Chapter 3

That night, my head throbbed painfully. In my dazed state, I accidentally called Ethan.

He actually came back to pour me water and give me my medicine.

"Don't blame Leo. Kids just crave novelty. In a few days, he'll be crying for his mom again. Take this chance to rest. You've lost so much weight."

Once he saw I was feeling better, he went back to the hospital.

But over the next few days, I became incredibly lethargic. Whenever I woke up, my mouth tasted bitter, and my stomach cramped in waves.

I went to the hospital alone.

The doctor looked at me, confused.

"Did you change your medication? Your previous prescription worked great. Don't switch it up for no reason."

I shook my head. My meds were always with me, in the same packaging.

But when the doctor ran a quick test on the pills, his face fell.

"This is a strong sedative, similar to sleeping pills. Aren't you intolerant to this? I only prescribed it before when you couldn't sleep, and it gave you a bad reaction. Now that your sleep is fine, who has been giving you this?"

I went cold.

The image of Ethan handling my medicine flashed through my mind. I couldn't believe it.

Ethan thought I was too much of a nuisance that night. Fearing I would disturb him again, he drugged me with sedatives!

Just recently, Ethan had warned me:

"All medicine has side effects. Don't take the wrong ones."

And now, his best way to keep me quiet was to keep me asleep.

I let out a bitter laugh.

My heart was being carved out, piece by piece.

I went home to pack. I didn't want to delay the divorce any longer.

While searching through files, a piece of paper fell out.

It was a school essay with a perfect score and a teacher's comment:

"Genuine love is meant for Mom. Excellent!"

For a moment, I was dazed. I remembered when Leo was in preschool, the first song he learned was about mothers.

I had held his hand as we walked home, and he babbled:

"Mommy, I'll buy you a big house when I grow up. My mommy is the best."

I picked up the essay and read it.

"My mom and I are like frost in winter. We can only meet in the summer. When the weather gets warm, we melt away. I keep wishing for summer to come early."

Every line was filled with love. But it wasn't for me. A crushing wave of defeat broke my spirit.

I sat alone for a long time. Finally, I stood up, wiped the dust off my mother's photo, and held it to my chest.

Mom, the gift you left me turned out to be a curse. I'm taking you with me.

I don't want any of them anymore.

The lock clicked. Ethan entered, bringing Leo home from the hospital.

Leo was still too young to hide his thoughts, talking about the same topic.

"Dad, we have to wait another nine months. I have to sit straight, stand straight, and I can't eat this or that. It's so painful."

Ethan tapped him on the head.

"Stop talking nonsense. Elena does it for your own good."

Leo pouted.

"But I'm miserable. Vivian would never treat me like this."

So that was it.

Hearing this now, I felt strangely calm.

The nine months he found so miserable were the months I treasured most, fighting tooth and nail to keep him safe.

I lived in constant fear, terrified that their three-month "allergy season" would extend.

But to them, my care was a prison.

Seeing me in the bedroom, Ethan assumed I hadn't heard. After scolding Leo, he walked over.

"Elena, this little guy is just being mischievous. It's a good thing you didn't come to the hospital, or the stress would have ruined your health."