Chapter 2

I looked at her and said flatly, "I just want you and Eason to be happy. I'm not clinging onto the past, so don't overthink things."

Joanne cast me a look of defeat, looking like a deflated balloon.

Jordan walked over and held my hand.

"Dad, now that you're back, just focus on spending the rest of your life with mom. I used to say that I like Uncle Eason, but I like you too, Dad. Dad, I think you really should stop your tantrum now. That's not how a man should behave."

His words brought a sharp, heart-wrenching pain to my upper abdomen.

It hurt so badly my hands started shaking. I turned and walked into my room, shut the door and quickly swallowed two painkillers.

The pain had been becoming increasingly intense as of late.

I was left with less than two weeks…

The door to the room was suddenly kicked open.

I hurriedly stuffed the pill bottle under my pillow.

Joanne noticed something strange with my behavior when she walked in, as though I was trying to hide something.

A look of doubt flashed across her eyes, but anger soon got the better of her.

She threw the box of ultra-thins on the bed and pressed me down with one hand while wildly tearing my clothes off with another.

"You're deliberately provoking me now, aren't you? I'd like to see what I have to do to make you act more normally!"

No matter how hard she tore at my clothes, I didn't put up a shred of resistance. I remained emotionless through it all.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine! Since you want Eason to move in, I'll make him do so right away!"

I replied to her calmly, "I said, as long as it makes you happy."

She nodded as she gritted her teeth, grabbed her clothes, and rushed out the door.

Jordan walked in, looked confused. "Dad, what exactly are you trying to achieve?"

I didn't reply to him. I simply pushed him out of the room and locked the door.

In just a couple of days, Joanne drove her massive black SUV and brought Eason and his daughter over with their luggage.

I sat in my room on the second floor and heard them moving in.

I recalled a memory from a long time ago.

It was a cloudy day like today.

I came back home early to accompany Joanne to her prenatal check up.

Yet, when I opened the door, I saw the two of them naked and entangled with each other on the living room couch.

I rushed over and pulled off the blanket covering Eason.

Raising a hand, I was about to slap him when Joanne stopped my hand in midair.

"Miguel Jensen, can't you be slightly more magnanimous as a man? I won't allow anyone to hurt Eason!"

I went berserk and started smacking them again and again with the medical report envelope in my hand.

The sharp corners of the envelope scratched Joanne's face, which made Eason charge toward me. We started fighting with each other.

He looked weak, but was in fact very strong. I had just undergone an appendectomy and was completely powerless to fight back.

Eason was getting exhausted and stood up to catch his breath.

I watched them as they quietly got dressed.

Just then, Jordan, who had only been five years old, walked in.

When he saw the wounds on Eason's face, he rushed over to him and asked anxiously, "Uncle Eason, did my daddy hit you? He's really fierce. I'll put some cream on you so it doesn't hurt. I hate Daddy too. I'll protect you so that Daddy won't hit you again."

I couldn't catch my breath and collapsed backward, clutching my left lower abdomen.

At the same time, Joanne held her stomach and cried out in pain. Eason carried her in his arms and said comfortingly, "Don't be scared. I'll send you to the hospital right now."

When he walked past me, Joanne chuckled sardonically. "Miguel Jensen, drop the act. You're so strong, how could you possibly let another press you down on the floor and not fight back? You're just doing this so I'd feel bad. I won't fall for your tricks."

Eason hadn't had enough and stepped on my surgical wound. The sharp pain spread across my entire body.

"It hurts… It hurts so badly…" I was almost all out of strength.

At the brink of losing consciousness, I heard Jordan cry out loud, "Why is there so much blood? Daddy, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"