Chapter 2

"You're not welcome here! Get out now!" yelled the girl.

As Yvonne looked at the girl, her expression instantly turned grim, and her emotions flared up. She bit her lip tightly.

"Devin is your dad?"

Michael quickly shielded the girl behind him. "Lulu was originally an orphan in our town. Mr. Hoffman took pity on her and adopted her. Please don't take your anger out on a child."

"I'm taking it out on her?"

Yvonne grabbed the collar of the 60-year-old Michael. Her voice was filled with intense anger, and her eyes, which were full of heartbreak, reddened instantly.

"He abandoned our daughter and is indirectly responsible for our other daughter's death, yet here he is, adopting someone else's child! How could he do this to me?

"Alright, fine! Tell him our daughter's bone marrow transplant is in one week. If he has even a shred of conscience left, he will show up immediately!

"If he dares to keep pretending to be dead, then don't blame me for tearing this hut down and leaving the girl he adopted homeless!"

Under Michael's horrified gaze, Yvonne added coldly, "Even if Devin really is dead, I wouldn't mind digging up his corpse to get the marrow for my daughter. Do you understand me?"

Michael thought she was being utterly unreasonable. He held Lucy tightly as his lips quivered, unable to utter a word.

Just then, Yvonne's phone suddenly rang. The familiar ringtone indicated it was a call from someone special.

Her previously fierce gaze gradually softened. Before leaving, she glanced at Lucy and said in an icy tone, "Make sure you relay my message. Don't leave out a single word. I'll be waiting for his response."

As I watched her retreating back that was filled with rage, it felt like a heavy blow to my heart. The pain spread throughout my entire being.

I watched as Lucy picked up my funeral portrait, crying. She held it tightly against her chest as she sobbed heart-wrenchingly. My own heart felt unbearably heavy, as if it was blocked.

I wasn't deliberately hiding from Yvonne. I desperately wanted to save our daughter too.

But… I really was no longer among the living.

…

For some reason, my soul left the place I once guarded and followed Yvonne.

After she left the town, her tears didn't stop. However, she had always been stubborn, wearing sunglasses to shield her eyes from anyone's searching gaze.

Only I knew how her hands were gripping her own thighs as she suppressed her anger toward me.

"What an absolute bastard! How dare he use death to trick me! A leopard can't change its spots!"

She frantically dialed my phone number, but each time she only heard the message that the number was out of service, which made her even more frustrated.

"Devin, I'd better not catch you around!"

After the plane landed, a tall and handsome figure holding a bouquet of flowers waved at Yvonne from the arrivals gate.

I was all too familiar with that figure—it was Louis Floyd, Yvonne's childhood sweetheart.

The moment they met, Louis eagerly asked, "Did you find Devin? Is he willing to donate bone marrow for Selene?"

Yvonne let out a snort, her emotions having stabilized somewhat. "He's always been selfish. He probably got wind of it from somewhere, because the moment I arrived, he pretended to be dead and went into hiding.

"He doesn't even care how bad an omen it is. He even prepared a funeral portrait in advance."

Louis' eyes flickered slightly as he tentatively asked, "What if it's true? What if Devin really is dead?"

"Impossible! How could he be dead? He's so young!" Yvonne immediately denied it. "Even if he is dead, he still has to donate his bone marrow to my daughter!"

Upon hearing these words, my ears buzzed as if I had been suddenly pricked by a sharp needle.