He found me outside my apartment building, his
coat discarded in his car, a cigarette dangling
from his lips, the smoke swirling around him like
a shroud. “Never anything? Chloe, you bore my
child.”
He still acknowledged Liam. Ethan must have
told him.
I couldn’t laugh, couldn’t cry. I simply stated,
“The child is gone. So, we’re nothing.”
David was speechless.
He took a long drag of his cigarette, his fingers
almost brushing the burning ember. Then, with
a strange tenderness, he said, “Chloe, we can
have another child.”
2:12
く
No. There would never be another Liam.
- ))
89
I didn’t argue. I simply said, “Yes, you and Sarah
can have many children.” All I wanted was to
spend my last days in peace.
“And what about you?” he asked, his voice laced with mockery. “Will you and Ethan have children?”
My head throbbed. I hadn’t noticed the “and” in his question. I just wanted to be free of him, to never see him again. Every encounter was a painful reminder of Liam. “You can believe
whatever you want,” I said, desperation edging
into my voice.
I turned to leave, but he grabbed my arm, his
grip surprisingly strong. A flicker of something I
couldn’t decipher crossed his impassive face.
“Have you forgotten you’re still my wife?”
“Not for much longer!!
<
“Not for much longer.”
The wind caught in my throat, bringing with it a
metallic taste.
David’s eyes searched mine, assessing the truth
of my words. Then, with chilling certainty, he
said, “Chloe, your attempts to manipulate me
are as pathetic as ever. You think you can
survive without me?”
Was it manipulation? No one would use their
impending death as leverage.
Besides, with or without him, I didn’t think I
could survive much longer.
As if to punish me, David withheld my share of
the divorce settlement and even evicted me
from my apartment. I was homeless, while he
prepared to marry another woman.
No one remarried loss than a month after their
No one remarried less than a month after their
child’s death. But David did.
The news of his impending nuptials reached me
through various channels: the excitement of his
family, the fury of his father, the glee of the
gossiping relatives. I heard it all, absorbing it
with a detached amusement.
I wasn’t part of their story anymore. Why should
I care?
Sarah called as I was taking my medication, the
bitter taste coating my tongue, rising in my
throat. I swallowed hard, fighting back nausea.
“Chloe,” she chirped. “David and I are getting
married. The wedding’s at the end of next
month.”
What did that have to do with me?
く
“Congratulations,” I said flatly, then hung up,
returning to my pills. I didn’t know then that
David had been standing beside her, his face
drawn, devoid of any joy a groom–to–be should
feel. Perhaps he was finally realizing that I was
truly gone, that my feelings for him had
evaporated.
Without a home, I felt like a stray dog.
David called as I stood at the bus station, my
suitcase at my feet, watching the crowds surge
around me. His voice, almost dreamlike, echoed
in my ear. “Chloe, I’m giving you another
chance. Come home.”
My eyes stung, dry and aching. He was
relenting. Perhaps he was feeling nostalgic,
urging me to return. But why hadn’t he shown
this compassion when Liam was alive?
It was too late. No one needed his offer of
I clutched Liam’s teddy bear, its soft fur still
holding the faint scent of baby powder, the
warmth of his small hands. Touching it felt like
touching a piece of his soul.
“…David, I’m not coming back. Ever.” I looked
down at the teddy bear’s button eyes, as if
gazing into Liam’s soul. My voice trembled. “I’m
sorry for what I did to you. And I’m sorry for
what my mother did. I wanted to divorce you
years ago, but Mr. Bailey promised my mother
he’d look after me. He wouldn’t let me leave…”
“…I… I held you back from Sarah. I’m so sorry.”
I hung up.
Before boarding the bus, I received a text from
Ethan: “Chloe, you have terminal stomach
cancer. Why aren’t you getting treatment?”
- 7.
2:14
Ethan found me at the beach. It was one of
Liam’s wishes. I’d made a list, hoping to fulfill
them in the time I had left.
Number one: Spend my birthday with Daddy.
Crossed out.
Number two: Go to the beach with my family. Divorced now, I was Liam’s only family. This
wish, at least, was fulfilled.
The sand was soft and damp beneath my feet, the waves gently lapping at my ankles. I stared at the vast expanse of blue, my tears blurring the horizon. I wanted to make amends, but the
sobs only intensified.
If only I’d taken him to the beach when he was
still alive. He wouldn’t have died with so many regrets. But I’d wanted us to be a family, for
David to be there. Now, I was alone.
The wind whipped at me, the cold seeping into
88
etched with anger. His usual professional demeanor cracked. “Chloe, are you trying to kill yourself?”
A patient refusing treatment, traveling so far
from home – wasn’t that a form of suicide?
The pain hit me before I could take my medication. I blacked out.
At least I collapsed in front of a doctor. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to fulfill Liam’s third wish.
Ethan wanted to take me to the hospital, but at this stage, it was just a waste of money. I didn’t have much left. Ethan had already paid for my previous medical bills. He wasn’t wealthy. In school, he’d always worn the same faded white shirt, the collar and cuffs frayed, the fabric thin enough to see the fuzz in the sunlight. Unlike
David, he lived a modest life. I had to pay him
back.
2:14
88
The man I’d pined for for ten years was
nowhere to be found. The one who rescued me,
paid my bills, sat by my side… it was Ethan.
“Why are you being so kind to me?” I asked, bewildered. No one had been this kind to me in
a long time.
He didn’t answer, just wrapped a clean scarf around my neck. “You were always kind to me.”
Was I? I couldn’t remember. Maybe my memory
was fading along with my health.
“You were too busy focusing on David to notice
you were being kind to someone like me.” There
was a hint of resentment in his voice.
Ethan knew how to save lives. He brought me
my medication, his gaze serious. “Painkillers
won’t save you, Chloe. You need
chemotherapy.”
