My thoughts drifted back to the present.
I watched as Samuel stood at the gate and called me. The monotonous voice on the other end informed him that the number was
no longer in service.
He frowned and opened our WhatsApp chat. The only thing he saw was the last message he had sent me three days ago, urging
me to come forward to provide my bone marrow to Violet.
I hadn’t replied, of course.
Samuel turned to Facebook next. When he saw a photo I had posted four years ago, his hand froze for a moment. It was a photo I had secretly taken–he was sitting on the couch, with two–year–old Toby clinging to his arm and resting his adorable little head on his shoulder.
I had thought it was a beautiful moment, so I snapped a photo. But in the next second, Samuel had pushed Toby away in disgust.
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Chapter 3
He enlarged the photo and stared at it for a long time before returning to the chat window.
+15 BONUS
Then, he typed a message: “Kristen, you brought this on yourself. The three–day deadline is up. Starting today, I won’t send you a
single cent for your living expenses.”
After waiting for a reply and getting none, he kicked the gate hard in frustration.
Toby, who had been happily holding onto Samuel and running in circles around him, was terrified by the sudden aggression. He
quivered and burst into tears as he ran into my arms.
“Mommy, what’s wrong with Daddy? I’m scared…”
I held him tightly and comforted him. “Don’t be scared, Toby. Daddy can’t hurt you anymore. Look, there are butterflies over
there. Do you want to go play with them?”
I said that to distract him.
Toby turned his head and saw a few butterflies fluttering in the distance. His tears stopped, and he quickly wiped his face before
running after the butterflies with a smile.
Meanwhile, Samuel only grew more agitated after kicking the gate twice.
He rubbed his temples repeatedly. Then, he took out his phone and made a call. “Hello, is this the
locksmith?”
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Chapter 4
