My son happily embraced him: “Nowhere,
dad, mom, let’s go home!”
After saying that, he looked at Alex, and then
tightly grabbed my hand, afraid that he would
attract my attention.
His behavior was a clear sign of him trying to
win my affection, and I couldn’t help but
stroke his head.
Alex’s eyes looked both envious and sad.
I got up and said to Alex:
“You should go home soon too; your family is
probably worried about you.”
Chris looked at me confusedly.
<
I quietly explained: “A friend’s kid.”
Turning around to leave, Alex suddenly called
out to me: “Today… is also my birthday.”
It was true; today was also his birthday.
That robotic voice told me to marry Jake so
that my loved ones could be resurrected. With
that slim hope, I found the courage to keep
living.
I happened to be working the night shift when
I first met Jake.
He was standing in the hall with a wailing
baby.
His technique was clumsy, and the formula
was lying by his side as be answered the
く
“It seems like my son is allergic to pollen.
What kind of medicine should I get?”
As the conversations progressed, things
started to change, and I got a call from him
late one night.
“Dr. Karen, even though it might be rude for
me to say this, can you be a mom to my
son?”
After that, he would give me gifts, and even
though he didn’t say those kinds of rude
things anymore, his intentions were clear.
I accepted.
When I went to register Jake’s son, they
asked for the kid’s date of birth. Jake said
that he didn’t know, and that Sarah never
gave him a birth certificate.
I thought of my son, who was born around the
same time, and I gave him the same birthday.
One, it would remind me to never forget my
son, and two, I hoped that I could treat this
poor kid like I did my own son.
Later, Jake took me back to see his parents.
He insisted on marrying me.
I knew that Jake’s mom looked down on me,
but with Jake as a single dad, it was hard for
him to find someone suitable, so she went
along with it.
There was no big wedding; Jake being a
single dad wasn’t something that was worth
く
bragging about. The less people who knew,
the better.
After we got married, the thing Jake would
always say was: “Dr. Karen, I know you’ve
been going through a lot. After my company
gets over this crisis, I’ll make it up to you with
a real wedding.”
But promises are meant to be broken.
However sincere they were, they would be
worn down by time, broken apart.
I was glad that I had never believed Jake.
However, I really did put my heart into taking
care of his son.
Unfortunately, Jake’s son was just like Jake
and had his own obsessions.
く
When Jake’s son was three, Jake’s company
won a lot of bids, and he became a local
industry leader.
A few months later, news of Sarah returning
to the country after graduating from film
school spread through the media.
Someone asked in an interview: “Miss Sarah,
I’ve heard that you turned down a famous
director overseas. Can you tell me why?”
On the camera, the tall girl said, “I returned to
the country to make up for what I did.”
That report was broadcast as Jake was on
the sofa, drinking coffee and reading the
newspaper.
Г
Jake was usually a calm and composed
person, and he wasn’t someone who would
ever show his emotions.
But the fact that he was clutching the
newspaper so tightly and his arms were tense
showed that he wasn’t indifferent.
Shortly after Sarah returned to the country,
she took Jake’s son out to play for the whole
day, without asking.
