Chapter 2

I froze at her words.

"What did you say?"

Doman removed her hand from her abdomen and looked up at me, her eyes as calm as a stagnant pool.

"Your dad has late-stage liver cancer. He doesn't have much time left."

"Before he dies, doesn't he just want to see you have a child?"

I felt like all the strength had been drained from my body.

These past seven years, I had mentioned having a child to Doman countless times.

The first year, she said her career was just starting, to wait a bit longer.

The second year, she said she wanted to enjoy our two-person world for a few more years.

The third and fourth years, she always said she was busy, always said there was no rush.

I thought she didn't want children.

I thought she was really planning for our future.

But now, she was using a child as leverage to threaten me.

In my mind, I saw my father in his hospital bed.

When I visited him last week, he was so thin he was unrecognizable, yet he still held my hand and smiled.

"Samuel, I don't have many regrets in this life. I just want to see you have a child."

"You and Doman have been together seven years. It's time to have a child."

I kept my head down, unable to speak.

He patted my hand, smiling with expectation.

"It's okay, I can still hold on. I can still help you take care of the baby."

I closed my eyes and clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

Eve came over, her tone softening.

"Samuel, you and Doman have been together so many years. Can you really bear to divorce?"

Andrew also walked over, his head down as he said in a muffled voice:

"Doman did wrong in this matter, but these years... how she's treated you, you know in your heart."

"For the child's sake, both of you back down a bit."

I opened my eyes suddenly, a bitter smile pulling at the corner of my mouth.

Had Doman treated me well?

Yes. After that incident, she was attentive to me in every way.

Every morning when I opened my eyes, there was always a pressed shirt at the bedside.

Whatever I liked to eat, she learned to make it at home. No matter how troublesome, she was willing to learn.

When I worked overtime until late at night, she always left a light on, with soup warming in the pot.

When I had a fever and was hospitalized, she stayed by my bed for three days and nights without closing her eyes.

Everyone said I was lucky.

"Your wife treats you so well. I've never seen anyone so considerate."

"You two are such a perfect match. You'll definitely grow old together."

Even Andrew and Eve, because of that incident back then, were especially good to me.

During holidays, Andrew personally cooked my favorite dishes.

When my parents visited, Eve would accompany them shopping all day without complaining.

I thought she had really changed.

I thought the woman who knelt before me and slit her wrists was really spending the rest of her life in repentance.

But it turned out all of this was just an act performed for me.

I raised my head and looked at the three people in front of me, saying hoarsely:

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Just acknowledge this child?"

As soon as I finished speaking, Doman pulled out a document from her bag and handed it to me.

"This is a property division agreement."

I looked down. The content was painfully glaring.

It stated that no matter how many children Doman and I had in the future, 70% of the family assets would belong to Jones.

Including the old house my dad left me.

I was stunned and looked up at her in disbelief:

"You want me to leave most of my assets to your illegitimate daughter?"

Doman showed no guilt. She looked at me with complete self-righteousness.

"Samuel, you don't like Jones. In the future, you definitely won't be able to treat both children equally."

"I'm just fighting for a bit more for Jones. Is that wrong?"

"I just want to give my child security."

I opened my mouth but couldn't speak for a moment. I just felt it was ridiculous.

She wanted to give her child security, so she had to sacrifice my interests and my child's interests?

Why should I?

I was about to argue when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Eve walked over to open the door.

Standing outside was a man in casual clothes, with a faint smile on his face:

"I'm back."