Chapter 4

I was alone again.

Once, we had a child too.

I had been overjoyed, begging her endlessly to keep the baby. I would do anything for her.

But on Daniel's birthday, she drank heavily, her eyes red.

I knelt on the ground pleading with her to stop drinking, but she slapped me across the face.

"James, you deserve to be abandoned by everyone!" she sneered.

She tumbled down the stairs deliberately, just to see me suffer.

I threw myself down to cushion her fall, but still couldn't save the baby.

The blood from that night became a nightmare I could never shake.

"Save the baby..." I begged, still shielding her tightly despite being badly injured.

Lily looked down at me with a complex expression when she came to her senses, but ultimately decided to abort the child.

Perhaps she felt someone like me didn't deserve to be the father of her child.

Lily must have seen that I wasn't making a fuss, so she magnanimously allowed me to attend my father's funeral.

"You go to the funeral first. I'll join you after I finish shopping with Quinn."

I didn't nod, just leaned back in the chair exhaustedly.

These past few days, she had patiently cared for the child.

The three of them looked like such a close, harmonious family.

She was probably only letting me off the hook today because she had checked the security footage and discovered it was the bodyguard who always beat me the hardest who had drugged the soup.

I guess she wanted to make it up to me by allowing me to attend my father's funeral.

But I no longer cared about any of that.

From a distance, I watched as my father's ashes were interred in the cemetery.

Unable to pay my respects in person, I could only stand far away and kowtow several times to bid him farewell.

"Dad, I'm so sorry."

After leaving the cemetery, I made an excuse to get rid of the others and successfully retrieved my small backpack.

My friend arrived at the Lin house as promised.

"Over here!" he waved, signaling that I could jump down from the back.

There were no guards here. I landed silently and was pushed into a luxury car.

I looked up and met a pair of familiar eyes.

Someone held me tightly.

Lily, who had just sent the others home, felt her heart skip a beat for some reason.

The urge to see me was overwhelming, as if she would regret it for life if she was even a second late.

My father's funeral ended quickly.

By the time she arrived, she saw my mother guarding the area with some people.

As she approached, she heard my mother's furious cursing.

"Where's that little beast James? Isn't he supposed to care about his father the most?"

"This time I'll teach him a harsh lesson. Make him know he has to side with the Fang family!"

Lily stormed in angrily to confront my mother.

"Repeat what you just said!"

Seeing her, my mother's expression turned panicked.

She stammered out a few excuses, but Lily didn't catch a single word clearly.

Until her phone rang.

"Ms. Lin, Mr. Fang has escaped! We just received an express delivery with divorce papers for you inside."