jocelyn was wearing, and it was also the exact same shade as the blood on the ground in the parking lot that day.

When I walked past a children's clothing store, the sales assistant stopped me warmly. "Mr. Jenkins, the clothes you ordered have arrived. Would you like to pick them up today?"

I had intended to say I no longer needed them, but my gaze was drawn to the boy in the poster. Had Theodore grown up safely, he would probably have been this adorable as well.

While I was lost in thought, the sales assistant had already packed the clothes and handed them to me. Among them, there was a pale yellow knitted cardigan—yellow had always been Jocelyn's favorite color.

I stared blankly at the tiny piece of clothing inside the bag and fled the mall in a complete mess.

The moment I closed the car door, tears fell freely. I finally understood the weight of a father's grief after losing his child.