Chapter 4

Only two days remained until the final deadline.

Daniel pushed open the guest room door. Without even looking at my pale face, he held out his hand for the keys to the Ocean Bay Beach House.

That was the house he bought with his first big money, registered in my name, and the place where he proposed to me.

I lay against the headboard, unmoving, and looked at his expectant face, asking what he wanted the keys for.

He impatiently tugged at his tie, his face full of displeasure.

"Bella is feeling down and wants to clear her head by the sea. I'm taking her and Leo to stay at the Ocean Bay for two nights. She just got back and has nothing. As the lady of the house, can't you be generous enough to lend her the house for a few days?"

To take another woman to the place he proposed, for a vacation, and expect me to hand him the keys myself.

I pulled open the drawer, found the keys, and the access card, and tossed them onto the duvet.

"Take them. You can use everything inside however you like."

My straightforward attitude surprised Daniel a little. He took the keys, looking uncomfortable as he explained they were just going to relax.

I didn't respond, turning my back to him, and picked up my phone to text Mr. Davies.

"Also, please draft a divorce agreement for me. I don't want anything. Send it to me as soon as possible."

Seeing that I ignored him, Daniel snorted, took the keys, and slammed the door shut as he left.

In the evening, I heated the doctor's prescribed medicine in the kitchen. The bitter smell made me cough uncontrollably.

Laughter and playful shouts from Bella and Leo came from the living room as they packed their bags.

Suddenly, a gasp was followed by the sound of something heavy falling. Bella had fallen down the last three steps of the staircase.

She sat on the floor, clutching her ankle, tears streaming down her face.

Hearing the commotion, Daniel rushed downstairs. He picked Bella up tenderly, then spun around, glaring fiercely at me as I emerged from the kitchen.

"Eleanor, look what you've done! So what if I borrowed the keys to your old beach house? Do you really have to be so malicious as to push someone down the stairs?"

My hand, holding the medicine bowl, trembled. A few drops of scalding medicine splattered onto my hand, leaving a red mark.

"I was in the kitchen the whole time. I wasn't even near the stairs."

Bella, nestled in Daniel's arms, shook her head tearfully.

"Daniel, don't blame Eleanor. I just lost my footing. Maybe she accidentally bumped me as she passed."

Daniel completely exploded. He strode over and kicked the bowl of medicine out of my hand.

The ceramic bowl shattered on the floor, and the life-saving medicine I had just spent three hours brewing splashed everywhere, soaking my pants.

I looked at the mess on the floor. The stabbing pain in my chest returned, and I lost the strength to even stand upright.

My knees gave out, and I sank to the floor, reaching out with a trembling hand to pick up the pills that were still usable.

The moment my fingertips touched a pill, Leo stepped on my hand, grinding his heel into it.

He gritted his teeth, glaring at me with intense disgust. His small face was full of loathing.

"You wicked woman, not only do you bully Bella, but you also cook this stinky stuff at home. I don't deserve a mom like you, you make me so ashamed!"

My finger bones were throbbing, and my skin scraped against the broken ceramic, starting to bleed.

Hearing my own son utter such words, I didn't cry; my eyes didn't even well up.

I pulled away my bloody, bruised hand, looked at the clear shoe print on its back, and forced a smile.

A smile at the eight years of devotion that had led to this outcome.

Daniel, seeing me still smiling, looked even more disgusted. He picked up Bella and walked out without a backward glance.

"Come on, Leo. Let's take Bella to the hospital for a check-up. This crazy woman can stay home and reflect."

The three of them left. Thunder rumbled outside the house, and a few minutes later, the rain began to pour.

All the lights in the house suddenly went out, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

The throbbing in my chest turned into a continuous, excruciating pain. I fumbled for my phone, only to find it dead.

I could only crawl along the wall towards the landline in the living room. A mere few meters felt like twenty minutes.

Finally, I reached the receiver and pressed it to my ear, but there was no sound.

I traced the telephone line down and found a smooth cut. The phone line had been severed.

Leo had been messing with craft scissors just before they left. He had personally blocked his own mother's last chance at life.

The intense pain completely overwhelmed me. I curled up on the cold floor, my consciousness beginning to fade.

I didn't even have the strength to breathe. I could only lie there, silently waiting in the dark, powerless house.

I don't know how much time passed. The rain stopped. The faint light of dawn filtered through the window, and faintly, the wail of an ambulance siren could be heard outside.