Chapter 3

I never once asked Nora to call me Dad.

Because everyone's father is irreplaceable.

Afraid she might withdraw into herself because of her parents' divorce, I always cared for her and looked after her as a friend.

Many times she curled up in my arms and traded me the secrets she wouldn't tell Astrid or Morgan.

And she was the first person to know I was scared of creepy dolls.

Three days ago, she called:

"Mr. Harding, I sent you a gift. It's on the second floor of the pickup point at the entrance to the complex."

"Are you about to head downstairs? Then open the gift—go on, right now."

Right up until I was scared badly enough to tumble down the stairs, I never suspected she had any other motive.

I spoke coldly:

"No need. Right now I don't want to see you, and I don't make friends with people who hurt themselves."

Nora's eyes reddened in an instant, and suddenly she shouted stubbornly:

"Dad's right! You don't actually like me at all. You're only nice to me to make Mom happy!"

"Once you have your own kid, you'll like me even less!"

And with that she turned and ran off.

I frowned.

Some thought seemed to flash through my mind.

Before I could catch it, Lena walked in, worried:

"Nora and her father have left. She looked really upset."

"Just now she kept asking me whether you were in a lot of pain. Maybe she realized she was wrong and wanted to apologize to you..."

I said nothing.

I don't want anyone thinking I'm bullying a child, either.

But right now I really can't manage to be gentle with her.

Because of that unpleasant conversation earlier, Astrid chose to stay in the study and work.

And I hadn't yet recovered from the anemia and weakness after the surgery.

The wound on my abdomen ached faintly too.

I drifted off into a heavy sleep.

But in the middle of the night I suddenly spiked a high fever.

In my daze, someone was softly calling my name.

When I opened my eyes, Astrid was looking at me, her eyes full of concern:

"Phin, your fever's really bad. Did you catch a cold? Come on, I'll take you to the hospital."

The next second, a phone rang.

The caller ID said Morgan.

Astrid frowned, but she still chose to answer.

For some reason she glanced at me and, for the first time, put it on speaker.

"Astrid, that moon lamp you had made for Nora suddenly stopped working. It might be broken. She has night blindness, and I sleep too deeply at night."

"With no nightlight, I'm afraid she'll bump into something if she gets up in the night. Come over and help fix it now."

Astrid was silent for a few seconds:

"All right."

I caught hold of her:

"Astrid, I've always been the one in charge of Nora's checkups. She has never had night blindness."

Morgan heard that from the other end and immediately sneered:

"What a joke. Nora's my own flesh and blood—I know her a thousand times better than you do!"

"Astrid, we agreed back then that even if we divorced, you wouldn't shortchange our daughter on a mother's love."

"Are you dumping everything on me now just because you're scared your little husband will get jealous? Is that how you repay all the years of my youth I gave you?!"

He hung up in a fury.

Astrid sighed and slowly pushed my hand away.

"Phin, be sensible. Don't put me in a hard spot at a time like this."

"Morgan's right about one thing—as her real father, he's got to know his daughter better than you do, her stepfather. Maybe you should reflect on whether you've been paying enough attention to Nora's health."

"I'll go wake Lena and have her take you to the hospital."

I stared at her, dazed.

All through Nora's childhood, every time she got sick, I was the one who stayed by her bed, not eating, not drinking.

Even the snacks I bought for her, I'd read the ingredient labels carefully to make sure there wasn't a trace of anything harmful.

So this is what they call not caring enough?

I fought down the hurt in my chest with everything I had, and said quietly:

"Astrid, let's get a divorce."

She paused, and the smile at the corner of her mouth turned faint and cold:

"Phineas, you're not the first person to threaten me with divorce, and I never fall for it."

Right. Back then Morgan had another huge fight with her and brought up divorce.

Astrid agreed on the spot.

But at least he still had her child, still had things about him she couldn't let go of, while I had nothing.

She mistook my silence for regret, and before she left, she said coldly:

"Take a few days off from the kindergarten. I'll set up an appointment with the doctor for you. Once you're over the cold, you can go get the vasectomy done."

I was on an IV drip all night at the hospital, and my fever finally broke.

The doctor said the wound was a little infected and told me to be careful with my movements these next few days.

To avoid the sutures splitting open and causing something more serious.

That night, Astrid never showed up.

The next morning, I told Lena, who had kept watch all night, to go home and rest.

I planned to finish the IV and then go to a lawyer myself to get the divorce papers.

Then Lena suddenly got a call from Astrid.

It turned out that when Morgan went to wake Nora for breakfast, he found her gone.

They still hadn't found her, and she was told to hurry home and take a look.

Lena had just left when my phone abruptly rang too.

It was the number from Nora's phone watch.

The moment I answered, I heard her crying on the other end:

"Mr. Harding, help me..."