Chapter 3

"Sarah," James snapped, his voice sharp with anger. "You can't curse Lily just to get back at Emily. If you've got a problem, take it out on me, not her.

I pulled out the crumpled paper and tossed it into his arms.

The drawing had dried.

But the large, smeared water stains were visible to the naked eye, along with the bloodstains that wouldn't fade, no matter how much I tried to wipe them away.

He panicked and blurted out, "Is Lily hurt? Or are you the one bleeding?"

His eyes landed on the bandage wrapped around my forehead.

He finally remembered to ask about me.

He saw this massive bandage on my head, and his first instinct wasn't even to worry about his own wife.

"Lily's dead." I forced myself to hold back my tears. "She died when you chose to save this woman. That day, all Lily wanted was for her dad to celebrate her birthday with her, so I took her to find you.

"Our car overturned as I tried to swerve away from falling rocks. But you only had eyes for your ex-girlfriend. You didn't even notice you were abandoning your own wife and daughter."

I grabbed him by the collar. "If you hadn't insisted on sending Emily into the ambulance and rushing her away, Lily wouldn't have lost her only chance to be saved. You were her dad."

He was totally shell-shocked, completely lost.

He didn't even try to stop me as I shoved and hit him. He just stood there frozen, his eyes glued to the drawing, mumbling under his breath, "No. No way. Lily's fine. Stop lying to me."

I shoved the death certificate right in his face.

He clutched the drawing in one hand and the death certificate in the other, on the verge of a total breakdown.

Suddenly, Emily rushed over and dropped to her knees at my feet, clutching desperately at my pant leg.

She pleaded, "Sarah, if you need to hit someone, hit me. I shouldn't have gone out that day. If I hadn't, I would not have encountered the landslide. It's all my fault.

"James has always been there for me, so of course, he'd look out for me first. If you need to let it out, just take it out on me."

Even as she said that, she was still holding her baby close.

She wiped away her tears and pleaded, "But please, don't blame my baby. She's innocent. If you want, she can be your goddaughter."

I lashed out and kicked her right in the head.

James jolted back to his senses, shoving me aside as he rushed to shield Emily.

I knew it. The second I tried to lay a finger on Emily, all that guilt James had for Lily would disappear into thin air.

Emily sure knew how to pick her moments to apologize, right when it would get her the most sympathy.

"Sarah, I'm the one who chose to save Emily and her baby. If you're angry, take it out on me. Leave them out of this," James said, standing his ground.

"James, did the rain scramble your brains or something?" I kicked him hard in the chest. "Maybe you can't see what's right in front of you, but she sure can.

"We waited at the scene for at least ten minutes. Her car was pointed straight at us, and she just sat there in the driver's seat, staring at us the whole time.

"She's been in our car more times than I can count. Don't even try to say she didn't recognize me and Lily."

Emily went dead silent, clutching her baby even tighter as she recoiled, pulling herself back.

"If she had even a bit of conscience, she would've told you we were right behind you, instead of crying and making a scene, demanding you stay with her," I snapped.

James gritted his teeth. "Just because you are twisted doesn't mean everyone else is."

I slapped him hard across the face. "And what about Lily? Do you even realize that when she died, she was clutching this drawing, saying she had to show it to her dad? She kept begging, 'Don't let it get wet.'

"If Lily hadn't kept asking for you right up until the very end, I wouldn't have let you lay a finger on anything of hers, not even if I was dead."

The moment I brought up Lily, he instantly shut up.

His eyes filled with guilt and regret, and finally brimmed with tears. "Did Lily say anything else?"

"She said she didn't love you anymore," I told him.

His breath hitched, shaky and uneven.

I continued, "I don't love you anymore, either. Let's get a divorce."

"Sarah, just go home and try to calm down. Tonight, when I get home, we'll sit down and talk things over," James said.