Two hours passed as we fought to save Lily. Those hours felt like an eternity.
Regret and anger swirled inside me, growing stronger by the minute.
My mother cried and scolded me:
“How could you let this happen to your child? Look at what she’s been through!”
Lily weakly opened her eyes in the hospital bed, IV drip attached. She looked at me, confused:
“Mommy, why do they all say Lily is a child that Daddy doesn’t want?”
“But Lily has a daddy!”
“Why doesn’t Daddy protect Lily anymore?”
I kissed her forehead gently and replied:
“Mommy will protect Lily forever. You are Mommy’s most precious treasure.”
“As for Daddy, we don’t want him anymore.”
When I returned to the elementary school, the Family Day activities were wrapping up.
Families were busy drawing pictures together.
Samuel was coloring patiently, Leo snuggled against him, while Rachel looked pleased taking pictures of them.
It was a perfect scene of family happiness.
But why was my daughter lying in a hospital while the wrongdoers enjoyed their day?!
I stormed over and without hesitation, slapped Rachel hard across the face.
The force made her stagger back, hitting the corner of the table with a loud bang.
Everyone froze in shock.
Samuel shouted:
“Quincy, what are you doing?!”
He rushed to Rachel, concern in his eyes: “Rachel, are you okay?”
Tears streamed down Rachel’s face as she shook her head, playing the victim:
“Quincy, did you misunderstand? I’m sorry!”
I laughed coldly: “A simple apology won’t cut it!”
Just as I raised my hand to slap her again, Samuel stepped in to stop me.
I redirected and slapped Samuel across the face instead, leaving a clear red mark.
He paused for a second, then exploded in anger:
“Quincy, have you lost it? You think I won’t fight back?!”
At that moment, the elementary school teacher rushed over, trying to mediate, asking what was going on.
I pointed at Leo, gritting my teeth:
