Chapter 5

I pushed myself with my last ounce of strength, rushing like a madwoman to the ICU.

But when I finally reached the door, I saw my father being wheeled out, covered by a white sheet.

I stumbled and fell.

"No, Dad, wake up, don't scare me!"

The doctor beside me looked at me with scorn.

"Neither the daughter nor the father is a good person. If it weren't for Mr. Hayes being reasonable, Dr. Thompson would have been completely destroyed."

In an instant, I was surrounded by righteous people criticizing me and my father.

"Well, well, if it isn't that tramp again? Lost another baby, huh? Did some guy knock it out of you? Your videos are still hot, I've watched them for three years and never get tired. When can I get a taste, huh?"

"This shameless bitch, are you really still hooking up with her? Aren't you afraid of catching something? I wouldn't touch her even if she paid me."

"Bitch, how dare you slander Dr. Thompson!"

"Serves you right, your dad deserved to die! You deserve to die too!"

With that, several patients and their families started throwing instant noodles, herbal soup, leftover food, and trash at me.

I trembled, covering my father's ears.

"Don't listen, Dad, they're all lying."

The voices around me grew louder, more chaotic.

So loud that I could no longer hear my father's breathing.

I desperately slapped him, but he would never again open his eyes and say, "Just kidding, I'm perfectly fine."

The curses from the crowd accompanied me as I pushed my father's body to the hospital entrance.

Gusts of cold wind made me unsteady on my feet.

My clothes and hair, covered in filth, quickly froze.

Suddenly, Julian's voice came from behind me.

He ran over and draped his jacket over me.

"What happened? How did you get yourself like this?"

People around us whispered.

"Mr. Hayes, she's rotten to the core, she's not worth your genuine affection. If you ask me, you should divorce her."

"That's right, a manipulative, shameless, and cruel woman like her doesn't deserve you!"

Julian shot a deadly glare around.

Everyone immediately shut up and dispersed.

His gaze finally landed on the gurney in front of me.

"What's this? Who are you pushing?"

My eyes were hollow as I stared at him.

"My dad."

His eyebrows twitched, his eyes filled with horror and panic.

But just as he reached out, Sera's startled cry suddenly came from behind him.

She clutched her chest.

"I accidentally bumped myself when I was climbing out the window just now. It hurts so much."

Julian picked up Sera bridal style, and his eyes instantly turned sharp as he looked at me.

"Know when to quit, stop acting out! You just had surgery yesterday, go home and get some rest!"

He walked away from me, carrying her.

The funeral home car, mysteriously, never showed up, and no taxi on the road would give me a ride.

I pushed my father's body through the freezing snow for two hours until I reached the funeral home.

Two hours later, my father's once mighty body turned into a handful of ashes, placed in a cold urn.

Soon, on my phone, the online channel of the taxi, and on all the big screens in the shopping malls, the video of me kneeling there to apologize to Sera was playing in a loop.

Suddenly, a message popped up on my phone.

It was from Julian.

[Didn't I tell you to go home? Where are you? I'm warning you, don't try any more meaningless stunts. Think about your father, think about those videos from three years ago. I can suppress it, and I can also make it resurface.]

[As for the apology video playing outside, it's a small punishment for you. Don't take it to heart. Just come back and write a guarantee that you won't bully Sera again, and we can go back to how we were.]

The cold wind howled.

It scattered the warmth from the urn.

And it scattered the last of our feelings.

I opened the blacklisted messages from a week ago, from Caleb Stone, Julian's biggest rival.

Without a moment's hesitation, I dialed the number.

"I agree to the partnership you mentioned."

An hour later, Julian, who had been waiting endlessly for Audrey's reply, saw the latest business headlines.

[CEO Julian Hayes's Two Children Tragically Die, Wife Kneels in Apology, Marriage on the Rocks]

[Julian Hayes's Adopted Sister's Accusation of Father-in-Law's Assault Suspected to be a Hoax]