All Chapters of To Each Our Own Winter: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

That night, Dad did not come home, and I somehow developed a high fever.Mom stayed by my side all night, changing the towel on my forehead and checking my temperature again and again.I heard her making a phone call. She was probably calling Dad.It rang for a long time, but no one answered.When dawn came, and my fever had not broken, Mom carried me to the hospital on her back.I rested against her. My eyelids felt heavy as if they had been filled with lead.In my half-conscious state, I heard a woman’s voice nearby.“Easy, sweetheart. Just bear with it a little longer. It’ll be over soon.”The voice sounded strangely familiar.I opened my eyes and saw three people standing outside the examination room next door.It was Dad, Jocelyn Rowe, and a boy who was half a head taller than me.The boy was holding up a finger wrapped in gauze, whining as he sought comfort.Dad had not noticed us.He was bent over, signing some paperwork.“Family of Ethan Rowe?” the doctor called.

The slap left Mom completely dazed.She pressed a hand to her cheek as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth down her chin.“What’s gotten into you? When did I ever have someone assault her?”Dad seized my arm and dragged Mom and me out of the house.As I stumbled along behind him, my knee slammed into the doorframe. The impact sent a sharp pain through me.When we arrived at Jocelyn’s hospital room, the smell of blood hit me the moment the door opened.Jocelyn lay half-reclined on the bed. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was wet with tears.Her clothes were ripped in places, revealing bruised patches of skin beneath.The moment she saw Mom, she shrank back and screamed, “Don’t come any closer! Stay away from me! Don’t touch me, you monsters!”Dad stood in the doorway. His voice was strained as if every word was being forced out through clenched teeth.“Wendy, just because you can’t have children now, you can’t stand seeing someone else have one? Don’t you realize

The bloodstains on the ground were still there. When the wind blew, a faint metallic smell drifted through the air.Grandma’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed. Thankfully, Grandpa caught her in time.Grandpa looked at Dad. His tone was icy.“Back then, Wren cut ties with her family just to marry you. She went from a life of wealth and privilege to enduring hardship by your side. Did you know that?”Dad stood there, unable to say a single word.The disgust in Grandpa’s eyes deepened, and he slowly began to reveal part of Mom’s past that she had never told anyone.Back then, Mom and Dad had been university classmates.At the time, Dad’s family was struggling financially. He had even been close to dropping out because of his family’s debts.Mom saw what he was going through and could not bear to watch him struggle. She secretly paid off all his debts so he could focus on his studies.Later, the university offered a limited number of recommendations for graduate school. Mo

As soon as Grandpa returned home, he handed all the evidence over to the police.Jocelyn’s resolve finally crumbled. She confessed to everything at the police station.She admitted that she had deliberately seduced Dad into having an affair.Later, determined to take Mom’s place, she fabricated the entire story about being assaulted and suffering a miscarriage.She also confessed that years ago, she had accepted a bribe from one of Dad’s business enemies and revealed Mom’s whereabouts, setting in motion the nightmare that would haunt Mom for the rest of her life.The police investigation further revealed that the child Jocelyn had been carrying was never Dad’s.She had simply intended to use the pregnancy to keep Dad tied to her and secure greater benefits for herself.The news soon reached Dad.At the time, he was still consumed by remorse over Mom’s “death,” refusing to eat or drink day after day.When he learned the truth, he thought of all the years he had misunderstood an