All Chapters of When the Number Vanished, So Did My Parents’ Love: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Dad caught Mom’s wrist just inches before her hand struck my face.“Why are you hitting her?“Isn’t it a good thing that she’s still alive?”Mom yanked her arm free, her eyes turning red.“Then what about Lana? She’s the younger sister. Was she supposed to spend those three years giving up everything for Cece?”Lana burst into tears and hurled the lollipop at me.“I hate Cece! Why won’t she just die?”“Don’t cry, Lana. It’s okay.”Mom pulled her into her arms, growing angrier by the second.After unwrapping the lollipop and putting it back in Lana’s mouth, she turned and walked toward me.Slap!Her palm struck my face.My ears immediately began ringing.“You little liar!”Mom glared at me with pure hatred.I wanted to explain.Over those three years, I’d offered more than once to share my toys with Lana.I’d asked my parents to bring her to the amusement park with us and buy her a pretty dress too.But Mom and Dad always said the same thing.“You don’t need to worry

I curled up beside the door and waited for a long time.The only light in the bathroom came through a small window high on the wall.The light brightened, then faded.It faded, then brightened again.I didn’t know how much time had passed.Then my body became weightless.I floated out of the house and found Mom and Dad.Overjoyed, I rushed toward them.But my hands passed straight through their bodies.I was already dead.Maybe this was for the best.Mom and Dad wouldn’t have to see me again, and Lana wouldn’t have to be upset anymore.They were at the beach.Dad was taking pictures of Lana while Mom held her hand and taught her how to swim.Their laughter filled the air.“It’s been so long since we took Lana anywhere,” Dad said. “Seeing her this happy makes me happy too. Let’s take more pictures later.”Mom smiled brightly.“Exactly. If Cecilia hadn’t lied to us, Lana wouldn’t have been neglected for so long.”“When we get home, I’m going to print all these pictures

“What do you mean?”Dad’s eyes widened, but Mom didn’t answer.After they signed my death certificate, my ashes were placed in a small urn.Mom and Dad brought me home.The house still looked exactly the same.Yet everything had changed.After setting down my urn, Dad leaned against the wall.His chest felt tight as he thought about what Mom had said in the hospital hallway.“Your sister wasn’t a liar. Every number she saw was real.”He couldn’t understand why Mom had suddenly changed her mind.But no matter how many times he asked, she remained lost in a daze.She only repeated one sentence.“She wasn’t supposed to die.”For the next several days, that was her response to everything Dad said.She repeated it over and over without a trace of emotion.There was no sadness in her voice.No anger either.She said it as though she were simply stating a fact.Somehow, that was more painful than any amount of crying.The atmosphere in the house grew heavier by the day.A

The moment Mom said those words, Dad’s expression changed.Everyone turned to stare at her.Ever since I’d spoken my first number at five years old, the entire family had assumed that the numbers were counting down to death.Mom slowly lifted her head.She had no tears left, but she forced herself to reveal the truth that shattered everything they believed.“The number above Cece’s head measured how much she was loved.“Everyone has a number of their own. It reflects how deeply the people closest to them truly love them.“It has nothing to do with fate or how long someone is destined to live.“It only reflects what’s in people’s hearts.“That’s what the woman in my dream told me.“But she spoke in riddles, and I didn’t understand her at the time.”Dad thought of the boy next door who had been hit by a car.“Then what happened to that little boy?”“He didn’t die immediately. He was taken to the hospital, and timely treatment could’ve saved him.“But his parents had neglect

When Dad came home from work that day, he looked utterly defeated.He sat in the living room, staring blankly out the window.The house sank into despair once again.Without the protection of angel I’d once been, the family’s luck vanished.And once misfortune found its way in, it showed no sign of stopping.A few days after Dad lost his job, Mom’s old health problems returned.I had protected her from those illnesses before.But now I was gone, and the grief and sleepless nights had already taken a toll on her.At first, Mom assumed she was simply exhausted from mourning.Then one afternoon, she suddenly collapsed at home and was rushed to the hospital.After a full examination, the doctors discovered that nearly all her old conditions had returned.But with one disaster following another, she couldn’t afford to rest.Mom came home with a bag full of medication, yet her health continued to deteriorate.Their expenses soared, and life grew harder by the day.But fate was