Chapter 5
Lily walked down the stairs and over to Edward.
She bit her lip before asking in a soft, hesitant voice, "Is Mommy coming back?"
I'd visited Lily a few times in secret after divorcing Edward.
She never got fully comfortable around me since we barely spent time together, and she always acted shy and awkward during my visits.
Even so, every time I held her, she would gently nuzzle her face against my neck, timidly trying to bond with me.
The pure hope in her eyes twisted sharply at my heart.
I'd failed her as a mother, but she still missed me and held me close in her heart.
Edward was holding a cup in his hand. At Lily's question, his hand shook faintly, spilling a few drops of coffee onto his coat.
He was always meticulous about staying clean, but now, he paid no mind to the stain at all. He fell silent for a long while before answering, "Yeah, she's coming back the day after tomorrow."
Lily's eyes lit up. "Really?! I'll tell my teacher after school today and ask to take time off."
Edward nodded.
Overjoyed, Lily threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I love Daddy so much."
She hesitated for a second, her cheeks flushing pink, and mumbled shyly, "And I love Mommy so much too."
Edward brushed her hair softly. "Go get ready for school."
The nanny led Lily out the door, and Lily skipped happily away with her backpack on.
The whole house quickly sank into complete silence.
Edward set his cup down in a hurry. He stood up too fast and bumped his leg on the sofa corner.
The calm composure he'd had moments earlier vanished entirely, and he hurried straight toward the basement.
He walked over to my body, reached out, and grasped my left hand gently through my sleeve.
He tried to roll the fabric up to expose my arm.
But he was so tense and flustered that his hands shook nonstop, making the simple task of rolling up a sleeve incredibly difficult.
The weather was bitterly cold, yet cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
It took nearly ten minutes for him to finally roll my sleeve up fully.
The skin on my left arm near the elbow came into view, and Edward froze completely the second he saw it.
Fresh wounds covered the exact spot where my old cigarette burn scar used to be.
But they were mostly knife cuts. They crisscrossed my skin, raw and jagged, clearly inflicted recently.
These new wounds covered the area entirely, leaving no visible trace of the old scar underneath.
Edward stood beneath the bright indoor lights, his brows tightening.
He leaned in, trying to make out any trace of what might have been there before.
He was so focused that his breathing grew quick and heavy.
For a moment, he completely forgot that he was staring at and touching a corpse.
Edward stared blankly, running his fingers lightly over the tangled knife cuts on my arm.
The old cigarette burn scar from three years ago was completely gone.
Edward couldn't find the answer he was looking for.
He leaned in closer and closer, until a sudden sharp crack broke the silence.
Outside, a dry tree branch had snapped under the weight of the heavy snow. The sound pulled him out of his trance, and he quickly stood up straight.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead and across his brows.
He didn't bother wiping it away, simply whispering softly under his breath, "It's not her."
The empty room offered no reply.
After a moment, he repeated the words, his voice tight with suppressed anxiety. "It's not her."
The whole basement was dead quiet, the night deep and dark.
Edward leaned forward and gripped the edge of the bed tightly.
He held on so hard that the veins on his hands popped out and his knuckles turned white.
He stayed frozen like that for a long time before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a ring.
I froze the second I saw it.
It was our old wedding ring, the very one I used to wear.
I'd thrown that ring out the seventh-floor hospital window the day I made Edward sign the divorce papers.
It was only nine days after his car accident left him paralyzed.
I wondered how he'd found it again after all these years.
I still remembered exactly how he'd looked that day. He lay helpless in bed, completely drained and lifeless.
He'd slowly softened and grown warmer after being with me, but on that day, he turned cold and empty again, just like when I first met him.
His eyes were hollow and still, with no emotion in sight.
Edward held the ring and stared down at my left hand.
He hesitated for a long time before moving.
There was a desperate edge to his look as he slowly slipped the ring onto my finger, his movements careful and shaky.