Chapter 3

I stared at that line, and all the ambient noise around me vanished.

I remembered every detail of that night.

The acute myocarditis hit suddenly. It was critical, and the hospital scheduled emergency heart surgery.

When I signed the pre-op consent forms, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely write my name.

"Where is my wife?"

I asked the nurse.

The nurse looked full of pity.

"Ms. Bennett had an emergency at her company. She said she'll get here as soon as she can."

Right before the anesthesia took effect, my last thought was that I was going to give her hell the second she arrived.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Claire.

She was sitting by the bed, her eyes bloodshot, gripping my hand tightly. Her voice was trembling.

"I'm so sorry, Ethan. I shouldn't have let you face this alone..."

She lost control at my bedside, apologizing over and over, even raising her fist to punch her own leg hard.

The nurses hurried to hold her down and urged her to calm down.

I had felt soft-hearted then, and ended up comforting her instead:

"It's okay. I'm right here, aren't I?"

She held my hand and swore:

"I will never let you face danger alone again."

So this was the truth.

"Daddy?"

Owen's sleepy voice drifted from his bedroom.

I snapped out of it, realizing my hand was shaking so hard I almost dropped the phone.

Owen rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"I had a nightmare..."

"It's okay, Daddy's here."

I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him into my arms.

His body was soft, carrying that unique scent of a child.

This was my son, my absolute treasure, the person I cared about most in this world.

And his mother actually wanted to use his health to save another child.

Hatred clawed its way up from the bottom of my chest, wrapping so tightly around my heart I could barely breathe.

When I returned to the master bedroom, Claire was already asleep.

I walked to the bed and looked at her sleeping face.

The face that used to make my heart race now just made me sick.

I gathered my thoughts and lay back down, but any trace of sleep was gone.

I kept my eyes open until dawn.

Chapter 3

I stared at that line, and all the ambient noise around me vanished.

I remembered every detail of that night.

The acute myocarditis hit suddenly. It was critical, and the hospital scheduled emergency heart surgery.

When I signed the pre-op consent forms, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely write my name.

"Where is my wife?"

I asked the nurse.

The nurse looked full of pity.

"Ms. Bennett had an emergency at her company. She said she'll get here as soon as she can."

Right before the anesthesia took effect, my last thought was that I was going to give her hell the second she arrived.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was Claire.

She was sitting by the bed, her eyes bloodshot, gripping my hand tightly. Her voice was trembling.

"I'm so sorry, Ethan. I shouldn't have let you face this alone..."

She lost control at my bedside, apologizing over and over, even raising her fist to punch her own leg hard.

The nurses hurried to hold her down and urged her to calm down.

I had felt soft-hearted then, and ended up comforting her instead:

"It's okay. I'm right here, aren't I?"

She held my hand and swore:

"I will never let you face danger alone again."

So this was the truth.

"Daddy?"

Owen's sleepy voice drifted from his bedroom.

I snapped out of it, realizing my hand was shaking so hard I almost dropped the phone.

Owen rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"I had a nightmare..."

"It's okay, Daddy's here."

I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled him into my arms.

His body was soft, carrying that unique scent of a child.

This was my son, my absolute treasure, the person I cared about most in this world.

And his mother actually wanted to use his health to save another child.

Hatred clawed its way up from the bottom of my chest, wrapping so tightly around my heart I could barely breathe.

When I returned to the master bedroom, Claire was already asleep.

I walked to the bed and looked at her sleeping face.

The face that used to make my heart race now just made me sick.

I gathered my thoughts and lay back down, but any trace of sleep was gone.

I kept my eyes open until dawn.