Chapter 5

When I woke up again, I was in the hospital.

A young nurse was changing my bandages while complaining:

"Those two are really filial. Their mom's hurt this badly, but they insisted the doctor treat that young woman first, and she just had a few scratches."

"Honestly, if I had children like that, I'd have cut ties with them long ago. What trash..."

Seeing I was awake, another nurse quickly nudged her.

The speaking nurse's face went pale as she apologized profusely.

But I smiled weakly.

"It's okay. You're not wrong."

She froze in surprise.

Many things were clearer to outsiders than to me.

A week later, I checked myself out of the hospital.

As I was about to hail a taxi, I suddenly received a call from Ryan.

His voice was angry: "Mom, Judy told me you haven't picked up Bobby for a whole week."

"Judy has work too. The household is falling apart, and you're the only one out there slacking off. Have you no shame?"

"I'm giving you two hours. If you're not back, there will be consequences!"

He hung up.

Then Lester's message popped up:

[Mom, how long are you going to keep slacking off? My apartment's a pigsty now! Come clean it up right away. And I want porridge!]

Taxis were hard to get at the hospital entrance.

Standing in the cold wind, I hesitated for a moment, then dialed that number.

The call connected quickly. A man's voice, somewhat aged but tinged with excitement, came through:

"Marta, I've been waiting for this call for so long."

My nose tingled. "Alex, I've made up my mind. Come pick me up."

"Alright. Send me the address."

Minutes later, a luxury car pulled up in front of me...

A uniformed driver got out and personally opened the door for me.

Inside sat a familiar yet unfamiliar face. Looking at him, I couldn't help choking up:

"Alex..."

"It's okay."

He patted my hand, his voice low. "Now that you've made your decision, you can't soften your heart anymore."

I nodded. "I won't."

Never again.