All Chapters of Done with You: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Our daughter’s breathing grew faster and more ragged by the second. Suddenly, he let go of my neck, bolted into the bedroom, scooped her up, and rushed out the door.When the emergency room doors slammed shut, he slid down against the wall, covering his face in his hands. The blood from his knees had soaked right through his pants. “I’m sorry… I have no idea what’s wrong with me…”I raised my hand, wanting to hit him.Instead, I froze as I realized that even though he was only twenty-nine, strands of white hair were already peeking through his dark locks. Aside from those strikingly handsome features, he looked nothing like the man he used to be.The first time I met him, he had walked into the flower shop where I worked part-time to get a bouquet for his mother. Back then, he wore a tailored suit with diamond-encrusted cufflinks. He was nothing like the man standing before me today, whose T-shirt collar had faded to a pale, washed-out white.My hand dropped back down to my side

My heart skipped a beat, and I wanted to say a few words to cover it up. Instead, Julian’s sarcastic voice cut in first.“Fine. You can stop teaching Annie how to put on an act with you. I’ve paid this month’s rent, and I’ve saved enough for two months of her medical bills. You don’t have to keep pushing me.”A bitter feeling washed over me, and I said, “That’s great. That’s what you ought to be doing anyway, so drop the aggrieved look.”The call suddenly disconnected. I clutched my phone and forced a grim smile on my face. Since Julian had paid the hospital bills, I still had the money I saved from the clinical trials in the bank. So, I picked a small southern town and bought two bus tickets. It would be a good place for Annie to recover.After taking care of all this, I rushed over to the hospital, only to hear Annie sobbing and gasping for breath.Julian’s old high school sweetheart, Quinn Ford, was pinching Annie’s arm, shouting, “Why couldn’t a dead weight like you just die

Julian didn’t call out again, nor did he even think about making a phone call. He simply finished that cold plate of pasta in silence.He didn’t reheat it. He just sat in the dim living room, swallowing it bite after bite.The tomato sauce was far too sour, and there was far too much salt. That was Annie’s cooking, alright. On the few days she was healthy, the little girl was always begging to cook his favorite dish for him.In truth, he didn’t actually like the dish, but it was one of the decent options among cheap meals. So, over the past few years, Julian had come to love it too. Annie could never remember how much salt to put in, but he ate every last bit, leaving the plate spotless.After that, he stayed in the apartment for a long time. He didn’t look for us, he didn’t call, and he didn’t even shed a tear. He simply leaned back on the couch, staring at the light fixture on the ceiling that hadn’t been cleaned in forever.The apartment was so quiet that he could hear the wa

The southern coastal town was called Sothersby Town. The temperature and humidity there were just right.The moment we got off the bus, Annie expressed how much she loved the town.I managed to land a job at the local medical clinic helping the elderly doctor. The pay was not high, but the best part was that I could bring Annie with me.Right next to the clinic was our rented house. With the window open, I could see a river, in which the water was an unreal shade of green.Annie never mentioned her father or brought up Julian to me. Perhaps because she had been sick since she was little, she was always far more mature than other children her age. Every day, she quietly waited for me at home. Every morning, she would follow me to the open space in front of the clinic for a slow walk.At first, she would start gasping for air after walking for just ten minutes. Her little face would turn purple, and she would crouch on the ground and wouldn’t be able to get back up.I would crouc

He came to pick up Annie from school and stood by the gate. With his hands shoved into his coat pockets, he stared blankly in a particular direction without moving an inch.I called his name twice before he finally turned his head, his reactions painfully slow, as if muffled through a dense wall.A medicine bottle slipped out of his pocket and rolled onto the ground. Once I read the label, I couldn’t help but raise my voice.“Are you sick?”He opened his eyes, his face looking terribly pale, as if something deep inside him was collapsing bit by bit.“I went to see a doctor,” he said. “They told me I have depression.”His tone was flat, as if he were just commenting about the weather today. “The pills help a little. If I don’t, I can’t sleep the entire night.”“How long has it been?”“I forgot. Maybe two years.”Two years.My fingers curled up slightly. Wasn’t that right when we separated two years ago?“Then why did you come to Sothersby Town? Did the doctor say you could tr