Chapter 1
My father was critically ill. It was an emergency.
All flights and bus tickets were sold out that day, except for one business-class seat that cost 1200 dollars.
My husband, a CEO earning 150 thousand dollars a month, frowned at the price.
He said, "Do you even know what 1200 dollars means to this family?"
Then he snapped, "You sit at home all day enjoying life while I work my fingers to the bone."
After that, he cut off my cards and hid my phone, and I missed my father's final moments.
After the funeral, I saw his Instagram post—a birthday celebration for one of his interns.
The cheapest thing he gave her was a black swan cake worth 3300 dollars.
*****
Sitting on the bench outside the funeral home, I casually gave his post a thumbs-up.
Then I left a comment: [Happy birthday, princess.]
Less than a minute after I posted it, my husband Edward—who had ignored over 30 of my calls—finally called me back.
I picked up the phone on instinct.
Before I could even speak, he started laying into me. "What's with your sarcastic comment? You scared the poor girl to tears. Apologize to Olivia right now, or we're done."
We had been married for seven years.
Edward had mentioned divorce more times than he had come to bed.
It was his usual way of threatening me.
And every single time, I caved instantly, groveling and apologizing like a spineless fool, pushing my boundaries further and further back.
I had always thought our marriage—one that began when we were young—was hard-won.
And after all, we had a child together.
Thinking of my son, Lucas, the word "okay" almost slipped out, but I caught it in my throat.
Then suddenly, I heard Lucas' tender voice through the receiver.
"Dad, why are you still talking to that dumb old woman? Let's go cut Olivia's cake. Then we can buy her a big diamond ring."
Edward replied, "Alright. I'm coming right now."
The call ended.
The dull, hollow "beep, beep" echoed in my ear.
When I checked again, Edward had already blocked me from viewing his posts.
A small laugh slipped from my lips.
But as I kept laughing, tears started to fall.
*****
My mother had called me the afternoon before yesterday.
She said my father had suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage and might not make it through the night.
I hurriedly opened the travel app to book a ticket.
Unfortunately, every flight and bus to my hometown that day was sold out.
The only one left was a business-class ticket worth 1200 dollars.
Just as I was about to hit Pay, Edward snatched my phone away.
He shot me a self-righteous glare and barked, "Do you even know what 1200 dollars means to this family? You sit at home all day enjoying life while I work my fingers to the bone.
"You're not even a doctor. Even if you go back early, your dad's still gonna die. I'm not working my ass off just so you can leech off me."
With that, Edward took my phone and ID, snapped my credit card in half, and left only after making sure I had no way to buy that ticket.
He didn't come home that night.
The next morning, he had his secretary drop off my phone and a slow train ticket to my hometown.
When I turned my phone back on, I saw over a thousand missed calls from my mother.
She had been calling almost every single minute.
My hands trembled as I called her back. But by then, no one picked up.
I endured 13 long hours on that slow train, barely holding myself together.
When I finally reached the hospital, the first thing I saw was my father's body being wheeled out, covered with a white sheet.
My mother had collapsed in my aunt's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
When she saw me rushing in, disheveled and pale, she slapped me hard across the face and wailed, "Why did you come so late? Why only now? Do you have any idea how much your father suffered waiting for you?"
My cheek burned with pain, but I pushed past the crowd and lifted the white cloth.
When I saw my father's twisted, agonized face, it felt as if someone had clenched their fist around my heart.
One of the nurses told me his ribs were broken.
He had broken them himself, trying to stay conscious through the unbearable pain.
But he ran out of strength.
In the end, he never got to see the daughter he had been waiting for.
During the funeral, I called Edward more than 30 times.
He either hung up instantly or ignored every call.
After everything was over, my mother broke down and told me to get out.
She said since I'd put a man above everything and moved so far away for him, from now on, I was dead to her.