Cheating
chapter 2

Chapter 2

A nurse was dressing my wounds. They were deep, and I was in excruciating pain, clutching the man’s arm, unable to hold back my groans.

To help ease my tension, the nurse suggested I turn my head the other way. That’s when I saw my husband Aaron with my best friend Rita.

Aaron was holding Rita’s child, Ronnie, with a

look of tenderness.

He glanced up and saw me, his face first impatient, then angry. He handed Ronnie back to Rita and stormed toward me, while Rita gave me a taunting smile.

“What are you trying to do? Rita and I are just

1/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

friends! Now you’re replaceing a man just to spite me?” Aaron was furious, as if I had committed an unforgivable sin.

Aaron and I had been college classmates, both Rita and I fell for him at first sight. Compared to plain–looking me, he preferred the sexy and beautiful Rita. After Rita went abroad, he had no choice but to choose me.

Last year, Rita got divorced and came back, rekindling their relationship. He even treated Ronnie better than our own daughter. He even forgot that our daughter was allergic to chocolate.

Today, his so–called urgent matter was bringing Ronnie to the hospital with Rita.

2/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

“Aaron! Our daughter is in anaphylactic shock! She’s in the emergency room, you can see for yourself!”

Aaron frowned, seemingly weighing the truth of my words.

Rita ran over, her face disapproving, “Anna, I know you don’t like me, but Ronnie has a fever today, and Aaron is the only friend I have. Even if Aaron missed your daughter’s birthday, as a mother, you shouldn’t joke about your daughter’s health. If it were me, I would never do something so cruel. I couldn’t bear to let my

child suffer such a vicious curse!”

Rita, holding her child, exuded maternal love. Behind Aaron’s back, she gave me a provocative look. I couldn’t hold back anymore and slapped

3/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

Rita hard.

“Am I joking? Am I being unreasonable?”

I pointed to the bruises on my knees, and even the man who had helped me spoke up in my defense.

Rita, holding her child, threw herself into Aaron’s arms, looking pitiful.

Aaron, filled with sympathy, held her tightly and

glared at me. “Enough! Stop with these tricks, you shrew!”

“No! You can’t leave! As her father, you need to be with your daughter!” I pleaded, but Aaron ignored me, leaving the hospital with Rita.

4/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

Meanwhile, my daughter’s condition worsened. Amid the frantic calls from the doctors, I shakily signed the critical condition notice.

During my anxious wait, the man who had brought us to the hospital, William, stayed by my side.

He was truly a good person, far better than

Aaron.

In–just three days, the doctors issued over a dozen critical condition notices. My daughter was separated from me by a wall, her fate

unknown.

On the fourth day, the doctor came out again. Instinctively, I got up, ready to sign, but noticed the doctor had no papers.

5/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

I was hopeful and asked, “Doctor, has my daughter passed the critical stage?”

The doctor silently shook his head, and my

heart sank.

“Go talk to your daughter.”

I stumbled into the room. My daughter, I couldn’t even bring myself to touch her face. In just a few days, she had wasted away to almost nothing.

Seeing me, she slightly opened her eyes and whispered, “Daddy… Daddy…”

Tears streamed down my face. “Mommy will call Daddy right now!”

6/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

I pulled out my phone and dialed that familiar

number.

Please, answer the phone! Please, answer the phone!

Just as my patience was about to run out, Aaron’s voice finally came through, “What now? Ronnie has a fever, I’m with Rita getting him an

IV!”

Ignoring everything else, I quickly said, “Aaron, our daughter wants to see you one last time. Will you come see her? She loves you the most!”

Before Rita came back, Aaron adored our daughter, calling her a gift from God. And she loved her tall, gentlemanly father the most.

7/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

But Aaron was extremely impatient. “Anna! What are you up to now? How can you be so vicious, cursing your own child?”

Then I heard Rita’s voice in the background, “Aaron! Come quick! Ronnie…”

Before hanging up, he said, “Anna! You’re truly

unfit to be a mother!”

Yes, I wasn’t a good mother. I let my daughter pass away with regrets.

“Mommy… I… don’t… want… Daddy… anymore.” My daughter spoke each word with difficulty, her breathing labored.

I knew she was slipping away. “No! No!”

8/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

“Mommy, can… he… be… my… daddy?” She pointed at William.

I looked at him, pleading.

In the end, William held her hand and stayed with her until the very end.

My daughter died, and my heart died with her.

William helped me arrange her funeral.

Who would have thought that my lively, adorable daughter would die just because of a birthday cake? She didn’t have to die; if only her father had given her just a bit more love. But he chose to give all his affection to Ronnie instead.

9/10

Chapter 2

+ 5 Points

My daughter left me, and the one who stayed with her until the end was a stranger, William, not the father she loved so dearly.

I kept wiping her urn over and over, as if she were still here with me. I looked around the

house one last time, knowing it was time to end things with Aaron.

10/10