Chapter 3

3

I lay on Maya's tiny bed, clutching her favorite teddy bear against my chest. I desperately tried to catch any remaining warmth she left behind, my tears soaking through the bedsheets.

Right then, my phone rang. Yolanda's voice came through, dripping with subtle smugness. "Leah, I didn't have your number, so I borrowed Harrison's phone to call you. Please don't misunderstand. Could you cook some nourishing soup and bring it to the hospital? I need to stay by Lily's side and really don't have the time. Harrison mentioned your cooking is amazing, so I was wondering if you'd be willing to help?"

Before Yolanda could finish, Harrison interrupted her over the line. "Of course she's willing. She loves cooking anyway. Yolanda, just tell her whatever you want to drink."

My heart plummeted into an icy abyss, freezing every nerve in my body.

I had learned how to cook because Harrison suffered from stomach issues when we first got married. To be a devoted wife, I spent months studying therapeutic recipes and dietary nutrition specifically to nurse his health.

Now, he wasn't even worthy of being called my husband, and I had no intention of letting them treat me like their personal maid.

I grabbed an insulated soup container, filled it to the brim with scalding boiling water, and marched straight toward the hospital. I wanted to see for myself if Harrison's heart was truly pitch black.

When I pushed open the ward door, I saw Harrison sitting by the bed, gently feeding sliced fruit to Yolanda's daughter with a tender look on his face. "Be a good girl, Lily. Have some fruit first to fill your stomach. You'll have delicious warm soup very soon. Tell me what you want to eat tomorrow, and I'll have Leah make it for you."

The two of them looked just like a loving father and daughter.

*BAM!*

I slammed the heavy container onto the nightstand, startling everyone in the room.

Yolanda shrank back, pretending to be frightened as she hid behind Harrison. "Harrison… is Leah mad at us?"

Harrison turned to glare at me, his expression darkening instantly. "Leah, what kind of childish stunt are you pulling now? Don't try to get my attention like this. Lily is a patient who needs rest, don't you know that? Hand over the container right now. Lily needs all the nutrition she can get to recover."

A profound sense of injustice for Maya surged through me. In three whole years, Harrison had never once fed Maya, and the times he sat at the dinner table with her could be counted on one hand.

When Maya fell severely ill at age two and cried for her daddy, I called Harrison over a dozen times without an answer. Hours later, he casually texted back saying he was out shopping for clothes with Yolanda's daughter.

Treating someone else's child like a priceless treasure while treating his own flesh and blood like dirt… How had I been so blind not to realize how heartless he was?

Fighting back the urge to break down, I screamed at Harrison, "You actually care about another person's kid needing nutrition after surgery, yet you never stopped to think whether your own three-year-old could survive having her blood drained?!"

Harrison scoffed dismissively. "No matter how small she is, she still has blood in her body! The hospital was out of stock and there was no time to order more from the blood bank. I remembered Maya shared the same blood type, so I brought her over immediately. Lily's life couldn't wait a single second!"

"Did Maya run crying to you? You've completely spoiled that child rotten! Lily was in critical condition from a car crash, and she's still throwing tantrums. Just wait until I get home, I'll teach her a proper lesson. I have no idea how you've been raising her to be so selfish."

A tragic, hollow laugh escaped my lips. "And you call yourself a father? I'm sure Maya is in the afterlife right now, wishing she had never been cursed with a father like you!"

Harrison frowned deeply. "What kind of mother are you, putting a curse on your own child? All she did was give a little blood. How could she possibly die?"

Yes, thanks to him, I was no longer a mother.

Pure hatred burned in my eyes. "A mother? As of today, I don't have a daughter anymore!"

Standing on the side, Yolanda noticed the explosive tension between Harrison and me, and a flash of triumph crossed her eyes. She quickly masked it with fake tears. "I'm so sorry, Harrison. It's all our fault that you and Leah are fighting. We shouldn't have come back. Please go home, Harrison. Leah is your real wife, and you have your own daughter. Lily only needs me by her side, and that's enough."

Seeing Yolanda weep, Harrison reached out and pulled her into his arms. "Don't listen to her. She's just being jealous. Don't worry, I will treat Lily as my own daughter. She and Maya will become best friends, and I will never leave you two without support."

Yolanda looked up at Harrison with deep admiration and affection. Standing there, I felt like a complete stranger.

Without another word, I grabbed the container, twisted the lid off, and violently splashed the boiling water directly at the two hypocrites.

"AHHH!"

Yolanda shrieked in agony, while Harrison gasped and hissed in severe pain.

Looking at them writhing in pain, I wished with every fiber of my being that I had thrown acid instead, so they could face immediate retribution.

"Harrison, we are getting a divorce!"

I turned on my heel and walked out. Harrison tried to chase after me, but the frantic cries of Yolanda instantly pulled him right back to her side.

Remembering how Maya had lain cold and alone on that metal table while the three of them played happy family, a venomous rage took over my mind. Why should my baby suffer such a horrific death while they got to walk away unscathed? I was going to make them pay with everything they had.