Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 7

“Daddy, Daddy! Does that mean we finally get to see the nice lady again today?”I hadn’t heard my son Daniel sound this lively in quite a while.Through the speakerphone, I heard my husband’s voice. “You miss her that much, Daniel?”“Of course!” Daniel replied excitedly. “Pretty Lady is gentle and she likes me. She’s way better than Mommy! Mommy has been sooo annoying these past few days. She won’t let me eat too many things! Daddy, I want to take Pretty Lady to eat at our favorite restaurant!”“All right, Daniel,” Alex said. “But do you remember what you promised me?”“Mommy must never find out!” Daniel answered quickly, delighted. “You’ve already told me so many times, Daddy!”“Good. I’ll come pick you up later. Remember to wear your favorite sweater.”The call ended.I covered my mouth with one hand, and couldn't believe what I heard. A flood of terrifying possibilities flashed through her mind in an instant. With my other hand, I gripped tightly the carefully wrapped bag that

The amount of information in that single sentence was overwhelming. The customers who had been quietly watching suddenly burst into low, excited whispers.“I just heard that the girl who fell called the other woman her sister…” “So which one is that man’s wife?” “This family is a complete mess!” “Didn’t that little girl just say her mommy and—”I no longer had the energy to care about what anyone else thought.Watching Daniel appear right after that little girl, I finally saw the truth clearly.The person my husband and son had been secretly meeting behind my back was my estranged older sister—Anna.And I had never even known that my husband knew my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in years.In front of everyone, that strange little girl called my husband “Daddy.” Like she was protecting her mother from a bad woman, she angrily attacked me.Her big round eyes glared at me, filled with accusation and disgust.And all I could think was how ridiculous all of this was.I looked at my son,

“What are you talking about?” I shook off her hand when she tried to grab me and took a defensive stance. I had been waiting for an attack from Anna. I wasn’t prepared for this at all.What trick was she playing?The two children sitting nearby stood up uneasily. Seeing that, Alex immediately stepped forward to block their view.“Anna, talk properly. We’re all family. There’s no need to do this.”“No.” Anna was stubborn. She didn’t even look at Alex. She looked straight at me, and tears came instantly.“I have to get Jenny’s consent. Jenny, please save Lisa. She’s your niece. She’s your own flesh and blood.”“What? I don’t understand—”“Anna’s daughter Lisa has leukemia. She’s already had her tested against all of your blood relatives, and none of them matched. The doctor said that if she can’t find a match, she will die. Anna knew you definitely wouldn’t agree to be tested, so she came to me. She wanted to prepare a birthday surprise with me to repair your relationship. But I told

“So… while I was unconscious and in anaphylactic shock, did you secretly have the hospital do tissue typing for me and her daughter, using your authority as my husband?”Alex was instantly rendered speechless. He lifted his hand and waved it vaguely in the air, wearing a you-know-what-I-mean expression.“I mean… you know… blood tests were done anyway, so…” he said, not quite meeting my eyes. Hospitals just… run all kinds of tests when someone’s admitted. That’s pretty normal. They do that all the time…”A sharp sense of alarm rose in my chest. After being his wife for years, I knew that guilty look on his face far too well. In fact, as the dizziness from waking up gradually faded, my mind felt clearer than it had in days. Everything I’d learned since regaining consciousness began rapidly sorting and aligning itself in my head.Knight had said I’d gone into shock from a severe allergic reaction. Before that, I’d assumed it was a combination of the fall and an emotional breakdown causin